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Royal Caribbean to have three ships in UK again in 2014

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 07 March 2013 07 March 2013

Three recently revitalised Royal Caribbean International ships will set sail from the UK during the summer of 2014. With a host of popular itineraries the 2014 European sailings will be open for booking from 20 March 2013, the company said in a statement.

The cruise line’s extensive ship investment programme has seen over $300 million spent on enhancing the facilities and guest experiences onboard ships across the fleet – and Independence of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas will sail from UK shores next summer.

Both Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas will share the Port of Southampton for their second consecutive seasons from May 2014 until late October 2014. Sister-ship Brilliance of the Seas will return to her home port of Harwich after a debut season in summer 2013.

Jo Rzymowska, associate vice president and general manager, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises - UK and Ireland, commented: "We are delighted to announce our 2014 sailings from Southampton and Harwich on our newly revitalised ships. Our guests can continue to enjoy our innovative facilities and activities onboard including rock climbing, ice skating and surfing, plus our great entertainment. We want to continue to give our guests unforgettable experiences that can only be found on Royal Caribbean International."

The 3,634-guest Independence of the Seas, based in Southampton since 2008, continues to receive rave reviews from UK holidaymakers, most recently in the 2013 Cruise Critic UK Cruisers’ Choice Awards, where it was honoured in the best food, entertainment, families, fitness and service categories.

Independence of the Seas will feature a range of itineraries in 2014, including shorter sailings such as a three-night and four-night cruise to Le Havre for Paris, and Zeebrugge for Bruges. Independence of the Seas will also showcase a six night cruise to France and Spain, an eight-night cruise to Norway, various 14-night Mediterranean cruises, plus 11 and 12-night Canary Islands cruises.

From May 2014, Adventure of the Seas from Southampton will return to a series of seven to 16 night cruises around the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, plus shorter sailings, including a four-night trip to Belgium and France.

Brilliance of the Seas, sailing from Harwich, will visit Northern Europe on 12-night Norwegian Fjords and Iceland cruises and the Baltic Sea on 12-night Scandinavia & Russia cruises.

To promote the 2014 UK deployment, Royal Caribbean International will launch a new European and Mediterranean brochure, featuring popular Spanish / Italian, Mediterranean and Canary Island breaks. The new brochure, packed with cruise options for summer 2014, is divided into sections dedicated to different holiday choices such as mini cruises, traditional 14-night summer holidays, Mediterranean and Northern European itineraries. Agents will also find pages for short cruise options designed for first time cruisers to sample at-sea holidays.

Fire breaks out on Norwegian Getaway at Meyer Werft

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 March 2013 06 March 2013

A fire leading to significant smoke formation broke out on Norwegian Getaway that is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany for Norwegian Cruise Line.

“At present the shipyard’s fire brigade and members of the Papenburg fire department are still in operation on the yard premises,” Meyer said in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.

The affected production areas and the shipyard’s visitor centre were evacuated. As of now there are no detailed indications as the reason for the fire. “In general we install large-size safety and detection systems on our ships as early as in the construction period. Hence we could react very quickly,” explained the yard’s safety manager, Markus Wähler.

As it stands at present nobody was injured. In the current situation nothing can be said in regard to material damage. Completion of the newbuilding in 2014 is not at risk according to information currently available, the shipbuilder said.

Royal Caribbean names Rob Zeiger Vice President, Global Chief Communications Officer

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 March 2013 05 March 2013

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has named Rob Zeiger to the position of vice president, global chief communications officer. Zeiger is responsible for leading Royal Caribbeans overall communications, corporate social responsibility, and public relations and corporate positioning strategies. He reports directly to the company's chairman and CEO, Richard D. Fain.

"We are delighted to have Rob join our team," said Fain. "Rob's experience as a trusted communications leader and advisor will serve us well as we continue to tell the Royal Caribbean story to the world."

Zeiger is a successful communications expert with more than 25 years experience in media relations, corporate reputation and issues and crisis management. Most recently, Zeiger was the senior vice president of communications for the Philadelphia Eagles, where he served as their chief communications strategist and advisor, as well their chief media spokesperson. Prior to that, Zeiger served as Amways director of Corporate Communications. While at Amway, Zeiger revamped the company's approach to public communications, and championed a transparent, candid approach to building the company's reputation.

Earlier in his career, Zeiger served as vice president and creative director for Weber Shandwicks office in Detroit, Michigan; Director of Special Projects for the Office of the Wayne County Executive; and as a staff writer for The Detroit News.

Zeiger holds a Bachelors of Arts in History from Columbia University.

Cuba Cruise goes for sale in Europe

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 March 2013 05 March 2013

Cuba Cruise, the Canadian company that will introduce cruises that circumnavigate the largest island in the Caribbean next winter, says its product has gone for sale in Europe.

The company has chartered the 25,611 gross ton Louis Crystal that was built in 1992 for the series of 15 seven night cruises that will run from 6 December 2013 to 31 march 2014.

“Now Europeans can access the newly-launched Cuba Cruise breaking new ground with its circumnavigation of Cuba. Finally Cuba's fascinating but otherwise hard to reach ports are accessible to all,” Cuba Cruise said.

Each cruise includes the opportunity to visit world famous beaches, six UNESCO world heritage sites and four National Parks & Preserves, as well as in-depth exploration of Cuba’s dynamic culture. The experience offers the best qualities of cruising and all-inclusive getaways combined with a Cuba that few people see,” the Calgary, Alberta based company said in a statement.

Cuba Cruise will make its European debut during ITB, the world's largest travel show, from 6 – 10 March, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Prices start at €437 double occupancy for a seven-night cruise

Meager UK cruise market growth fell well short of forecast

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 March 2013 05 March 2013

The British cruise market added a mere 1,000 passengers last year, which was well short of what the industry had anticipated, Travel Weekly reports in its daily email newsletter.

“The number of British cruise ship passengers fell short of industry forecasts by 19,000 last year although river cruises increased their popularity,” the report said.

Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) said on Moinday that the number of British passengers who took an ocean cruise reached 1.701 million last year. However, the number of that opted a river cruise soared by 14% to 130,000, PSA stated.