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AIDAaura to exit AIDA fleet in September 2023

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 January 2023 05 January 2023

Around one million guests associate the cruise ship AIDAaura with holiday memories since 2003. AIDA Cruises thanks them and offers all cruise fans the opportunity to say goodbye to AIDAaura with extraordinary travel offers. After more than 20 years in service, the ship will leave the AIDA fleet in September 2023.

The AIDAaura farewell season will start on January 9, 2023, in Cape Town with the first of a total of four 14-day voyages to South Africa & Namibia.

On March 6, 2023, the 27-day cruise from South Africa to Hamburg (Germany), via Namibia, the Cap Verde Islands and Canary Islands, as well as Portugal and Spain, will depart from the metropolis on the Cape of Good Hope.

In April 2023 further highlight cruises include the "Great Norway Round Trip" to the North Cape over Easter, or the two new 7-day voyages with AIDAaura from/to Hamburg to Norway's fjords and to Scotland. These can also be booked as a 14-day cruise.

From mid-May to early July 2023, AIDA guests are invited to visit historic cities, legendary places or impressive landscapes on various voyages from/to Hamburg to Western Europe's rivers, Great Britain, France or Ireland. Among other highlight destinations, AIDAaura will call at Saint Malo in France, Edinburgh and Loch Ness near Invergordon in Scotland, Falmouth in southern England or the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Skye and the Outer Hebrides.

In July and August 2023, it's time to sail from Hamburg and Bremerhaven on 21-day cruises to Iceland and Greenland with passages along the glaciers and icebergs in Prins-Christian-Sund or Disko Bay.

AIDAaura’s last voyage for AIDA Cruises leads on well-known European rivers such as the Thames to Tilbury on the outskirts of the British capital London, the Seine in France to Rouen or the Scheldt in Belgium to Antwerp.

Since its naming ceremony on April 12, 2003, in Rostock-Warnemünde (Germany), the cruise ship built in Wismar (Germany) has visited the most beautiful destinations around the globe on more than 800 voyages. In its premiere season 2003/2004, AIDAaura was the official German Olympic ship during the Summer Games in Athens (Greece) and headed for destinations in the Mediterranean as well as the Caribbean and Central America. Further highlights were the exclusive AIDAselection voyages to Mauritius and the Seychelles, to the Orient, to India and Greenland, to Iceland or as far as the Arctic Circle to Spitsbergen. As part of the world cruise in winter 2018/2019, AIDAaura guests visited 41 destinations on four continents in 117 days.

Management changes at SunStone Ships group

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 January 2023 03 January 2023

A number of changes has taken place in the top management f SunStone Ships group, which provides vessels ontime charter basis for expedition cruise operators.

President of SunStone Ships Inc., Miami, Ulrik Hegelund has, for family reasons, decided to move back to Denmark. As of January 1, he took the position as CFO of SunStone Maritime Group.

“Ulrik will have the overall responsibility for the Group’s Accounting, Budgeting, Cash Flow, Reporting, Legal, and IT matters. Our Finance colleagues in the Miami and Madeira Offices will report to Ulrik,” the company said in a statement.

Christian Lund took over the position as President of SunStone Ships Inc., Miami from the beginning of 2023.” Christian has been working within our group companies in Miami for the past 14 years. Christian has been at ISP, FleetPro, CMI, and now SunStone, where he will be responsible for Group Strategy and Long-Term Planning. He will be instrumental in the further development of our ‘Shipboard Management Strategy,’ focused on maximizing the skills, involvement, and empowerment of our onboard teams to ensure the best possible Expedition Fleet,” SunStone Ships said.

Compagnie Française de Croisières postpones operation start to May

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 January 2023 03 January 2023

The French cruise start up Compagnie Française de Croisières has been forced to delay the start of its operations from February to May, the company said in a statement.

Supply chain problems and difficulties in obtaining essential materials needed in the refurbishment of the former Holland America Line vessel Maasdam that the French company has renamed Renaissance lie behind the decision, it said.

The first cruise of the ship is now scheduled to depart on 14 May and head for Ireland, it noted.

Queen Victoria in dry dock with passengers on board

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 January 2023 03 January 2023

Queen Victoria of Cunard is currently in dry dock in Cadiz, Spain, with passengers onboard in which is quite an unusual event.

Passengers received a letter dated 01 January saying that the vessel would enter dry dock in Cadiz on Monday for the replacement of a propeller blade. They would use the ship as their hotel for the duration of the say and a shuttle bus service would operate between the dock and the dock gate.

The ship is scheduled to sail for Southampton in the UK in the afternoon of 04 January, the letter said.

Fosen Yard to replace main engines on Fjordline twins

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 31 December 2022 31 December 2022

Fosen Yard has entered into a contract with Fjordline to replace the main engines on the car and passenger ferries Stavangerfjord and Bergensfjord.

Both vessels are built at Fosen, respectively NB 87 & 88, and delivered to Fjordline in 2013/2014, then with LNG-powered engines from Rolls Royce, considered to be the most future-oriented and environmentally friendly solution at the time. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to an energy crisis where the price of LNG has increased tenfold just since last summer and Fjordline felt compelled to take action to ensure profitability on the routes they serve.

After considering many options to achieve sustainable operation in the long term, Fjordline ended up replacing the existing engines with new ones from Wärtsilä, which can use both LNG and marine gas oil (MGO) as fuel. This will lead to much better control of expenses and provide great flexibility when the price of LNG normalizes.

Stavangerfjord and Bergensfjord operate on Bergen-Stavanger-Hirtshals and Langesund-Hirtshals and will be taken out of these routes early in the new year, in order to resume them before the 2023 summer season.