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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines could ask agents to provide financial security

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

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based operator of four medium sized ships, could start asking agents for a bond or other financial security if it cannot secure credit insurance to cover the risk of doing business with them, Travel Weekly reports on its website.

The operator says it wants to take a collaborative approach with the trade and that it is in talks with agent partners about how it can manage financial risk. The move mirrors similar changes Complete Cruise Solution(CCS) has made to the way it works with agents. CCS, which is part of the Carnival UK group, does not have credit insurance for agents.

Fred Olsen said it was looking to secure credit insurance to protect itself against agency failure but that this was “becoming increasingly difficult”. The current economic climate means many insurance limits are being reduced or removed, it said. Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director for Fred Olsen, said it has credit insurance secured for 80% of agents but the remainder still posed a substantial potential risk. “This has got to be a dialogue, not a one-size-fits-all solution. We started conversations before Christmas, it would be great if we could have something in place by the end of January,” he was quoted by Travel Weekly as saying.

Disney Fantasy floated out in Papenburg

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 January 2012 10 January 2012

The newest Disney Cruise Line ship, Disney Fantasy, floated out of the enclosed building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard yesterday as fireworks filled the sky. This symbolizes one of the final stages of this ship's construction and marks a significant milestone towards the March 31, 2012 maiden voyage.

The Disney Fantasy features many of the innovations found on her sister ship, Disney Dream, with several new guest experiences exclusive to the ship that are sure to delight every member of the family. New experiences found on the Disney Fantasy include two Broadway-style musical spectaculars for the Walt Disney Theatre, a dining experience at Animator's Palate where guests' own drawings magically come to life, an interactive adventure quest starring the Muppets, a splashtacular water play area called AquaLab, a sophisticated nighttime entertainment area for adults inspired by European travel and much more.

The Disney Fantasy will sail seven-night alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. All voyages will depart from Port Canaveral, Fla. and include a stop at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.

Author and actress to stage “live radio play” on Mein Schiff 1

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 January 2012 10 January 2012

A German best selling authror and an actress will travel on TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 1 in the spring and stage two ”live radio plays” on board, the company said in a statement.

Jan Weiler, the author and Annette Frier, the actress, will perform plays called “MS Romantik 1” and “Uwes letze chance” (Uwe’s last chance) on board the ship on a two week cruise that departs 30 March.

Weiler will also read captions from his novel “Mein Leben als Mensch” while on board. TUI Cruises has invited entertainers ranging from a hard rock group to Wien Philharmonia on its ships in the past.

Norwegian launches new youth programme

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 January 2012 10 January 2012

To better meet the needs of the growing family holiday market, Norwegian Cruise Line announced today that it is revitalising its current youth programme and will implement a new best in class programme fleet wide, the company said in a statement.

The re-branded programme will be introduced on Norwegian Gem in mid-February and will be rolled out to all of the line’s Freestyle Cruising® ships subsequently. “More and more families are choosing a cruise for their holiday since it represents such good value and offers so much for the entire family. In fact, close to 150,000 children sailed on our ships in 2010 and that number continues to rise,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer. “We’ve already taken family programming to the next level by offering Nickelodeon experiences on some ships. Now, we want to make sure that we are continuing to offer the best possible experience for families. To do this, we are investing millions of dollars in revamping our youth and family programming.”

The current programme, Norwegian’s Kid’s Crew in place since 1999, will be renamed and the age groups are being redefined to better address the skills and interests of children. The new age groups will be: three to five years; six to eight years; nine to 12 years; along with two teen groups: 13 to 14 and 15 to 17 years. There will also be programming for babies and toddlers ages six months to two years. The new fully developed and enhanced curriculum tailored to each age group is being produced in conjunction with The King’s Foundation and Camps, a UK-based organisation that provides high quality sport and activity programmes designed to make a positive impact on children. More focus will be placed on sporting activities, arts and crafts, theatre and technology. Activities will change every 30 to 60 minutes depending on the age group and will be set within blocks of programming time in the morning, afternoon and evening.

The new curriculum will also include creative themes, such as circus day, theatre/technology/sports and port of call day. The company has engaged Cirque Du Jour, a New York-based company that specialises in teaching children real circus skills such as scarf juggling, ball juggling, plate spinning, clowning and acrobatics. Circus workshops and shows will also be offered for the entire family. In addition, the youth programmes will be expanded to utilise other areas of the ships, including the sports courts, rock walls, theatres, lounges and public spaces and will feature more family events such as parades and scavenger hunts.

“We want to ensure our youth and teens are engaged in the programmes we offer and that they are having fun,” said Richard Ambrose, Norwegian Cruise Line’s vice president of entertainment. “We have designed this new youth programme to cater to the specific interests and skill sets of children and teens to ensure that they are having the holiday of a lifetime.” The company is also investing in its youth staff, by increasing the ratio of staff to children and establishing new criteria for the hiring of counsellors, including the requirement of a college degree in recreation or child care (or the equivalent experience).

The line currently offers exclusive Nickelodeon family events, shows and activities on three ships: Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Gem (beginning mid-February). Activities include pool games, breakfast with the characters, where kids – and adults – can eat, sing and play with SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Patrick, Diego and more; Dora’s Dance Party, where kids can join Dora and the Nickelodeon cast to dance and sing along; meet and greets with popular Nickelodeon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and many more. In addition, there are also other family activities offered, including Nick Jr. story time, family trivia and special arts and crafts sessions.

P&O Cruises to publish 175th anniversary book

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 January 2012 10 January 2012

P&O Cruises, the UK based contemporary market unit in Carnival Corp & plc group, has announced the publication of a special book commissioned to celebrate 175 years of maritime heritage. P&O Cruises: celebrating 175 years of heritage, tells the official story of one of Britain’s oldest, yet even today best-loved brands. The cruise line’s ships have seen service in two world wars and the Falklands war, and, in peace time, have inspired loyalty and great affection in their passengers.

Looking forward, P&O Cruises has a bright future with yet another new ship on the horizon and this new book celebrates the remarkable history and future of the line, combining British innovation with glamour and service excellence. The book, by Sharon Poole and Andrew Sassoli-Walker, covers the history of the company since 1837, when the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company won a lucrative mail contract to the Iberian Peninsula. Not long afterwards the concept of cruising was born and since then has evolved into a mainstream holiday choice.

The authors, keen maritime historians, who have previously published the definitive history of P&O Cruises’ Artemis, give a compelling account of the company’s varied and impressive history, highlighting key milestones in the history of P&O Cruises and intriguing personal stories and anecdotes from the early days of first-class cruises in the nineteenth century to Canberra’s crucial role in the 1982 Falklands war, to the current day logistics and running of a major cruise line, and then on to the future with a new ship planned for 2015.

P&O Cruises managing director, Carol Marlow, said: “We are delighted that this fascinating book will be part of our anniversary celebrations in 2012. We can trace our roots back 175 years and during that time our ships and crews have been at the cutting edge of maritime and cruising innovation, served with distinction in several conflicts, and, most importantly, offered our customers a cruising experience that they have loved, year in and year out. We have seen countless weddings, honeymoons and proposals on board, along with all manner of other remarkable events. It’s excellent to have a book which sheds some light on some of these personal stories, as well as the current day operation of our brand and our ships.”

“The anniversary will be celebrated on 3 July 2012, when for the first time in the company’s history, our entire fleet of seven ships will be docked together for our ‘Grand Event’ in Southampton. After a spectacular send-off, the ships will form a procession in the Solent as they depart for seven special anniversary cruises.