Carnival Splendor to operate series of 2- to 7-night cruises from Norfolk in 2015

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 20 March 2014 20 March 2014

Carnival Splendor will operate a series of 2- to 7-night voyages, including a week-long cruise to Bermuda, from the Port of Norfolk in 2015. The 3,006-passenger Carnival Splendor is the newest and largest “Fun Ship” ever to operate from the historic Virginia port.

Carnival Splendor’s Norfolk program will kick off in May 2015 and will encompass a wide range of itinerary choices, including:

– A value-packed two-day cruise departing May 16, 2015

– Three, five-day Bahamas cruises calling at Nassau and Freeport, departing May 11, May 18, and October 12, 2015

– A six-day Bahamas cruise calling at the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay, as well as Nassau and Freeport, departing October 17, 2015

– A seven-day Bermuda cruise departing October 23, 2015 that features a three-day call in Bermuda

These voyages from Norfolk provide a wide variety of convenient and affordable cruise options featuring tropical destinations throughout The Bahamas and Bermuda where guests can relax on beautiful beaches, enjoy excellent dining, shopping and sightseeing opportunities, and visit centuries-old landmarks and attractions.

Carnival Splendor will also sail seasonally in 2015 from New York and Miami.  From April to November, the ship will operate a variety four to eight- day itineraries from New York to popular ports in The Bahamas, Caribbean, Canada and Florida.

Cruises from New York to the Canadian Maritimes include four-day voyages visiting Saint John and five-day sailings calling at Saint John and Halifax. Seven-day fall foliage voyages call at Boston, Portland, Maine; Saint John and Halifax, while three different eight-day options are available: a Bahamas/Florida itinerary calling at Port Canaveral, Fla., and Freeport and Nassau; and two eastern Caribbean routes, one featuring San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk, and another visiting Grand Turk, Nassau and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay.

From November 2015 through April 2016 Carnival Splendor will sail from Miami on seven-day eastern and western Caribbean cruises. Eastern Caribbean cruises will call at St Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk, and Nassau, while the western Caribbean route will call at Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Mahogany Bay in Isla Roatan.

Carnival Splendor will also offer special one-way eight-day exotic eastern Caribbean cruises between New York and San Juan on May 24, 2015 and June 1, 2015.

"At many Carnival Conversations travel agent events, we received feedback that consumers want choice.  We are pleased to offer a variety of itineraries based on this feedback," said Joni Rein, Carnival’s vice president of worldwide sales.

Reservations are currently being accepted for all of Carnival Splendor’s sailings from Norfolk, New York, Miami and San Juan.

P&O Cruises to replace Azura with Oceana as Med fly cruise ship in 2015

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 20 March 2014 20 March 2014

P&O Cruises, the UK focused contemporary market unit in the Carnival Corp & plc group, will operate its largest ever programme next year featuring eight ships, 211 cruises, 81 different ports in 61 countries, covering 662,000 nautical miles, the company said in a statement.

The company will introduce its largest ever ship, the 143,000 gross ton Britannia, in March next year and it will replace the 115,000 gross ton Azura as fly cruise ship in the Mediterranean by the 2,000 passenger Oceana.

“From late March to October, Oceana makes the warm waters of the Med her home, offering seven and 14-night cruises including up to nine destinations including; Genoa, Florence/Pisa (tours from Livorno), Naples, Dubrovnik, Venice, Kotor, Corfu, Rome (tours from Civitavecchia) and Monte Carlo,” the company said.. 

New for the 2015 programme are full day and evening calls in Dubrovnik and calls at Monte Carlo allowing passengers to experience the best of the French Riviera. All Mediterranean fly cruises include flights from/to London Birmingham and Manchester with Thomson Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines, Easyjet and British Airways. Transfers between the overseas airport and ship are also included. Prices from £699 per person for seven nights

P&O Cruises marketing director Christopher Edgington said: "We are determined to attract those people who want an effortless holiday and who have not considered a cruise whilst still retaining fresh appeal for regular passengers. We hope that the spirit of Britannia will capture the imagination of all those who are looking for the best of the best from a holiday. We pride ourselves on delivering authentic, lingering happy memories which stem from exemplary service, attention to detail, and shared experiences with family and friends.

"Every detail on Britannia from sumptuous linens to the £1million art collection, from the wines from around the globe to the provenance of our ingredients, everything is chosen with care. Those long held myths and perceptions about cruising would be banished if more people realised that this is the holiday they have been looking for..."

Britannia’s maiden season will see the ship sail from Southampton to the Mediterranean, Norwegian Fjords, Canary Islands and the Baltic Sea, as well as offering a range of short breaks and a special round Britain cruise. The ship will then transfer to the Caribbean for the winter season sailing a range of 14 night fly cruise itineraries from Barbados.

• 15 new destinations including Belem, Bonifacio, Fort William, Fredrikstad, Gozo, Haugesund, Jacksonville, Killybegs, Sevastopol, Tobermory, Georgetown, Gijon, Porto Santo, Villagarcia de Arosa and Wismar
• 10 “ports of special interest” brought back for 2015 including Charleston and New Orleans, USA; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Hamilton, Bermuda; Hvar, Croatia and Manaus, Brazil

Britannia highlights Include:

 

• Maiden season of new ship Britannia including Round Britain cruise taking in the “Best of the British Isles”
• Cruises with the new ‘Food Heroes’ throughout the maiden European season

Themed cruises:

• Four Strictly Come Dancing themed cruises
• Three music festivals at sea

Adonia discovery cruises

Adonia’s smaller size enables her to offer discovery cruises, with “off the beaten track” destinations including river cruising in the Amazon or Orinoco River and sailing to the remote Central American ports on the edge of the Caribbean. Sailing from Barbados from November to March, Adonia alternates two itineraries as well as offering two unique discovery experiences. Sail into the heart of the Amazon rainforest or visit the picturesque Banana Coast.

Christmas in the Amazon – 28 night cruise D525 with prices from £2,999 per person

Central America – 14 night cruise D601 with prices from £1,599 per person

Cruise ferry company Viking Line MD in immediate departure

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 20 March 2014 20 March 2014

Mikael Backman, managing director of the Finnish cruise ferry company Viking Line, has agreed with the board to leave the company with immediate effect, the company said in a statement.

The board has appointed Jan Hanses, until now deputy managing director of the listed company that operates a fleet of seven ships, as successor of Backman.

The post of deputy md has been taken by Andreas Remmer, the company’s chief financial officer.

Carnival Cruise Lines names Dolores Calicchio Vice President - Shipboard Human Resources

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 19 March 2014 19 March 2014

Carnival Cruise Lines has named Dolores L. Calicchio vice president - shipboard human resources, effective March 31, 2014.  Calicchio will report to Ruben Rodriguez, Carnival’s executive vice president - ship operations.

Calicchio will be responsible for developing, integrating and managing the cruise line’s core human resource strategy and functions for all shipboard hotel and marine personnel across Carnival’s 24-ship fleet.  In addition, she will oversee the line’s recruiting efforts, crew training and certification, and compensation, benefits, and crew welfare programs. In collaboration with the ship operations team, Calicchio also will oversee the continuing development of the Carnival Service Values fleetwide hospitality training program, as well as reinforce the line’s culture of safety and reliability.

"Dolores’s experience at large organizations and global corporations is a tremendous asset to Carnival’s human resources team,” said Rodriguez. “With her depth of knowledge and strategic mindset, she is the ideal candidate to balance the day-to-day operational aspects of the position with providing a longer-term vision for the shipboard human resources function at Carnival."

Calicchio brings 15 years of senior-level experience to her new position. Most recently she was chief people officer at BAYADA Home Health Care, an $850 million, privately held home health care company with 22,000 employees. Prior to that, she worked at Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems for 10 years, most recently as vice president - human resources. Calicchio also held top management positions at several large pharmaceutical companies, including Rhone-Poulenc Inc. and Merck & Company Inc.

Calicchio served as the human resources chair for the United Way of Somerset County, N.J., as well as for The National GEM Consortium, a non-profit organization sponsored by Notre Dame University which raises funds for minority students pursuing higher education in math and science.

Calicchio holds a bachelor of science in biology from Kean College in New Jersey and a master of business in human resources leadership, education and technology from New York University.