SunStone Ships take delivery of Ocean Victory

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 19 October 2021 19 October 2021

 SunStone Ships have taken delivery of Ocean Victory from the CMHI shipyard in China.

“The Ocean Victory’ is one of six cruise vessels being constructed for SunStone Ships. All have been based on the CX103 design by Ulstein Design & Solutions,” the Norwgian company said in a statement.

The ship will be operated by Victory Cruise Lines for the summer season and Albatros Expeditions for the winter season.

After the sea trial of the vessel, Albatros Expeditions announced record-low emissions per passenger.

The President at Albatros Expeditions, Hans Lagerweij, has followed the construction progress closely and he is looking forward to the Antarctica season.

“Our first sailing is on the 26th of November, a fully sold-out one looking at a sun-eclipse between Antarctica and South Georgia. I expect our guests to be thrilled by the comfort and facilities, while at the same time still having the cosiness and compactness of the small expedition cruise vessels that started our industry,” he said in a statement.

“The ship is easy to find your way around, and it will be an excellent place to make new international friends. Finally, I am expecting our guests to be extremely happy about the performance and stability of the X-BOW on the Drake passage, a challenge we have to cross on the way to Antarctica,” he noted.

Holland America Line names Princess Margriet of the Netherlands Godmother of Rotterdam

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 17 October 2021 17 October 2021

Holland America Line has announced that when Rotterdam is named next spring, Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands will be the ship’s godmother, carrying on a tradition that began in the 1920s.

Holland America Line’s connection to The House of Orange goes back nearly a century to Prince Hendrik launching Statendam III in 1929. Since then, members of the Dutch Royal Family have launched 11 more Holland America Line vessels throughout the years, including Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet who named Prinsendam (1972), Nieuw Amsterdam III (1983), Rotterdam VI (1997) and Oosterdam (2003).

“We are deeply grateful that Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet will once again act as godmother to a Holland America Line ship, carrying on a long tradition with the Royal Family that continues to honor our Dutch roots,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “Rotterdam will be named in Rotterdam next year, celebrating its namesake city and our historic connection with the Netherlands. We look forward to commemorating the occasion where it all started for Holland America Line.”

Additional members of the Dutch Royal Family who are godmothers include Queen Máxima, who named Koningsdam in 2016 and Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010. Then-Queen Beatrix served as Eurodam’s godmother in 2008. Rotterdam V was launched in 1958 by Queen Juliana. Then-Princess Beatrix named Statendam IV in 1957 and Prinses Margriet in 1960. Nieuw Amsterdam II was launched by Queen Wilhelmina in 1937.

Rotterdam’s maiden cruise departs Oct. 20, 2021, from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and embarks on a 14-day transatlantic journey to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During its inaugural Caribbean season from November to April, Rotterdam will sail a variety of 5- to 11-day itineraries that span the southern, western, eastern and tropical regions, all roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. In mid-April, the ship makes a 14-day Atlantic Ocean crossing back to Europe to spend the summer in Norway, the Baltic, British Isles and Iceland, all sailing roundtrip from Amsterdam.

Rotterdam was delivered by the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy July 30, 2021. The date for naming the ship in Rotterdam will be announced in the coming months.

World's cruise industry comes together in Madrid to prepare for 2022

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 17 October 2021 17 October 2021

The most important international professionals of the cruise industry will be meeting on 17 and 18 November in Madrid, to celebrate the eleventh edition of the International Cruise Summit, the prestigious congress that analyses the current status of the sector every year.

After a hugely successful hybrid live/virtual edition in 2020, the International Cruise Summit 2021 will be held completely live, following all the necessary health and safety protocols, at the Hotel Meliá Castilla in Madrid, making it the first face-to-face international cruise event since the beginning of the pandemic in Europe.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the cruise industry hard, forcing it to come to a complete standstill in March 2020. Since the summer of 2020, but more intensively in 2021, cruise lines have been painstakingly resuming operations with health and safety protocols that far exceed the standards of other industries and governments. Thus, all passengers embarking on cruise ships are now required to have passed a coronavirus test beforehand, and for many cruise lines, only fully vaccinated people are allowed to board.

Companies are seeing an exceptional level of bookings for 2022, especially in the second half of the year, because after two summers of travel restrictions and difficulties living with the virus, consumers are keen not only to travel, but also to travel lavishly, indulging in luxuries with the money they have saved.

Throughout this time, shipyards have completed and delivered the ships scheduled for 2020 and 2021, and have continued building new units for delivery in 2022 and beyond. Environmentally sustainable ships, using the latest technologies to minimise their impact, or using alternative fuels such as Liquefied Natural Gas. In addition, over a dozen older, less efficient ships have been scrapped, mainly in Turkey.

Top executives, international cruise line executives, port authorities, travel agents and companies and experts from the sector will be present at one of the most important cruise congresses in the world. The event will feature speakers from the top management of cruise companies such as Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Crociere; Roberto Martinoli, President and CEO of Silversea Cruises; Ferdinand Strohmeier, CEO of Mystic Cruises; Ben Bouldin, Vice President EMEA of Royal Caribbean International, Jo Rzymowska, Vice President and Managing Director EMEA of Celebrity Cruises; and Bob Dixon, Director EMEA & Latin America of Cunard Line, among others.

During the two days, several panel discussions and presentations will debate the recovery of the cruise industry and tourist destinations, the challenges to re-recruit all the workers the sector needs and how to recover the pre-pandemic levels of sales and prices.

ICS 2021 – 17th and 18th, November.
Hotel Meliá Castilla.
Madrid
Information and media registration: www.internationalcruisesummit.com
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Fincantieri delivers stretched, upgraded Star Pride in Palermo

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 15 October 2021 15 October 2021

Star Pride, the third ship of the extension and modernization Star Plus Initiative project of Windstar Cruises, one of the main operators in the field of high-end small ship cruises, was delivered at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo.

The program, worth 250 million dollars and involving the cruise ships Star Breeze and Star Legend, delivered respectively in 2020 and last May,and Star Pride, envisaged three main complex activity areas: installation of a new 25.6 meters mid-body section; the total renewal of the propulsion engines and diesel generators for a more environmentally responsible navigation; and extensive modernization of public areas, passenger cabins and open decks.

Before the start of extension works, Star Pride had a length of 134 meters, with a tonnage of approximately 10,000 tons and a capacity of 212 passengers. Now, after its completion,the ship has a length of approximately 160 meters, a tonnage of around 13,000 gross tons, and a capacity to accommodate 312 passengers on board.

Thanks to the considerable experience gained with major naval projects designed and carried out on behalf of leading ship-owners, Fincantieri has established itself as the reference point worldwide for this kind of highly sophisticated operation, consolidating Fincantieri’s leadership in the highly specialized naval transformation sector..