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Queen Victoria departs her 2015 World Voyage after multi-million dollar refurbishment

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 24 January 2015 24 January 2015

Queen Victoria sailed past a fusillade of fireworks to mark the start of her 2015 World Voyage and show off her stunning new look. The ship set out from Southampton in tip-top form having just returned from an intensive 20 day refurbishment at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg.

Nine brand new single staterooms were installed as part of the refurbishment. In addition to refreshing existing furnishings, enhancements have been made to the outdoor spaces, beverage provision in the ship’s informal Lido restaurant and eight brand new internet stations have been installed on the upper floor of the library.

2,000 contractors representing thirty different nationalities worked a total of 600,000 man hours around the clock to replace all 215,278 square feet of carpet in the passenger areas. They also renewed all 3,167 mattresses on board and replaced over 19,685 square feet - 3.75 miles - of pipe work insulation. 2,695 gallons of paint were used inside and out, enough to paint 54 Boeing 737's.

“The results of Queen Victoria’s refit are a true testament to Cunard’s ability to respond to passenger input. We are delighted to incorporate their wish for more outdoor space with enhancements to the Upper Grill Terrace and additional areas for sunbathing. We also provided more single staterooms for our single travelers. It’s this commitment to our passengers that keeps Cunard’s 175 year heritage going strong,” commented Rick Meadows, President of Cunard, North America.

Such a successful refit depended on a great working partnership between the ship and the shipyard and throughout the refit, Cunard’s shipboard White Star service standards were observed. To sustain the workforce over its tea-breaks for example, over 317 gallons of soup – served in true Cunard style, with croutons – and 2,000 cookies were consumed daily. 80,000 teas and coffees were consumed over the 20 days.

In honour of the company’s anniversary, Queen Victoria welcomed her World Voyage passengers aboard with a commemorative flag-raising ceremony which took place at the ship’s mast. This was to hoist the signature flag for the first time on board and as is traditional, was performed by the youngest crew member, 20 year-old deck cadet Fraser Browne. The flag will be flown at iconic landmarks across the world during all three of the fleet’s World Voyages and will be auctioned at their conclusion with all proceeds going to The Prince’s Trust, Cunard’s official charity.

A volley of fireworks illuminated the sky overhead as Queen Victoria set sail. The ship’s first call will be Ponta Delgada in the Azores on 23 January before she sails to the Caribbean, transits the Panama Canal and heads for Hawaii and Australia.

MSC Cruises launches new, free, interactive mobile app

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 January 2015 22 January 2015

MSC Cruises has launched a new, interactive, mobile app for iOS and Android devices that allows vacationers to easily explore the fleet’s 12 ships and the multiple destinations visited around the world.

The official MSC Cruises app, which is free to download from the App Store and Google Play, is packed with easy to use functions, tips and information, from finding the perfect itinerary and shore excursions to 360 degree virtual ship tours in which users can view actual staterooms, restaurants, lounges, pool decks, the theatre and spa.

“As MSC continues to grow in the North American market, it’s critical that vacationers can quickly and easily get a sense of the overall MSC Cruises’ experience across our 12 ship fleet,” said Ken Muskat, executive vice president of sales, PR and guest services for MSC Cruises USA. “The new app is the perfect tool to help potential guests discover MSC Cruises and our huge range of cruise offerings.”

Functions of the MSC Cruises’ app include:

· View hundreds of MSC Cruises’ worldwide itineraries and info about the destinations and ports visited.

· Find all the latest cruise deals and news from MSC Cruises.

· Take virtual tours of the 12 ships in the fleet including staterooms, restaurants, public lounges and sun decks.

· Watch live onboard webcam feeds from each ship (including the view from the bridge).

· Save “favorite” cruises of interest so that they can easily be viewed later.

· Track the fleet in real time through a global positioning feature.

The launch of the MSC Cruises’ App is the first phase of a strategic effort by MSC to enhance the overall user experience. Throughout the year, MSC will introduce improved consumer and travel agent platforms, ultimately resulting in more consumers engaging with MSC and exploring the line’s diverse cruise offerings and travel agents having the tools to better sell and promote MSC.

For more information on MSC Cruises’ App, visit http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/Multimedia/New-MSC-Cruises-App.aspx

Holland America Line promotes Beth Bodensteiner to SVP, Revenue Management

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 January 2015 22 January 2015

Beth Bodensteiner has been promoted to senior vice president, revenue management for Holland America Line. In this capacity, Bodensteiner will lead the development and execution of all revenue management programs and initiatives that support Holland America Line's revenue goals.

She will report directly to Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line.

"Since joining the company more than a decade ago Beth has consistently demonstrated a level of professionalism and expertise that have been instrumental in the company's planning and decision making," said Ashford. "This promotion recognizes not only her vast contributions, but also the great dedication and leadership she has shown in our efforts to achieve financial goals."

Bodensteiner previously was Holland America Line's vice president of revenue management and product marketing. Prior to that she was director, cruise marketing for voyages, as well as director, cruise marketing for Caribbean and North America.

Before joining Holland America Line in 2003 in the marketing department, Bodensteiner worked as a program manager with Zebra Hill Marketing in Bellevue, Wash. She holds a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Washington.

Carnival enhances design for Carnival Passport learning management system based on agent feedback

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 January 2015 22 January 2015

Carnival today unveiled several design enhancements to its popular Carnival Passport travel agent learning management system. Based on extensive travel agent feedback through quarterly online surveys and Carnival Conversations events, the new design now showcases the most-often used features on the site’s home page, requiring less navigation for agents and decreasing time spent searching for items within the site.

Key features now presented on the home page include:

– Total Credits Earned: Allows agents to quickly verify that they have received credit for completed activities and event attendance.

– Current Passport Level: The site now displays a “passport stamp” in the upper left-hand corner of the home page, along with the number of credits remaining in order for travel agents to proceed to the next level.

– Activities To Complete: Only activities that need be completed are now displayed under Carnival Passport Categories. Previously, agents had to “view” an activity to determine whether it was completed or not.

“We told travel agents at our Carnival Conversations events that we were committed to continually investing in the resources that were most important to them, and Carnival Passport routinely came up as one of the most popular,” said Carnival’s Joni Rein, vice president of worldwide sales. “This new design greatly improves the user functionality of Carnival Passport and, most importantly, gives the tens of thousands of travel agents who use the program on a regular basis more time to do what they do best – to market vacations to their clients.”

In addition, all design features now consolidated on the home page of Carnival Passport include “click and expand” navigation options that increase ease of functionality. A full tutorial of the new features is available to travel agents within Carnival Passport.

Carnival Passport is the line’s comprehensive learning management system that houses all of Carnival’s training and education activities in one easy-to-access area within GoCCL.com, the line’s travel agent Internet portal. With Carnival Passport, agents may select learning activities that best suit their particular educational needs while earning credits along the way. Travel professionals can earn credits within Carnival Passport by participating in tutorials, webinars, trade shows, seminars at sea and more.

In addition, Carnival Passport also features its award-winning Carnival Adventures, the line’s social learning games for travel agents. These games are unique in the cruise industry and designed to provide a fun and engaging platform for learning more about the company and all of its helpful tools. After completing various levels within Carnival Passport, agents will be issued credits, which they can convert into points applicable to the line’s Travel Agent Rewards Program. Additional features and benefits of Carnival Passport include a convenient layout, allowing agents to easily view a menu highlighting live events, a calendar of upcoming events, a video library and an educational catalog that references all of the offerings within the site.

Fincantieri and RSSC celebrates keel laying for Seven Seas Explorer

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 21 January 2015 21 January 2015

The first building block for Seven Seas Explorer was placed this morning during a special keel laying ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa, Italy. The keel laying signals a significant milestone in the construction for what will be the most luxurious ship ever built, and brings the vessel one step closer to its July 20, 2016 maiden voyage.

In a ceremony befitting of the world’s most luxurious ship, a sleek black Rolls Royce Phantom transported the three symbolic coins to the keel laying event. Upon arrival, a dapper butler emerged with a red velvet pillow carrying the coins to be welded into the keel, including a rare 1921 U.S. silver coin known as the Peace Dollar symbolizing the safe passage of Seven Seas Explorer; a 1959 silver Italian Lire representing the year the Fincantieri shipyard was established; and a commemorative coin specially minted for this occasion.

Jason Montague, president and chief operating officer for Regent Seven Seas Cruise, Robin Lindsay, executive vice president of vessel operations and Franco Semeraro, senior vice president of hotel operations welded the coins into the ship’s keel before the building block was lowered into place in the dry dock.

“With construction beginning in earnest today, we took a major step closer to realizing our vision, to provide our guests with a vessel that will be hailed as the most luxurious ship ever built,” said Montague. “Every inch of the Seven Seas Explorer will exude elegance and grandeur, and that extends to all aspects of the ship from the lavish suites to the gourmet restaurants and stylish public spaces. We even ensured that the keel coins convey a sense of luxury.”

At 56,000 gross-registered tons and carrying only 750 guests, Seven Seas Explorer will boast one of the highest space ratios in the cruise industry and among the highest staff-to-guest ratio, further strengthening Regent Seven Seas Cruises' widely recognized position as the leader in the luxury cruise segment. World-renowned architectural interior design firms Tillberg Design AB, RTKL Associates and ICRAVE are designing the vessel. Seven Seas Explorer will join the award-winning Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet in the summer of 2016.