More News

Princess Cruises joins IMO to celebrate Day of the Seafarer on June 25

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 June 2015 19 June 2015

Princess Cruises is joining the International Maritime Organization in celebrating the 5th annual Day of the Seafarer on June 25, which is also a United Nations international observance day. Day of the Seafarer brings awareness to and recognizes the world’s 1.5 million seafarers to thank them for their service and contribution during their career at sea.

Around the world, there are organizations that support the well-being of seafaring crew by providing important humanitarian services that directly benefit the shipboard crew at Princess, as well as all international maritime workers. Princess Cruises actively supports these organizations located in ports of call the cruise line visits often including Seafarers’ House (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida); Seafarers UK (Southampton, England); Mission to Seafarers, (Seattle, Washington); and International Seafarer’s Center (Long Beach/Los Angeles, Calif.).

On every cruise, Princess raises money for charity by conducting an auction of the nautical charts, a one-of-a-kind collector’s item signed by the Captain that details the routes of the voyage. To celebrate the 2015 Day of the Seafarer, Princess guests will have the opportunity to show their support for their favorite crew members and seafarers and take home this unique keepsake from their cruise vacation. Fleetwide, through the month of July, the proceeds from each commemorative nautical chart auction will be collected on behalf of seafarers. Princess Cruises Community Foundation will match the auction proceeds up to $10,000. Both the auction proceeds and the matched funds will be donated to seafarer organizations that promote the well-being of seafarers and their families.

The 2015 Day of the Seafarer campaign aims to inspire young people to consider a career at sea. In support, Princess Cruises will turn to social media to celebrate its shipboard team, using the hashtag #CareerAtSea to highlight that a career at sea is a rewarding opportunity that will take you to exciting and often exotic destinations around the world.

Princess Cruises is showing appreciation and gratitude to seafarers everywhere and this day offers the opportunity to acknowledge the company’s nearly 18,000 shipboard crew who work aboard Princess cruise ships and come from more than 70 countries. Princess is also taking this opportunity to salute three long-serving employees who have dedicated themselves to a lifelong career at sea:

– Tom Beck (Coventry, United Kingdom), Newbuild Guarantee Engineer, 51 years at sea
– Alastair Calder (Genoa, Italy), Fleet Marine Inspector, 48 years at sea
– Nigel Stewart (Fortrose, Scotland), Hotel General Manager, 47 years at sea

“We are grateful for the commitment and dedication of our seafaring staff - they are truly what makes Princess Cruises special for our guests,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. “Because of their choosing to have a career at sea, our guests enjoy a safe, meaningful and memorable cruise vacation.”

In an additional show of support, the company will also donate a cruise to the Seattle branch of Mission to Seafarers and will be hosting their annual luncheon aboard Crown Princess on August 22 in the Port of Seattle.

Fred. Olsen Cruise lines’ quarter to gather in Bergen on 28 July

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 June 2015 16 June 2015

The four ship fleet of UK based destinational cruise operator Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines - Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch – will all be coming together in Norway’s second city, Bergen, on Tuesday 28 July 2015, for an historic joint celebration, the company said in a statement.

This ‘4Bs in Bergen’ event – named after the initial letter of each of the four Fred. Olsen ships – will be the first time ever that the fleet has converged in one place, anywhere in the world, and it is expected to be a very exciting day for both Fred. Olsen guests – of which there will be nearly 4,000 visiting that day – and the city of Bergen.

All four ships will be arriving at the Port of Bergen at 8am on 28th July 2015, and will be departing at 6pm. They will be operating on the following schedules:

• Balmoral – eight-night L1511 ‘Norwegian Fjords’ cruise, ex Southampton on 25th July 2015 – arriving at Bontelabo Terminal from Stavanger

• Braemar – 14-night M1521 ‘Falls, Fjords & Faroe Islands’ cruise, ex Dover on 18th July 2015 – arriving at Festningskaien Terminal from Akureyri (Iceland)

• Boudicca – seven-night D1517 ‘Glaciers, Fjords & Waterfalls of Norway’ cruise, ex Newcastle on 26th July 2015 – arriving at Skolten North Terminal from Newcastle

• Black Watch – nine-night W1512 ‘Cruising the Fjordland’ cruise, ex Liverpool on 23rd July 2015 – arriving at Skolten South Terminal from Flåm

Mike Rodwell, Managing Director of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:

“This is a very special occasion for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, and we know that the city of Bergen is looking forward to welcoming our fleet on this unique day this Summer.

“We are committed to the city of Bergen on our Norwegian cruise itineraries, and we have been calling at the Port every year since 1997. In fact, the number of days that Fred. Olsen ships have spent in Bergen from 2006 to 2015 is 176 in total, and we know that the city is a highlight to many of our guests on cruises to our historic homeland.”

It is expected that the festivities on the day will include:

- Norwegian-themed marching bands, drummers and singers on the quayside

- a schedule of onboard entertainment – an afternoon show, deck party and live bands – to be co-ordinated so that all guests will have a chance to watch different shows across the different ships

- the chance to visit all four ships as they are berthed along the quayside, with complimentary drinks and canapés

- an inter-ship treasure hunt, where teams will compete against each other to complete the course around the beautiful city of Bergen in the fastest time and win a £200 gift voucher for a future Fred. Olsen cruise

- an action-packed inter-crew ‘tug o’ war’ challenge on Festningskaien, as small teams of crew from each ship battle it out, spurred on by vocal support from guests!

- a ‘water cannon’ send–off, as all four ships leave the Port in formation. Flagship Balmoral will depart first, followed by Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch – all in size order!

Costa increases capacity in South America

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 June 2015 16 June 2015

For the 2015/2016 Southern Hemisphere cruise season Costa Cruceros will significantly increase its capacity for its itineraries departing from Argentina and Uruguay. Alan Lam reports.

The line will replace the current 2003-built Costa Mediterránea with the much newer and bigger unit, the 2012-built Costa Fascinosa, thus increasing the capacity by about 46%, according to Carlos Núñez, Managing Director of Costa Cruceros.

Between December 2015 and February 2016 the 114,147 gross ton Costa Fascinosa will join the 114,288 gross ton Costa Pacifica in 8- and 9-night voyages from Buenos Aires and Montevideo to Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Ilhabela and Buzios. The ship will also offer the classical 3-night mini itinerary and the special Christmas and New Year cruises with firework spectaculars at Copacabana.Known as the ship of music, Costa Pacífica will be based in Brazil, offering 3- to 7-night itineraries from Santos to Rio de Janeiro, Salvador de Bahía, Ilehus, Ilhabela and back to Santos.

With this change, it means that Costa will have two ships of over 100 thousand gross ton each deployed in this market.

Royal Caribbean promotes Dr. Zinan Liu to President of China and North Asia Pacific

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 June 2015 15 June 2015

Royal Caribbean International today announced the promotion of Dr. Zinan Liu to the global cruise brand's President for the China and North Asia Pacific region. Zinan joined Royal Caribbean International in 2009 and has been spearheading all of Royal Caribbean's commercial and operational activities, and significantly growing the brand in the region, including opening offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and bolstering the brand's operations in Shanghai.

"These are exciting times for Royal Caribbean International as we continue to build our business in China," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. "I am confident that Zinan's expertise as a global travel veteran, his strong relationships in the region, and astute business acumen, will put us in a powerful position to reach our goals."

Zinan holds a doctoral degree in economics from the University of London, and also is Chairman of Cruise Lines International Association, North Asia, where he has been an influential spokesman for the cruise industry in the region.

Today, Royal Caribbean has the largest cruise fleet in China and has won notable awards including Travel Weekly's China Industry Awards, where it was named the "Best Luxury Cruise Operator" for seven years in a row. In 2016, Royal Caribbean will have five industry-leading ships in China.

RCCL's China based ships managed and operated from UK

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 June 2015 15 June 2015

The China based ships of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL) group, the world's second largest cruise shipping company, are managed and operated from the company's offices in the UK and are entered in the UK tonnage tax, RCCL said in its 2014 annual report.

"Our UK tonnage tax company operates ships in international transportation in China. The income earned from this operation is exempt from taxation in China under the UK/China double tax treaty and other circulars addressing indirect taxes," RCCL said.

"Changes to or failure to qualify for the treaty or circular could cause us to lose the benefits provided which would have a material impact on our results of operations. Our Chinese income from non-shipping activities or from shipping activities not qualifying for treaty or circular protection and which are considered insignificant, remain subject to Chinese taxation," RCCL stated.

RCCL operate 14 of its 43 ships under companies which have elected to be subject to the United Kingdom tonnage tax regime. "Companies subject to UK tonnage tax pay a corporate tax on a notional profit determined with reference to the net tonnage of qualifying vessels. Normal United Kingdom corporate income tax is not chargeable on the relevant shipping profits of a qualifying UK tonnage tax company."

"The requirements for a company to qualify for the UK tonnage tax regime include being subject to United Kingdom corporate income tax, operating qualifying ships, which are strategically and commercially managed in the United Kingdom, and fulfilling a seafarer training requirement.
Failure to meet any of these requirements could cause us to lose the benefit of the tonnage tax regime which will have a material effect on our results of operations," RCCL concluded.