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Cunard announces new details on remastering of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 March 2016 17 March 2016

Yesterday at Seatrade Cruise Global in Fort Lauderdale, Cunard announced new enhancements planned for Queen Mary 2's remastering, the most significant refit ever undertaken by Carnival UK, as well as surprise news on Queen Victoria, during a press event hosted by top executives from the company.

In addition to the reveals made on Queen Mary 2’s refit, Cunard announced it will be adding Britannia Club staterooms to Queen Victoria in her next dry-dock scheduled for June 2017, due in part to the stateroom categories exceedingly popular appeal on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth.

“The changes being made are a direct response to our discerning passengers increasing desire for space and style, and to meet their rising expectations of luxury,” stated David Noyes, Cunard CEO.

Queen Mary 2, which will be in dry dock from May 27 to June 21, will see several enhancements including 30 additional Britannia Club Staterooms, 15 new single staterooms, and an expansion of the ship’s dedicated kennel for cats and dogs. All staterooms will be remastered by the start of the ship’s 2017 World Cruise.

Shared for the first time at Cunard’s press event were renderings showcasing new designs for Queen Mary 2’s coveted and luxurious Queens Grill Duplex Apartment and Penthouse Suites, as well as videos on Queen Mary 2’s redesign and culinary program.

“Cunard was the innovator of the luxury suite category, and this remastering will further showcase the richness of ship’s stateroom design, intimate dining experiences and White Star Service,” commented Richard Meadows, President, Cunard North America.

In the newly debuted videos, Queen Mary 2’s interior decorators delve into what it took to stay true to Cunard’s heritage in “Inspired by the Originals,” and Cunard’s twin Executive Chefs, Nicholas and Mark Oldroyd, share the process of working together on developing new menus and further enhancing the ship’s fine dining in “The Oldroyd Twins.”

“We are all very excited about what Nicholas Oldroyd and his twin Mark, the Executive Chef onboard Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, are doing to reinvigorate the menus across the fleet,” continued Richard Meadows. “They have gone to great lengths to source interesting and different ingredients, and we believe our guests will be extremely pleased.”

Cunard, which found inspiration not only in Queen Mary, but also in its guests, announced that in conjuncture with the remastering of all of its staterooms and suites, it will also introduce tea and coffee makers in each cabin.

“Guest feedback was especially important as we explored the redesign of the staterooms,” said Angus Struthers, Vice President of Marketing. “We believe the new designs on board provide a more distinctive Cunard character and will elevate the guest experience.”

“During our 175-year history, Cunard earned a reputation for being the arbiter of style and taste. The remastering of Queen Mary 2 continues this tradition by the thoughtful contemporizing of the product, while maintaining the refined design aesthetics and service standards that are deeply based in British style and refinement,” continued David Noyes, Cunard CEO. “The combination of our keen attention to detail, and incorporating inspirations from our past will continue to propel the powerful Cunard story, which we think will strongly resonate with today’s discerning travelers.”

Carnival Magic to feature new Guy Fieri-designed open-air barbecue eatery offering traditional smokehouse favorites

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 March 2016 16 March 2016

Chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri, whose Guy’s Burger Joints on Carnival Cruise Line ships have earned a reputation as the best burgers at sea, has expanded his seagoing culinary offerings with a new authentic smokehouse and barbecue venue aboard Carnival Magic.

Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse is a casual open-air eatery located on Carnival Magic’s Lanai on Promenade Deck featuring a wide variety of BBQ favorites smoked right on board over hickory and cherry wood using Guy’s signature recipes, rubs and spices. A member of the American Royal National Barbecue Hall of Fame, Fieri is cooking up real-deal smokehouse favorites like bone-in, dry-rubbed, slow-smoked and pulled Championship Pork Butt, dry-rubbed and grilled Blue Ribbon Chicken, smoked Andouille sausage and Sliced Smoked Round of Beef cooked “low and slow” and thinly sliced. A rarity on cruise ships, Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse features a traditional wood smoker which was installed on board as part of a recent dry dock.

Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse also features Fieri’s own unique take on traditional side dishes with deliciously creative offerings like Mac Daddy Mac n Cheese, Old Skool Potato Salad, Scratch-Made Slaw, Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey, and Molasses Baked Beans with Bacon and Burnt Ends. All items at Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse will be available free of charge.

Diners can spice up their dishes with Fieri’s signature BBQ sauces, including Award-Winning Brown Sugar (sweet and sticky), Kansas City (smoky and sweet), and Sriracha BBQ (spicy and tangy) and Carolina #6 (tangy with sweet heat). A hot sauce bar, as well as a wide range of ice-cold beers and sodas, will be available, as well.

Commented Fieri, “Everyone knows that it takes the finest meats cooked ‘low and slow’ to create truly righteous mouth-watering barbecue. My new ‘Pig & Anchor’ eatery on Carnival Magic is gonna be off the hook! Be sure to grab lots of napkins -- it’s gonna get messy!”

“Guy has been a wonderful partner and we can’t wait for our guests to enjoy all the incredible offerings at his Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse which we’re sure will be a huge hit with Carnival Magic guests,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Open sea days from noon to 2:30 p.m., Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse is part of Carnival Magic’s extensive multi-million-dollar renovation that spanned three weeks and added a variety of exciting new dining and bar concepts, including, of course, a Guy’s Burger Joint, a free-of-charge poolside venue serving hand-crafted burgers and fries with recipes created by the Food Network star. Including Carnival Magic, Guy’s Burger Joints are available on 11 Carnival ships and serve more than 1,000 burgers per ship per day. Guy’s Burger Joint will also be featured aboard the new Carnival Vista when it debuts in May.

Other newly added spaces on Carnival Magic include two poolside bars – the RedFrog Rum Bar and BlueIguana Tequila Bar – along with the BlueIguana Cantina serving authentic Mexican tacos and burritos, Pizzeria del Capitano offering hand-tossed artisanal pies, the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, and a “candy and more store” called Cherry on Top.

Carnival Magic will continue its seven-day schedule from Galveston through April 10, 2016 then reposition to Port Canaveral to launch year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises April 23, 2016. Prior to launching its new seven-day schedule from Port Canaveral, Carnival Magic will operate a special three-day cruise to Nassau April 20-23, 2016.

Carnival Magic will offer two distinctly different week-long itineraries from the Space Coast – a western Caribbean route featuring Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan) and Costa Maya; and an eastern Caribbean option calling at St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Nassau or Amber Cove.

MSC Cruises teams up with chef Roy Yamaguchi

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 March 2016 16 March 2016

MSC Cruises, the world’s fourth largest cruise shipping group, has announced a new partnership with celebrated pan-Asian chef and international culinary pioneer, Roy Yamaguchi.

The innovative Japanese-American chef will bring his unique fusion of cooking traditions to MSC Cruises, initially on board the Company’s next-generation ship, MSC Seaside due to be launched in December 2017 and sail year-round from Miami to the Caribbean.

This latest announcement further demonstrates MSC Cruises’ ongoing commitment to international fine dining and adds to the existing partnerships with renowned, award-winning chefs Carlo Cracco, Jean-Phillippe Maury and Jereme Leung, the company said in a statement.

FCCA and CLIA in strategic media partnership

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 March 2016 15 March 2016

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) have announced a collaboration to transform FCCA's quarterly magazine into a global publication, reinforcing the cruise industry's unified voice and offering stakeholders an opportunity to be heard by an influential audience.

As the official magazine of the cruise industry, Travel & Cruise will give insight into the inner-workings and happenings of the industry with exclusive content from cruise lines executives and prominent stakeholders. It will be distributed quarterly, the two organisations said in a joint statement.

"This partnership represents a step forward for both the associations and cruise industry," said Micky Arison, chairman, Carnival Corporation & plc and FCCA. "FCCA's magazine has long been the cruise industry's official magazine, and it now expands to represent the industry on the global scale. It also extends the focus to engage travel agents, wholesalers and other tourism professionals."

"CLIA and FCCA have each served the cruise industry well for years, and this new cooperation to publish Travel & Cruise will enhance the global cruise industry," said Adam Goldstein, president & COO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and CLIA global chairman.

Norwegian Escape to depart from Miami at 19:00 hours to allow Europeans catch ship

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 March 2016 15 March 2016

As part of its “Growing Europe” campaign for continued growth on European markets, Norwegian Cruise Line said it has changed the departure time of its seven-night cruises on Norwegian Escape to the Eastern Caribbean to 19:00 from 7 May to 16 July and from 3 September to 31 December 2016.

“This later departure time allows passengers to fly from many European airports on the day of embarkation without a prior overnight stay,” the company said in a statement.

“The departure change for Norwegian Escape is a direct result of feedback from our guests. Norwegian Cruise Line is committed to actively working with our European customers in order to ensure our products meet our customers’ preferences,” says Christian Boell, Managing Director Europe, Middle East and Africa at Norwegian Cruise Line.

“To land on the day of embarkation in Miami without a prior overnight stay and to proceed directly to boarding makes Caribbean cruising, including the outward and return trip, possible within a week – and therefore particularly interesting for guests who seek total relaxation but can only take a few days off.”