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Seabourn's John Delaney moves to Windstar Cruises

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 July 2016 08 July 2016

John Delaney is new president of Windstar Cruises. The seasoned cruise veteran will chart a course for the boutique, small ship cruise line that prides itself on a casual yet elegant approach to smaller harbors, in-port overnights and personalized experiences around the world. His first day in office will be on July 19.

Delaney, formerly SVP of Global Marketing and Sales for Seabourn Cruise Line (a Carnival Corporation), also has significant tenure with The Walt Disney Company and Holland America Line.

“We are very pleased to welcome John on- board. Cruise vacationers and our guests have every reason to expect a new era of exciting, wonderful and memorable vacation experiences on our yachts and in the ports Windstar visits,” said Andrew N. Todd, chief executive officer of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, parent company of Windstar Cruises. “Windstar just welcomed back the renovated Star Pride, and since taking ownership of Windstar in 2011, we have invested more than $40 million into our three sailing yachts and three motorized all-suite yachts, so this is an ideal time for John to join the company and contribute to its success.”

From 2011 through June of this year, John was the senior vice president of global marketing and sales for Seabourn Cruise Line. Prior to that he also held a number of positions at Holland America, including vice president of revenue marketing, director of special projects at corporate audit services and manager of management advisory services.

Before working for Carnival Corporation, he spent six years at The Walt Disney Company starting as a financial analyst in food operations at The Disneyland Resort and working his way up and through various departments including senior business planner for theme park operations revenue and manager of marketing finance. After a brief stint with Gateway Business, he returned to The Walt Disney Company at Disneyland Resort culminating as director, financial planning and analysis.

John earned his BS in Business Administration and Accounting from California State University in Long Beach, California, and resides in Seattle.

P&O Cruises unveils new features on Pacific Explorer

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 July 2016 08 July 2016

P&O Cruises will take holidaymakers on a voyage of discovery on its latest ship, Pacific Explorer, which will debut next year with exciting new features including two spectacular waterslides, a chilled barefoot bowls green and an elegant supper club for evening entertainment.

With Pacific Explorer’s inaugural cruise from Sydney now less than one year away, P&O has unveiled details of the ship’s multi-million dollar refurbishment.

Maintaining the cruise line’s reputation for innovation, Pacific Explorer will be packed with surprises, including P&O’s first ever waterpark at sea, as well as its most extensive range of dining options, delivered in a stylish, contemporary setting.

The fun starts on the top decks with two breathtaking waterslide experiences – the first offering LED lights and sound effects and the second featuring heart-racing twists and turns.

Guests of all ages will be able to enjoy the waterpark, with a shaded area for kids featuring a dumping bucket and oversized water toys.

Meanwhile, the popular P&O Edge Adventure Park will feature activities including a flying fox, while those seeking a more relaxed pace will be able to head to the back deck for a cruisey game of barefoot bowls.

Continuing P&O’s food revolution, Pacific Explorer will offer some tantalising new dining concepts, including The Black Circus, a supper club venue offering delicious food served with a side of cabaret-style entertainment.

Guests will also be able to enjoy a slice of Italy, with a new pizza restaurant offering gourmet pizzas and share platters, while the cruise line’s popular international food market place, The Pantry, will be extended to include a ninth outlet, Nic and Toni’s, serving Mediterranean cuisine. Also on offer will be a poolside Lobster & Burger bar, serving delicious lobster and seafood rolls as well as premium beef and pulled pork burgers.

The new dining options are in addition to the cruise line’s popular Waterfront restaurant, which will feature on Pacific Explorer along with two other restaurants which debuted on Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden last year: Angelo’s, serving contemporary Italian cuisine, and the sultry Asian dining venue, Dragon Lady.

Another P&O favourite, Salt grill by Luke Mangan will also be onboard, enjoying a sparkling location overlooking the main pool area, while a range of new bars, including a stylish hidden bar, will provide the perfect location for relaxing pre and post dinner drinks.

Announcing details of the refurbishment, P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said Pacific Explorer’s décor would reflect modern Australia, combining elegance with relaxed comfort to create the striking contemporary look which has become a trademark of the P&O fleet.

Myrmell said the P&O team had a lot of fun designing Pacific Explorer.

“We’ve taken the winning features of our existing ships, then added a whole new layer of excitement with some big wow moments like the waterslides as well as new concepts like the bowling green and a stunning hidden bar, which we think will put a smile on our guests’ faces,” Myrmell said.

“It really will be a ship that offers something for everyone.”

Presently sailing as Dawn Princess with sister line Princess Cruises, the 77,000-tonne Pacific Explorer will be refitted in May and June next year, sailing on her first cruise from Sydney on June 22. She will join P&O ships Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel as well as P&O’s latest additions, Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden, which debuted last year.

Norwegian introduces euro pricing in Republic of Ireland

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 July 2016 06 July 2016

Norwegian Cruise Line, the contemporary maret unit in the Norwegian Cruise Kline Holding group, said it had launched euro pricing for the Republic of Ireland.

The move to euro pricing is another step forward in Norwegian’s “Growing Europe” strategy to develop and enhance Europe’s robust position as a source market for the company globally. It also reinforces Norwegian’s Partners First approach towards its distribution partners, which focuses on ensuring that the company is easy to do business with and fostering the strong relationships with the travel trade.

“The availability of pricing in euro for the Irish market is accompanied by a robust roll-out plan that – in line with the four core pillars of the Partners First philosophy – focuses on education of the travel partners and many Irish partners are already taking part in training sessions through webinars or face-to-face workshops,” the company said in a statement.

Christian Boell, Managing Director EMEA, Norwegian Cruise Line, said: “We are proud to be providing our valued partners with Euro pricing. We take business with our Irish partners very seriously and have listened to direct feedback to enhance our business model. Partners First is all about continuously strengthening our relationship with the travel trade and ensuring that we are easy to do business with. I believe that offering our fantastic itineraries in Euro pricing is a big step forward for our business in the Republic of Ireland.”

AmaWaterways to open UK office

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 July 2016 06 July 2016

AmaWaterways, which runs a fleet of 21 river cruise ships around the world, is to open its own base in Guildford, Surrey, on 1 September with Stuart Perl as managing director, Travel Weekly reports.

He will oversee the company’s marketing activities in the UK and Europe.

Rudi Schreiner, owner of the company was quoted as saying: “As we transition into our next stage of growth, we are excited about the opportunity that exists and look forward to bringing the beauty of river cruising to the European travel market.”

Perl added: “River cruising continues to expand in popularity with the today’s active affluent travellers and I look forward to our AmaWaterways team building even stronger relationships with our current trade partners and developing new trade partnerships to ensure that AmaWaterways continues to lead the way in this thriving sector.”

MSC Seaview to spend her inaugural season in the Mediterranean

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 July 2016 05 July 2016

MSC Cruises announced today that the second of its Seaside-generation smart cruise ships, set to come into service in June 2018, will be named MSC Seaview. She will spend her inaugural season cruising the Western Mediterranean, with three major ports of embarkation in history- and culture-rich Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona.

Sales for the MSC Seaview cruise ship open today for MSC Voyagers Club members, an exclusive benefit of the program that rewards loyal MSC Cruises guests. Sales will open for all other guests on July 18.

“Our Company’s heritage lies in the Mediterranean and it was only natural that MSC Seaview — our third next-generation smart ship which comes into service in June 2018 — would be deployed in its historic and culture-rich waters,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises. “Guests can now plan their vacation and experience everything that this ever popular region has to offer from on board one of the industry’s most innovatively-designed ships at sea.”

MSC Cruises’ Seaside-generation ships are being built by Italy-based Fincantieri, one of the largest shipbuilding groups in the world. These new ships combine Fincantieri’s shipbuilding tradition, expertise, Italian flair and excellence in design with the industry-leading innovation and global vision of MSC Cruises.

“We are proud of our partnership with Fincantieri in realizing our vision for this innovatively-designed, new generation of smart ships at sea,” said Onorato.

Known as the “ship that follows the sun,” the design of the Seaside-generation cruise ships embodies MSC Cruises’ passion for the sea and features the highest ratio of outdoor space per guest at sea. Inspired by a pioneering beach condo concept, MSC Seaview will bring guests and the sea closer, with special design elements that allow guests to make the most of the warmer weather. For example, guests will be able to enjoy their time on board eating, drinking and relaxing outdoors in the Mediterranean sunshine with some of the best sea views in the world. They will also benefit from an increased number of balcony staterooms, sea views and public areas, with every element carefully planned to allow guests to make the most of the sea and the sunshine.

A unique design feature of MSC Seaview is the impressive 360° promenade with glass balustrades that runs around the entire ship. This stunning public space will act as a lively recreation area where guests can stroll in the open air, eat and drink al fresco from a variety of bars and restaurants or shop in the boutiques, all while enjoying the spectacular sea views.

MSC Seaview is one of MSC Cruises’ new next- generation smart cruise ships, employing the latest and the best technology available at sea to enable guests to customize their onboard and onshore experience so that they each enjoy a uniquely personalized cruise experience. In partnership with technology leader Samsung, the next-generation technology will include everything from the latest displays and mobile solutions to products for enhanced reality consumer retail experiences. This will include, among others:

– Near Field Communication (NFC), using a cruise card, bracelet or smartphone for a range of different options including geo-location of children, stateroom access and onboard payment.

– Interactive screens to make it simple to select excursions as well as book shows and restaurants.

– iBeacon technology that is customized to each guests’ specific preferences so that they will never miss their favorite experiences and will be able to communicate with mobile devices and receive push notifications about relevant information and offers.

MSC Seaview will commence her maiden voyage from Genoa, Italy on June 10, 2018.