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Royal Caribbean takes delivery of Ovation of the Seas

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 April 2016 11 April 2016

Royal Caribbean International, the contemporary market unit in the Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCCL) group, has taken delivery of Ovation of the Seas, in a ceremony held in Bremerhaven, Germany. It is the third unit of the Quantum class of ships and the 24^th vessel in the fleet of the company. It was built at the Meyer Werft in Germany, which has two further units of the class on order. These will be delivered in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Fincantieri lays keel of Viking Sun, fourth of six ships of Viking Ocean Cruises

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 April 2016 08 April 2016

The keel laying ceremony for Viking Sun, the fourth of planned six cruise ships Viking Ocean Cruises has ordered from Fincantieri, took place today at the shipyard in Ancona, the cruise line said in a statement.

The first building block of the ship, about 11 meters long, 28.8 wide and weighing about 280 tons, is part of the central section of Viking Sun, due to delivery in 2017.

Viking Sun, as its sister ships, will be placed in the small cruise ship segment. In fact, with a gross tonnage of about 47,800 tons, it will have 465 cabins with accommodation for 930 passengers, with a total capacity of over 1,400 people, including the crew. "The ship has been designed by experienced naval architects and engineers, including an interior design team of London-based SMC Design, and Los Angeles-based Rottet Studios," the company said.

Crystal Cruises to turn Miami landmark building to portfolio display location

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 April 2016 08 April 2016

Crystal Cruises, the luxury cruise shipping company in the Genting Hong Kong group, said it plans to make the historic Shrine Building in downtown Miami its central display location for portfolio.

“The 1930’s Art Deco landmark located on Biscayne Boulevard will become the first land-based member of the Crystal portfolio, as the line plans to exponentially expand its collection of luxury travel offerings over the next three years with the launch of Crystal Yacht Cruises, Crystal River Cruises, Crystal Luxury Air, Crystal AirCruises, Crystal Exclusive Class ocean vessels and Crystal Residences,” the company said in a statement.

The move is part of the company’s strategy introduced last year to transform it from a cruise line to a lifestyle company.

“The reimagined building will serve as the headquarters for travelers to preview Crystal Residences at sea and will also provide an immersive and interactive experience for guests who want a glimpse into the all-inclusive Crystal Experience,” the company said. Overseeing the building project is architect Richard Heisenbottle of South Florida’s R.J. Heisenbottle Architects, P.A., who has a curated vision for bringing the historic building into a new era, much like the Crystal brand.

Designed to mirror many of the nuances travelers experience aboard Crystal vessels, the building will feature showrooms for the residences planned for the “Exclusive Class” ships. The company plans to build three of these 100,000 gross ton ships with 1,000 passenger capacity at Lloyd Werft in Germany, which is now also owned by Genting.

Also on the ground floor will be a specialty restaurant, which will offer the same celebrated standard of cuisine service for which Crystal has been known for. “After taking an elevator up one floor, guests will emerge into an all-encompassing 180-degree cinematic experience of all things Crystal. Grand-scale murals and living walls will be featured, highlighting the global experiences and destinations offered with Crystal,” the company said.

“The two large balconies that currently adorn the building will be outfitted to reflect a ship’s private veranda, capitalizing on the building’s close proximity to Biscayne Bay. Individual private conference rooms will line the perimeter of the second floor, offering a quiet space for guests to learn more about Crystal Residences.”

IG RiverCruise gives green light to German transport infrastructure plan

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

IG RiverCruise, an organisation that represents 22 river cruise companies in Europe, has given green light to Federal German transport infrastructure plan that includes investment in developing inland waterways.

The Federal Minister of Transport, Alexander Dobrindt, last month presented the draft of the 2030 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. According to this, €264,5 billion of federal funds are planned to be invested in the German infrastructure - with seven billion euro intended for the expansion and newbuilding of inland waterways.

“The IG RiverCruise appreciates the Federal Government’s efforts to retain and extend the navigability of German waterways. This applies especially in view of the fact that the river cruise industry will further gain in importance in the next years,” the organisation said in a statement.

The results of a study called “Der Fluss-Kreuzfahrtmarkt 2015” (the River Cruise Market 2015) conducted by the IG RiverCruise and published in cooperation with the German Travel Association (DRV) verify the growing relevance of the river cruise industry.

“During the last three years the western European river cruise fleet rose by 22 % and 20 further newbuilds for those waterways are scheduled to be delivered this year. Out of those, the main waterways concentrate on Germany and its neighbouring states,” IG RiverCRuise said

“More than 75 % of the German river cruise passengers traveled the cruise destinations Rhine, Main, Danube and their tributary rivers emphasising the significance of the German inland waterways, especially for this type of tourism.” remarked Helge Grammerstorf, Managing Director of IG RiverCruise.

“Based on the rising demand for river cruises the cruise industry is going to generate many new jobs, both in the nautical and the hotel sector.” said Thomas Bogler, President of the IG RiverCruise. Hence, the needed personnel will be recruited in Europe as well as non-European countries, as the West European labour market itself won’t be able to supply sufficient qualified employees

Voyages to Antiquity launches 2017 programme, introduces no fly cruises from Britain

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 April 2016 05 April 2016

Voyages to Antiquity, the British destinational niche cruise brand, has launched its 2017 programme. This includes 30 new ports of call and introduces cruises from the UK that do not involve flights, a new step for the company, it said in a statement.