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Costa Allegra to be towed to Mahe

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 February 2012 28 February 2012

Today afternoon, around 12.30 pm CET (3:30 pm local time) the two tugs reached the Costa Allegra to assist the ship as well as a deep sea trawler, the French flagged Trevignon and maintains a speed of about 6 knots. At current speed and with stable weather conditions Costa Allegra may also anticipate its arrival in Mahé on March 1 early morning, Costa Crociere said in a statement.

Tomorrow, the arrival of an helicopter will be the expected to deliver flashlights (about 400) and fresh bread, while there is no lack of food and other comfort items. The ship's galley is not operational. "Also thanks to the arrival of a small generator, carried by a naval ship present on site as support, the ship's crew is doing everything possible to make the situation on board more comfortable, trying to restore basics services on board. The speed of the ship, despite the hot and humid climate, creates a slight breeze that helps making the situation more comfortable."

Meanwhile, today early afternoon, Costa Cruisess "Care Team" has arrived in Mahé: a group of 14 people made up of executives and qualified managers as well as specialized technicians with the task of providing the necessary assistance both to the ship and to passengers as well as to crew members on their arrival in Mahé.

Care Team members immediately met with local authorities and those responsible for the rescue coordination in order to define the operational details of passengers arrival on the island and to guarantee the necessary accommodation in local hotels and an efficient organization for their return back to their final destination. Eight of them will board Costa Allegra tomorrow morning thanks to a local naval ship to meet Guests and discuss with them all the necessary arrangements and to assist the ships staff in deeper technical inspections.

Norwegian launches new module in UK online agent training programme

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 February 2012 28 February 2012

Norwegian Cruise Line says it has launched a new elective module to its online agent training programme, NCLU www.nclu.co.uk.

The new brand elective aims to educate agents about the recently unveiled ‘Cruise Like a Norwegian’ brand platform, helping them to understand how they can use its messages to tell the story of the Norwegian experience.

The elective also contains sales and marketing tips and ends in a short online quiz which counts towards overall NCLU points. Nine courses are live on NCLU and all have been designed to help busy agents develop their product knowledge in bite-sized chunks.

To date almost 6,500 agents have registered with NCLU which launched in 2009. As well as online training, special events for top NCLU performers have also taken place with more planned for this year.

As part of the PHD@Sea programme students are whisked away aboard Norwegian Epic for a cruise where they will receive sales tips, take behind the scenes tours get involved in panel discussions and training classes. Students have until 29 February to make three bookings and take five NLCU courses to be in with a chance of receiving one of thirty places.

Nick Wilkinson, director of sales at Norwegian Cruise Line said: “Our new brand messages are all about conveying the experiences that guests can expect when they cruise with us, whether it’s through dining, shopping, entertainment or relaxation.

“By understanding what these messages mean, travel partners will be able to really bring the cruise holiday experience to life, which can be a very powerful selling tool when talking to customers.”

Costa Allegra in tow, slow repatriation seen

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 February 2012 28 February 2012

Costa Allegra, the 28,430 gross ton cruise ship of Costa Crociere that lost power in the Indian Ocean after a fire in a generator room, has been taken in tow by deep sea trawlers and passengers will be evacuated on the Roche island, media reports say. The Roche island is located a few hundred miles away from Mahe, the Seychelles capital. Planes that can land at Roche can only take about 20 passengers, so it is expected to take a long time before the 636 passengers will all be flown to Mahe and then onwards to their home destinations, a report on BBC news website says.

All Discovery Cruising appoints business development manager

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 February 2012 28 February 2012

All Discovery Cruising, the trade facing arm of All Leisure Holidays has appointed Rebecca Lott as Business Development Manager to further strengthen its relationship with the trade.

"Rebecca boasts a wealth of cruise experience, having previously worked as Regional Sales Manager for Seabourn UK. In her new role she will work alongside the rest of the Business Development Management team to help develop trade awareness and sales of All Discovery Cruising’s three cruise brands - Voyages of Discovery, Swan Hellenic and Hebridean Island Cruise<' the company said in a statement.

Lott’s appointment follows the recent appointment of cruise veteran Nigel Lingard as Business Development Consultant and comes as Swan Hellenic gears up to welcome mv Minerva back to Portsmouth following a £10 million winter refurbishment. Later this year a second ship, Voyager, will be added to the Voyages of Discovery fleet and the Royal

Crown river cruise vessel will join the Hebridean Island Cruises line-up.

“All Discovery Cruising is looking to dramatically increase its bookings through the trade this year. Rebecca will play a key part in developing our existing trade partner relationships and supporting the many new retailers we believe will want to work with us. The investment in our Business Development Team is a clear signal of our commitment to retailers,”

Geoff Lawrence, Sales & Marketing Director, explained.

NCL Corporation raises $100 million through notes issue

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 February 2012 27 February 2012

NCL Corporation Ltd. says it has entered into an agreement to sell $100 million aggregate principal amount of 9.50% senior unsecured notes due November 2018. The notes are additional notes to the already outstanding $250 million aggregate principal amount of existing 9.50% senior unsecured notes due 2018.

“The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to make partial paydowns of amounts outstanding under certain of its existing revolving credit facilities and certain of its existing capital leases and for general corporate purposes. The net proceeds applied to pay down amounts outstanding under our existing revolving credit facilities would be available for reborrowing,” NCL Corporation said in a statement.