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SH Vega sails on first Arctic Cruise

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 21 July 2022 21 July 2022

SH Vega, the second ship of Cyprus based expedition cruise operator Swan Hellenic has sailed from Tromsø, Norway, on its first cruise of the Arctic, an 11-day exploration of the Svalbard Archipelago. This follows a delivery voyage from Finland via Copenhagen in Denmark

SH Vega that was built by the Helsinki Shipyard in Finland features a 5-megawatt diesel-electric propulsion system with selective catalytic reduction and a PC5 ice-strengthened hull with extra-large stabilisers for exceptional passenger comfort. At 113 m, the 10,600-ton vessel has been specially designed to visit the most inspiring and inaccessible places on the planet, the comps ny said in a statement

SH Vega, like her twin sister SH Minerva, has been designed to meet the latest environmental regulations and is completely self-sufficient for up to 40 days or 8,000 nautical miles. “Preparations have been made to implement battery technology which would also make it possible to operate silently. The vessels are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning, advanced wastewater treatment systems and the waste storage facilities required for operating in sensitive polar areas,” Swan Hellenic said.

Explora partners with Amadeus

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 July 2022 20 July 2022

Explora Journeys today announced a new partnership with Amadeus, one of the world's leading travel technology companies, to provide its online booking and fulfillment program and connect the luxury travel brand with more travel agencies and a broader audience.

The partnership enables the display of content that includes images of Explora Journeys’ fleet of ships, suites and deck plans and the opportunity for travel advisors to upsell pre- and post- guest experiences in the same booking with one PNR on the Amadeus Cruise Portal.

Chris Austin, Chief Sales Officer, Explora Journeys, said, “Amadeus is one of the global travel industry’s leading distribution companies and it will further enable our travel partners to access Explora Journeys’ inventory, pricing and our rich content on a real time basis to improve further the booking experience for our growing travel advisor community. This announcement with such a great partner as Amadeus comes as we remain firmly on track for the first of our six luxury ships - EXPLORA I - to make her maiden journey in less than 12 months’ time, May 2023, and, when demand for luxury ocean tourism has returned to pre-pandemic levels.”

Robert Buckman, Head of North America, Travel Sellers, Amadeus, added “By forging our partnership with Explora Journeys we’re strengthening our marketplace to help travel advisors connect their customers to real-time cruise content and offers. With Amadeus Cruise Portal, travel advisors gain access to Explora Journey’s content, can inspire their travelers with rich multimedia, and finalize a booking easily through a single connection.”

EXPLORA I in her first year at sea will visit 132 ports in 40 different countries, including two destinations, Kastellorizo, Greece and Saint Pierre, Martinique, rarely visited by cruise ships. The luxury ship’s itineraries include the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the UK, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the U.S. East Coast, Caribbean, South America, and Hawaii. Sailings start from 6-night journeys and culminate in an epic 44-night Northern Europe Grand Journey.

Strongest ever UK second quarter fuels hope 2022 volumes will exceed 2019 for MSC Cruises - report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 July 2022 18 July 2022

The second quarter of this year was the strongest ever for MSC Cruises in the UK and full year volumes were likely to exceed those f 2019, the lines’ UK and Ireland Managing Director Antonio Paradiso reportedly said.

“The second quarter was the strongest booking period ever for us in the UK, maybe we need to build more ships...The domestic market is booming for us… We’ve seen last minute demand which is very strong and we’ve seen some amazing itineraries for MSC Grandiosa next year,” he was quoted by Travel Weekly as saying.

After the first six months of the year, MSC Cruises had reached 85% of the sales made in 2019 and bookings for the full year 2022 were likely to exceed the levels three years ago, before the pandemic.

The UK was likely to be one of the first source markets to reach the pre-pandemic levels of bookings for the Geneva based company, he said.

Fly cruises improve slowly

This summer and autumn, MSC Cruises operates a series of 23 cruises on the 181,504 gross ton MSC Grandiosa from Southampton for a second season in a row, while before the pandemic it used MSC Magnifica, which has a gross tonnage of 91,528.

However, Paradiso was also cited to say that fly cruises were “also slowly improving,” which would indicate that the ongoing problems with air travel reflect negatively in bookings of cruises that require flights.

Paradiso's comments would also indicate that the introduction of the larger and more modern MSC Grandiosa has fuelled the line’s success on the British market, where it is the second largest vessel currently cruising out of a UK port after P&O Cruises’ 184,089 gross ton Iona.

Global Ports Holding board terminate takeover talks with MSC Group

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 14 July 2022 14 July 2022

The board of Global Ports Holding (GPH), the Istanbul based company that is the world’s biggest cruise port operator, has terminated talks with a company that is part of the MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company Holdings group regarding a possible takeover of GPH.

On 15 June, GPH received an approach regarding a potential cash offer for all of the shares in the Company by SAS Shipping Agencies Services Sarl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company Holdings S.A (MSC), and discussions were ongoing. “GPH’s board of directors has now terminated these talks with SAS,” the port operator said in a statement.

“GPH’s board of directors remains confident in GPH’s strategic direction as an independent port operator with open access cruise port concessions and arm’s length treatment of berthing rights for all its customers. The GPH board continues to be focussed on delivery of our strategic goals and long-term value creation, that reflects the strategic strength of GPH and its growing network of cruise ports, for the benefit of all shareholders,” the company said.

Rhine water levels plummet as heat wave hits northern Europe

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 July 2022 13 July 2022

Hot and dry weather in northern Europe has resulted in a sharp fall of water levels on the River Rhine, Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) in London report on their website.

This is a matter of concern not just for the freight traffic on the waterway that runs from Switzerland via Germany to the Netherlands, but also for cruise operators on the waterway.

Water levels on the River Rhine continue to fall amid hot, dry weather in northwestern Europe, with water height at points expected to fall below 80 cm by the weekend.

To put this in a context, Neptun Werft that is part of Meyer Werft group and which has built a long series of river cruise vessels for Viking says on its website that the 135 metre “long ships” of the cruise operator have a draught of 160 cm.

“Water levels at the Kaub measuring point, located above Frankfurt, fell below 110 cm at midday local time on Tuesday, according to projections from Germany’s Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV), ICIS said.

“Levels below 120 cm at Kaub – a key chokepoint for water-borne freight – are when shipping along the river starts to be affected, and the declines projected through the rest of the week are likely to substantially reduce the loads that tankers can carry,” it continued.

“Water levels at Kaub are expected to fall close to 100 cm before the end of the day, according to WSV forecasts, dwindling further to 96 cm by Wednesday night, and to 78 cm by the morning of 16 July. More normal water levels would be around 200 cm,” ICIS concluded.