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Norwegian Epic to stage two new shows and add The Cavern Club

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 November 2014 18 November 2014

Norwegian Cruise Line said a new entertainment line-up for Norwegian Epic that will be based year-round in Barcelona, Spain, starting 30 April 2015. "Two new Broadway shows will take the stage as headliners: Burn the Floor in April, 2015 and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - The Musical in October, 2015. The ship will also feature an all-new British pop music entertainment experience, The Cavern Club, bringing the legendary Liverpool venue where the Beatles performed to life at sea," the company said in a statement.

“We are excited to bring Norwegian Epic to Europe year-round and want to provide our guests with even more exciting entertainment options on the ship that first elevated the onboard entertainment experience,” said Drew Madsen, Norwegian Cruise Line president and chief operating officer.

“These new world-class entertainment offerings, along with Norwegian Epic’s innovative accommodation and plethora of dining options, are the perfect combination for the European cruise market and give guests the freedom and flexibility to customise their vacation.”

"Press Photo 3Broadway sensation Burn The Floor, which has received rave reviews on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, will bring the sizzle and passion of ballroom dancing to Norwegian Epic with an all new and exciting show specifically designed for European guests beginning on her transatlantic voyage, 19 April 2015. “Ballroom Blitz,” featuring 14 dancers, a live band and two singers, is an ultimate high-voltage theatrical dance experience that explodes with jaw-dropping choreography, heart-pounding music and breath-taking moves," the company said..

Based on the Oscar-winning movie, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert - The Musical is the heart-warming, uplifting comedy adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they could have ever dreamed of discovering. The Tony Award winning musical features a dazzling array of over 500 award winning costumes, 200 extraordinary head-dresses and a hit parade of dance floor favourites, including “It’s Raining Men,” “I Will Survive,” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” The show will open on the ship’s 18 October 2015 voyage.

Press Photo 2Norwegian Epic will also receive a whole new entertainment venue created through an exciting partnership with the owners of Liverpool’s The Cavern Club, the birthplace of British pop music. Impressively, 57 years after its opening, the original Cavern Club survives and thrives as a contemporary music venue. Norwegian will re-create The Cavern Club experience at sea, rocking guests each evening to the sounds of The Beatles, along with other international musicians. The Cavern Club will debut on the 11 October 2015 sailing.

Carnival Corp & plc to launch multi brand campaign to attract newcomers

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 November 2014 17 November 2014

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company, today announced its first-ever multi-brand marketing initiative incorporating all nine of its leading global brands to drive increased awareness, consideration and demand for cruising as a great vacation option at an exceptional value. Targeting consumers who are new to cruising, the campaign will kick off on November 24 with several digital and social elements and will continue to ramp up through 2015, the company said in a statement.

As part of the marketing effort, Carnival Corporation & plc will introduce the “World’s Leading Cruise Lines Marketing Challenge” – an interactive crowdsourcing program in which CEO Arnold Donald and celebrity emcee Cedric the Entertainer ask consumers to “join the company’s marketing team” and pick their favourite TV ads from a selection of creative concepts, with the chance for one lucky participant to win a yearly cruise for life.

Carnival Corporation & plc's newly redesigned World’s Leading Cruise Lines website – WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com – will serve as the campaign hub. The new site will feature content from each of the company’s nine brands and also house new tools and functionality in support of the campaign.

The campaign elements are designed to educate consumers and especially non-cruisers on why cruising is an extraordinary vacation experience at an exceptional value. The campaign will help consumers understand how contemporary cruising has evolved, with grand cruise ships offering something for everyone and how common myths about cruising are untrue. The campaign will also encourage consumers to consult a travel agent as a valuable resource for planning a cruise vacation.

The goal of the marketing program is to help inspire consumers to consider cruising as one of their top options when planning vacations -- and, ultimately, to grow demand for cruising. While cruising continues to grow in worldwide popularity, with nearly 22 million people expected to have taken cruises in 2014, only about 3.3 percent of people in North America in any given year go on a cruise – providing a significant marketing opportunity.

Kristina Cruises adds Thomson Dream to portfolio

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 November 2014 17 November 2014

Kristina Cruises, the Finnish cruise operator that had to axe its only owned vessel in the winter, has added Thomson Dream of Thomson Cruises to the portfolio of vessels that it offers on the Finnish market, the company said on its website. The 54,000 gross ton Thomson Dream that was built in 1986 is one of the five ships of Thomson Cruises, a London based unit in the Anglo-German TUI AG group.

Rederi AB Gotland orders LNG driven ferry at Chinese builder

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 November 2014 17 November 2014

Rederi AB Gotland, the Swedish shipping company that operates a ferry service between the mainland and the Baltic island of Gotland, has placed an order for a LNG driven ferry with Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China, the Swedish company said in a statement.

The vessel will be able to carry 1,650 passengers and it will be an extended version of two existing vessels that the same shipyard delivered to Gotland in 2003. The new vessel will be delivered in 2017, which will also mark the beginning of a new 10 year concession that the company has ben awarded by the Swedish government to maintain the service.

Cruise Planners kicks off 2014 convention unveiling technology innovations, sales growth and 'Cruisitude'

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 14 November 2014 14 November 2014

Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, the nation’s largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the travel industry, today welcomed more than 500 travel franchise owners to its annual convention in Atlantic City, N.J. The sold-out event kicked off with Cruise Planners CEO and co-founder Michelle Fee introducing the "In It to Win It" theme, which is Cruise Planners commitment to its growing network of travel advisors.

“This year, we focused on how the Home Office Team can truly be an extension for each of our franchise owners since we are all committed to helping them grow their small businesses,” said Cruise Planners CEO and co-founder Michelle Fee. “We have invested internally in all aspects of the company so each of our travel advisors have the back-end support of a 65+ person team – focusing on marketing, technology, training and strategic development.”

Cruise Planners’ sales continue to evolve and the company shared sales statistics pointing that the network has seen a boost in both land-based vacation sales and cruise sales.
– The average Cruise Planners franchisee grew their business by 26 percent based on departures in 2014
– The company has projected a 44 percent increase in bookings for 2015 based on front-loaded revenues
– When Cruise Planners was running exclusive supplier offers and promotions, revenues increased by more than 163 percent, showing how being a franchise owner with Cruise Planners can positively impact the bottom lines for travel advisors

“We know our travel advisors are selling a more complete vacation experience and the tools and programs we’ve put in place with our preferred suppliers are working,” Fee said. “We have been building the technology and beefing up our in-house support so each CP travel advisor can efficiently work on growing their business and focus on selling. We do all the heavy lifting in the background in an effort to support each franchise.”

Another way the company plans to support franchisees is by focusing on its associates program. Based on the company’s performance, franchisees with associates had three times the revenue as those running their business solo. The new Cruise Planners associates program will allow associates to participate in the company’s award-winning marketing campaigns to help drive sales and as the franchise sales grow, more associates can be added

Cruise Planners is a technology powerhouse and this year, the company has made 87 significant improvements with its in-house IT programs focusing on a range of technologies including:
– Mobile technology: Cruise Planners Mobile 2.0 has launched complete with push notifications, sales promotions with strong calls to action, and photo albums so consumers can upload travel pictures to the web. Cruise Planners was the first in the industry to launch a mobile app a few years ago, and these upgrades make it even more effective for travel advisors.
– Search engine optimization: Since focusing on SEO, the company has seen a 113 percent increase in website traffic since launching the initiative and has plans to continue to expand the program to help drive consumer web traffic to each advisor’s site
– Smart Select™ Tool: Smart Select allows travel advisors to automatically identify clients within their database based on predetermined data for a specific marketing campaign that will maximize efficiency and make the best use of each advisor’s marketing dollars based on consumer purchase habits, demographics and more. Since launching Smart Select in June, Cruise Planners has seen the automatic program increased sales by double-digits.
– Updated Web Sites: Cruise Planners manages thousands of pages of web content for each travel advisor, and the new sites will allow customers to search for both land and cruise vacations from one spot, will display each advisor’s contact information consistently, and feature the new “CP Brochure Rack” with digital versions of top industry brochures so clients can easily view them.
– Customer Relationship Management Tool: The new “CP Hub” helps organize sales opportunities for prospective clients when a travel advisor first meets and quotes them, but the client may not be ready to book their first trip. The tool will help forecast sales, track and alert the advisor to follow up and manage the sales pipeline.
– Direct Bookings with Orbitz: Cruise Planners has a direct relationship with Orbitz and now offers a direct booking engine with tons of online content for travel advisors and consumers. Since the bookings are made directly with Orbitz, Cruise Planners advisors are paid their commission faster, which is an added benefit.
– Triggered Email Campaigns: When a client books a trip, they will receive a series of 9 emails designed as automatic touch points throughout the lifecycle of a booking. The idea is that clients receive personalized attention from their travel advisor – without the travel advisor having to lift a finger with branded emails using built-in logic based on the customer’s purchase, so the information and calls to action are customized for their next trip.

“All of our proprietary technology tools are designed to help Cruise Planners travel advisors work smarter, not harder,” said Vicky Garcia, COO and co-owner of Cruise Planners. “We design our user interface with all generations in mind – from millennials to baby-boomers – and our websites, mobile app and online tools for consumers and advisors are always evolving.”

Since Cruise Planners creates all of its technology in house, the company has developed programs not only for the advisors, but also for the home office team. For example, the regional business development coaches are able to see a “Franchise Snapshot” and view sales statistics, training module status, login behavior and more for each franchisee to better assist with strategic one-on-one business coaching.

“We have invested a lot into our technology, and it is truly paying off,” Garcia said. “Our tools are like a good ‘Big Brother’ focused on helping each of our franchisees be a successful small business owner.”