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Construction of Costa Diadema starts in Marghera

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 December 2012 11 December 2012

Work has begun at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard on the construction in the dry-dock of the Costa Diadema, the future flagship of Costa Cruises and of the Italian-flagged passenger fleet. Today’s ceremony marking the occasion was attended by Costa Crociere S.p.A. CEO Michael Thamm and President Gianni Onorato, while Fincantieri was represented by its CEO Giuseppe Bono.

Costa Crociere S.p.A. CEO Michael Thamm commented: “The construction of the Costa Diadema is a tangible commitment to the future growth of our Company. It is significant not only for us but also for Italy in general and Venice in particular. The Costa Diadema consolidates our alliance with Fincantieri, which has already resulted in the building of 10 new ships for us since 2000, worth a total of almost 5 billion euros with the creation of wealth and employment for the country as a whole.”

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: "The end of year is approaching and it's time for us to take stock. 2012 has been an extremely difficult year, especially for shipbuilding. Total global investments have been little more than a quarter of those in 2007, resulting in a halving of the number of cruise ship orders,” he said in a statement.

“We’ve done our part, by securing almost all of these orders and confirming the dual challenge we set ourselves: on the one hand, to focus on sectors that offer good opportunities for development, and on the other, to maintain our leadership in our traditional sectors. Today, as we start work on what will be another splendid ship for our friends at Costa, we’re looking to the future with a bit more certainty."

Fincantieri launches Le Soleal in Ancona

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 December 2012 06 December 2012

Le Soleal, a luxury cruise ship ordered from Fincantieri by the French shipping line Compagnie du Ponent (Bridgepoint Group), was launched today at the Ancona shipyard. The ship will be delivered in June 2013 and will be essentially more like a mega yacht in size and for the paramount attention to interior fit-out.

The ceremony was attended, amongst others, by Jean-Emmanuel Sauvee, CEO and founder of Compagnie du Ponant, Véronique Saade, the company's Deputy General Manager, Gabriele Cocco, Executive Senior Vice President of Merchants Ships of Fincantieri, and Giovanni Stecconi, Manager of the company’s Ancona shipyard. The ship's godmother was Kiki Tauck, wife of Dan Tauck, CEO and Director of the Tauck Group, a long-standing customer of Compagnie du Ponant.

The new ship, which will fly the French flag, is the third twin following L'Austral and Le Boreal, the two mini cruise ships delivered in May 2010 and April 2011 respectively. Like its twins, the new ship is equipped with the very latest in environmentally friendly technology, while its small size means that it will be able to reach ports and destinations inaccessible to larger vessels. Its interior will be designed on a "human scale" with the utmost attention to detail.

The Compagnie du Ponant, based in Marseille, currently has a fleet of three cruise ships targeting the super luxury market. Founded in 1988, it became a member of the Bridgepoint Group in 2012.

Since 1990 Fincantieri, world leader in this sector, has delivered 63 cruise ships. Another 7 ships are being built or will be built between now and 2016 in the Group's shipyards. In addition to the ships under construction, Fincantieri has recently reached two important agreements: with the US group Carnival Corporation for the construction of two cruise ships for the Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Lines, and with Viking Ocean Cruises for another two cruise ships.

Carnival UK sets the sustainable agenda for cruising

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 December 2012 05 December 2012

Increased numbers of cruise passengers and brand growth went hand in hand with new environmental initiatives during 2011 according to the third annual Carnival UK Sustainability Report.

A 5% increase in passenger numbers (to 1.7m) across the UK market helped boost cruise line, passenger and crew spending in the UK economy by 10% to €2.8bn with the 64,000 jobs generated adding another €2.3bn in salaries paid.

Carnival UK was a major contributor with P&O Cruises and Cunard Line adding capacity during the year and P&O Cruises further demonstrating its commitment to the UK with the ordering of its largest-ever ship for delivery in 2015. At the same time, the drive to ensure that the sector's growth was sustainable continued throughout the company's operations.

Carnival UK CEO David Dingle said: “Cruising is a fast growing part of a shipping industry that has always looked and planned well ahead and this has never been more important than right now when it faces so many challenges. These include the escalating cost of fuel and the global, national, regional and local pressures on us to respond to environmental concerns and secure for the industry a wholly sustainable future.

“As a market leader in the UK and Europe we recognise the need to set the agenda for building an industry that is sustainable economically, socially and environmentally.”

During the year, it signed up to Vision 2040, a strategy developed by the newly-formed Sustainable Shipping Initiative which includes a commitment to pioneer or implement "aggressive" energy efficiencies in ship design, retrofitting and operations and to seek out renewable and other energy sources to achieve “significant” reductions in greenhouse gases.

One of Carnival UK's ongoing sustainable initiatives - its Green World Tours shore excursion programme linked to conservation and other charitable foundations in cruise destinations - won the prestigious Seatrade Insider Environmental Initiative of the Year award.

It also used funds generated by the removal of silver from on-board photographic waste to support marine life safaris on kayaks along Dorset's Jurassic Coast and supports the Sussex Wildlife Trust’s beach school programme teaching primary school children about the importance of the marine environment.

Carnival UK also acquired certification from Swiss Travel in Costa Rica for helping to reduce CO2 to preserve the Osa Peninsular tropical forest, one of the areas of most biological diversity in the world.

Each of the Carnival UK ships continues to be awarded the Venice Blue Flag for voluntarily agreeing to use low sulphur fuels when visiting the city. Carnival UK ships also self-generated 87% of the water used on board compared with 84% in 2010 and just 65% in 2008 while - pro rata – their CO2 emissions were down 11% on 2010 and 32% on 2008.

Voyager named in Portsmouth

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 December 2012 05 December 2012

History and wildlife presenter, Miranda Krestovnikoff, today named Voyages of Discovery’s new ship Voyager in an official ceremony in Portsmouth. After taking on the role as the ship’s new Godmother, Miranda joined the Lord Mayor, dignitaries, media and over 150 guests, in a ceremony held on board the ship. The blessing was carried out by Reverend Phillip Hiscock, Chaplain to thePort of Portsmouth.

Miranda Krestovnikoff, is a high profile British television presenter specialising in natural history, marine conservation, archaeology and wildlife. Voyages of Discovery selected Krestovnikoff to serve in the revered role of Godmother in recognition of her passion for discovery and her noticeable fit with the destination-led cruise offering that the brand is famous for.

Miranda commented on her new role:

“Being the Godmother to Voyager is a great honour, and as I take on this new role I hope to bring elements of my own personality and passions to the ship, including my love of travelling and discovery.”

Formerly the Alexander von Humboldt, the 15,300 gross ton Voyager was built in Spain in 1990 as Crown Monarch. It will offer a choice of 270 cabins, 87% of which are outside cabins and 30 of which have balconies, open seating dining in two restaurants, plus an intimate pre-bookable speciality restaurant, The Explorer Club. Following Voyager’s first two cruises sailing in the Caribbean, it will embark on a series of itineraries in Central and South America, heading to the Amazon in early 2013. From April 2013 the ship will be based in its homeport of Portsmouth. Prices for a nine-day Celtic Treasures cruise start from £1,099 per person. Price includes all relevant transfers, on board gratuities and service charges, meals and entertainment on board and a comprehensive programme of Guest Speakers.

Carnival UK to split Princess sales team from P&O and Cunard

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 December 2012 03 December 2012

Carnival UK says it will make a change to its trade sales structure next year to create a dedicate resource for Princess Cruises by separating it from a team that is also responsible for Cunard Line and P&O Cruises.

The single entity has been called Complete Cruise Solutions, which will continue to e.g. take care of agent training and booking services for all three brands.

The P&O and Cunard team will be headed by Chris Truscott, who will join Carnival UK from Pernod Ricard, the beverage group, at the new year, while the vacancy for the same position with Princess is open at the moment.