SNCM receives second €220 million bill from Brussels

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 20 November 2013 20 November 2013

Societe Nationale Corse-Mediterranee (SNCM), the French ferry company, has received a second bill of €220 million from Brussels, this time about state aid granted prior to the privatisation of the company.

In May, the company was ordered to pay back another €220 million, this time over competition issues, media reports say.

The company operates ferry services from southern France to Corsica and North Africa. It has been rumoured to plan an eight ship newbuilding programme to replace its fleet of ageing vessels.

Transdev, which part of the French conglomerate Veolia, controls 66% of the shares in SNCM while the French state has a 25% stake and the staff own the rest.

Royal Caribbean and Meyer Werft celebrates the keel-laying of Anthem of the Seas

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 20 November 2013 20 November 2013

The official keel-laying of the new cruise ship Anthem of the Seas was celebrated at Meyer Werft in Papenburg by putting a block in place in the yard's covered building dock. Jarmo Laakso, Associate Vice President Quantum Class from Royal Caribbean International, put down the lucky penny in the dock before the block of the new ship was lowered by the 800-ts crane.

The first of a total of 74 blocks of the new cruise liner weighs 620 tons. This keel-laying marks the official start of construction of the Anthem of the Seas. For the time being the 167,800-gt Anthem of the Seas is one of the biggest ships the shipyard has built so far.

Delivery of the Anthem of the Seas is scheduled for spring 2015. The sistership of Quantum is under construction in the Building Dock and is scheduled as early as in the autumn of 2014.

Both new ships for Royal Caribbean International will set standards due to their design, a parachuting simulator, bumper cars, virtual balconies and many more innovations.

Each ship can accommodate 4,180 guests at double occupancy and feature 2,090 staterooms

MSC Divina arrives at Miami to sail year round from North American ports

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 20 November 2013 20 November 2013

MSC Divina of MSC Cruises arrived at the Port of Miami to become the first vessel of the Geneva based company to operate year round from North American ports.

“With MSC Divina’s debut, we are thrilled to welcome one of our finest and most innovative vessels to North America,” said Richard Sasso, President and CEO of MSC Cruises USA. “Yesterday marks an important milestone for MSC Cruises as we continue to grow in this region, offering more destinations and appealing to wider audiences. We look forward to offering North American cruisers something new and fresh," he said in a statement.

 

Cruise & Maritime Voyages to expand into European river cruising in 2014

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 19 November 2013 19 November 2013

Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV), the British opeator of three chartered cruise liners, says it has a new development with the introduction of a series of river cruises on the Rhine and Danube starting in May 2014.

Chris Coates, Commercial Director CMV said in a statement: “We are entering the European river cruise market next year chartering the stylish Vienna 1 river ship. This premium plus vessel has been operated by a number of luxury river cruise operators in 2013 offering a high level of comfort and décor with most cabins having French balconies.”

“CMV are specialists in offering scenic ocean cruise holidays on board smaller sized classic ships providing a leisurely and friendly style of cruising with high levels of customer service. Our on board customer questionnaires indicate that over 80% of our passengers would consider taking a river cruise. We also know that our current cruise programme, that includes many European ports situated on rivers, is already popular. It is therefore a natural progression for CMV to add river cruises to our portfolio,'" he stated.

The first departure - ‘Magical Rhine’ - will be 19 May for 7 nights from Nuremberg through to Amsterdam. On a ‘Grand European Discovery’ cruise departing 26 May for 14 nights the ship will sail from Amsterdam down to Budapest cruising the Rhine and Danube. On 9 June a reversed itinerary will operate between Budapest and Amsterdam. These 14 night itineraries are also available as 7 night sectors to/from Nuremberg. Optional pre and post cruise city stays are also available in Amsterdam, Prague (from Nuremberg) and Budapest.

Prices for 7 nights including flights and transfers, full board cuisine, selected drinks with lunch and dinner, entertainment and a range of half-day excursions are from £1199pp. For 14 nights prices are from £1999pp. CMV will be issuing a new stand alone 12 page brochure shortly giving full details as well as online at www.cruiseandmaritime.com and available for sale through travel agents.

CMV operates the 22,000 gross ton Marco Polo and 20,600 gross ton Discovery and has recently taken the 21,000 gross ton Astor on charter for part of the next three years. Astor is currently on its fitst voyage for CMV, from Italy to Australia. Its arrival in Fremantle will hearld CMV's expansion to the Australian source market.