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Norwegian Getaway arrives at Southampton for travel trade event

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 January 2014 15 January 2014

Norwegian Cruise Line today launched its newest ship Norwegian Getaway to the UK market at an inaugural on-board event held in Southampton.

The UK is the second most important source market for the Miami based company after the US, group ceo Kevin Sheehan said in April last year, when the company introduced Norwegian Breakaway to the UK travel trade and media. The company offers its products on fly cruise basis on the British market, rather than operating its ships directly from British ports.

The sister ship of Norwegian Breakaway, launched last April, Norwegian Getaway is a 4,000 passenger ship which will homeport in Miami and sail to and from the Caribbean all year-round. Featuring ground-breaking entertainment, the Miami-themed ship is the first to feature the newGrammy® Experience at sea, as well as other firsts at sea such as the all-new dining and entertainment experience, The Illusionarium, and performances of the seven-time Tony Award nominated musical Legally Blonde.

To launch the 13^th member of its fleet, Norwegian invited around 3,000 guests on board, including a number of key travel partners and their selected guests. Among the guests were celebrities Jennifer Ellison, premiership footballer Jos Hooiveld and former Great British Bake Off winner, Jo Wheatley. Jennifer met with the cast of Legally Blonde – in which she has appeared in the past – as well as meeting inspiring children, young people and their families from the event’s charity partner, CLIC Sargent, with other attending celebrities. In addition, celebrities signed a cake baked at on board Carlo’s Bakery, with all donations from the sales going to the charity.

Francis Riley, vice president and general manager international of Norwegian Cruise Linesaid, “I am thrilled to announce the launch of Norwegian Getaway to the UK and her arrival in Southampton. This is an exciting time for Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian Getaway continues Norwegian’s long-standing tradition of innovation with features on board, such as The Waterfront and 678 Ocean Place. This unique outdoor dining and entertainment space adds a whole new dynamic to ocean cruising as guests enjoy al fresco dining along with three action-packed decks that allow guests to fully experience the ship’s connection with the ocean."

Carnival Cruise Lines launches new shore excursion best price guarantee

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 January 2014 15 January 2014

Guests sailing on a Carnival cruise who book a shore excursion through the cruise line can be completely confident they are getting the best price and best value with the introduction of a new shore excursion best price guarantee. The only guarantee of its kind in the cruise industry, the program is now available fleetwide for all Carnival Cruise Lines shore tours on ships sailing from North America.

Under the best price guarantee, guests who find the same tour offered by another operator at a lower price than their booked excursion either before or during their cruise can complete a claim form to receive 110 percent of the difference in the form of a shipboard credit.

The guarantee is available for excursions booked prior to or during a cruise. If guests pre-book an excursion, then find a comparable tour advertised online at a lower price, they can complete an online form up to seven days prior to the cruise to invoke the guarantee. Guests can also complete a form during the cruise either before or after their excursion has taken place. Claims are typically processed within 24-48 hours.

"Many of our repeat guests who have booked Carnival shore tours previously are already knowledgeable on the outstanding value our tours provide," said Mico Cascais, vice president of tour operations for Carnival Cruise Lines. "However, our research indicates that many others, particularly first-time cruisers, are interested yet concerned as to whether or not they are getting the best deal. The best price guarantee program will assure our guests they are getting both the highest quality and the best value on all of our tours," he added.

Guests who book their excursion through Carnival enjoy the convenience of having shore excursion tickets delivered to their stateroom, 24/7 access to shipboard staff to answer questions and obtain assistance, and an assurance that they will receive a refund or the excursion time will be adjusted as needed based on weather or other issues affecting a ship's scheduled port of call visit. Additionally, ongoing communication between tour operators and shipboard staff ensures that the cruise line is aware and can make necessary changes to a ship's departure time when a tour is running late or unexpected circumstances arise.

The online and onboard claim forms require guests to provide the name of the competitor offering the comparable tour, excursion name, where the tour was advertised and the duration, price and any items included in the tour such as lunch, drinks, transportation or admission fees. The best price guarantee is applicable to shore excursion matches on the same date as the tour purchased from Carnival.

Costa Deliziosa rescues stricken yacht in middle of the Atlantic

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 January 2014 15 January 2014

Yesterday at 9.30 pm Italian time, the cruise ship Costa Deliziosa successfully carried out the rescue of 8 people on board a yacht that was sinking in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Yesterday morning Captain Giuseppe Longo, the Master of the Costa Deliziosa – operating on a 100-day World Cruise, which left Savona on January 6 – received a call from the Delgada Coast Guard in Portugal requesting assistance for a sailing vessel in distress.

At the time, the Costa Deliziosa was crossing the Atlantic and heading for Antigua in the Caribbean, where she was scheduled to arrive on the morning of January 17. The ship left her route at once and sailed approximately 170 miles south-east in order to reach the stricken sailing boat.

The yacht, called Buccanier, was sinking after hitting an unidentified object and shipping water. The 8 people on board were trying to bail water out of the boat using buckets.

Despite the adverse sea and weather conditions, with 3-meter waves, the rescue operation was conducted successfully. The crew members of Buccanier were rescued and taken on board Costa Deliziosa: 6 Spanish, one Argentine and one Belgian. They are all said to be in good health.

The Costa Deliziosa later resumed her original route on course for Antigua.

Cruise Shipping Miami launches enhanced Cruise Events Mobile App for 2014

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 January 2014 15 January 2014

Navigating the cruise industry's premier annual event can be daunting, given the thousands of delegates and exhibitors, numerous networking events and the sheer size of the show. Attendees can maximize their business opportunities at http://www.cruiseshippingmiami.com 2014 by using the CSM Mobile App to create a personalized agenda, connect with other attendees and exhibitors, navigate the trade show and meeting venues, and keep up to date with convention developments and industry news.

Developed by show organizer UBM, the free http://showcase.genie-connect.com/csmiami2014/?f=1 is available for iOS and Android operating systems in their respective app stores under the title "Cruise Events." For those not on iOS or Android devices, a http://visitors2.eventgenie.com/csmiami2014/?f=1#!visitordashboard_-42/ of the app is available.

"The CSM Mobile App is an essential toolbox for anyone attending or exhibiting at Cruise Shipping Miami this year," said Daniel Read, director of UBM's Cruise Events Portfolio. "The one-to-one networking is particularly exciting as it enables attendees to cultivate relationships before and during the show, and to follow up with one another after the event."

In addition to the one-to-one networking capability, the application offers full exhibitor and delegate listings, an interactive floor plan, a conference schedule and event details. App users also can access live social media feeds and engage with the show via on-site displays at the convention. Once downloaded, the app can be used for future Cruise Shipping events.

Saga Ruby reported to become floating hotel in Burma

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 January 2014 15 January 2014

Saga Ruby, the 24,300 gross ton cruise ship of the UK based Saga Cruises that disembarked its last passengers earlier this month, is reported by the BBC to be heading for the Far East to become a floating hotel in Burma.

The ship, which started life in 1973 as Vistafjord of Norwegian America Line and that was acquired by Cunard in 1983 before joining the Saga Cruises' fleet some two decades later, sailed from Southampton's City Cruise Terminal on 10 January, without passengers.

AIS data shows that the ship had arrived at Gibraltar on 14 January.

Saga Cruises, which sells its holidays to those aged 50 and over, continues to operate two ships, the 37,000 gross ton Saga Sapphire and the 19,000 gross ton Saga Pearl II. Both were built in Germany and entered service in 1982 and 1981, respectively.