Crystal Cruises introduces 16 European cycling tours

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 15 April 2014 15 April 2014

Crystal Cruises, the Los Angeles based luxury cruise company owned by Tokyo based Nippoun Yusen Kaisha (NYK) said it is expanding its roster of active, immersive experiences ashore with 16 bicycle Crystal Adventures in 2014. 

"Throughout Northern and Western Europe and the Mediterranean, travelers can enjoy some of the world’s most striking architecture, charming villages, spectacular seaside views and historically profound sites, often best – and sometimes only – accessed on bicycle," the compay said in a statement.  Offered with May-September voyages aboard Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, the half- and full-day excursions combine fitness with new, intimate perspectives on favorite destinations such as:

·         Malta – A 12.5-mile route travels through countryside only accessible by bicycle and along the westerncoastline toward the highest point in Malta, the Dingli Cliffs – dramatically sheering straight down to the Mediterranean Sea and providing spectacular panoramic views.

·         Tallinn – Guests will seemingly cycle back in time as they ride to the Baroque palace and summer home of Peter the Great, and around the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is the city’s Old Town, complete with ancient walls, cobblestone lanes and 16^th century architecture – including a pharmacy that has been in business since 1422. 

·         Copenhagen – In one of the world’s most bike-friendly cities, guests can truly experience the sites as the locals do, including a winding, five-mile ride through a forest en route to a 500-year-old amusement park (the world’s oldest), Bakken, where they’ll have time to play and explore.

·         Bordeaux/Bassens – Along a nine-mile combination of flat and hilly roads in the quaint village of Saint-Émilion – whose entire wine “jurisdiction” is a UNESCO World Heritage Site – where guests will enjoy views of beautiful chateaus and expansive vineyards of such premier estates as Château Angélus, Figeac and Cheval Blanc.  

·         Barcelona – An invigorating five-mile ride through the city’s bustling streets affords the opportunity to admire the profoundly impressive architecture of the cathedrals and other icons, while also enjoying performances from street artists that liven up the La Rambla boulevard. 

·         Guernsey/St. Peter Port – Along a six-mile stunning coastal path, travelers can marvel equally at L’Ancresse and Pembroke beaches and the Le Dehus Dolmen, home to Neolithic-era tombs that resemble a miniature Stonehenge.

With Crystal’s 2014 European voyages, bicycle adventures are also offered in Valencia and Mallorca, Spain; Corfu, Greece; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Helsinki, Finland; Holyhead, Wales; Kotor, Montenegro; Skagen, Denmark; St. Tropez, France; and St. Petersburg, Russia.  

“Many guests have become increasingly interested in more athletic pursuits that allow them to enjoy a destination in a more up close and personal way,” says John Stoll, vice president of land programs.  “The bicycle excursions not only foster personal connections with the scenery and surrounding cultures, but also with each other.  Each cycling group builds a special camaraderie as they share these experiences.”  

With all the details of the bicycle Crystal Adventures arranged by Crystal’s staff and expert partners ashore, including helmets, bottled water, refreshments in most locales and terrain-appropriate bikes, prices for bicycling excursions in Europe range from $89 to $249 per person.  

In 2014, the line’s luxurious ships will sail 23 European voyages of 7 to 14 days, with shorter “Crystal Getaways” and extended combination cruises also available.  Until April 30, 2014, all-inclusive “Book Now” cruise fares for the line’s European sailings start at $1,730 per person.

Crystal’s passion for creating exclusive, eye-opening luxury shore-side experiences are cornerstones of its Crystal Adventures program, earning the line top ratings for two decades.  Bicycle trips are also offered in North America this fall, from Halifax and Bar Harbor to Key West and Cabo San Lucas.

Stoll adds, “For many, it is a lifelong dream to cycle through Europe’s most beautiful landscapes – a dream one wouldn’t necessarily expect to fulfill while on a cruise.”

 

Celebrity Cruises unveils two ship 2015-16 Australia-Pacific pogramme

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 15 April 2014 15 April 2014

Celebrity Cruises says it has unveiled its 2015-16 sailings to Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, featuring over 70 destinations to choose from. With new ports of call including Mystery Island (Vanuatu), Dutch Harbor (Alaska), Beppu and Kanazawa (Japan) and Vladivostok (Russia) plus more overnight stays, guests can discover new exotic places in modern luxury style. Sailings are now open for booking.

Celebrity Millennium will visit 43 destinations in 14 countries during the 2015-16 season, starting in September 2015. With departures from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo (Yokohama), the itineraries offer guests a wide range of options to choose from. Holidaymakers can also experience more of Asia for longer with overnight stays in eight different destinations: Tokyo and Kobe (Japan), Hong Kong (China), Taipei (Taiwan), Hanoi (Vietnam), Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore and Bali (Indonesia).

Highlights from the new itineraries include:

·                     Two 14-night roundtrip Japan sailings featuring overnight stays in Tokyo (Yokohama) and Kobe (Japan). The ship will also visit Mt. Fuji (Shimizu), Beppu, Kanazawa and Otaru (Japan), plus Vladivostok (Russia)

·                     The 14-night Singapore to Hong Kong sailings offer overnight stays in Hong Kong, Hanoi, Bangkok, and Singapore. In Hanoi, the ship will anchor in Ha Long Bay, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its scenic beauty and thousands of limestone islands and islets rising from the sea. Guests will also visit Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) and Danang/Hue (Chan May) (Vietnam)

·                     Holidaymakers can enjoy three days and two nights in Bali during the Singapore to Indonesia 14-night roundtrip sailing. Plus, guests will visit Komodo Island, home of the Komodo Dragon, as well as Phuket, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang).

On 31 January 2016, a special Chinese New Year sailing will be offered with an overnight stay in Hong Kong (China). Celebrating the Year of the Monkey, guests can experience the excitement of being in Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong) and watch a spectacular fireworks display.

Following Celebrity Millennium’s season in Asia, on 13 March 2016, the ship will begin a series of exotic sailings ranging from 11 to 18 nights from Singapore, Sydney and Honolulu, finishing in Vancouver on 26 April 2016. Guests can combine these sailings to create a 45 day voyage calling upon 17 ports, in seven countries, across three continents including Australia, Fiji and French Polynesia. Guests can also enjoy overnight stays in Bali, Honolulu, and Maui.

Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii

Celebrity Solstice will sail to 34 destinations in 10 countries from September 2015 with itineraries ranging from eight to 18 nights in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, departing from Auckland, Sydney and Perth.

The ship will sail from Vancouver to Sydney on 22 September 2015, offering a 10-night ‘Hawaii’ and a 18-night ‘Tahitian Treasures’ sailing, which guests can combine to create a 28-night holiday, visiting 11 destinations. These sailings will also be offered from Sydney departing 9 April 2016. Highlights include:

·                     An overnight stay in Honolulu and a late-night call in Lahaina (Maui) during the ‘Hawaii’ sailing, allows guests can take part in a traditional luau. The ship will also visit destinations such as Hilo and Kona

·                     The ‘Tahitian Treasures’ itinerary will call at three ports in French Polynesia including Bora Bora, Moorea, and Papeete, before sailing across the Pacific to New Zealand, visiting Auckland and the Bay of Islands

For the ultimate Australia and New Zealand experience, guests can combine an 18-night Auckland to Perth cruise, departing on 16 February 2016, with a 17-night sailing from Perth to Sydney to create a 35-night circumnavigation of Australia and New Zealand, visiting 19 destinations:

·                     During the 18-night sailing from Auckland to Perth, guests can enjoy six ports of call in New Zealand, as well as the three Sounds in Fiordland National Park, and visits to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide

·                     The 17-night sailing from Perth to Sydney will visit Bali (Indonesia), before exploring the northern coast of Australia. The ship will then sail along the Eastern Coast visiting Cairns (Yorkey’s Knob), Airlie Beach and Brisbane in Queensland, offering guests the perfect opportunity to experience the Great Barrier Reef

New ports, new experiences

Celebrity Cruises will visit an entirely new destination, Mystery Island in Vanuatu, as part of the South Pacific sailings, with itineraries ranging from eight to 12 nights and sailing to ports in New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji.

Guests who are keen to experience the breath-taking Fiordland National Park in New Zealand can choose from the 12- and 14-night sailings from Sydney and Auckland, which visit Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds, New Zealand.

Suite Class

Celebrity Cruises’ 2015-16 sailings will introduce the newly announced “Suite Class” experience. Beginning April 2015, the new luxurious offerings include a dedicated, suites-only restaurant, VIP lounge, and complimentary ‘all in’ benefits such as premium beverages, dining at any speciality restaurant and unlimited internet access.

For the first time, Celebrity Cruises will be offering its ‘cruise price promise’ on all sailings. This means that Celebrity Cruises is guaranteeing that all bookings made before 30 April 2014 will be protected by a lower price or promotion should it become available at a later date. Plus, Celebrity Cruises is also offering up to $400 onboard spend for each stateroom booking made. The cruise price and promotion promise is subject to terms and conditions.

Celebrity Cruises will continue to reveal its full 2015-16 line-up as each set of itineraries opens for bookings.

MSC Cruises America appoints Bonnie Levengood svp marketing

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 15 April 2014 15 April 2014

MSC Cruises USA has appinted Bonnie Levengood to the newly created position of senior vice president of marketing, leading the company’s consumer and travel industry marketing and digital activities throughout North America.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Bonnie Levengood to the MSC Cruises family,” said Richard E. Sasso, president cof the company. “As our new senior vice president of marketing, she joins the company at an auspicious time to help grow and strengthen awareness of our brand to both consumers and our travel agent partners.”

Levengood’s appointment is a critical piece of MSC Cruises’ recently announced “Serving You” initiatives to the travel agent community at CLIA’s Cruise3Sixty in April.  Ramping up the “human factor,” according to Sasso, includes strategic senior level appointments such as Levengood’s, more than doubling the MSC Cruises’ sales force by adding Business Development Managers in critical regions around the country and undertaking its most extensive roadshow to-date. 

Levengood brings extensive expertise to her new position, with nearly two decades of marketing and financial experience and a proven track record creating successful multichannel campaigns.  Most recently, she ran her own marketing company.  Prior to that, she headed up marketing and sales for nearly eight years for 1-800-PetMeds, America’s largest pet pharmacy, leading the company’s annual revenue to more than $239 million by creating new direct marketing programs that included comprehensive email marketing campaigns, new TV commercials and direct mail and catalog programs.

KfW IPEX-Bank to finance the construction of Star Cruises newbuilding

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 10 April 2014 10 April 2014

KfW IPEX-Bank is financing the cruise ship, which was commissioned at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg last October by Star Cruises, the leading cruise line in Asian Pacific. The corresponding agreements were signed on Wednesday.

The purchase price for the ship is around EUR 700 million. The financing to the tune of just under EUR 600 million will be paid in US dollars and has a term of 12 years from delivery.

KfW IPEX-Bank has structured the overall financing and is providing the entire loan amount together with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and the Singapore branch of DNB Bank ASA. The financing is backed by export credit insurance issued by the German Federal Government (covered by Euler Hermes) and encompasses the Commercial Interest Reference Rate (CIRR) for ships, which is determined by the OECD.

"With this high-volume financing, we are underlining both our expertise in structuring within the cruise ship industry and our role as one of the world's leading players in ship financing. We are also helping to support German exporters, especially North Germany as a shipbuilding location," explained Christian K. Murach, the responsible Management Board member at KfW IPEX-Bank.

The new vessel has a gross tonnage of about 150,000, more than 1,600 passenger cabins on 18 decks and a length of approximately 330 metres. Consequently, it will not only be the largest ship in Star Cruises' fleet; it will also be counted among the biggest cruise ships based out of Asia.

As a modern cruise ship tailored to the Asian market, it will feature in particular an extensive range of entertainment and shopping facilities. Around 3,100 Meyer Werft employees and some 20,000 employees of suppliers and partner companies are all collaborating on this project.

With delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016, Star Cruises is set to increase its fleet to eight ships. The company recently commissioned the Meyer Werft shipyard to construct another (sister) ship, which is to be brought into service in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Star Cruises, together with its associate Norwegian Cruise Line, is the third largest cruise operator in the world. Star Cruises belongs to Genting Hong Kong Limited, a company listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and traded on the Global Quote of the Singapore Exchange and Securities Trading Limited and active in the leisure, tourism and entertainment industries.

The Meyer Werft shipyard has a long history – dating back more than 200 years - and is now owned by the seventh generation of the Meyer family. It builds state-of-the-art cruise ships, among other commissions, for shipping companies from all over the globe and is the most important employer in the Papenburg region.