Fincantieri lays the keel of Seven Seas Grandeur

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 12 July 2022 12 July 2022

The keel laying ceremony was held today at the Ancona shipyard for Seven Seas Grandeur, the third luxury cruise ship that Fincantieri is building for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, brand of the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. The delivery is scheduled for 2023.

During the ceremony three custom-minted coins have been placed onto the keel of the ship, each one representing one of the sister ships: Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Splendor and Seven Seas Grandeur. The coins for the two vessels, delivered at the Sestri Ponente (Genova) shipyard in 2016 and Ancona shipyard in 2020, are replicas of those that were placed on respective vessels, while the new coin includes the cruise line’s 30th anniversary logo.

Like the first two vessels of her class Seven Seas Grandeur will be 55,500 gross tons with accommodation for only 732 passengers, with among the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the industry. She will be built using the very latest in environmental protection technologies, while the interiors will be particularly sophisticated, with every attention paid to passenger comfort.

GlobalData: Tourism industry recovery in Europe slows as airlines fail to adequately prepare for travel rebound

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 12 July 2022 12 July 2022

International travel from Europe was set to make a promising start to recovery in 2022. However, chaos at many European airports is likely to hinder growth as queues and cancellations are quickly becoming air travel norms, says GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that airlines failing to adequately prepare for travel’s great comeback has resulted in staff shortages.

Hannah Free, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “International departures from European countries are expected to reach 69% of 2019 figures in 2022, according to GlobalData forecasts. While destinations are eager to welcome visitors, supply simply cannot meet demand following extreme staffing deficits and industrial disputes, which has coincided with a rebound in international travel.”

As well as observed chaos and cancellations at several European airports, the travel industry’s recovery is also contending with other challenges including inflation, the rising cost of living, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. All these challenges are likely to significantly dampen travel demand.

Free continues: “Airports like London Heathrow and Amsterdam’s Schiphol have been forced to ask airlines to cut flights, while many carriers have had to pre-emptively cull their schedules by the thousands, affecting millions of holidaymakers. easyJet has reportedly cut more than 11,000 flights from its summer schedule. Meanwhile, British Airways has now cancelled 13% of its summer schedule, following a statement on July 6, 2022, that the company is to axe another 10,300 short-haul flights up to the end of October 2022.”

Both easyJet and British Airways have cited staff shortages as the reason for culling flights. However, when looking at British Airways’ hiring trends, the airline may have failed to adequately prepare for a rebound in travel demand this summer. In November 2021, British Airways announced that it would be increasing its workforce by 15%, adding around 4,000 personnel including pilots, cabin crew, ground staff and back-office roles as part of a recruitment drive to prepare for Covid-19 recovery.

However, the recruitment drive has fallen short after British Airways reportedly cut as many as 10,000 jobs during the pandemic. Furthermore, according to hiring trends data on GlobalData’s Job Analytics Database, British Airways had not increased the number of job postings (active jobs) on its career pages until at least March 2022. GlobalData found that active job postings declined by 18.4% between November 2021 and February 2022.

Free adds: “While this example looks specifically at British Airways, it should be emphasized that this is an industry-wide issue with massive staff shortages, following cuts during the pandemic, causing major issues for several airlines. The interconnected nature of the tourism ecosystem – which sees hotels, airlines, car rental firms, tour operators, cruise lines and others dependent on each other along the traveller journey – means that disruption issues at any point along this chain has the potential to negatively affect the others. Unfortunately, prolonged financial hardship for a number of industry players is the corollary of cancelled flights.”

Scenic Eclipse II floated out in Croatia

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 12 July 2022 12 July 2022

Scenic Eclipse II, Scenic Group’s second ultra-luxury discovery yacht, entered the water for the first time, marked by a ‘float out’ ceremony, at the 3. maj shipyard in Croatia. The process of managing the construction of the vessel is led by MKM Yachts, a division of the Scenic Group. Scenic Eclipse II is due to launch in April 2023, with her maiden voyage sailing from Lisbon to Barcelona.

Measuring 551 feet long and 71 feet wide, the discovery yacht is the sister to Scenic Eclipse, which launched in 2019. Thanks to its innovative world-class technology and Polar 6 classification, Scenic Eclipse II is designed to meet the highest environmental standards and is structurally strengthened to navigate all seas, including the polar waters of Antarctica and the Arctic.

This latest vessel will have several enhancements following feedback from guests and crew who sailed on Scenic Eclipse. In addition to the new features in the Senses Spa, Scenic Eclipse II will have a newly designed outdoor pool and Panorama Bar on its top deck and will be equipped with a next generation custom-made submarine, Scenic Neptune II, capable of diving to a depth of up to 650 feet with eight guests.

Glen Moroney, Chairman and Founder of Scenic Group commented, “This is a big and important moment for all of us at Scenic. Scenic Eclipse II represents improved vision of our pioneering approach in the world of ultra-luxury cruising. We are grateful to be able to build the most technologically advanced discovery passenger ships in the world and to cooperate with shipyards with a long, proud tradition of shipbuilding. We were able to find the suitable partners in the Republic of Croatia and the 3. maj shipyard, and I would like to thank them for their co-operation, as well as all other stakeholders who recognized the seriousness of our intentions and the importance of this project for Croatian shipbuilding on a global scale, primarily the Croatian government, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), the OTP Bank and others”

Scenic Eclipse II is on course for completion by April 2023 and will join her sister on itineraries taking in the Mediterranean, Scotland, the Americas, the Caribbean and both Polar regions. In 2024, Scenic Eclipse II will also visit Polynesia and Indonesia and Australia, where Scenic was founded 37 years ago.

Swan Hellenic christens its second expedition ship at Helsinki Shipyard

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 11 July 2022 11 July 2022

The second of three Vega-class ships under construction in Helsinki for Swan Hellenic’s heritage brand was named at Helsinki Shipyard. The naming ceremony was held on Monday July 11 with Mrs. Patrizia Passalacqua as the godmother of the vessel. The event was attended by 100 invitees consisting of international cruise business and media representatives, along with Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito and Helsinki Shipyard’s top management.

The series of three expedition cruise vessels have high ice class and they are made for high-end cruise experience in worldwide cruising area with strong bias for high latitude areas.

The vessels fulfill the latest requirements of environmental regulations. The today named 10,500 gross ton SH Vega is completely self-sufficient for up to 40 days or 8,000 nautical miles. The vessels are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning, advanced treatment system for wastewater and storage facilities for waste that are required for operating in sensitive polar areas. The vessel is ready to implement battery technology, which would make it possible to operate also silently

After the naming ceremony SH Vega is heading to the maiden voyage to Tromsø and Svalbard.

After the Naming Ceremony, Helsinki Shipyard Project Manager Jonas Packalén commented: “This is a proud day for us all. SH Vega is every bit as beautiful and elegant as her twin sister! We wish her and her crew fair winds and following seas, with special thanks to everyone involved in the project for their unstinting dedication!”

Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito added: “I would like to congratulate everyone at Helsinki for their superb work in creating this wonderful new ship. We are delighted with the quality of their work, creating another unique presence on the waves, and very much look forward to taking her first guests to see what others don’t, exploring the Arctic in exceptional comfort and style.”