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O'Sheehan's and Sugarcane Mojito Bar opens on Norwegian Gem

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 November 2014 28 November 2014

As part of its Norwegian NEXT program, Norwegian Cruise Line has announced that Norwegian Gem now features popular guest eatery O’Sheehan’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill. First introduced on Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Gem is the second ship in her class to be outfitted with the 24-hour complimentary casual dining venue, which captures the friendly atmosphere of a neighborhood Irish pub and serves comfort food such as fish and chips and chicken pot pie.

In addition, specialty dining restaurant Moderno Churrascaria – Norwegian’s popular Brazilian-style steakhouse – was relocated to a more intimate setting on Deck 13. Sugarcane Mojito Bar, first introduced on Norwegian Getaway, was added adjacent to the new restaurant and features handcrafted mojitos in a tropical setting.

Norwegian Gem sails numerous sought-after itineraries year-round from her homeport of New York. Her nine, 10, and 11-day Eastern Caribbean itineraries are a winter escape for New Yorkers from now through April 15, 2015, exploring some of the Caribbean’s favorites including San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Beginning April 24, 2015 through September 5, 2015, Norwegian Gem sails seven-day Bahamas and Florida cruises.

Chinese airline company charters cruise ship for Antarctic expedition

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 November 2014 28 November 2014

It has been reported that Qiantang Airways Industry of Zhejiang, a Hangzhou-based airline company, is chartering an ice-class cruise ship from the polar expedition specialist Amazing Cruises & Travel for an exclusive Antarctic tour. Alan Lam reports.

In recent years, the number of Chinese visiting this continent has shown the biggest growth. They now made up 9% of the total visitor number, as compared to only 0.2% ten years ago. The Chinese are now the third largest human Antarctic visitor group, after the USA and Australia.

It is expected that they may become the largest in five years. The cruise charter market in China, led by online giants, is now big and intricate. Very often an online company will charter a vessel, sell the package to travel agents who in turn repackage the product and sell it back to the online agents for distribution.

Qiantang Airways is not the only Chinese airline having shown an interest in cruise business, but so far it is the only one having made this concrete move. Moreover it aims at the upper end of the more discerning clientele in a market that is ruled by competition on prices. The company aims to organise a small group of about 200 passengers for an expedition in March 2016, according to our source in China.

Holland America Line's new Koningsdam to feature new single and family staterooms

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 November 2014 27 November 2014

When ms Koningsdam debuts in 2016, the ship will feature Holland America Line’s first-ever purpose-built staterooms for families as well as single staterooms among its 1,331 guest accommodations (total capacity is 2,650). In addition, many familiar stateroom categories such as Neptune, Signature and Vista suites will be available in a wider range of sizes and different configurations to choose from.

The 32 new specially designed family ocean-view staterooms will range from 222 to 231 square feet and feature special amenities such as two bathrooms and accommodations for five people. The 12 single ocean-view cabins will range from 127 to 172 square feet in size and will be available on the forward Main Deck.

“A cruise is one of the most popular ways to travel as a family, and we continue to welcome more multigenerational groups each year. To help us better serve families, we are pleased to be able to offer these tailored staterooms on ms Koningsdam,” said Richard Meadows, executive vice president, sales, marketing and guest programs. “And the new one-person staterooms enable us to serve the growing market of solo travelers.”

With a sophisticated color palette and the freedom to design from the ground up based on guest feedback, ms Koningsdam’s staterooms and suites feature a host of modern functional details such as bedside USB ports, custom casework and frameless glass shower doors that feel elegant and luxurious.

Additional amenities found in all suites and staterooms include Holland America Line’s signature Mariner's Dream bed with finely woven cotton linens, plush bathrobes for use during the voyage, a premium massage showerhead, flat-panel TV with video-on-demand, mini fridge, complimentary fresh fruit on request and fragrant soaps, lotions, shampoo and other bath amenities from Elemis Aromapure.

On ms Koningsdam, the “suite life” gets sweeter with larger, more luxurious quarters. A grand Pinnacle Suite is an expansive 1,290 square feet with a bedroom, living room, dining area, dressing room and private verandah with whirlpool. The two Neptune Spa Suites and 43 Neptune Suites range from a generous 465 to a huge 855 square feet. Neptune and Pinnacle Suite guests have access to the exclusive Neptune Lounge, a private place to relax, socialize with other suite guests and enjoy the personalized service of a concierge. The fleetwide lounges provide worktables, a large screen television, library, sofas and chairs, and complimentary refreshments throughout the day.

Pinnacle and Neptune Suite amenities also include corsages and boutonnieres for the first formal night, a cocktail party with the ship’s officers, priority dining and seating requests, binoculars and umbrellas for use during the cruise, a wall-unit bar, cold hors d’oeuvres served before dinner each evening on request and complimentary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning throughout the cruise and more.

The 14 Signature Suites are up to 400 square feet in size and the 104 Vista Suites range from 260 to 356 square feet. Signature and Vista suite guests receive many special amenities, including personalized cruise stationery, oversized bath towels, fresh flowers, a pillow menu, mini bar and one-touch phone concierge service.

“Holland America Line is known in the cruise industry for providing well-appointed staterooms,” said My Nguyen, Holland America Line’s deputy director of interior design. “With ms Koningsdam we enhanced these qualities by including many thoughtful details that improve the functionality of the staterooms. We also adopted a color pallet that takes advantage of texture and quiet color combinations to achieve a feeling of serenity and luxuriousness in each category.”

The ship will have the most staterooms with verandahs in the Holland America Line fleet with 912 total from Verandah to Pinnacle Suite categories. Guests looking to focus on health and wellness during the cruise can book verandah spa accommodations, conveniently located near the Greenhouse Spa & Salon that come with yoga mats for use during the voyage and an iPod docking station.

For guests looking for a more affordable option, the line is offering 266 standard or large interior accommodations up to 225 square feet.

Another Costa ship to homeport Shanghai

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 November 2014 27 November 2014

In another intrepid move by a major international cruise line, Costa Crociere, has just announced that it is to homeport its flagship, Costa Serena, in Shanghai, from next April. Alan Lam reports.

The 2007-built, 114,147gt ship will be another major unit to be added to the increasingly crowdedharbour of Shanghai, the city commonly regarded as the new Barcelona of the East in the cruise world. The deployment will be another forceful impetus for ports invicinity to speed up their facility upgrade programmes in order to better accommodate larger and mega ships.

One of the aims of this move, according to Bohdy Bok, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Costa Crociere, is to bring Asian passengers an Italian lifestyle experience.

The Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan, has been named as Costa Serena’s godmother.

Following the Shanghai premiere, Costa will host several roadshows with the vessel to Shanghai and other neighbouring cities.

After eight years of operation in China, Costa’s strategy is to maintain the leadership position in thefastest cruise market, as it faces stiffening competition from day to day.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines adds second Arctic Explorer cruise after strong demand

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 November 2014 26 November 2014

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based destinational operator, said its first Arctic Explorer cruise was so popular it sold out in less than a week. "So we are delighted to offer another in-depth Arctic itinerary, departing in 2016, taking in Norway, Iceland and Greenland in one amazing cruise," the company said in a statement.

"Over 26 nights we’ll take you north, close to the North Pole, to see awe-inspiring scenery, elusive wildlife, ancient cultures and natural phenomena such as the Midnight Sun. With not a tourist trail in sight, this sailing is designed to take you to remote and hidden parts of the world so you’re sure to return with an album full of unbelievable photographs," it said.

The cruise will depart from London Tilbury on 17 July 2016 and it will be operated by the 28,000 gross ton Black Watch. It has gone for sale today.