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Pacific Explorer transformation underway in Singapore

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 01 June 2017 01 June 2017

The final countdown is on for this month’s debut of P&O Cruises’ Pacific Explorer, with the ship’s multi-million dollar transformation underway in Singapore.

During her 12-day drydock, the vessel – formerly sailing as Princess Cruises’ Dawn Princess – will undergo a massive refit which will see the addition of a range of exciting new features for Australian holidaymakers.

When she sails from Sydney on her first cruise on June 22, Pacific Explorer will be sporting the two longest and wildest waterslides on an Australian-based ship – each stretching more than 80 metres – along with an action-packed waterpark and a barefoot lawn bowling green. Top-deck favourites P&OEdge Adventure Park and the Big Screen will also be installed during the ship’s dry dock.

During her time in Singapore, Pacific Explorer’s public spaces, including its multi-storey atrium, lounges, bars and restaurants, will be transformed with the introduction of the stylish modern Australian décor and quirky features which have become a trademark of the P&O fleet in recent years.

Continuing P&O Cruises’ ongoing food evolution, Pacific Explorer’s refit will include the creation of new dining options from fast-casual dining at Luke’s, a new poolside grill by Australian chef and restauranteur Luke Mangan to a traditional Neapolitan pizzeria called 400 Gradi, by award-winning Melbourne chef Johnny Di Francesco.

Guests will also be able to dine in the ship’s Waterfront Restaurant, try a taste of la dolce vita in its Italian restaurant Angelo’s, relax in the sultry atmosphere of the pan-Asian restaurant Dragon Lady or be spoilt for choice in The Pantry, an international marketplace of nine fresh food outlets already popular across the P&O Cruises’ fleet.

Relaxation and good times will also be on the menu in Pacific Explorer’s elegant new small bar, The Bonded Store, featuring a cocktail list created in partnership with Sydney-based award-winning Archie Rose Distilling Co, as well as whisky and gin-making classes.

P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said Pacific Explorer was the perfect addition to P&O’s existing four-ship fleet.

“Pacific Explorer is the next stage in the evolution of P&O, building on our very popular modern Australian holiday offering with some exciting new features. We can’t wait to show her off to our guests,” Myrmell said.

Pacific Explorer will set sail from Singapore on June 9.

AIDAnova to operate from Tenerife, feature 17 restaurants and 23 bars

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 01 June 2017 01 June 2017

AIDAnova, the first of a new class of 180,000 gross ton cruise liners for AIDA Cruises in Germany, will operate to the Atlantic Islands from Tenerife in the Canaries when it will enter service in late 2018 and feature 17 restaurants and 23 bars, AIDA Cruises said in a statement.

The ship will also have a 3,545sqm wellness area that will include a spa, a sun deck and gym plus various other facilities.

There will be 21 grades of cabins, up to suites of 53 sqm in size that will feature their own sun deck and separate bed and living rooms and that can accommodate up to five persons.

The facilities for young passengers will include a Mini club for those aged between six months and three years, Kids club for the three to 11 year olds and Wave Club for those aged from 12 to 17.

On the entertainment side, the company that is part of the Carnival Corporation & plc group said the passengers would be integrated more in the acts, with new formats on their way.

Construction of AIDAnova started at Meyer Werft in Germany on 31 May. In addition to AIDA Cruises, which calls the new ships the Helios class, the same platform wil be used for newbuildings of Costa Crociere, Carnival Cruise Line and P&O Cruises by the Carnival group. The order have been split between Meyer shipyards in Germany and Finland.

Simwave to simulator train Genting group officers

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 01 June 2017 01 June 2017

Simwave B.V., the Dutch simulator centre operator, has signed a contract with Genting Hong Kong to train and assess crews from the firm’s cruise ships at the Simwave simulator centre in Barendrecht in the Netherlands for at least five years, the Dutch company said.

A Simwave centre will also be built in Singapore in 2018.

Star Cruises, one of the subsidiaries of Genting Hong Kong, was the first cruise operator in the world with its own simulator centre. Senior Vice President Marine Operations & New Building, Gustaf Grönberg said in a statement: “The collaboration with Simwave means we are now able to use our state-of-the-art centre ‘branded’ in our own house style, without the disadvantages of ownership.”

As part of the collaboration, one of the Simwave 360-degree-projection ‘full mission’ simulators in Barendrecht will be based on the bridge of Dream Cruises’‘Genting Dream’, a 335metre cruise liner which debuted last November and can accommodate 5000 passengers.

The bridge simulator has a vertical projection system which is globally unique. Alongside ‘all-round’ projection (on vertical cylindrical screens), eight projectors also project what’s happening on the water or the quayside, on both sides of the vessel. “This makes it possible to simulate so-called ‘docking operations’ (berthing and unberthing quickly and safely) more realistically from the bridge wings,” explains Joost van Ree, co-founder of Simwave.

Delivery of the Simwave maritime training centre is scheduled for this November. The collaboration with Genting Hong Kong begins from July 2017.

Carnival group offers Alipay service on ships in Asia

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 May 2017 30 May 2017

Carnival Corporation & plc the world’s largest cruise travel company, has signed an agreement to offer Alipay payment services onboard its cruise ship fleet in Asia, including multiple ships in China.

The partnership will enable Chinese guests sailing with Carnival Corporation’s brands in Asia to pay for onboard products and services using the convenience of Alipay, China’s most popular mobile payment and lifestyle platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group, a related company of Alibaba, the largest online commerce company in China, the company said in a statement.

As part of this agreement, Carnival Corporation’s first and largest brand in China – Costa Cruises – will give passengers the option to use their existing Alipay accounts as a payment method for cabin folios. All onboard spending – including shopping, activities, excursions, food and drinks – will be added to each guest’s cabin folio as the purchase is made, and then cleared on a nightly basis via their Alipay account.

Alipay will debut on Costa Serena in China starting in 2017 before potentially expanding to additional ships in the Costa Asia fleet, including Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria and Costa Fortuna in China, and Costa neoRomantica, which has been homeported in Japan since April of this year.

Based on the terms of the agreement, Carnival Corporation’s other leading brand in China and Asia, Princess Cruises, will also have the potential to offer Alipay onboard its ships sailing in Asia, including the all-new Majestic Princess that begins its first homeport season in Shanghai in July 2017 as the first cruise ship tailor-made for the Chinese market. Details of future rollout plans may be released at a later date.

Alipay is China’s most popular mobile payment and lifestyle platform with over 450 million users. It presents a significant opportunity for Carnival Corporation to ride on this digitalization trend and provide an upgraded experience for its cruise guests, offering Alipay as an additional payment option for onboard purchases.

Costa Group, Carnival to hire further 4,500 Italian seafarers by 2022

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 May 2017 30 May 2017

The Costa Group and its parent organisation Carnival Corporation & plc the world’s largest cruise company, today reaffirmed their joint commitment to Italy and Europe overall, announcing they will hire approximately 4,500 Italian crew members by 2022 to provide support for existing and primarily new ships currently on order.

With over 5,000 Italian crew members currently employed on Carnival Corporation ships, the number of employment opportunities will almost double in number. The Costa Group today also confirmed its leadership in Europe, announcing its fleet carried about three million guests in 2016, an increase of 13% from 2015.

In addition, it expects a further increase in 2017, with the launch of AIDAperla, the new flagship of AIDA Cruises, which arrived in Genoa today for the first time. AIDAperla will be deployed in the Mediterranean, calling at Civitavecchia/Rome and Livorno every week, with a total of 60 stopovers in Italy during 2017.

The Costa Group -- which includes the Italian brand Costa Cruises, the German brand AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia -- has 76,000 berths on its 27 vessels, the largest fleet of cruise ships flying the Italian flag. With Genoa serving as Costa’s headquarters, Italy is the country that benefits most from Costa Group's business.