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Royal Caribbean unveils Anthem of the Seas' 2015 Southampton based itineraries

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 February 2014 10 February 2014

Royal Caribbean International has unveiled itineraries of Anthem of the Seas, their second Quantum-class ship that will measure at 167,800 gross tons and take 4,180 passengers. "It will offer 20 Mediterranean sailings beginning on 22 April 2015 before heading to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the Autumn of 2015. The new itineraries on offer range from three to 16 nights with a strong focus on ‘taster’ cruises designed attract a new breed of British holidaymaker who hasn’t previously considered a cruise holiday," the company said in a statement.

Due for delivery in Spring 2015 the ship, along with Quantum of the Seas, will be a dramatic leap forward for the cruise industry and introduce more game-changing “firsts at sea” such as a skydiving experience call RipCord by iFLY and the North Star, an engineering marvel featuring a jewel like capsule that extends 300 feet above the ocean and over the sides of the ship to deliver 360-degree views for guests. Cutting-edge transformative venues include SeaPlex, the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea with bumper cars, roller skating and more; and the cruise line’s largest and most advanced staterooms ever. These new, larger state rooms enable innovation in design, storage and comfort including the industry’s first virtual balconies.

Stuart Leven, managing director, Royal Caribbean International, UK and Ireland, commented:
“The unveiling of the Anthem of the Seas itineraries is another major milestone in our exciting year. We have significant confidence in the strength of pent-up demand for the Royal Caribbean International holiday product from UK and Ireland. We will continue to work with agents to feed the demand for more of our cruise holidays, whilst developing our training, incentives and marketing programmes to generate interest from a new-to-cruise audience.

“Royal Caribbean is proud to offer incredible quality and value, rivalling all other holiday options available today. The facilities on-board Anthem of the Seas are simply 'wow' and incomparable to any other land or sea resort. All this, coupled with itineraries which appeal to guests who are new to cruise, equips agents more than ever with all the ingredients for driving interest among people who are new to cruise. We’re confident that our partners will capitalise on this to maximum effect.”

Holiday options from Anthem of the Seas during Spring and Summer 2015 include:
· Four 3-night taster cruises and one 4-night taster cruise calling at Bruges and Paris (Le Havre)
· One 7 and one 8-night France and Spain cruise calling at Bilbao and Paris (Le Havre)
· One 16-night Mediterranean Cities of Distinction cruise including Barcelona, Nice, Rome Seville and Lisbon
· Three 13-nights, one 10-night and one 12-night Sunshine in the Canaries cruise
· One 7-night Norwegian Fjords sailing
· Two 14-night Italian Mediterranean sailings
· One 14-night Spain and Mediterranean Beaches sailing including an overnight in Palma de Mallorca and a call into Ibiza, not departing until 8pm in the evening

Peak summer holiday cruises include the 14-night Italian Mediterranean cruise and the 14-nights Spain and Mediterranean beaches sailings to appeal to family travellers. In addition, the three-night taster cruise operating over August Bank Holiday weekend is expected to be popular.

A 14-night cruise on-board the new Anthem of the Seas sailing from Southampton starts from £1599 per person based on a July 2015 departure. The taster three-night cruises start from £449 per person based on a May 2015 departure.

Leven continues, “When Quantum of the Seas – the sister ship to Anthem of the Seas – is first launched in Autumn 2014 it will offer its first cruise from Southampton, departing on 2 November 2014. We plan to use this opportunity to showcase the facilities of a never- -before-seen Quantum class of ship to as many of our trade partners as possible. We know agents are excited about selling Anthem of the Seas and we expect a strong reaction, but the opportunity to see first-hand the incredible experiences on-board will be simply unbeatable.”

Anthem of the Seas goes on sale on 3rd March 2014. The new Royal Caribbean International sales team is gearing up to blitz agents, and continue to build the hype and excitement that really only Royal Caribbean International can deliver. Agents should also look out for dedicated Anthem of the Seas agent training.

Norwegian Getaway christened with special performance by Pitbull

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 February 2014 08 February 2014

Norwegian Getaway was christened today in a star-studded ceremony by the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, with a rousing finale by musical superstar Armando Christian Perez aka Pitbull. Brooke Burke-Charvet, co-host of Dancing with the Stars, was the event's master of ceremonies.

Norwegian Getaway, the largest ship to homeport year-round at PortMiami, kicked off her arrival to Miami in style. Throughout the christening ceremony, which took place in three themed venues around the ship, Norwegian Getaway's Miami flair was on full display. The ship's outdoor theater, Spice H20, transformed into the Magic City Lounge with the Miami skyline in the background, where Tito Puente Jr. started the party, followed by the cast of Burn the Floor. The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders flipped the switch lighting up Miami and the bottle smashed against the side of the ship to officially christen her. Performing some of his most popular songs including his current hit Timber, Pitbull wowed the crowd.

Miami Ultra rocked the ships Atrium with DJ Tracey Young and the Trendtracker Tara Gilani, while Miami Splash! on the Pool Deck featured TV personality Louis Aguirre as host, along with a salsa performance from DAngelo & Amanda of Americas Got Talent. After a performance by the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders and the official bottle breaking ceremony, Pitbull's performance capped off the spectacular event, attended by celebrities including Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, Buddy Valastro star of TLCs the Cake Boss, and artist David LEBO Le Batard. Pitbull also introduced his signature Voli brand to cruisers aboard Norwegian for the first time, as Voli - Vodka with Natural Flavors is featured onboard Norwegian Getaway and across the Norwegian fleet, along with two signature drinks including Pitbulls personal favorite, the Volito, his take on the classic mojito.

"Miami's ship is home and we couldn't be more proud to bring this spectacular vessel to this electric city," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO. "We thank Miami-Dade County for this warm welcome and the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders for christening this beautiful ship and are looking forward to a very successful inaugural season."

Norwegian Getaway will begin her weekly 7-night cruises from PortMiami to the Easter Caribbean on Saturday, February 8.

Norwegian Getaway arrives to her year-round homeport of Miami

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 07 February 2014 07 February 2014

The newest cruise ship from Norwegian Cruise Line, Norwegian Getaway, arrived in her homeport city of Miami yesterday. Norwegian Getaway is the largest cruise ship to homeport year-round at PortMiami and will sail weekly 7-night cruises to the Caribbean from the Magic City, starting Saturday, February 8.

"It's so exciting for us to bring this spectacular new ship to Miami, our company's home and where we started the modern cruising industry almost 50 years ago," said Norwegian Cruise Line Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sheehan. "Norwegian Getaway is a reflection of the energy, excitement and tropical location of this beautiful city and were so glad she's home."

The ship will be christened today afternoon, Friday, February 7, at PortMiami with a star-studded lineup that includes international music superstar Pitbull and Dancing with the Stars host Brooke Burke-Charvet, as well as Latin GRAMMY award winner Nestor Torres. The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders will serve as the ships Godmothers.

"PortMiami is pleased to welcome the Norwegian Getaway, the first Miami-themed cruise vessel, to our fleet," said PortMiami Director Bill Johnson. "Our Port is proud to be known worldwide as the Cruise Capital of the World and the Norwegian Getaway is without question a world class addition to our roster of cruise ships."

Norwegian Getaway features several first-at-sea entertainment productions aboard the Miami-inspired ship including the first GRAMMY® Experience at Sea, with performances by GRAMMY® award-winners and The Illusionarium, an all-new dining and entertainment experience that envelops guests in the fascinating world of magic. The ship also offers 28 dining options, with several Latin-inspired venues and unique concepts, including Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian and an outpost of Carlos Bakery from TLC-star Buddy Valastro.

Onboard entertainment also includes two Broadway shows, a multi-story ropes course and the largest aqua park at sea with five full size slides. Norwegian Getaway's signature hull artwork, by Miami's own David LEBO Le Batard, features a whimsical mermaid holding the sun amidst a swirling cloud and sky design.

Norwegian Cruise Line has been sailing its ships from PortMiami longer than any other cruise brand, since the company's origins in 1966. Norwegian currently has four ships sailing seasonally from Miami, including Norwegian Epic, the line's largest vessel carrying more than 4,100 guests. Norwegian Sky has been sailing three and four-day itineraries to the Bahamas year-round from Miami since 2007.

FleetPro to take over the technical management of Oasia, former Saga Ruby

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 07 February 2014 07 February 2014

On January 30, 2014 Saga Ruby was acquired by Millennium View Ltd. Singapore, supported by FleetPro Ocean in taking delivery and the final settlements of the transactions. Simultaneously on that date, the vessel changed name to Oasia, and FleetPro Ocean became the technical managers.

Since August 2013, FleetPro has been acting as the consultants for Millennium View Ltd, involved in the negotiations of the purchase contract, as well as preparing condition survey reports and managing the crew for the ongoing maintenance.

The 24,182 gross ton Oasia is one of the world famous elegant cruise ships. Built on the Tyne in 1973 by Swan Hunter, as Vistafjord, she is the last passenger ship ordered by Norwegian America Line and the sole survivor of a quartet of iconic liners built after the Second World War.

It is the new owners' plan to use the Oasia as a hotel vessel in the Far East; however maintaining a fully Classed and Registered status as a cruise vessel so that it can be used at any time for cruising.

"FleetPro Ocean is very pleased to have worked with Millennium View in the acquisition of the vessel and is looking forward to many years of continued cooperation between the companies,"says Robert Straubhaar President and CEO of FleetPro. "Our Technical Management Team has taken great pride in assuring that Saga Ruby will maintain her long standing glory and will
function well as a hotel ship."

FleetPro Ocean (formerly ISP) and FleetPro River (formerly River Advice) manages a combined fleet of ocean-going passenger ships, expedition cruise ships and river cruise ships in excess of 60 vessels, making it the largest passenger ship management company in the world. What distinguishes FleetPro is a hands-on managing approach with extremely strong technical and top
notch hotel operation expertise. This allows FleetPro to service a wide array of clients in the demanding global arena of river cruise operations, ocean going cruising and the itinerary intensive expedition cruise segments.

Seventeen hour dispute breaks out over lost port call on Costa Victoria - report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 07 February 2014 07 February 2014

Some of the 300 passengers who refused to leave Costa Victoria of Costa Crociere for 17 hours on Thursday in Hong Kong have blamed tour company Miramar Travel for escalating the row by accusing travellers of greed and of “hijacking” the ship, the South China Morning Post reports on its website.

The passengers staged a protest on the vessel at the end of a five-day cruise, demanding more compensation for the cancellation of a visit to Vietnam’s Halong Bay. They delayed the journey of 2,000 passengers booked on a cruise to Malaysia which had been due to depart on Thursday afternoon.

The stand-off escalated after a fiery meeting on Wednesday with a Miramar representative, passenger Peter Cheung, 57, said. “The representative said something like ‘you guys are just causing a stir for money’,” said Cheung, who was among the last group of passengers to leave the boat at around 10.30pm. “One traveller was so angry hearing that comment he took out a pile of US dollars and threw them at the rep.”

After telling passengers the company was offering no compensation in addition to the HK$340 offered by the cruise liner, the Miramar representative failed to deal with the situation.

“The rep was quite immature… he didn’t even say sorry,” Cheung said. The mood deteriorated further on Thursday when Costa staff refused to provide water and Miramar’s general manager Alex Lee Chun-ting told a radio programme that passengers had “hijacked” the ship.

“Even an educated person would become irrational after hours without water,” Cheung said, adding one man was so angry he threatened to jump off the boat. Passengers only received drinks after the Travel Industry Council intervened on Thursday afternoon.

Things would have turned out differently if senior Miramar managers had started discussions with disgruntled tourists early in the morning, another passenger Windy Kwok Pui-fong said. “I can’t believe the crisis management of such a big agency could be so poor,” she said.

Miramar manager Lee, who met with 20 passengers around midnight, refused to comment on the behaviour of his staff. On Thursday he suggested that the passenger who had thrown money had shown poor manners. Lawmaker Ann Chiang Lai-wan, who had been on the cruise, rejected suggestions that passengers had behaved like “bullies”. Refusing to leave the boat was the only bargaining power they had, she told a radio show on Friday, the report said.