Carnival Japan "officially" opens its Tokyo office

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 27 June 2012 27 June 2012

A celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opened the new Carnival Japan office in Tokyo today, marking the expansion of one of the largest vacation companies in the world into this growing cruise market. Operated by Carnival Corporation & plc, Carnival Japan was created to oversee the largest deployment ever by a global cruise line in the Japanese market with the launch of Princess Cruises homeport sailings, specially developed for Japanese travelers. The inaugural season launches aboard the line's Sun Princess in April 2013.

Carnival Japan, Inc. was formed in March to sell Princess Cruises and other Carnival brands in Japan. From April to July of next year Princess will operate an 87-day program featuring a total of nine cruises on seven different itineraries sailing from both Yokohama and Kobe. The cruises are nine to 12 days in length.

Alan Buckelew, Princess' president and CEO and Jan Swartz, the line's executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service, attended the office opening and ribbon cutting festivities. "The grand opening of Carnival Japan's new office is an important milestone in Princess' expansion into the Japanese cruise market," said Buckelew. "Having a strong, dedicated team in Tokyo underscores our commitment to Japan homeport cruising and we're excited to have such an experienced and passionate team in Tokyo supporting this new program."

Carnival Japan is overseen by Eiko Kijima, who is also a member of the board of directors of Carnival Japan. "The early response to the new Japan cruise program is enthusiastic and indications are that these itineraries have great appeal," said Kijima.

The unique homeport itineraries have been customized for Japanese vacationers, and will launch with the most significant national holiday of Golden Week, a nine-day cruise on April 27, 2013 which includes two days in Hakata during the renowned Dontaku Festival.

Approximately 18,000 passengers are expected to be carried during the first season of cruising in Japan.

This new season of cruises is currently open for sale and is sold in Japanese Yen. Pricing for these cruises starts at ¥124,000 per person, double occupancy for a nine-day sailing.

The cruise experience will be substantially the same as the Princess Cruises product offered around the world, providing an impressive array of dining and entertainment options in addition to the line's signature innovations such as its popular Movies Under the Stars poolside theater and The Sanctuary, an exclusive top-deck retreat.

However, modifications to the cruise experience will include placing Japanese-speaking crew members in key passenger-facing positions. As well, dining room menus will offer international Princess cuisine while additional offerings will cater to Japanese tastes, and an a la carte sushi bar will be opened. A specially designed enrichment program will include an expert lecture series on art, culture and history. Other amenities such as the shopping selection and spa treatments will also be tailored to Japanese preferences, and onboard collateral items and stateroom information will be translated into Japanese.

An extensive array of shore excursions will be available to complement the itineraries so that Sun Princess passengers can experience all the ports have to offer.

The 77,000-ton Sun Princess carries 2,022 passengers and features a high number of staterooms with private balconies, Lotus Spa, steakhouse, wine bar, patisserie, pizzeria, boutiques, and internet café among other amenities.

Sea Spirit on summer charter

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 24 June 2012 24 June 2012

International Shipping Partners has announced that the Sea Spirit has been chartered to Oceanwide Expedition, Holland for the 2012 summer season. The vessel is on its way from South America to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, where it will begin cruises in Spitsbergen, Greenland and Iceland on July 10. After the summer season the vessel will go back on charter to Quark Expeditions, Canada, for Antarctica cruises for the winter season 2012/13.

FSG to build a new ferry for Scottish Caledonian Maritime Assets

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 24 June 2012 24 June 2012

Shipbuilders at FSG have taken their second order inside just a few weeks, booking the design and construction of a new type of RoPax ferry for Scottish shipowner Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL). The new ferry will go into service in 2014 between Stornoway and Ullapool linking the mainland of northwestern Scotland with the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides. Because of her high-value and modern design and construction, the ferry will be capable of round-the-clock operation and for this reason will replace two local ferries. She will be 116 metres long, accommodate 700 passengers and boast 372 lane metres for 143 cars or 26 trucks.

Once again FSG was able to beat off competition from many international yard rivals to bring this order back to Flensburg and there were some good reasons for this. FSG Managing Director Peter Sierk said "for the customer, serving this route with just one rather than two ships was the most economic solution. Doing so means, however, that the new ferry has to be capable of meeting very high demands on a daily basis."

Quite apart from quality, the ferry has to be as reliable as possible so that timetable delays and even breakdowns can be avoided. "It is extremely important to our client," said Peter Sierk, "that he can provide the best possible service to his own customers in turn, in other words his passengers. That’s why he chose us, because we can offer just the right kind of reliable ship operation." He said CMAL had decided that FSG had most to offer, including: - Delivery and deadline reliability - high economic efficiency - Excellent price-performance ratio - Top quality “built by Flensburger” - Low operational costs - Low emissions.

It is now a well-known fact on the global market that ships built by FSG not only consu- me up to 30 percent less fuel than conventional vessels but are also characterised by particularly low emission levels. Delivery of this latest newbuilding is planned for June 2014 and the owner will take the ferry into service immediately after that. Peter Sierk: "This order demonstrates once again that we can score points with indivi- dual and innovative solutions which are in the best interests of the customer. That’s our forte. We understand customer demands, come to grips with them and in the end come up with a concept which is just what the customer wants. You hardly ever find that happening anywhere else."

Because FSG is so good in the research and development sectors "we are able to convert this strength into a real competitive advantage."

Currently in the yard’s order book are two RoRo freight ferries for Ulusoy Sealines in Turkey, a RoRo freight ferry for U.N. Ro-Ro, also in Turkey, a ConRo ferry for a Canadian shipping company, two multi-functional project load vessels for Rolldock in the Netherlands, two offshore seismic ships for WesternGeco in England and, now, the RoPax ferry for CMAL in Scotland. Other promising projects remain under intensive study by our sales department. 

O3b Networks to provide ultra-fast Internet communications to Oasis of the Seas

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 23 June 2012 23 June 2012

O3b Networks today announced a milestone multi-year, multi-million dollar agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to provide high-speed satellite-delivered broadband service aboard the world's largest cruise ship. By summer 2013, more than 8,000 guests, staff and crew members aboard the cruise industry leader's flagship Oasis of the Seas – under the Royal Caribbean International brand – will be the first to enjoy O3b's enhanced connectivity at sea as if connected to fiber at home or in the office.

A true technology innovator, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is the first to utilize O3b's new maritime offering O3b Maritime, which delivers the reach of satellite and the speed and latency of fiber at a fraction of the cost of conventional providers. O3b is enabling maritime service providers to offer affordable fiber-like capacity across the Caribbean and ocean regions around the world. Providing unparalleled bandwidth, O3b's steerable satellite beams will provide cruise industry passengers ultra-fast Internet communications throughout their voyage.

"Royal Caribbean is committed to delivering the most contemporary vacation to our guests, and that includes pushing ahead for onboard technological advances that offer the modern conveniences that guests enjoy on land," said Adam M. Goldstein, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "This milestone agreement with O3b Networks enables us to provide our guests with unprecedented Internet service at sea aboard Oasis of the Seas and potentially in the future aboard other ships in our fleet."

"From the moment we met the Royal Caribbean team we were struck by an intense customer focus and a determination to provide an unrivalled cruise experience to their guests on boar," said Steve Collar, Chief Executive Officer, O3b Networks. With O3b Maritime, Oasis of the Seas will experience connection speeds that are an order of magnitude higher and latency that is four times lower than offered in the market today. "At O3b, we believe that affordable, high speed broadband should always be within reach – wherever you are in the world, on land and at sea – and we are delighted to showcase the unrivalled performance of O3b Maritime together with Royal Caribbean."