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Royal Caribbean appoints Nick Weir to Vice President of Entertainment

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 September 2013 18 September 2013

Royal Caribbean International today announced the appointment of Nick Weir to Vice President of Entertainment. Nick will oversee the cruise line's onboard entertainment and guest activities programming, as well as Royal Caribbean Productions, the industry's only in-house department that creates, produces and manages the largest entertainment operation at sea.

"Royal Caribbean is known as the entertainment cruise brand and has created countless entertainment innovations at sea, such as fully licensed Broadway musicals, Vegas-style, acrobatic high-diving productions, and the DreamWorks Experience," said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, executive vice president of Operations, Royal Caribbean International. "With his stellar and diverse background, Nick will help lead Royal Caribbean's award-winning entertainment program to the next level – not just for our existing fleet of the world's largest and most innovative cruise ships, but also for the three Quantum-class and a third Oasis-class ship that will be launching starting in late-2014."

Nick joins Royal Caribbean with more than 25 years of experience in both the entertainment and cruise industries – with notable achievements in performance and production, both on- and off-stage, in almost every aspect of the entertainment world. He comes from a tradition of maritime entertainment, where his mother was an accomplished cruise entertainer and his father was a pioneering Cruise Director.

Nick also hosted and presented a number of major network television shows in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is best known for hosting a re-launch of the primetime network-television show "Catchphrase," where he succeeded in the mission of markedly improving the ratings in the critical 18-54 target demographic.

For the past 10 years, Nick owned and operated an entertainment consulting company with projects that included television and live event production services, speech and script writing, entertainment program analysis and solution development, charity event/live auction production, corporate video production, cruise industry start-up projects and Cruise Director services. Additionally, he has served in many capacities in the cruise industry, including as Entertainment Consultant and Cruise Director for Celebrity Cruises and Costa Cruises, and consulted extensively for Star Clippers Tall Ship Cruises.

Nick studied Marine Science and Biology at the University of Miami and holds a Business Administration degree from Columbus International College in Marbella, Spain.

Pacific Pearl rescues five people from sinking yacht off Australia

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 September 2013 18 September 2013

Pacific Pearl, one of the three cruise liners operated by P&O Cruises Australia, has rescued five people from a yacht that was taking on water near the Isle of Pines, the company says on Facebook.

Authorities in Noumea have sent a vessel to pick up the people in question, while the ship itself will continue its voyage to Sydney, the company said.

P&O Cruises Australia is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group and it has its head office in Sydney.

Carnival Corp & plc expected to report EPS of $1.30 on 24 September

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 September 2013 18 September 2013

Carnival Corporation & plc, the Anglo-American cruise shipping group, is forecast to report earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30, when the company discloses the third quarter interims of its current financial year, information on the company’s website shows.

The highest estimate is $1.33 and the lowest $1.26. The quarter in question ended on 31 August as the company’s financial year ends on 30 November. In the corresponding period last year, the figure amounted to $1.53.

Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Howard Frank has scheduled a conference call with analysts for 10 a.m. (EDT); 3 p.m. (BST), Tuesday, 24 September to discuss the company's third quarter financial results which are expected to be released that morning.

Shares in Carnival Corp, the Panama registered,US based holding company, are traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol CCL. Those in Carnival plc, the London domiciled holding company, are traded on the London Stock Exchange also with the CCL symbol, while in New York they trade with the symbol CUK. However, this should not be confused with Carnival UK, the Southampton based unit that operates the group’s brands in the UK.

Norwegian debuts ice cream bar concept on Norwegian Breakaway

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 September 2013 17 September 2013

Norwegian Cruise Line announced today that a brand new Ice Cream Bar* concept debuted on board the line's newest ship, Norwegian Breakaway and will also be available on Norwegian Getaway upon her arrival to Miami in February 2014.

Guests sailing on board Norwegian Breakaway's seven-day Bermuda or Bahamas and Florida cruises from New York City or on Norwegian Getaway's seven-day Eastern Caribbean sailings from Miami, can indulge in a variety of specialty sundaes, floats, shakes and other ice cream treats during their cruise.

Located inside O'Sheehan's, the ships' 24-hour neighborhood bars, Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway's Ice Cream Bars serve up the most delectable classic ice cream parlor creations, from floats, milkshakes and malted shakes, to egg creams and a variety of spectacular ice cream sundaes.

The signature item on the Ice Cream Bar menu is the enormously delicious Breakaway or Getaway Sundae. This massive ice cream creation serves from three to four guests, includes a whopping nine scoops of ice cream in up to three different flavors and is topped with "everything but the kitchen sink," from chocolate fudge, butterscotch and raspberry sauces to chocolate shavings, sprinkles, crumbled Oreos, sliced almonds, marshmallows, gummy bears, whipped cream and cherries.

"We've recreated a classic ice cream parlor on Norwegian Breakaway adding yet another exciting innovation to our newest ship," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive officer. "The launch of the Ice Cream Bar on board has been extremely well received and we look forward to debuting it on Norwegian Getaway in February 2014. Our guests are delighted by the variety of ice cream creations - especially the runaway fan favorite, the Breakaway Sundae."

The over-the-top menu also features an assortment of mouth-watering ice cream sundae creations, including classic Hot Fudge Sundaes, Hot Caramel Sundaes and Banana Splits. The menu also features other sundae favorites such as classic Peach Melba, with peaches, vanilla ice cream, raspberry sauce and whipped cream; and Pear William, made with pears, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Royal Caribbean International signs MOU on Tokyo sailings

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 17 September 2013 17 September 2013

Royal Caribbean International has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Tokyo sailings with its ship Voyager of the Seas in 2014 and the continuation of the partnership between both parties, last Saturday September 14, 2013. The signing ceremony took place onboard Voyager of the Seas when she called at Tokyo on that day as part of her 12-night cruise from Tianjin.

The MoU states that Royal Caribbean International shall operate at the Port of Tokyo as its homeport for two or more sailings in 2014, and shall continue to use the Port of Tokyo as a homeport and port-of-call. In addition in the MoU, Royal Caribbean and the Port of Tokyo shall continue to cooperate for mutual prosperity towards the future. The MoU was signed by Dr Zinan Liu, Regional Vice President, Asia of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Mr Mitsuchika Tarao, Director General, Bureau of Port and Harbor, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Voyager of the Seas’ maiden Tokyo season in 2014 will start with a 10-night sailing from Singapore on April 10 with calls at Hong Kong (overnight), Kaohsiung, Taipei (Keelung) and Nagasaki, before arriving in Tokyo on April 20. From Tokyo, the ship will then feature a 6-night round-trip South Korea and Nagoya Cruise to Jeju Island, Busan and Nagoya on April 20, a 9-night round-trip cruise to Taipei (Keelung), Kaohsiung and Hong Kong on April 26 and a 4-night Tokyo to Taipei Cruise visiting Kobe and Naha, Okinawa on May 5. Voyager of the Seas will also feature 7-night roundtrip itinerary from Taipei (Keelung) visiting Nagasaki, Beppu and Osaka departing May 9.

The 14 passenger-deck, 3,840-guest Voyager of the Seas is the largest ship based in Asia, at 137,276-gross registered tons, along with sister ship Mariner of the Seas. Voyager of the Seas offers cruisers the renowned Voyager Class activities and entertainment such as the 700-seater ice-skating rink, Royal Promenade – a boulevard of shops and cafes, full-sized sports court, in-line skating track, rock-climbing wall and mini-golf course. In addition, there is a three-tier theatre, themed bars and lounges as well as a mezzanine split level nightclub.

Voyager of the Seas also features the unique DreamWorks Animation entertainment programme. Guests of all ages can interact with ‘celebrity’ characters like Shrek and Fiona of “Shrek”, Alex of “Madagascar” and Po of “Kung Fu Panda” during parades in the Royal Promenade, character breakfasts in the main dining room and photo opportunities. Also new in Asia with this ship is the Barbie Premium Experience for girls to set sail in true Barbie fashion with staterooms decorated in true Barbie fashion and exclusive, themed activities such as tiaras and teacups party and fashion show.

There are numerous dining options onboard including the grand three-tier main dining room and buffet restaurant which serve a variety of international cuisine with a selection of Asian dishes. There are also specialty restaurants onboard, namely Portofino’s for Italian fine-dining and Johnny Rockets, the 50s’ style American diner. As for accommodation, the choice ranges from the luxurious Royal Suites to the unique Promenade staterooms with views overlooking the Royal Promenade.