Costa Luminosa begins sailing 10-night Caribbean cruises from Miami
- Details
- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 11 December 2013 11 December 2013
Costa Luminosa made its maiden call at Miami, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 7, as it repositioned to the Caribbean for the winter on 10-day roundtrip voyages. At 92,000 gross tons and carrying 2,260 guests, Costa Luminosa is the newest and largest Costa Cruises ship ever deployed from Miami.
Guests can enjoy la dolce vita while visiting six Caribbean ports on the 10-day itineraries. Costa Luminosa will call at Nassau or Freeport, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos or Princess Cays; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Roatan, Honduras, and Cozumel, Mexico. Costa Luminosa's last roundtrip cruise from Miami for the season will depart March 17, 2014, and call at Belize City, Belize, instead of Roatan.
"Costa Luminosa is the newest and largest ship we've ever had sailing from Miami during the winter season," said Scott Knutson, vice president of sales and marketing for Costa Cruises North America. "We are excited to be able to expose more North American guests to our international product and let them see firsthand what makes Costa the number-one cruise line in Europe."
Costa Luminosa was the first in a new class of ship for Costa Cruises when it debuted in 2009. A full 68 percent of the ship's 1,130 cabins feature a private balcony -- the highest percentage of private balconies in the Costa fleet. The ship features four restaurants and 11 bars.
Guests looking for excitement can take advantage of Costa Luminosa's three pools; a multipurpose sports court for tennis, volleyball and soccer; a jogging track, 4D cinema, casino, dance club, piano bar, library and shopping center. Those who prefer to relax can visit the two-level Samsara Spa that boasts a gym, thalassotherapy pool, treatment rooms, sauna and Turkish bath.
Fares for the 10-day cruises start at just $599 per person, double occupancy. Guests who want to ring in the New Year onboard can depart Dec. 27 for as low as $699 per person, double occupancy.
P&O Cruises cancel two night Arcadia cruise on delayed refit yard departure
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 10 December 2013 10 December 2013
P&O Cruises say they have been forced to cancel a two night cruise of the 2005 built Arcadia that was due to sail from Southampton on Sunday. The company said on Facebook the ship's departure from a yard in Germany, where it has been for a refit, has been delayed due to bad weather.
Celebrity appoints Toby Shaw to new role of director and marketing in UK
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 10 December 2013 10 December 2013
Celebrity Cruises, the premium market unit in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) group, says it has appointed Toby Shaw in the newly created role of director of marketing and PR for the UK and Ireland. Shaw will lead an 11-strong marketing and PR team dedicated to the brand.
The addition of the new role, and an expanded marketing and PR team purely working on Celebrity Cruises, follows a decision earlier this year by parent company RCL Cruises Ltd to evolve its UK and Ireland business structure in response to business growth.
Shaw brings with him 12 years of marketing experience having held senior roles at Sony Europe and Heineken. This includes pan-European roles such as partnership work with the James Bond franchise and FIFA. He joins the new Celebrity Cruises senior leadership team headed up by travel industry stalwart, Jo Rzymowska. Shaw will be supported by head of PR, Louise James; brand manager, Naomi Fisher; e-commerce marketing manager Alice Johnson and a 121 marketing manager.
Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises managing director, UK and Ireland, commented in a statement: “As Celebrity Cruises continues to evolve as a brand we are developing the business to meet our growing targets. The new marketing and PR team, headed by Toby Shaw, comes as part of a new structure that sees extensive investment and will lead to some very exciting campaigns for us. His experience of consumer brands is sure to be a great asset for us as we continue our strive to grow the market share of cruise in the broader holiday sector. I’m excited to be working alongside someone with his knowledge, creativity and strategic thinking.”
From 1 January 2014 there will be three dedicated businesses each working solely on the Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International or Azamara Club Cruises brands. Previously, team members have been tri-branded.
Celebrity Century reported to join Croisieres de France in 2015
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 10 December 2013 10 December 2013
Celebrity Century, at 71,545 gross tons the smallest unit in the fleet of Celebrity Cruises, will be transferred to Croisieres de France (CdF), the Paris based subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) group, a French media report says.
CdF currently operates the L'Horizon, a 47,000 gross ton vessel that was originally built in the early 1990s for Celebrity Cruises, which is also part of the RCCL group. In April next year, it will be joined by L'Zenith, sister ship of the current CdF incumbent that will come from Pullmantur, the Madrid based unit if RCCL group. Celebrity Century will replace L'Zenith in the following year, a report in Cruisemag.com says.
CdF will carry about 55,000 passengers this year; it expects the figure to reach 100,000 next yrar and rise further, to 120,000 in 2015, the report said
Star Cruises upgrades cabins, shopping experience for its flagship
- Details
- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: More News More News
- Published: 10 December 2013 10 December 2013
Star Cruises, the leading cruise line in Asia-Pacific, will up the luxury quotient of SuperStar Virgo’s cabins and shopping area, widening the selection of comtempory cabins and duty free shopping on its Asian flagship.
SuperStar Virgo, the largest ship of Star Cruises’ Asian fleet, will undergo a three-week dry-dock renovation from 5 to 29 January, 2014. The 75,338 gross ton, 13-deck ship will receive a lavish makeover with upgraded cabins, retail, hotel, dining, and recreational facilities. More than 270 balcony cabins will be remodeled with a touch of urban luxury. The soothing minimalist décor is a perfect blend of contemporary design and luxurious escapism while the furnishing perfectly accentuates the harmony of the vast sapphire sea.
Designed to give guests the leisurely shopping experience they deserve, the total retail floor area of SuperStar Virgo will triple to 562 square meters. Passengers can indulge in the pleasure of shopping in slow, restful rhythms and take in personalized treatments when dozens of international brands such as Shiseido SK II, Biotherm, Lancome and Shu Uemura are to be introduced. The expansion and addition of duty-free operator China Duty Free, jewelry and watch specialist Canopus, luxury leather goods retailer Milan Station and souvenir shop Ports O’ Call will offer passengers even more choices of perfume, cosmetics, fashion accessories, luxury and lifestyle products from around the world.
William Ng, Chief Operating Officer, Star Cruises, said, "This USD19.7 million refurbishment of SuperStar Virgo is a reflection of our continuous drive to grow in Asia. This will further cement Star Cruises’ leading position in the Asia-Pacific cruise industry. SuperStar Virgo will be on her homeport deployment in Hong Kong from April to October next year. Domestic travellers as well as those from China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan are expected to flock to Hong Kong next year to enjoy the top notch accommodation, shopping, leisure, entertainment and dining options available on this ship."
As ever, there is a strong emphasis on food on SuperStar Virgo. To celebrate the completion of the renovation and the relocation to Hong Kong, the award-winning chef team of the 11 acclaimed food and beverage outlets onboard will introduce various promotions. At Taverna, a place for the barefoot and bikini-clad, guests can chill and unwind with friends under the blazing sun overlooking the open sea. When the sun goes down, guests can treat themselves with Italian delicacies at Palazzo, Chinese food at Noble House, authentic traditional Chinese cuisine Pavilion Restaurant or Southeast Asian food at Blue Lagoon.
SuperStar Virgo is currently homeported in Singapore, offering itineraries to Penang, Phuket, Malacca and Port Klang. From 2 April to 28 October, 2014, SuperStar Virgo will be on her six-month Hong Kong homeport deployment, bringing passengers to Keelung (Taipei), Taichung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Sanya in Hainan and Halong Bay in Vietnam.
As part of the ongoing initiative to make a Star Cruises holiday more hassle-free, Star Cruises have introduced an online check-in service on www.starcruises.com. Passengers can take advantage of the new feature to expedite their embarkation process. Online check-in is available from seven days in advance up to eight hours
prior to departure.
More Articles ...
