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P&O Cruises changes Ventura’s 2014 turnaround to Genoa from Savona

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 September 2013 12 September 2013

P&O Cruises, the UK focused contemporary market unit in the Carnival Corp & plc group, has changed the turnaround port from Savona to Genoa for all calls of the Ventura 2014 Fly-Med programme. The change to Genoa will improve and enhance the overall passenger experience and will apply to all sailings for Ventura Fly-Med season from N407A departing 26 March through to N421B departing 15 October, the company said in a statement.

P&O Cruises managing director Carol Marlow said: “Having Ventura based in the port of Genoa will allow us to provide a more efficient service during embarkation and disembarkation, reducing the transfer time considerably for those flying in or out of Genoa airport. The port itself is also the gateway to this ancient Italian city, with waterfront restaurants, shopping and numerous historic places of interest all in close proximity, providing a much richer port experience for our passengers.”

The Carnival group owns its own cruise terminal in Savona.

TUI Cruises enlists prominent artists to perform on board 2014

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 September 2013 12 September 2013

TUI Cruises, the Hamburg based premium market cruise shipping company, says it will host a number of prominent artists on board its vessels next year.

In addition to Rockliner 3, the heavy metal cruise featuring Udo Lindenberg, and a birthday cruise of Mein Schiff 1 with the cabaret artist Ina Muller, TUI Cruises will host authors Dora Heldt, Michaela Merten and Pierre Franckh; German pop with the group Wind, the chanson artist Ulla Meinecke plus the singer Johannes Oerding, and pianist Joja Wendt in the course of next year.

The company, which currently has wo ships, will introduce Mein Schiff 3 next spring and Mein Schiff 4 in the following year.

Voyages to Antiquity returns East of Suez Winter 2014-15

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 September 2013 12 September 2013

Voyages to Antiquity, the British destinational boutique cruise shipping company, will return East of Suez in the winter of 2014-15, when the 11,563 gross ton Aegean Odyssey will operate 11 fly cruises in the region.

The programme will include the company’s first itineraries to take in ports in East Africa. The cruises are between 17 and 25 nights in duration and any of them include a hotel stay in either the port where the starts or where it terminates. The programme will take AegeanOdyssey as far as Bangkok and Singapore in the east. Voyages to Antiquity has operated cruises in these waters before.

The first cruise in the Winter programme of 2014-15 will sail from Athens on 20 November 2014 and the final one will terminate in the same city on 5 April 2015.

Thomson Cruises and Island Cruise md Ellacott joins TUI UK & Ireland board

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

TUI UK&I, which is part of the London based TUI Travel plc group, has announced that Fraser Ellacott, currently Managing Director of Thomson & Island Cruises, will join the UK&I board in the newly created position of Customer Operations Director.

Ellacott, who has been the Managing Director of Thomson & Island Cruises since 2011, will now be responsible for all customer facing areas including retail, financial services, contact centres, overseas holiday experience, commercial and ancillaries and the property portfolio. He will also retain responsibility for the Thomson Cruises business, TUI UK & Ireland said in a statement.

Ellacott will report into David Burling, MD of TUI UK&I and start his new role on 1st October 2013.

David Burling, MD of TUI UK&I said: “Consistent delivery of outstanding customer service at every touch point is crucial to the success of our business and therefore we’ve taken the decision to bring all customer facing roles together in a dedicated customer operation team. I’m pleased to confirm that Fraser Ellacott will take responsibility for this team as the Customer Operations Director and join the UK&I board effective from 1st October 2013. Over the last two years, Fraser has successfully developed the brand strategy for Thomson Cruises and grown the profitability of this area of our business and moving forward he will be instrumental in the growth of our multi-channel customer proposition.”

Ellacott started his career at British Airways where he spent 15 years climbing the management ladder with roles in Engineering, Commercial and Operations. He joined First Choice Airways in 2005 and became a Director of Thomson Airways following the merger of TUI Tourism and First Choice Holidays in 2007. He was appointed Managing Director of Thomson Cruises in April 2011

Sale gain helps Viking Line in static market

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

Viking Line, the Finnish cruise ferry company, has reported an increase in net profit for both the second quarter and the first half of the year on back of a sale gain, but volumes of freight and passengers barely changed.

Group net profit rose to €17.4 million in the second quarter from €0.9 million the same period last year, while revenues increased to €140.3 million from €131.9 million. In the first half, the company posted a profit of €1.6 million compared to a loss of €14.1 million. Revenues increased to €255.3 million from €233.1 million. However, both fresh figures were boosted by a €22.8 million gain from the sale of the cruise ferry Isabella to the Tallink Group.

The company carried about 3.0 million passengers in the first six months of the year, a fractional increase year on, while freight volume of about 60,000 units marked a slight drop. However, the new Viking Grace cruise ferry that the company introduced on service between Turku and Stockholm in January, helped the company to grow market share in that service to 58.8%.

Looking ahead, the board said tough competition continues to keep pricing under downward pressure, but it expects the full year net profit to exceed the €1.0 million figure the company reached in 2012, partly due to efforts to reduce costs.