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UK agents "blatantly undercutting one another," Viking River Cruises reported saying

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 December 2013 11 December 2013

Viking River Cruises, the rapidly expanding privately owned company, has changed its commercial agreements for 2014 in an attempt to stop agents from “blatantly undercutting one another," Travel Weekly reports in a daily newsletter.

The line, which pays a base commission of 10%, is looking to stop agents advertising discounts on its products. A Viking spokesman was reported as saying: “We are asking agents not to promote openly the discounts they might offer, to help create a level playing field for all agents.”

Neil Barclay, head of sales at Viking, admitted that while he would prefer agents not to give away their commission, he could not stamp out discounting completely. He told Travel Weekly: “We can’t stop them discounting, but we have a one‑price policy so customers get the same price whether they book through an agent or direct. This is helping agents by creating a level playing field. A lot of agents are blatantly undercutting each other in newspapers and online. It devalues the product.”

Barclay wouldn’t be drawn on how Viking would respond to agents that breached the new commercial terms. He said agents who wanted to promote discounts to closed-user groups rather than to the general public would be supported by Viking. But observers said such groups could still be quite large.

Agents broadly welcomed the move. Phil Nuttall, managing director of Rivercruising.co.uk, said: “I support this decision 100%. This is an issue that has damaged the ocean cruise industry. Some agents are paying to advertise online that they are discounting – if that is your method for getting customers then you need to change your career.”

Chas Simmons, director of CruiseXperts, said the policy was “great in theory” but would never work. “How many lines have tried this? It doesn’t work and it can’t be policed,” he said.

Ocean cruise lines have incentivised agents not to discount. However, lawyers say pricing rules may breach competition laws. Farina Azam, a solicitor for Travlaw, said operators cannot prohibit agents from offering discounts and cannot favour agents who do not discount, the report said.

Costa Luminosa begins sailing 10-night Caribbean cruises from Miami

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 December 2013 11 December 2013

Costa Luminosa made its maiden call at Miami, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 7, as it repositioned to the Caribbean for the winter on 10-day roundtrip voyages. At 92,000 gross tons and carrying 2,260 guests, Costa Luminosa is the newest and largest Costa Cruises ship ever deployed from Miami.

Guests can enjoy la dolce vita while visiting six Caribbean ports on the 10-day itineraries. Costa Luminosa will call at Nassau or Freeport, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos or Princess Cays; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Roatan, Honduras, and Cozumel, Mexico. Costa Luminosa's last roundtrip cruise from Miami for the season will depart March 17, 2014, and call at Belize City, Belize, instead of Roatan.

"Costa Luminosa is the newest and largest ship we've ever had sailing from Miami during the winter season," said Scott Knutson, vice president of sales and marketing for Costa Cruises North America. "We are excited to be able to expose more North American guests to our international product and let them see firsthand what makes Costa the number-one cruise line in Europe."

Costa Luminosa was the first in a new class of ship for Costa Cruises when it debuted in 2009. A full 68 percent of the ship's 1,130 cabins feature a private balcony -- the highest percentage of private balconies in the Costa fleet. The ship features four restaurants and 11 bars.

Guests looking for excitement can take advantage of Costa Luminosa's three pools; a multipurpose sports court for tennis, volleyball and soccer; a jogging track, 4D cinema, casino, dance club, piano bar, library and shopping center. Those who prefer to relax can visit the two-level Samsara Spa that boasts a gym, thalassotherapy pool, treatment rooms, sauna and Turkish bath.

Fares for the 10-day cruises start at just $599 per person, double occupancy. Guests who want to ring in the New Year onboard can depart Dec. 27 for as low as $699 per person, double occupancy.

P&O Cruises cancel two night Arcadia cruise on delayed refit yard departure

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 December 2013 10 December 2013

P&O Cruises say they have been forced to cancel a two night cruise of the 2005 built Arcadia that was due to sail from Southampton on Sunday. The company said on Facebook the ship's departure from a yard in Germany, where it has been for a refit, has been delayed due to bad weather.

Celebrity appoints Toby Shaw to new role of director and marketing in UK

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 December 2013 10 December 2013

Celebrity Cruises, the premium market unit in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) group, says it has appointed Toby Shaw in the newly created role of director of marketing and PR for the UK and Ireland. Shaw will lead an 11-strong marketing and PR team dedicated to the brand.

The addition of the new role, and an expanded marketing and PR team purely working on Celebrity Cruises, follows a decision earlier this year by parent company RCL Cruises Ltd to evolve its UK and Ireland business structure in response to business growth.

Shaw brings with him 12 years of marketing experience having held senior roles at Sony Europe and Heineken. This includes pan-European roles such as partnership work with the James Bond franchise and FIFA. He joins the new Celebrity Cruises senior leadership team headed up by travel industry stalwart, Jo Rzymowska. Shaw will be supported by head of PR, Louise James; brand manager, Naomi Fisher; e-commerce marketing manager Alice Johnson and a 121 marketing manager.

Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises managing director, UK and Ireland, commented in a statement: “As Celebrity Cruises continues to evolve as a brand we are developing the business to meet our growing targets. The new marketing and PR team, headed by Toby Shaw, comes as part of a new structure that sees extensive investment and will lead to some very exciting campaigns for us. His experience of consumer brands is sure to be a great asset for us as we continue our strive to grow the market share of cruise in the broader holiday sector. I’m excited to be working alongside someone with his knowledge, creativity and strategic thinking.”

From 1 January 2014 there will be three dedicated businesses each working solely on the Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International or Azamara Club Cruises brands. Previously, team members have been tri-branded.

Celebrity Century reported to join Croisieres de France in 2015

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 December 2013 10 December 2013

Celebrity Century, at 71,545 gross tons the smallest unit in the fleet of Celebrity Cruises, will be transferred to Croisieres de France (CdF), the Paris based subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) group, a French media report says.

CdF currently operates the L'Horizon, a 47,000 gross ton vessel that was originally built in the early 1990s for Celebrity Cruises, which is also part of the RCCL group. In April next year, it will be joined by L'Zenith, sister ship of the current CdF incumbent that will come from Pullmantur, the Madrid based unit if RCCL group. Celebrity Century will replace L'Zenith in the following year, a report in Cruisemag.com says.

CdF will carry about 55,000 passengers this year; it expects the figure to reach 100,000 next yrar and rise further, to 120,000 in 2015, the report said