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Cruise Critic launches new cruise shopping tool

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 January 2014 27 January 2014

Cruise Critic (http://www.cruisecritic.com), the world’s largest cruise reviews site, announces the launch of Price Drop, a new way to shop for cruise deals.

Price Drop offers travelers the ability to compare recently reduced cruise fares with the highest published rates from the past seven days – highlighting the most significant price drops and best value-for-money.

By using Price Drop, consumers can:

– Browse or search deals by month, cruise line, destination, cruise length, cabin type and price drop percentage.

– Watch for new price drops by subscribing to Price Drop email updates based on cruise preferences.

– Easily find more information on cruises listed on Price Drop by referencing Cruise Critic reviews.

"Typically, cruise deals are displayed as a discount from the brochure rate, which is often much higher than the price people actually pay," says Melissa Paloti, Cruise Critic’s director of product development. "We’ve found that by changing that metric, and comparing current prices to those from just a week prior, consumers are given more visibility into the true savings offered. Our goal is for Price Drop to highlight the best deals available, and give consumers greater confidence when buying a cruise."

How does Price Drop work?

Every day, Price Drop pulls current fares across major cruise lines and compares them to published fares from the last seven days. If prices have dropped during that period, the discounted cruise fare is added to Price Drop, along with the discount percentage.

To watch for future price drops, consumers can sign up for weekly Price Drop email updates based on cruise preferences.

For more information on Price Drop, visit www.cruisecritic.com/price-drop.

Royal Caribbean shortens Explorer of the Seas cruise due to wave of illness

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 January 2014 27 January 2014

"Explorer of the Seas will return home from its 10-day cruise two days early, after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness that spiked over the weekend. New reports of illness have decreased day- over-day, and many guests are again up and about. Nevertheless, the disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting. After consultation between our medical team and representatives of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we think the right thing to do is to bring our guests home early, and use the extra time to sanitize the ship even more thoroughly. We are sorry for disappointing our guests, and we are taking several steps to compensate them for their inconvenience," Royal Caribbean International said in a statement.

"After returning to home port on Wednesday, Jan. 29, we will perform a thorough “barrier” sanitization program on the entire ship to make certain that any remaining traces of the illness are eliminated. It will be the third aggressive sanitizing procedure the ship has undertaken since we became aware of the issue, and will additionally provide a window of more than 24 hours where there are no persons aboard the ship, which is a significant help. Guests scheduled for the next cruise on Explorer of the Seas can be confident that all possible measures will have been taken to prevent further problems."

At this point, it appears that reported illnesses among guests and crew peaked during the first few days of the cruise – though, as is common with many illnesses, some additional cases are to be expected over the course of the week. "Our doctors tell us symptoms are consistent with that of norovirus, but that they are awaiting the results of tests to confirm that diagnosis. Our response included flying additional medical personnel and equipment to meet the ship, and conducting additional sanitizing procedures at two of the ship’s stops."

In the end, however, the number of cases was still higher than any of us want to see. We will be cooperating with authorities and conducting our own internal assessments to make sure we are doing all we can to promote the health and safety of our guests and crew.

Azamara Club Cruises strengthens UK team with new Sales & Marketing appointments

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 24 January 2014 24 January 2014

Upscale, boutique cruise line, Azamara Club Cruises, has announced new sales and marketing appointments as part of its UK and Ireland dedicated team structure. This news follows the appointment of the brand’s first ever Managing Director, Richard Twynam, and Commercial Director, David Duff, earlier this month.

The company is part of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) group, which since the new year has had independent organisations for its three key brands in the UK.

The Marketing and PR team is headed up by Karen Sequeira who is responsible for developing and promoting the brand. Sequeira brings a wealth of experience from the cruise and hotel sectors; including senior roles at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Hurtigruten and Regent Seven Seas.

Stuart Pearce joins the sales team as Regional Sales Manager (South). He has been with RCL for more than 5 years as Key Account Manager, and previously held sales positions at Island Cruises and The Cruise Store. He is joined by Nicola Singleton as Regional Sales Manager (North). Nicola brings extensive sales experience from luxury hotel groups De Vere and Porto Bay (Madeira), as well as field sales roles with Titan and Holiday Autos. Ann Marie Meaney joins as Strategic Account Manager. She has considerable sales experience in travel event management, working with Reed Travel Exhibition, Visit Scotland and UKinbound.

The three new senior sales team members will be working closely with agents to support them in selling the Azamara Club Cruises sailings to their clients and to provide additional expertise to trade partners.

Heineken break the waves with Norwegian Cruise Line

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 24 January 2014 24 January 2014

The New Year is a time full of ambition, promises and resolutions and starting the year as we mean to go on. Heineken Global Duty Free and Norwegian Cruise Line did just that with a highly creative brand engagement initiative with the total crew from the teams of the Norwegian Getaway, the latest vessel from Norwegian Cruise Line, heralded as Miami's ultimate ship, ahead of its maiden launch from Rotterdam to New York mid January.

On January 5 2014, about 1300 crew members from the Norwegian Getaway, enjoyed a unique on-board private party, courtesy of Heineken and Red Bull, featuring two of Europe's top DJs; Steve Johnsen and Sietze Rademaker aka The Disco Accidents, famous in clubbing circles for their vibrant and high energy sets.

The Norwegian Getaway will be the largest ship to homeport year-round in Miami sailing an Eastern Caribbean cruise schedule beginning in February. With a passenger capacity of 4000 and a major focus on entertainment with a wide range of bars and restaurants. The Norwegian Getaway is a prime setting for Heineken to further develop its portfolio interaction with the most discerning passenger audience. As such Heineken took the decision to step up their interaction with on-board bar tenders and hospitality personnel with the strategic intention of creating brand ambassadors and developing advocacy.

Carlos Candeias Global Account Manager Heineken Duty Free explains: "We're passionate that Norwegian guests enjoy the best possible interaction with the Heineken® brand and our larger portfolio. Together with Norwegian and Red Bull, we decided to throw a party for the crew which let them enjoy them the ultimate Heineken experience, bringing them closer to the brand through an unforgettable party and engaging them with our latest bottle technology - the STR UV glow in the dark bottle - perfectly suited to a party atmosphere, whether it's in early January in North Europe or on a Caribbean cruise. For us, the crew are essential front-line partners in ensuring our shared customer has the best possible drinking experience and that the essential rituals of the Heineken® brand are perfectly presented every time."

Municipality to acquire STX Finland's Rauma yard site

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 January 2014 22 January 2014

The municipality of Rauma in Western Finland has signed an agreement whereby it buys the land, buildings and non-fixed assets at the Rauma shipyard of STX Finland for €18.1 million. The municipality and the shipbuilder also signed a two year agreement under which the area will be developed further. The shipbuilder will lease the facilities up to the end of June to ensure completion of remaining work. STX Finland announced the closure of the Rauma yard last year, with the loss of some 700 jobs.