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Ovation of the Seas floated out, to offer extra three night mini cruise from Southampton

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 February 2016 19 February 2016

Royal Caribbean International says Ovation of the Seas, the third unit in its Quantum class of ships, has been floated out at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Gerrmany and that it would offer an extra three night mini cruise from Southampton in April.

A new, three-night inaugural cruise will sail out of Southampton on 14 April on a roundtrip to the Netherlands giving holidaymakers another chance to holiday onboard the new Quantum Class ship where guests can now also take in the sites of Rotterdam.

“This debut sailing is in addition to the two other European cruises already on sale, including a five night cruise to France and Belgium (17 – 22 April) and a seven night cruise to France and Spain (22 – 29 April) before setting off on her 52 day Global Odyssey tour to her homeport in Tianjin, China,” the company said in a statement.

“This sailing will also see guests being able to experience for the first time Royal Suite Class, Royal Caribbean’s new luxury offering that includes 24/7 service from the new Royal Genies. Royal Suite Class guests can indulge in a range of indulgent experiences including exclusive access to the California-chic Coastal Kitchen restaurant through to a private sundeck and complimentary access to the luxury Vitality Spa,” royal Caribbean said.

Ovation of the Seas has now been floated out but it will remain in the shipyard until about mid-March, where it will get some more work done, such as the addition of the North Star observation pod.

The next major milestone for Ovation of the Seas will be its conveyance on the River Ems to the North Sea for sea trials. It is expected to take place in about three weeks.

Costa Cruises unveils fashion partnership at start of Milan Fashion Week

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 February 2016 19 February 2016

Coinciding with the start of Milan Fashion Week, Costa Cruises has announced a partnership with Italian fashion label SLAM that bridges the worlds of fashion and travel.

“Keeping cruisers looking stylish while aboard, the cruise line has launched an exclusive collection of casualwear & accessories for men and women, called the ‘Capsule Collection’. Created together with SLAM, a traditional Genoese brand with nautical roots that specialises in technical clothing and sportswear, the items will be available exclusively in stores on board Costa ships,” the company said in a statement.

Costa Cruises is part of Carnival Corporation & plc group.

Royal Caribbean International upgrades storm avoidance policy

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 February 2016 19 February 2016

Royal Caribbean International President sand CEO Michael Bayley said the company has upgraded its storm avoidance policy and dedicated more resources to avoid the reoccurrence of events like those faced by Anthem of the Seas earlier this month.

“The severity of the storm far exceeded forecasts, but ultimately it is our responsibility to avoid these possibilities – and this event has provided us with an important learning opportunity. We can do better, and we will. I want to let all travel partners know the steps we are taking,” Bayley said in a letter to travel partners.

“We’ve updated our storm avoidance policy and added additional resources at our headquarters to provide more data and guidance to support our captains. Senior marine executives and, when necessary, meteorologists will be involved in decisions about when, where and whether to sail when storms are forecast,” he stated.

A few issues still require attention, including replacing outdoor ceiling paneling by the SeaPlex, repairing some balcony partitions and replacing broken furniture.

Stronger UK wave season reported than 2015

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 February 2016 19 February 2016

This year’s wave season in the cruise industry appears to have outperformed last year’s weak performance, Travel Weekly reports.

“While a number of cruise line bosses declined to reveal growth figures for the wave period, others reported an increase in bookings of almost 50%. The positive start to the year follows a tougher wave period in 2015, when a number of lines admitted the start of the year had been slower than anticipated,” the report said.

GfK, which conducts surveys, put cruise sales for 2016 up 1% year on year for bookings made between Boxing Day and February 6, with an average selling price of £1,402. GfK’s figures represent about 40% of the UK ocean cruise market, mainly high street bookings but not cruise specialists’ or cruise lines’ direct sales.

GfK’s figures also show a surge in bookings for 2017, with sales more than twice those of the same period last year. The average selling price for 2017 is £2,394.

In 2014, the UK cruise market contracted by 5% to 1,65 million ocean cruise passengers, the first decline in about a decade. It happened despite a 2.9% growth of the country’s GPD and low unemployment. The 2015 passenger volume figures have not been disclosed yet.

Meyer Werft strengthens management team

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 February 2016 18 February 2016

Meyer Werft continues to strengthen its management team: the management team of Meyer Werft, consisting of Bernard Meyer, Dr Jan Meyer and Lambert Kruse, will be extended by Tim Meyer on 1 June 2016. Thereby, the management base of Meyer Werft is being broadened and rejuvenated once more, enabling it to face the conditions posed by global competition and the special challenges of cruise ship building.

The Meyer Werft family business, which has been managed by the Meyer family since 1795, has already brought about an organisational change in the past years with Dr Jan Meyer as managing director. As such, it has prepared itself for the generational transition in the long term. With Tim Meyer, another member of the family has joined the shipbuilding company’s management board. Following his graduation as an industrial engineer, Tim Meyer was employed in the automotive industry in the logistics and production planning sector since 2008.