Tallink losses mount on seasonal factors, dry docking

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 16 May 2014 16 May 2014

As Tallink Grupp, the Estonian cruise ferry company that has a fleet of 18 ships, has reported a deepening of net loss in the first quarter on seasonal factors and dry docking of a large vessel.

Group net loss deepened by 33% to €23.4 million, while revenues fell 1% to €188.2 million. Easter, a busy travel period, did not coincide with the review period this year unlike in 2013, while dry docking of the 58,800 gross ton Silja Serenade meant it did not operate for 40 days.

In all, Tallink carried 1.9 million passengers that was an increase of 1.9% on the same period last year.

Costa Crociere unveils 2015-16 programme

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 14 May 2014 14 May 2014

Costa Crociere, the Italian unit of Carnival Corp & plc group, has unveiled its 2015-16 range of cruises at the 21st edition of ‘I Protagonisti del Mare’ (The Champions of the Sea), the annual event involving about 1,700 partner travel agents from Europe, Asia and Africa. The 18 months of cruises (from November 2014 to April 2016) announced can now be booked in travel agencies or directly on the website, the company said in astatement.

The 2015-16 announcement included news of Costa Cruises’ range of 553 departures, 261 destinations, 137 itineraries and 60 ports of embarkation around the world. The most exciting news concerns the new itineraries in the most popular destinations - the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Northern Europe - and on the three new Round-the-World Cruises. There are also new cruises to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, South America and the Far East.

The biggest ship announcement is the debut of Costa Diadema (132,500 gross tons and 1,862 guest cabins), the fleet’s new flagship which will be christened in Genoa on 7 November 2014. Costa Diadema will be Costa Cruises’ ‘Regina del Mediterraneo’ (Queen of the Mediterranean) and throughout the 2014/15 winter season and 2015 summer season she will operate seven-day cruises from Savona and call at Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Naples and La Spezia each week. Allowing guests the chance to visit two of Italy’s most popular cities - Florence and Naples – on a single cruise.

There is also news regarding the Costa neoCollection, the new type of slow cruise designed to make the most of every minute at a leisurely pace. From December 2014, Costa Classica will join the Costa neoCollection fleet and be renamed Costa neoClassica. Together with Costa neoRomantica and Costa neoRiviera, the new addition will offer cruises to unique destinations with great natural scenery and superb cultural attractions, as well as places that are inaccessible to big ships, including some that have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

“We are really proud to present this new range of cruises to our partners,” declared Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Crociere S.p.A. “Thanks to them we can continue to grow and innovate, offering our guests the opportunity not simply to go on holiday, but actually to have a dream vacation. This year we have lots of news to share with our partners. One of the headlines is the christening of Costa Diadema, our new flagship that will be a roving ambassador for the ‘Made in Italy’ label.”

A spotlight on the new itineraries

From December 2015 to March 2016, Costa Mediterranea will be offering cruises in the Caribbean from Miami with calls in the Bahamas, the Antilles and Costa Maya in Mexico.

In the Mediterranean, Costa Cruises announces four new itineraries. Costa Fascinosa and Costa Magica will offer 12-day cruises in the western Mediterranean with a two-day stopover in Casablanca. Starting from spring 2015 Costa Mediterranea will be deployed on seven-day cruises with an overnight stay in Trieste before visiting beautiful destinations on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea such as Split, Kotor, Kefalonia, Corfu and Dubrovnik. Costa Magica will transport her guests in the Canary Islands with calls at Tenerife and Lanzarote.

In Northern Europe, Costa Luminosa is offering the opportunity to experience a week in the Baltic Sea with an exclusive overnight stay in St. Petersburg. Costa Fortuna offers ten-day itineraries amongst wonderful Norwegian fiords or two weeks to visit the wild natural scenery of Iceland.

The Costa neoCollection will be extending its range thanks to the addition of Costa neoClassica to the fleet dedicated to this new way of enjoying the cruise experience. During the winter season Costa neoClassica will offer exclusive itineraries in the Indian Ocean. The main news for summer 2015 is the introduction of fly and cruise departures from Istanbul to the finest Greek islands.

Costa Cruises will also offer three extraordinary Round-the-World Cruises, with departures available in January and September 2015, and January 2016.

Insignia rejoins Oceania Cruises’ fleet after $50 million upgrade

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 13 May 2014 13 May 2014

Oceania Cruises, which is part of the Prestige Cruise Holdings group, has welcomed Insignia, one of the three 30,300 gross ton ships of its original fleet, back following a two-year charter to Hapag Lloyd Kreuzfahrten to whom it sailed as Columbus 2, and an extensive dry dock.

Insignia is the first of three sister ships of Oceania Cruises to undergo a $50 million refurbishment.  Nautica and Regatta are scheduled to enter dry dock and receive similar enhancements over the next four weeks.  Renovating three ships from bow to stern in a six-week time period marks the largest refurbishment programme in Oceania Cruises’ history.

The multimillion dollar makeover brings many of the interior design elements from the award-winning Marina and Riviera ships to Insignia, Nautica and Regatta while maintaining the warmth, intimacy and charm Oceania Cruises’ guests cherish in the 684-passenger ships.  In addition to elegant new furnishings and décor for all public rooms, suites and staterooms, Insignia added several new guest experiences, including the ever-popular Baristas coffee bar, a cook-to-order grill at Terrace Café and new outdoor recreation on the Sports Deck. 

In preparation for two special 180-day voyages, a version of the Artist Loft enrichment centre was added exclusively to Insignia during the dry dock.  The “Around the World in 180 Days” cruise departs from Miami on 10th January 2015, and the “180 Day World Odyssey” sails from Miami on 8th July 2015.

“This is a milestone moment for Oceania Cruises.  Not only did we welcome home a family member with Insignia re-joining the fleet today, but she comes out of dry dock essentially a new ship, reflecting an even higher level of elegance and design,” said Kunal S. Kamlani, president of Oceania Cruises.  “By adding features our guests adore from Marina and Riviera to Insignia, Nautica and Regatta, it further enhances the upscale cruise experience and exceptional value for which Oceania Cruises is known throughout the industry.”

Online grows as nearly half a million download TUI Travel plc app

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 13 May 2014 13 May 2014

TUI Travel plc, the London based tour operating group that owns Thomson Cruises in the UK with five ships and is a major retailer of cruises of other lines, says its direct distribution and online businesses have shown continued strong growth in the first half of its financial year.

“Our direct distribution mix improved by three percentage points in the first half to 68% of Mainstream sales, with improvements in all key source markets. The improvement in direct distribution was driven by the online channel which also increased by four percentage points to 38% of Mainstream sales,” the company said in a statement. “Our customers are increasingly seeing the benefits of our digital transformation strategy, which in turn is driving conversion improvements from our new web platforms.”

“Our digital assistant app is a key driver in maintaining the ongoing customer relationship and will be used to link our people more effectively with our customers any time, anywhere, any way, with continuous additions to functionality. To date, we have rolled out the app to five source markets, just twelve months after the initial UK launch.”

“The apps have received over 490,000 downloads to date with good levels of usage and engagement. We have a clear roadmap in place to make the transition ‘from assistant to concierge’ over the next 18 months, with additional features that will lead to an increased number of downloads.”

“As an online-driven business, we have a focus on the online customer experience. We are moving to one core online platform across Mainstream. This has already been implemented in the UK and Nordics source markets, and is being rolled out to others in 2014. We continue to see significant benefits in conversion rates as a result of the implementation of the new platform. The optimisation of websites in our core source markets for mobile and tablet use is also driving improved conversion - in the UK, smartphone and tablet bookings improved by 81% in the first half of the year,” TUI Travel said.