Holland America Line launches partnership with America’s Test Kitchen to bring new dynamic cooking shows on board

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 21 September 2016 21 September 2016

Holland America Line turns its culinary programming up a notch with the introduction of dynamic shipboard cooking shows produced in partnership with the long-running public television show America’s Test Kitchen, the most popular how-to-cook show on TV. Holland America Line is a sponsor of America’s Test Kitchen on public television, and is proud to make this experience possible at sea. The initiative was announced today in New York City at a press conference at the prestigious Institute of Culinary Education.

Holland America Line’s shipboard Culinary Arts Center will be transformed to replicate the television set where the prominent America’s Test Kitchen TV shows are recorded for broadcast by more than 350 public television stations nationwide. Designed specifically for Holland America Line, the shipboard shows will be hosted by Holland America Line chefs trained by America’s Test Kitchen culinary experts. Shipboard cooking demonstrations and hands-on workshops — with topics ranging from shaping Asian dumplings to making the perfect pie crust — will combine foolproof, accessible recipes and cooking techniques that are rooted in the rigorous testing and science-based approach of America’s Test Kitchen.

In addition, Holland America Line guests will experience 24-hour access to episodes of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country television programs in their staterooms.

“America's Test Kitchen will bring a new take on cooking classes at sea that spans not only recipes but also the science of the cooking process. Its mission is to determine the best methods, ingredients and cooking tools — and now these discoveries will be shared with our guests,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “We provide our guests with tremendously immersive and authentic experiences to enrich their travel, and America’s Test Kitchen’s commitment to delivering a quality culinary experience with a focus on learning is a perfect match.”

The planned 45-minute demo courses will feature a mix of video content, live instruction, taste tests and recipe samples. Some of the courses in development include Asian Dumplings, Salad for Two, We Love Chocolate, Everything Salmon, Getting to Know Chiles, Flavors of the Mediterranean, Meatless Monday Meals and New Italian Favorites.

Also planned are 90-minute workshops that focus on teaching a specific skill set. Proposed workshops include Perfect Pies and Handmade Pasta.

America’s Test Kitchen demo courses and workshops will begin aboard Westerdam October 18 for the ship’s Mexico season and on Nieuw Amsterdam November 13 for the Caribbean season. The program is expected to roll out fleetwide by June 2017.

“This is an incredible opportunity for fans of America’s Test Kitchen, and food lovers in general, to immerse themselves in the Test Kitchen experience,” said David Nussbaum, CEO of America’s Test Kitchen. “The classes on board Holland America Line ships will feature our famous foolproof recipes designed to be repeated and enjoyed long after the voyage has ended. We are excited that Holland America Line is helping America's Test Kitchen reach more enthusiastic home cooks through this onboard experience.”

America’s Test Kitchen is a real place: a no-nonsense, fully equipped, 2,500-square-foot test kitchen located in Brookline, Massachusetts. A team of more than 50 highly qualified test cooks perform thousands of tests every year. The goal? To develop the best recipes and cooking techniques, to review and rate the best cookware and equipment, and to taste-test and recommend brand-name supermarket ingredients for the home cook. Recipes are tested 30, 40 and sometimes as many as 70 times to arrive at the combination of ingredients, technique, temperature, cooking time and equipment that yields the best, most foolproof recipe.

Recipes and reviews are published in two magazines, Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country, in a growing line of cookbooks and special interest magazines, and on the America’s Test Kitchen websites and through an instructional online Cooking School. They also are featured on two public television series: America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country.

America’s Test Kitchen has earned the respect of the publishing world, the culinary world and millions of home cooks who trust its experts for tried and true advice on recipes, supermarket ingredients and cookware. Similarly, the new Holland America Line shipboard shows will present a combination of well-tested recipes using consumer-available ingredients with kitchen tips and advice on the brands of cookware, utensils and appliances America’s Test Kitchen’s experts have tried and recommend.

America's Test Kitchen joins Holland America Line’s elite list of food and beverage collaborators who are the leading authorities in their fields. The esteemed Culinary Council is led by Holland America Line’s Master Chef Rudi Sodamin, who is joined by renowned international chefs Jonnie Boer, David Burke, Elizabeth Falkner and Jacques Torres. The line also has exclusive partnerships with Sushi Chef Andy Matsuda and Master Mixologist Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings makes changes to brand leadership team

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 21 September 2016 21 September 2016

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has announced strategic changes to its brand leadership team to further align the company’s organizational structure with its goal to drive sustained growth and profitability.

Bob Binder has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Oceania Cruises, in addition to his current role as Vice Chairman of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which he has held since 2011. Prior to that, Binder served as President of Oceania Cruises, where he played a key role in the development and design of new Oceania ships and new restaurant concepts for the line. In addition, Andy Stuart, President of Norwegian Cruise line, and Jason Montague, President of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, will add the title of Chief Executive Officer to their expanded roles with their respective brands, effective immediately.

“One of Norwegian’s main strengths is the strong and deep bench of talent across our executive team,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. “The focus and dedication that these leadership changes bring to each of our brands will further align our organizational structure with the unique needs of each brand and will enhance the overall performance of our company by creating even more exceptional vacation experiences across our fleets, strengthening our relationships with our travel partners and optimizing results to position the company for future growth.”

The dedicated brand executives will oversee sales, marketing, passenger services and revenue management for each of their respective brands. They will continue to drive the development of itineraries and the onboard product to ensure each line delivers on its brand promise and provides outstanding cruise vacations for guests. All three will continue to report directly to the Company’s president and chief executive officer, Frank Del Rio.

“With Bob Binder, a co-founder of Oceania Cruises, we bring a uniquely qualified industry veteran to strengthen and grow the Oceania brand and further enhance its position as the leading upper-premium cruise line,” said Del Rio. “We are also capitalizing on the talents and contributions of two key executives, Andy Stuart and Jason Montague, with their expanded roles as Chief Executive Officers within their respective brands.”

AIDAprima to leave Hamburg for the Mediterranean winter 2017-18, AIDAcara to operate world cruise

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 16 September 2016 16 September 2016

AIDAprima, the largest ship in the fleet of AIDA Cruises, the German contemporary market unit in the Carnival Corporation & plc group, will be repositioned from Hamburg to the Mediterranean in the winter of 2017-18 and AIDAcara will operate the company’s first world cruise that same winter, the company said in a statement..

From November 2017, AIDAprima will tour the islands of the Canaries & Madeira. With this cruise option, AIDA is following the wishes of many guests to also be able to experience the youngest member of the fleet at other popular AIDA destinations.

The ports of departure and destination for the 7-day cruises on AIDAprima are Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife). In addition to Gran Canaria and Tenerife, AIDAprima will also call at Madeira, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

Before this, AIDAprima will cruise from Hamburg up to the end of October on destination for 7-day round trips London (from Southampton), Paris (from Le Havre), Brussels (from Zeebrugge) and Amsterdam. “The ice-skating season will be opened on board on 12 November, 2016. The sports weather deck on AIDAprima will then be transformed into a winter world, including mulled wine, also with a non-alcoholic variety,” the company said.

On 17 October, 2017, AIDAcara will start the copany’s first world cruise from Hamburg that will take it to 41 ports in 23 countries on 5 continents over a period of 116 days before returning on 10 February 2018.

From Hamburg, AIDAcara will set course for South America. Dream destinations such as Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego are just a few of the stops before traveling from Valparaiso (Chile) to the Easter Islands. The cruise then continues to Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora in the South Sea paradise of French Polynesia. Auckland (New Zealand), Sydney (Australia), “The Great Barrier Reef, Bali, Singapore and the Maldives will make every explorer’s heart skip a beat,” the company stated.

"Mauritius, Seychelles & Madagascar" programme on AIDAaura, will also be calling at Réunion Island. “On all four islands, AIDAaura guests will have time enough to discover the impressive flora and fauna as well as the different cultures on extensive onshore excursions as the ship will moor overnight in Mahé (Seychelles), Saint-Denis (Réunion) and Port Louis (Mauritius),” AIDA Cruises said. In Madagascar, AIDAaura will call at three different ports, Nosy Be, Antsiranana and Toamasina. The port of departure and destination for this 14-day cruise is Mauritius. Seven departure dates can be selected between November 2017 and February 2018.

Following the successful launch of AIDAprima, AIDA Cruises will welcome her identical sister ship, AIDAperla, as the 12th member of the fleet and from1 September 2017, it will set course for the Mediterranean on four different routes. The ports of departure and destination for the 7-day "Pearls of the Mediterranean 1 & 2" cruises are the capital of the Germans favorite island, Palma de Mallorca, and Barcelona. On these cruises, AIDAperla will visit the island of Corsica, Florence/Livorno and Rome/Civitavecchia in addition to Mallorca and Barcelona

Lovers of culture will be thrilled by the "Pearls of the Mediterranean 3 & 4" cruises. In addition to Florence/Livorno and Rome/ Civitavecchia, these also take guests to Marseille, where AIDAperla will moor overnight. The ports of departure and destination for this cruise are also Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.

From September 2017, AIDAbella guests will be able to discover the Mediterranean on 10 or 11-day cruises between Palma de Mallorca and Venice, also calling at Cagliari/Sardinia, Palermo/Sicily, Valetta/Malta, Corfu and Croatia (Dubrovnik & Split), for example.

From 22 October 2017 AIDAbella will cast off to take her guests on two 7-day and one 10-day Adriatic cruise from Venice. On 15 November 2017, AIDAbella will set course for Bangkok via Dubai. During the 2017-18 winter season, the Thai capital will be the port of departure and destination for the 14-day "Thailand, Malaysia & Singapore 1+2" cruises.

After the end of the current Southeast Asia season, AIDAbella will travel from Shanghai back to Europe in the coming spring, taking three exceptional routes. "From China to Singapore" in 16 days (04.03-04.19.2017), calling metropolises such as Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh and Singapore as well as the exotic beaches on Hainan in China and the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang. An AIDA premiere is the fabulous Ha Long Bay in Northern Vietnam.

The journey continues for a further 18 days "From Singapore to Dubai" (04.19-05.07.2017), with the stops including Malaysia, the Maldives, India and Oman.

 

TUI appoints Richard Sofer Managing Director of Thomson Cruises

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 15 September 2016 15 September 2016

TUI UK & Ireland, part of the Anglo-German travel group TUI AG, has appointment Richard Sofer is the new Managing Director of its Thomson Cruises unit. He will start with immediate effect in his new position, the company said in a statement.

Sofer joins from GLH Hotels, with his most recent role being Chief Executive of Thistle & every hotels. 

Reporting to TUI UK and Ireland’s Distribution and Cruise Director Helen Caron, Sofer will drive the performance of the Thomson Cruise business and deliver the modernisation plan, which will see three ships join the fleet in the next three years.

“Richard will lead the cruise team during the next stage of our modernisation strategy, with a focus on continually improving the customer experience delivering tailored and contemporary end-to-end experiences for our customers,” Caron said.