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Viking Cruises makes an inaugural call in Los Angeles, names sixth newbuild as Viking Jupiter

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 January 2018 05 January 2018

Viking welcomed yesterday its fourth and newest ocean ship, Viking Sun to Los Angeles, which is also the home of the company's U.S. headquarters. The ship is currently sailing Viking's sold-out 141-day World Cruise from Miami to London, and Los Angeles is Viking's first U.S. West Coast port of call in the company's 20-year history. Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen greeted guests on Viking Sun, and during a press conference onboard unveiled a new multi-channel brand advertising campaign titled, "Did You Know?"

"We have always been a travel company that focuses on exploration and cultural immersion," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. "In the last two decades we have led the industry in river cruising, and as we become the leading small ship ocean cruise line we have an opportunity to introduce many new travelers to the Viking way of exploration. Our new 'Did You Know?' campaign is aimed at inspiring people who may not yet know what makes us so different in the industry, why we are the most award-winning cruise line and how we can provide more included value than any other cruise company."

Timed with the cruise industry's "Wave Season" in January, the launch of Viking's new "Did You Know?" campaign will feature new creative advertisements that will appear across all marketing channels, including TV, print and digital. Aimed at travel agents and the company's target audience of experienced travelers 55 and older, the campaign highlights Viking's industry differentiators, including its inclusive value with a shore excursion included in every port, as well as what Viking is not – no formal nights, no kids and no casinos. The campaign will also share Viking's award-winning history, such as being named the #1 Ocean Cruise Line in Travel + Leisure's 2016 and 2017 World's Best Awards and the #1 River Cruise Line in Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards.

At the press conference, Hagen also announced that the company's sixth ship will be named Viking Jupiter. Scheduled to launch in February 2019, the 930-guest sister ship will sail Viking's most popular itineraries in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, as well as two new itineraries in South America – Southern Atlantic Crossing (22 days; Barcelona – Buenos Aires) and South America & the Chilean Fjords (18 days; Buenos Aires – Santiago).

Viking Sun World Cruise

On December 15, Viking celebrated the kickoff of its inaugural World Cruise onboard Viking Sun in Miami. From Los Angeles, Viking Sun will continue to sail for 120 days, visiting destinations in the South Pacific, Australia and Asia – and will be officially christened in Shanghai on March 8, 2018. When the ship arrives in London on May 5, she will have visited five continents, 35 countries and 64 ports during her first World Cruise. Viking Sun will continue to sail the globe during the 2019 World Cruise, a 128-day itinerary from Miami to London.

Costa Luminosa departs for the World Cruise

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 January 2018 05 January 2018

On 6 January 2018 the Costa Luminosa will set sail from Venice on the Around the World Cruise: a 106-day journey that will take Costa guests on a tour travelling across three oceans and visiting 41 destinations before returning to Venice on 22 April.

Around 2,000 guests have reserved a cabin on the 2018 Around the World Cruise. They hail from more than 30 different countries, with the majority from France (around 500), Italy and Germany (over 300 for each country), Switzerland (over 200), Spain (just under 200) and Austria (over 100). The oldest explorer, a man from Italy, is 92 years old, while the youngest is a little French boy who is just a year old.

The ship chosen for the Around the World Cruise is the Costa Luminosa, one of the most enchanting in the Costa fleet: on board guests will be able to experience the excellence of Italian hospitality, cuisine and style, and will feel right at home even if they are thousands of kilometres from their real homes.

The itinerary of the Around the World Cruise includes destinations like the Antilles, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and California; after crossing the Pacific Ocean, the tour will continue on to Hawaii, Polynesia, Fiji islands, Australia and Indonesia, before finishing with calls at Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, the Arab Emirates, Oman and Greece.

Another highlight of this cruise will be the extended calls in many of the itinerary's destinations, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore, Phuket, Cochin, Mumbai, Dubai and Muscat. Guests will be able to take advantage of the many excursions organised by Costa to enjoy some unforgettable moments also on land and make their trip even more unforgettable.

From Puerto Quetzal (Guatemala) it will be possible to take a charter flight to the archaeological site of Tikal, one of the biggest Maya cities known to modern historians, discovering the ruins while walking along footpaths immersed in the rainforest.

The itinerary also includes a stop in the multi-faceted metropolis of Los Angeles: guests will be able to stroll along the Walk of Fame, the most famous pavement in the world, comprising 2500 brass stars with the names of famous celebrities from the world of showbiz, and explore real-life film sets at Universal Studios. They will also have the chance to board a helicopter for a thrilling 30-minute ride that takes in some of the most intriguing locations on the West Coast.

More adventurous guests will be able to go on a really adrenaline-filled excursion in Sydney, climbing the famous Harbour Bridge: a 3-hour course of walkways, stairs and arches that finishes with a spectacular 360° vista of one of the world’s most enchanting bays.

Costa Luminosa will be embarking on another Around the World Cruise in 2019 with a scheduled departure of Saturday 5 January from Venice.

Martha Poulter named Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer For Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 December 2017 22 December 2017

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has named Martha Poulter Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Poulter joins RCL after spending the last 13 years of her career as CIO for major corporations such as Starwood Hotels and Resorts and GE Capital. Poulter will report directly to Adam Goldstein, President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

"Martha certainly has the background to make a difference at Royal Caribbean," said Goldstein. "She'll bring that experience to bear on a full range of challenges here, including our plans to evolve the fleet's IT infrastructure, keep pace with the rapid evolution underway in important areas like data privacy and security, and ramp up support for the Excalibur digital transformation that is underway across our company."

Poulter most recently served as Executive Vice President and CIO for Starwood Hotel and Resorts, where she led a global IT team integrated across Starwood's nine brands and operational platforms, as well as serving as a member of Starwood's leadership team. Prior to that, Poulter spent nearly two decades at General Electric, including time as CIO of GE Capital.

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to join Royal Caribbean, a company that stands for excellence and innovation in the travel industry," said Poulter. "Working with the IT team, we will help RCL develop and support the technologies necessary for running a global business in a digital world."

Poulter graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering and received her MBA from the University of New Haven.

Thanos Pallis departs MedCruise, Aimilia Papachristou assumes interim role

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 December 2017 20 December 2017

Thanos Pallis transitions out of his role as Secretary General of MedCruise, a position he held since April 2013. In the interim, Aimilia Papachristou, MedCruise Advisor, will assume the role of acting Secretary General for the Association.

Papachristou joined MedCruise in October 2013 as Policy Advisor holding, among others, the portfolio of European port policy issues. She holds a BSc and a MSc in Shipping from the University of the Aegean and is a maritime economist with significant experience in studies on port economics, management and policy and maritime transport policies and governance. During the period 2011-2012, she worked as special advisor to the Secretary General of Ports and Port Policy, at the Ministry of Development Competitiveness and Shipping of the Hellenic Republic.

Dr. Thanos Pallis, an academic maritime economist with experience in the port sector became Secretary General in 2013, taking over from Maria de Larratea, and served the Association for five years.

MedCruise would like to thank Thanos Pallis for his contributions to the team and wish him every success in his future endeavors.

MedCruise President Airam Diaz Pastor noted: "I would personally like to thank Thanos for his contribution to the Association and professionalism and wish him every success to his future projects".

Sapphire Princess joins the search of Northern Lights in October 2019

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 December 2017 18 December 2017

Princess Cruises, which is part of Carnival Corporation & plc, will send the Sapphire Princess to Norway in the autumn of 2019 as the company becomes the next operator to operate cruises to the country outside the summer season.

A 12 night and four port cruise will depart Southampton on 19 October and include calls at Alesund, Tomso, Alta and Stavanger before return to Southampton.

Marella Cruises, the UK focused cruise line in the TUI AG group, has said earlier that it will send a ship to Norway in the autumn of next year, a new development for the recently renamed former Thomson Cruises.