Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum: Signs of recovery in the Eastern Med cruising

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 04 February 2019 04 February 2019

The biennial Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum returns this May to Athens for its fifth consecutive edition at a new venue and celebrates the industry’s renewed optimism for East Med cruising. Following a sharp three-year slump due to geopolitical tensions, some of the region’s key destinations, homeports and host countries are experiencing the first promising signs of recovery.

The region’s earlier than expected rebound was helped by Greece’s consistent performance as a destination of global appeal, keeping cruising in the area alive until Turkey started to be reinstated as a viable cruise destination. Equally important is a gradual re-inclusion of Israel and Egypt in niche itineraries that seek to reopen highly commercial cruise routes that deliver a fuller experience of the East Med’s unique diversity.

With a global fleet expansion that will augment total berth capacity by 7.5%, 2019 is seen as the year that will bring new strategic developments that will also help re-establish the East Med as a major cruise development theatre. “We have a record year for newbuilding deliveries, as the 24 cruise vessels that come on line in 2019 constitute the largest number ever in a single year. Collectively this will add a total of 42,488 new berths to the global capacity that need to be filled gainfully,” said Theodore Vokos, Managing Director of Posidonia Exhibitions S.A, organisers of the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum. The event will be held from May 28-29 at Domotel Kastri Conference Center, in Athens’ historic northern suburb.

CLIA Europe has already confirmed its active participation at the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum and is expected to participate with a high-level delegation. This can be seen as a firm statement on East Med’s commercial potential and its future role in the sustainability of cruising in the Mediterranean as a whole.

According to Tom Boardley, CLIA Europe Secretary General: “CLIA has increased its presence in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean region and we hope to build on this with closer and stronger ties with local stakeholders to highlight the importance of the region. This year’s Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum will offer us a unique experience to work with policymakers, regulators, other industry stakeholders and local communities’ representatives towards the achievement of this goal. As the global cruise industry continues to grow and expand into new destinations, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean region will remain a popular and vibrant hub for cruising.”


The 5th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum will also address the bigger picture of the cruise industry, as this is likely to evolve given the current global developments. As a direct result of dramatic capacity increases, we will see new trends in deployment strategy and market development, along with fleet reshufflings and a spree in older generation vessel sales and renovations. The Forum will tackle these issues as key factors affecting the cruise industry’s global development and examine the economic opportunities they create for a wide range of sectors. Also to be discussed are technical innovation trends, environmental and alternative fuel challenges, pressing infrastructure development needs and much more.

Ultimately, the 5th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum aims to present a multifaceted view of contemporary cruise development and the importance of finding new ways and synergies to improve the commercial and economic relationship between cruise industry, stakeholders and destinations.

“The conditions are right and the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum is ready to once again set the tone and empower the discussion for the future of the cruise industry in the East Med during an action-packed, two-day event. It will be attended by the sector’s most prestigious and powerful cruise brands and decision-makers from around the world,” said Vokos.

The 5th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum is organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy and is supported by the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports (MEDCRUISE), the Hellenic Professional Yacht Owners Association, the Greek Marinas Association, the Association of Passenger Shipping Companies, the Union of Cruise Ship Owners & Associated Members, the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Tourist and Travel Agencies (fedHATTA). Silver sponsors are the Piraeus Port Authority and HEMEXPO and Bronze Sponsors are Air France - KLM - Delta, Aktina Travel Group, Global Ports Holding and Celestyal Cruises.

Royal Caribbean and Meyer celebrates steel cut for second Quantum Ultra Class ship

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 01 February 2019 01 February 2019

Royal Caribbean International marked an important milestone today as the first piece of steel was cut for its second Quantum Ultra Class ship at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The 27th ship in the global cruise line’s fleet is set to be named Odyssey of the Seas.

Set to debut in fall 2020, Odyssey of the Seas will sail from the United States. Additional details on Odyssey will be revealed later this year.

Scarlet Lady to offer 4- and 5-night sailings, longer stays in ports-of-call

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 31 January 2019 31 January 2019

Virgin Voyages has released itinerary details and cabin designs for the company’s first ship, Scarlet Lady. With 4- and 5-night voyages to the Caribbean. It will sail a variety of Caribbean voyages befitting of any curious traveller’s tastes, with 4- and 5-night Havana After Dark itineraries featuring an overnight stay in Havana, Cuba; 5-night Mayan Sol voyages to Costa Maya, Mexico and 5-night Dominican Daze voyages to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Sailors will be able to explore more with extended hours in port with an overnight or a late-night sail away on all voyages.

Itineraries

Sailors will embark on their journey aboard Scarlet Lady from Miami, where they can toast to the Magic City’s colourful evening skyline as the ship sets sail at 7 pm.

“Our research with Sailors unearthed their desire to go to places that allow for a variety of experiences,” said Diana Block Garcia, vice president of itinerary and destination development for Virgin Voyages. “We set out on an adventure to find overnight destinations that have a combination of opportunities for high energy exploration and places for relaxation, as the perfect complement to our Virgin Voyages experience. We have composed itineraries that have a sense of palpable culture, history and above all induce that carefree feeling that you only get while on holiday.”

The Scarlet Lady will offer 4- and 5-night Havana After Dark itineraries that will take Sailors on a cultural quest through Cuba, with an overnight stay in Havana that will afford Sailors ample time to explore and visit Cuba's warm and friendly residents through people-to-people exchanges.

Virgin Voyages’ Mayan Sol itinerary will be a 5-night voyage to Costa Maya, Mexico where antiquity contrasts modernism, with Mayan ruins just a stone’s throw away from the port and colourful coral reefs that lie just off-shore. Virgin Voyages has partnered with ITM Group to bring Sailors to this incredible paradise filled with rich history and excitement.

Sea lovers will revel in the Scarlet Lady’s Dominican Daze voyage, where she will journey to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on a 5-night sailing. Voyages to Puerto Plata will be an ocean lover’s dream holiday. Puerto Plata is the perfect place for Sailors to catch some waves at surf school, explore trekking through canyons or catch a cable car up the mountain to buy handicrafts in an artisan village or enjoy endless island views.

The Scarlet Lady’s inaugural 2020 season will open for bookings this Valentine’s Day, February 14. On this special day, Virgin Voyages will reveal more details relating to the ship’s onboard experience as well as an additional destination to be featured on all voyages. Details about on-shore experiences offered by Virgin Voyages, or Shore Things as they refer to them, will be released in late 2019.

Virgin Voyages redefines cabin design with first-ever transformational cabin bed

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 31 January 2019 31 January 2019

Scarlet Lady balconied cabin during the day

Virgin Voyages has released itinerary details and cabin designs for the company’s first ship, Scarlet Lady. With 4- and 5-night voyages to the Caribbean [see separate story], Sailors will set sail in sleek uber yacht style with Virgin Voyages’ patent pending cabin design featuring the Seabed, a completely new transformational bed that converts from full-sized bed to lounger. The Seabed allows Sailors the unique opportunity to transform their cabin from a quiet hideaway to relax to a place to revel among friends.

86% of cabins with priviate balconies

While at sea Sailors can enjoy all of the action of the Scarlet Lady and retreat to their private hideaway overlooking the ocean, with 93% of cabins offering an ocean view and 86% featuring a Sea Terrace. The sea will be the headlining star of the cabins aboard the Scarlet Lady with Virgin Voyages’ exclusive patent pending cabin layout designed by PearsonLloyd with Virgin Voyages’ Design team, which uses intelligent architecture to optimize space and views of the ocean. The cabin is custom-created to accommodate the Seabed, the first-ever transformational cabin bed at sea, specially engineered and handcrafted by Walter Knoll in Germany. The concept of the Seabed came from the convivial nature of cruising, and gives Sailors more space for social gatherings in the cabin-- and eliminates the unspoken awkwardness of inviting new friends over with no place for them to sit but on the bed. Instead, Virgin Voyages Sailors can enjoy their cabin in two distinct ways as a place to revel or a place to relax.

“We didn’t want to create the same old box of a bedroom that our Sailors would only use to lay their head down at night, we wanted to reshape the entire cabin experience,” said Dee Cooper, senior vice president of design for Virgin Voyages. “Whether it’s sleeping, socialising or stargazing they desire, our cabins will transform to match our Sailors’ whims. Stylish yet somehow still informal, these cabins change the face of modern sea travel.”

With clever cabin lighting, the mood lighting will automatically adjust to enhance the time of day based on where the ship is in the world, reflecting the blue seas and the gold to purple sunsets of the Caribbean waters. The cabins will feature PIR presence sensors that automatically detect when someone has left the cabin and go into energy saver mode, where blinds will close and air conditioning will adjust to an eco-saver temperature, conserving energy to support the company’s commitment to operate one of the cleanest fleets at sea.

With thoroughly thought through design, Virgin Voyages deliberately chose to use top quality materiality throughout the cabins, like a saddle leather chair, complete with refined stitch detail. Most standard cabins will have transitional Seabeds, in-room entertainment with 43”+ 4K flat-screen HDTVs, mini bars, glam areas and flexible wardrobes. All cabins were engineered to optimise bathroom space featuring rain shower heads for a spa-like wash. All terraces aboard Scarlet Lady will feature custom-designed hammocks, handwoven by artisans from Yellow Leaf a social enterprise that fosters women's empowerment and community transformation in rural Thailand.

With several cabin categories there are 1,330 cabins aboard the Scarlet Lady and 78 RockStar Suites. Every Sailor wishing to voyage aboard the Scarlet Lady can find their special hideaway with roomy XL Sea Terrace cabins, Sea Terrace cabins Sea View cabins, Insider cabins, Social Insider cabins that sleep up to four in a chalet-style bunk and Solo Insider cabins designed and priced exclusively for the solo traveller.

Scarlet Lady cabin during sleep