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Costa Diadema floated out at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 November 2013 15 November 2013

Costa Cruises' future flagship, the US$739 million Costa Diadema, was floated out today during a technical launch ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy. The 132,500-ton, 3,724-passenger ship is scheduled for delivery Oct. 30, 2014.

"Costa Diadema will be our new flagship and our tangible commitment to the future success and growth of our company," said Michael Thamm, chief executive officer of Costa Crociere S.p.A. "She is the 10th cruise ship built in Italy by Fincantieri for Costa since 2000, with a total investment worth almost US$6.7 billion."

Costa Diadema's technical launch ceremony followed a long-established seafaring tradition, beginning with the welding of a coin at the base of what was once the mainmast, a custom thought to bring good luck to the ship. The ship’s madrina or godmother, Franca Grasso, a member of CostaClub chosen from among more than 12,000 guests who sailed on Costa ships in the Mediterranean during October and November 2013, cut the ribbon to break a bottle of champagne against the bow of the ship. The dry-dock basin was filled with water, and the ship was floated for the first time.

Among many innovations on Costa Diadema will be food and wine venues Vinoteca, Birreria (beer house), Japanese Teppanyaki, Piazza Pizza and Gelateria. New entertainment offerings include Country Rock Club, featuring "classic rock" music, and the Star Laser room, offering interactive laser games including Laser Maze. Portobello Market Piazza is an 11,840-square-foot area with designer stores and retail outlets.

In winter 2014-15 Costa Diadema will be deployed on a seven-night itinerary departing Savona and calling at Marseille, France; Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Civitavecchia (Rome) and La Spezia (Florence), Italy.

Viking Line says new ship to cushion weak market growth

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 November 2013 15 November 2013

Viking Line, the listed Finnish cruise frry company, says it continues to reap benefits from the introduction of the 57,000 gross ton cruise ferry Viking Grace in January that cushions the effects of a generally soft North East European cruise ferry market.

Group net profit rose to €18.2 million in the third quarter of the year from €16.0 million a year earlier, while revenues increase to €164.4 million from €156.4 million. For the first nine months of the year, the company that operates a fleet of seven ships, increased profit to €20.4 million from €1.9 million a year earlier. However, this was mainly due to a €23.2 million gain booked from the sale of the 1989 built 34,000 gross ton cruise ferry Isabella to Tallink. Revenues increased to €419.7 million from €389.5 million.

The company said that overall, the markets in which it operates remain soft and competition is intense, which puts downward pressure on prices. On a positive note, Viking Grace that has sailed between Turku and Stockholm since January, continues to make a positive contribution.

The board forecasts operating result before asset sale gains to exceed that of last year in 2013, while pre tax profit, excluding sale gains, should be in line with last year.

TUI Cruises awarded quality, environmental certification

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 November 2013 15 November 2013

TUI Cruises, the German premium market cruise shipping company, says it has been awarded quality and environmental certification by the classification society DNV GL.

The ISO 9001 quality certification covers processes of the company, while the ISO 14001 environmental certification embraces sustainability, environmental management and reduction of waste, the company said in a statement.

Dawn Princess passengers to muster stations after fire breaks out in NZ

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 November 2013 15 November 2013

Passengers on board Princess Cruises' 1997 built Dawn Princess were ordered to muster stations after a fire had broken out on board the 77,400 gross ton ship, an Australian media report says. However, the fire was put out and nobody was hurt.

"The cruise liner had just left Wellington, New Zealand, on its way to Napier, on the east coast of the country's North Island, when the fire started in an electrical sub station on deck 6 about 9pm on Friday," a report on the website of Sun Herald in Australia said.

"The 1922 passengers on-board the Dawn Princess were made to wait with life jackets, warm clothes and possessions for about an hour while the crew extinguished the fire. There were no passenger or crew injuries," the report said.

Dawn Princess based in Australia year round.

The incident comes only a couple of months after engine trouble forced abortion of a cruise of the 143,000 gross ton Royal Princess, the largest ship of the Carnival Corp & plc group member line, in the Mediterranean. The ship was just three months old at the time.

A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises, the operator of the Dawn Princess, said the incident had not affected the itinerary and the cruise had continued as scheduled. "While the spokeswoman said Princess Cruises was conducting a full investigation into the incident, passengers said they had been told by crew the "fire suppression system" was not working," the report in Sun Herald said.

Silversea expands menu of complimentary media options for guest mobile devices

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 14 November 2013 14 November 2013

In another cruise industry first, ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises has added newspapers and lifestyle magazines to its complimentary onboard digital service that provides streaming movies and live television news broadcasts to guests' mobile devices aboard Silver Cloud and the recently launched Silver Galapagos.

The additional media options can be accessed on any smartphone or tablet, giving guests access to hundreds of daily newspapers and lifestyle magazines from 100 countries and in 56 languages. Publications are refreshed every night so that guests receive the most up-to-date issues while traveling at sea.

"Thanks to technology from NewspaperDirect and other strategic partners, our guests are now able to enjoy their favorite newspapers and magazines on their personal mobile devices while sailing aboard Silver Cloud and Silver Galapagos," said Jason Cohn, Silversea's director of IT infrastructure.

By the end of November, the digital service will be available on Silver Shadow, followed by Silver Wind and Silver Whisper later in the year.