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Europa 2 christened in Hamburg

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 May 2013 11 May 2013

In line with the motto "Great moments. Truly exclusive." the newly- built Europa 2 has been christened in celebratory and stylish fashion by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises on 10 May 2013, during the 824th Hamburg Port Anniversary. Godmother Dana Schweiger smashed the champagne bottle against the bow of the ship near Blankenese, Hamburg. The special invitees on board experienced the new ship while attending numerous events with celebrity guests.

At around 19.00 hrs Europa 2 embarked on a twilight voyage - with the city of Hamburg as its backdrop - sailing to its launch site near the riverside district of Blankenese. Godmother Dana Schweiger officially gave the new ship her name at 21.36 hrs. “I christen you the Europa 2 and wish you and your crew good voyages and safe returns, and may there always be enough water beneath your keel,” said Dana Schweiger.

Dr Wolfgang Flägel, Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises: “This is a special moment for our company and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for their commitment. I am certain that the Europa 2 with raise the bar in the luxury sector with its modern interpretation. We wish the ship and her crew safe journeys and enthusiastic passengers.”

Around 700 guests on board enjoyed a brilliant fireworks display to round off the ceremony in style. Afterwards, observing tradition, the godmother presented the neck of the bottle to Europa 2 Captain Friedrich Jan Akkermann. After the christening ceremony, the star act Dick Brave & the Backbeats created a party atmosphere with their rockabilly music.

The fully-booked 14-day maiden voyage departs on 11 May from Hamburg and will sail to Lisbon via Amsterdam, Antwerp, Honfleur, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Bilbao and Leixoes (Porto). At the start of the voyage, the Europa 2 will cruise in the port with special on-board celebrations. Guests can enjoy the cruise through the lively Port of Hamburg, box seats at the famous Tugboat Ballet and other exclusive surprises. After the big fireworks display at the 824th Hamburg Port Anniversary at around 22.30hrs, the Europa 2 will set off on its maiden voyage and leave Hamburg.

The Europa 2 is a modern and casual luxury ship, which does away with cruise traditions such as the captain's dinner. With up to 516 guests,

Europa 2 provides the greatest space per passenger on a cruise ship anywhere in the world. The ship features exclusively suites with verandas and a minimum area of 28 square metres. Eight restaurants and six bars are dedicated to serving up culinary diversity and a large spa and fitness area accommodates the well-being trend on cruises. Its flexible route concept will appeal to professionals and families in the luxury sector in particular.

Legally Blonde and Burn the Floor to be staged on Norwegian Getaway

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 May 2013 10 May 2013

Norwegian Cruise Line says it continues its legacy of innovating cruise ship entertainment as it has announced that the seven-time Tony Award nominated musical Legally Blonde will be featured on Norwegian Getaway, along with an additional Broadway show: the dance sensation Burn the Floor and an all-new stand-up comedy programme in partnership with Levity Entertainment Group, the largest producer of comedians in the world.

The line also introduced all of the varied and exciting entertainment acts and venues that will debut on the ship, including Howl at the Moon at Headliners Comedy Club. These exciting entertainment experiences are in addition to Norwegian Getaway’s Illusionarium and Grammy Experience, as previously announced.

“Norwegian has truly raised the bar when it comes to entertainment at sea and that is why it was extremely important to me that Norwegian Getaway features high calibre entertainment that will continue to exceed our guest’s expectations,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer.

“With Legally Blonde performing in the Getaway Theater, along with Burn the Floor, world-class comedy by the Levity Entertainment Group, magic in the previously announced Illusionarum, the Grammy Experience and all of the other entertainment offerings, we continue our commitment on Norwegian Getaway to offer guests the best entertainment experience possible.”

Headlining the 787-seat Getaway Theater is the seven-time Tony Award nominated Broadway musical. Legally Blonde

It tells the story of Elle Woods who, after being dumped by her boyfriend, follows him to Harvard Law School to win him back. With the help of some new-found friends, she learns that it’s so much better to be smart.

The show opened on Broadway at the Palace Theater on 29 April 2007 and closed in 2008 after playing 595 performances. The show was also one of London’s most popular West End shows, where it played at the Savoy Theatre and won three Laurence Olivier Awards, including one for “Best New Musical.”

Offering shows in both the Getaway Theater and more intimate performances, dance sensation Burn the Floor will dazzle guests with their re-invented ballroom dancing. Beginning with, and maintaining all the wonderful traditions and the social history of the Ballroom dance art form, it is a ground-breaking show, serving as a melting pot of styles, energy and excitement for today’s generation of dancers. It is Ballroom “supercharged.”

The show premiered in London in 1999 and toured the US for the first time in 2000, including performances at Radio City Music Hall. After touring around the world, in a variety of countries, including Japan, Singapore and Australia, Burn the Floor premiered on Broadway in 2009.

Originally intended to be a limited run, the show opened to rave reviews in New York and extended its original run into January 2010, performing 193 shows. It is currently in the midst of its World Tour of the Broadway Production with dates in Holland, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, and will return to the US later this year before joining Norwegian Getaway in 2014.

Norwegian Getaway will feature multiple, specially-designed entertainment venues throughout the ship so that guests can choose from a wide variety of entertainment each evening of their cruise with choices to appeal to a broad audience.

Headliners Comedy Club on Norwegian Getaway will feature top-tier comedians presented through the line’s new partnership with Levity Entertainment Group, the world’s largest producer of live comedy.

Levity employs over 300 artists nationwide each week, creating special events, original tours, and television specials with some of the biggest names in comedy, including Daniel Tosh, Amy Shumer, B ill Cosby, Gabriel Iglesias and Jeff Dunham, who is currently the most successful touring comedian worldwide.

Levity packages and produces best-in-class talent for all live experiences, including premium comedy clubs, international comedy festivals, corporate events and large-scale arena and stadium shows. Levity will bring a new level of comedy entertainment on board Norwegian Getaway, offering 12 shows per week.

British general to give talks on Fred. Olsen’s spy cruise

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 May 2013 10 May 2013

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is offering a winter sunshine cruise with a difference this December, perfect for those who have always wanted to find out what the ‘real’ James Bond is like, the company said in a statement

“Black Watch’s 10-night W1324 ‘Africa & Algarve’ cruise, departing from Southampton on 10 December 2013, will offer guests an intriguing theme of ‘Espionage’, through the cruise line’s award-winning onboard enrichment programme, Vistas,” the company said.

“This fascinating topic will be hosted on board by Cold War specialist, Major General Peter Williams, as the cruise takes guests around the attractive coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco, where it visits Tangier, with its legendary reputation for international spying.”

After studying History at Cambridge University, Major General Peter Williams spent more than 30 years in the British Army (Coldstream Guards) and enjoyed an unusually varied career.

As an Infantryman he carried out ceremonial duties in London, spent two years in the mountains of Oman, served twice in Northern Ireland and commanded an armoured infantry battalion based in Münster, Germany. In the early 1990s, he wrote speeches for the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, an American General.

During the Cold War, Major General Peter Williams specialised in intelligence. After studying Russian and German, he spent more than four years in the 1980s in Berlin and East Germany, in effect working as a military spy.

In the 1990s, Peter served in the former Yugoslavia, and from 2001 to 2002, he served first on the Western European Union Military Committee, and then on the European Union Military Committee. His final military posting was from 2002 to 2005 in Moscow, where he started up, and led, NATO’s Military Liaison Mission to the Russian Federation, working on military co-operation projects with the Russian armed forces. He retired from the British Army in December 2005.

As well as speaking to a variety of audiences about his career and experiences, Peter now trains British military diplomats, and is Editor of The Guards Magazine, the in-house journal of the British Army’s Household Division (Household Cavalry and Foot Guards).

This spy-themed cruise visits some very attractive ports in Portugal, Spain and Morocco. First is Portugal’s elegant capital, Lisbon. Its many palaces, gardens, churches and cafés offer a mix of attractive architectural styles; the Ponte 25 Abril is very similar in design to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The next port, Portimăo in the Algarve, is a relaxed seaside town at the centre of the local sardine industry, so there is no shortage of fine seafood restaurants and cafés to enjoy, alongside the pretty harbour.

Couple missing from Carnival Spirit in Australia

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 May 2013 10 May 2013

Authorities were conducting an air and marine search Thursday off Australia’s east coast for two cruise passengers who were believed to have fallen overboard the night before, a media report said.

The couple from New South Wales were discovered missing Thursday morning after the 86,000 gross ton Carnival Spirit docked at Sydney’s Circular Quay, at the end of a 10 day cruise, said New South Wales state Police Superintendent Mark Hutchings.

He said surveillance camera footage showed that the couple — a 30-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman — fell from the ship’s mid deck Wednesday night, when the ship was about 120 kilometres off the coast of Forster, a city 300 kilometres north of Sydney.

Carnival Australia worried over access to Garden Island in Sydney

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 May 2013 10 May 2013

Carnival Australia, the Sydney based operating company of Carnival Corp & plc group, is concerned the Defence White Paper released by the Federal Government today leaves unresolved the vital question of long-term access to Garden Island to support the Australian cruise industry’s continued growth and increasing economic contribution.

On Garden Island, which located east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, there is a major base f the Royal Australian Navy. This will be home of the two 27,000 ton displacement helicopter carrier/assault ships HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide that are both currently under construction.

Meanwhile, Carnival Cruise Lines have said they will bring another ship to Sydney in September. Other Carnival group units that operate from the port include P&O Cruises Australia, Princess cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line and P&O Cruises.

Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry said the paper comes just days after the release of industry statistics that again confirmed cruising as the standout success of Australian tourism in 2012 with an increase of 11% in passenger numbers, the eighth consecutive year of double digit industry growth.

Sherry said the need for certainty in relation to access to Garden Island beyond the 2013-2014 summer cruise season was becoming increasingly urgent to allow itinerary planning that would ensure Sydney remains the hub of cruise industry operations in Australia.

“We welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to allow limited access to Garden Island for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 summer cruise seasons and experience shows that the arrangements have worked effectively,” Sherry said.

“As a maritime organisation, Carnival Australia has always understood and shared the Navy’s commitment to the traditions and security requirements that apply at Garden Island and have demonstrated our respect for them.

“The need to resolve Sydney Harbour’s port infrastructure requirements has never been more important knowing that the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay and Garden Island are the only suitable berths east of the harbour bridge for the increasing number of larger ships.

“On this basis, we are seeking access to Garden Island for the overflow of cruise ships that cannot or are unable to berth at Circular Quay during peak summer cruise seasons. We remain committed to achieving a solution as soon as possible that addresses the interests of the Navy, cruise industry and wider tourism sector that benefits from the growth of cruising.”