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Crystal River Cruises to include complimentary events at Michelin rated restaurants in Vienna and Budapest

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 July 2016 29 July 2016

Crystal River Cruises, which is part of the Genting Hong Kong owned Crystal Cruises, says on each Crystal Mozart voyage, guests will be treated to one complimentary culinary event at a restaurant recognised by the refined Michelin organisation, each carefully selected by Crystal’s equally refined culinary experts.

Guests may choose one complimentary superlative experience from a selection of seven Michelin-starred restaurants, with the option of reserving further experiences at an additional cost. Crystal’s vice president of food and beverage, Toni Neumeister, has worked closely with the acclaimed chefs and Crystal’s own culinary teams to craft culinary events and menus especially for Crystal Mozart guests.

“Of course, cuisine and the customs surrounding it are significant to any travel experience, and we are delighted to offer our guests some of the best culinary experiences in the world as part of their Crystal Experience,” says Edie Rodriguez, Crystal’s CEO and president.

The Michelin-starred restaurants available to Crystal Mozart guests are:

Le Ciel (Vienna) – spectacular city views and an award-winning reputation are two of the highlights of what is known as one of Vienna’s best gourmet restaurants. Cuisine by Toni Mörwald showcases the kitchen’s creative finesse with the highest quality ingredients.
Edvard Restaurant (Vienna) – celebrated for artful dishes of the finest local meat and fish Chef Anton Pozeg blends the modern and classic beautifully. Dishes are accompanied by a wine list that is nearly as illustrious as the cuisine.
Konstantin Filippou (Vienna) – minimalist atmosphere with natural wood accents is an ideal canvas for the restaurant’s namesake chef to show off his delicate, complex cuisine, which blends Austrian cuisine with Mediterranean influences.
Tian Restaurant (Vienna) – one of only four vegetarian restaurants to receive a Michelin star, the venue offers creative, colourful fare, each dish its own work of art.
Winekitchen Restaurant (Budapest) – also known as Borkonyha Wine Restaurant, this cozy bistro boasts a deceptively unpretentious atmosphere. Classic Hungarian cuisine is served with style and elegance, earning it “favourite” status among most who dine there.
Costes Restaurant (Budapest) – the upmarket eatery is a go-to spot for top international cuisine with a Hungarian flair, and also the first Hungarian restaurant to be awarded the coveted star.
Costes Downtown Restaurant (Budapest) – the downtown counterpart to Costes boasts a menu centred around the day’s local market selections, as determined by the chef, and earned its star less than a year after opening in 2015.

· Tanti Restaurant (Budapest) – considered masterful in reimagining classic Hungarian dishes, the menu features creatively prepared and seasoned fish and seafood, while the surroundings are comfortable, eclectic and elegant

Crystal Cruises to base two newbuildings to Danube from France, expand size

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 July 2016 29 July 2016

Following the successful launch of its first luxury river yacht, Crystal Mozart, Crystal River Cruises, which is part of the Genting Hong Kong group, has announced it will increase its presence in the Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers, deploying four of its planned new build river yachts in the region over the next two years.

The redesign and subsequent redeployment of Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel translates to more options, space and onboard amenities for travelers, as the river yachts will be increased in size from 110 meters to 135 meters, the maximum size permissible on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. The increased length allows for the addition of a swimming pool with a sliding glass roof and more of the ship’s larger suites, which range in size up to 759 square feet.

The new design places the ships as part of the line’s 106-guest Rhine-class series currently comprising Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler, which are due to enter service June 18 and August 29, 2017, respectively. Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel will be set for maiden voyages in April, 2018 and May, 2018 respectively with detailed itineraries to be announced shortly.

“Based on guest feedback lauding the itineraries planned in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Amsterdam and Holland, the company has elected to delay its entrance into the French river cruise market, choosing instead to prioritize its offerings in the German/Austrian region in order to meet travelers’ demand for those experiences,” the company said in a statement.

The shift in focus means redesigning and enlarging the two Paris-Class river yachts, Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel, as Rhine-Class river yachts, and redeploying them east in 2018.Previously, Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel were to travel along the Seine, Rhone and Dordogne Rivers in France beginning in June and August, 2017 respectively.

“Unlike an ocean-going ship that can accommodate a change in itinerary with short notice, a river ship operates within more confined parameters and is unable to reroute easily,” said Crystal’s CEO and president, Edie Rodriguez.

MV Werften signs contracts with Deltamarin, Foreship and Elomatic to design Global Class ships

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 July 2016 29 July 2016

MV Werften, the German shipbuilding group owned by Genting Hong Kong, said it has signed contracts for the basic and detailed design of the 200,001 gross ton “Global Class” cruise ships for Star Cruises, also part of the Genting Hong Kong group, with its engineering partners Elomatic Oy and Deltamarin Ltd

After completing the purchase of the MV Werften shipyards in April, the general arrangement plans for the “Global Class” cruise ships were completed with Foreship Oy in June. All the three partner companies are based in Finland.

“We are delighted to work together with Foreship, Elomatic and Deltamarin on a series of these innovative ships designed from the ground up for the Asian cruise market” says Tan Sri KT Lim, Chairman of the Genting Group.

Star Cruises’ new “Global Class” mega cruise vessels will be over 340 metres long, 45 metres wide and measure 200,001 gross tons. The construction of these ships will be an important boost for the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the entire European cruise shipbuilding industry, especially when other shipbuilding sectors have slowed dramatically. Steel cutting for the first vessel is expected to begin in late 2017 and delivery is scheduled for 2020, the shipbuilder said in a statement.

MSC Cruises plans to place ships under British flag, enter tonnage tax – report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 July 2016 29 July 2016

MSC Cruises, the world’s fourth largest cruise shipping group, is planning to place vessels under the British flag and enter them in the country’s tonnage tax, a move that would require it to manage and operate them from Britain, Lloyds List reports on its website.

The publication cited Guy Platten, CEO of the UK Chamber of Shipping, who had given a presentation to the All-Party Parliamentary Maritime and Ports Group in London.

“MSC Cruises is already in the process of doing so. I’ve had a recent conversation with another major shipping line which is considering moving its ships into the flag and tonnage tax. There are rumours of others too,” he was quoted as saying.

In addition to some vessels of the Carnival group, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL), the world’s second largest cruise shipping group that operates 14 of its ships under companies which have elected to be subject to the United Kingdom tonnage tax regime. None of them fly the British flag, however.

“Companies subject to UK tonnage tax pay a corporate tax on a notional profit determined with reference to the net tonnage of qualifying vessels. The requirements for a company to qualify for the UK tonnage tax regime include being subject to United Kingdom corporate income tax, operating qualifying ships, which are strategically and commercially managed in the United Kingdom, and fulfilling a seafarer training requirement,” RCCL said in its 2015 annual report.

“Failure to meet any of these requirements could cause us to lose the benefit of the tonnage tax regime which will have a material effect on our results of operations,” the company pointed out.

MSC Cruises currently operates its fleet under the flag of Panama. The Lloyds List report said the company is building new UK head office in Uxbridge west of London to cater for its expanding activities in the country.

Higher ticket prices and cheaper fuel lift Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s profit

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 July 2016 25 July 2016

A substantial fall in fuel costs combined with higher ticket prices has helped Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based destinational operator of four cruise ships, to increase profits in both the second quarter and the first half the year, parent company Bonheur ASA said in a statement.

In the second quarter, the cruise line’s net profit rose to NOK67 million from NOk23 million in the same period last year. Revenues rose to NOK550 million from nOK502 million.

In the first six months of the year, the company made a net profit of NOK83 million compared to NOK18 million a year earlier. Revenues rose to nOK1.05 billion from NOK10.1 billion.

“Net ticket income per diem was 5% higher compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The average spot price of fuel oil in the quarter was 26% lower than in second quarter 2015,” Bonheur said, adding that the number of passenger days totaled 286 447 (275 458) for the quarter.

Bonheur, which is headquartered and listed in Oslo, did not give a guidance regarding the expected future performance of the Ipswich based cruise company. It did not have any news about an investment plan that Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines said last month it was going to unveil in the near future.