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Viking River Cruises christens first four new Viking Longships

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 March 2012 22 March 2012

Marking a landmark year of innovation and expansion, Viking River Cruises (vikingrivercruises.com), the world’s leading river cruise line, yesterday christened the first four of its new Viking Longships at a spectacular event in Amsterdam. Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of the PBS series "Masterpiece," which includes the hit show "Downton Abbey," and Joanna Lumley, the British actress famous for her role as "Patsy Stone" on "Absolutely Fabulous," joined the celebration as the ceremonial godmothers for the Viking Freya and Viking Odin. Renowned Harvard physicist Dr. Lisa Randall and Viking’s most traveled passenger, Gail Wiswedel, served as godmothers for Viking Idun and Viking Njord.

"As we celebrate our 15th anniversary in 2012, we’re proud to say this is the biggest day in our company’s history. The christening of four new Viking Longships is the first step toward an exciting new horizon in our future," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking River Cruises. "By the end of 2013, we will have launched an unprecedented 12 new Viking Longships in two years, and today we are thrilled and honored to have had such an eminent and sophisticated group of women helping us christen the first four of those vessels."

The christening of the four new Viking Longships represents the first time in modern history that four cruise ships have been christened at once, with Viking Odin and Viking Idun christened in Amsterdam and Viking Njord and Viking Freya christened via satellite from the Neptun shipyard in Germany.

Guests at the christening ceremony enjoyed remarks by each godmother and presentations by Hagen and Yran & Storbraaten, the celebrated maritime architects and Viking Longship designers. The ceremony concluded with an onboard dinner and maiden voyage cruise around the Amsterdam harbor.

New Viking Longships

Viking Longships integrate patent-pending* design and cutting-edge technology with comfortable amenities that reflect guest preferences and current travel trends, such as:

– Two Explorer Suites, which will be the largest river cruise suites in Europe at 445 square feet, each featuring a separate living room, bedroom and private wraparound veranda, offering 270-degree views.

– Seven two-room Veranda Suites with a full-size veranda in the living room and a French balcony in the bedroom.

– Thirty-nine Veranda Staterooms with full-size verandas.

– Twenty-two French Balcony Staterooms.

– A revolutionary new all-weather indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace, which reinvents the onboard lounge experience by bringing the panoramic outdoor river scenery indoors with retractable floor-to-ceiling glass doors allowing guests to enjoy the scenery and dine al fresco.

– New premium in-cabin amenities that include heated bathroom floors and mirrors, Sony HD TV’s and premium bath products.

– Sustainability upgrades, such as solar panels, an onboard organic herb garden and energy-efficient hybrid engines that reduce vibrations for a remarkably smooth ride.

Accommodating 190 passengers, the ships are scheduled to sail four of Viking’s most popular European itineraries, including the 10-day Tulips & Windmills, 8-day Romantic Danube, 15-day Grand European Tour and 8-day Danube Waltz. Each of the new Viking Longships will be 443 feet (135 meters) long and feature 95 staterooms per ship.

Just last week, Viking announced it has commissioned six additional Viking Longships for delivery in 2013, bringing the total number of new ships to be launched in two years to 12. With the six additional vessels, Viking will have invested more than $400 million in its fleet development program over three years.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines to launch package to celebrate retirement

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 March 2012 22 March 2012

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines which operates four ships on the UK market, says it will launch a special celebration package to passengers who retire.

"Many guests taking a Fred. Olsen cruise are marking a special occasion, and often the holiday is to celebrate retirement, when there is at last time to relax and take it easy. For those guests, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is launching a dedicated package - the ‘Retirement Celebration’ - bookable on any cruise, departing from January 2013," the company said in a statement.

"The package comprises champagne and canapés served in the cabin, a greetings card, and celebration cake, and is priced at £45.00 per person. It must be booked at least 28 days prior to departure. Full details will be in the Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Worldwide Cruises 2013-14 brochure, due to be launched in June 2012. "

MSC Cruises revamps Kids' Club programmes

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 21 March 2012 21 March 2012

MSC Cruises says that its Kids’ Club programmes have been revamped and updated to satisfy different age groups, meaning that children and teens can now have even more fun on board an MSC cruise.

“Family values lie firmly at the heart of MSC Cruises and the company is constantly looking for new ways to enhance the family experience on board. Since mid-January 2012 programme enhancements have been rolled out across the MSC fleet, with a focus on popular sporting activities, arts and crafts, theatre and technology. Programmes also feature a broader choice of family events, ranging from parades to scavenger hunts,” the company said in a statement.

“Just under 15% of our guests during the year are children, with this percentage rising to 30% during the summer season. It’s our job to ensure that they have an unforgettable experience, which means keeping them entertained all day,” said Daniela Picco, MSC Cruises On Board Marketing Manager.

“As 22% of the almost 200,000 under 18s who cruise with MSC every year are between 12 and 14, and 24% are between 15 and 17, it’s also a priority to keep programmes up to date for teens and make sure that ships contain the latest technology.”

(Corrected): Crown Princess to replace smaller Grand Princess in Southampton 2013

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 20 March 2012 20 March 2012

Princess Cruises, which is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group, will base the 3,080-passenger Crown Princess in Southampton in the summer of 2013 to replace the 2,610-passenger Grand Princess which is switching to run cruises to Alaska from San Francisco, Travel weekly reports in a newsletter.

As part of the deployment, Crown Princess will be offer more departures of its 12-day British Isles cruises and will sail to the Norwegian fjords.

“We are so pleased with the success of Princess in the UK that we are increasing our capacity on cruises from Southampton with the introduction of Crown Princess,” Paul Ludlow, UK director of Princess was quoted as saying.

“Following feedback from our partners we are also supporting UK travel agents with some simplifications of our policies to ensure Princess is even easier to book, further enhancing the opportunities that are available through the brand.”

The news comes a few weeks after Royal Caribbean International said it would bring the 3,114 berth Adventurer of the Seas to Southampton next year to sail together with the current resident ship, the 3,600 berth Independence of the Seas.

Costa to expand sourcing from the Indian market

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 March 2012 19 March 2012

Costa Cruises, the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s n.1 cruise company, has announced that effective March 1st, 2012 Lotus Destinations has become its General Sales Agent for the Indian market.

According to Dario Rustico, Sales and Marketing Director for Central Europe, Africa, Middle East and India, who personally came to Mumbai on March 17-18, 2012 to announce the news to the trade and media gathered on the occasion of Costa Deliziosa visit, "Nalini Gupta, Head of Lotus Destinations, has the track record and experience in the Indian Travel Market, to effectively strengthen our Brand and grow both Costa’s market share and distribution network in a consistent and efficient manner."

While Costa Cruises, a known brand in India has been present in the Indian market for several years, servicing its clients through a network of strong preferred agencies, the growing awareness and desire for cruise holidays among Indian travelers has made Costa Cruises re-align its India Market Strategy in order to be able to gain more focus and control and indeed implement stronger sales and marketing initiatives.

Immediately the commercial focus will go toward the promotion of 3, 4, 5 night cruises in the Med with Costa Atlantica during the upcoming Indian high season holidays of April, May, June as well as cruises of the same length in Asia served by Costa Victoria out of popular ports like Shanghai and Singapore.

Nalini Gupta, well networked in the travel and corporate sphere says “it is exciting times to be part of the cruise industry in India as I not only see the cruise market size increasing exponentially but also Costa benefitting from this growth largely because of their extensive network to exotic destinations, impeccable product, world-class entertainment and deep insight of customer service.”