Kamlani succeeds Himelstein as Oceania Cruises’ president

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 27 October 2011 27 October 2011

Oceania Cruises has announced the departure of its president, Bruce J. Himelstein. Effective immediately Kunal S. Kamlani will serve as Oceania Cruises president, with direct responsibility for the sales, marketing and brand management functions, in addition to his current responsibilities as president and chief operating officer of the lines parent company, Prestige Cruise Holdings. "We thank Bruce for his contributions to Oceania during his tenure with us," said Frank J. Del Rio, chairman and chief executive officer for Prestige Cruise Holdings. We wish him well in his future endeavours,’ Oceania Cruises said in a statement.

Splendour of the Seas begins $35 million revitalisation in Cadiz

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 27 October 2011 27 October 2011

Royal Caribbean International’s Splendour of the Seas enters into the Navantia ship yard in Cadiz, Spain to begin a five-week long, $35 million dry dock where she will receive an array of new amenities.

“The revitalisations are part of the Royal Advantage  the lines commitment to offer vacationers the world’s most innovative cruise ships, exciting itineraries to popular destinations, and world-renowned friendly and engaging Gold Anchor Service,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement.

Included in the new amenities on Splendour of the Seas will be new dining venues: Chops Grille, Izumi, the Boardwalk Dog House, Chefs Table and the Park Café; the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery, a Diamond lounge for Crown and Anchor loyalty guests, a Concierge Lounge for suite guests and upgraded technology throughout.

In addition the ship will receive 124 new balconies and a host of new stateroom amenities including flat panel televisions. Other features being added to Splendour of the Seas include ship-wide WIFI, a digital way finding system, electronic mustering and an outdoor movie screen. Other enhancements to the ship will be announced in the coming weeks.

Upon completion of the refurbishments on November 25, Splendour of the Seas will sail a transatlantic voyage from Lisbon, Portugal to her seasonal homeport of Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil. From there she will offer a variety of South American itineraries that take advantage of the summer season in Brazil.

Shanks unveils Queen Mary 2 refit details

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 26 October 2011 26 October 2011

Cunard Line will send its flagship, the 151,400 gross ton Queen Mary 2, for a two week refit in Germany at the end of nrxt month. Peter Shanks, President and Managing Director of the Southampton based company, describes in his blog what will be done on the ship that entered service in early 2004.

“Well in late November Queen Mary 2 will be taken out of service, and out of the water, for a planned refit in Hamburg, Germany. She will be out of service for 14 days. I have had a number of questions on the blog as to what we plan to do during that time. We will release that news later this week – but I promised to reveal the news through our blog first so – here goes;

Staterooms – We will refurbish every stateroom on board Queen Mary 2 – all 1,310 of them. Each of the Queen’s Grill Grand Duplex, Master and Penthouse Suites will receive a fresh individual design. All of our Queen’s Grill Suites, Princess Grill and Britannia Staterooms will receive new carpets, curtains, bedcovers, linen and some will also see new soft furnishings. The designs will be very much in keeping with the current designs and with the overall ship – but with a fresh look. I am really pleased with how they will look and our returning loyal guests will I am sure be delighted. I have always recognised just how important it is to feel comfortable in your stateroom – a home from home. The designs on Queen Mary 2 are very enduring and when the ship returns to service in December her staterooms will be more appealing and comfortable than ever.

Golden Lion Pub – our guests have worn the Pub out. The Pub lunches are more popular than ever, the bar area is always busy and sport and musical events are increasingly popular. So we have completely redesigned this room. Below are a couple of shots of how the new Pub will look. It recreates the best of British Pubs as well as the comfortable American Country Club feel. We will achieve more comfortable seats and more of them. We will have new and improved screens for sporting events and we will still be able to have our famous Jazz evenings and daytime activities.

Canyon Ranch – goes from strength to strength on Queen Mary 2. One of the highlights of our Canyon Ranch is the wet area and Spa Pool. Well we are completely refurbishing the teak surrounds of the pool and doing a lot of work in other areas of the spa. We will have a range of new exercise machines in the gym area and some new and improved features in the salon. Canyon ranch are one of our most prized partnerships – when it comes to health, relaxation, exercise and wellness – they are the real thing and I am so pleased we are investing in further improving the facilities.

Commodore Club – one of the most iconic bar locations at sea up on deck 9 forward. No radical changes here – but as you can see form the design layout below we are investing in new carpets and refurbishing and adding to our beautiful white leather furniture.

Children’s Club – one of Cunard’s best keep secrets.  We have excellent facilities – but although they were industry leading in 2004 it is time for us to invest further in the facilities. We will refurbish the area, including the very latest in electronic gaming and entertainment – I am looking forward to trying them out for myself.

Sir Samuel’s – Originally designed when the ship came into service as a venue to offer the very best in classic wines. The advent of Cappuccinos, Lattes and Espresso has changed our approach and the room is very busy day and night. So time for new carpets and some new chair covers which will give the room a real lift.

Grill Restaurants – We will lay down a new carpet design for both the Queen’s Grill and Princess Grill Restaurants. These will be very much in keeping with the overall design but I think will give a lighter feel to both restaurants – which remain amongst the best restaurants at sea or on land.

One area that I have received questions on is Kings Court – the equivalent to The Lido area on Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. Given its location, and the fact that it covers such a large area with many sections – some of our guests have in the past found the area can be quite confusing – especially the first time you visit it.

To make significant changes to the actual structure of this area would be very difficult and prohibitively expensive given it’s scale. So we have been tackling this in different ways. We have been looking carefully at customer flow, our food and beverage offering and in particular how we best manage the service in Kings Court. We have plans to increase the alternative dining opportunities and themed evenings, and removing possible confusion by not having too many different serving stations at breakfast. This has significantly improved the situation and we will continue to focus here and make sure we create the appropriate experience for our guests.”

German discount retailer Lidl to start selling cruises

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 24 October 2011 24 October 2011

Lidl, the German discount retailer that has operations around Europe, will start to sell cruises, hotel accommodation and flights in the near future, the German current affairs magazine Focus says on its website.

Lidl will book large numbers of cabins, and hotel rooms for next summer and later perhaps seats on flights as well and then retailer them to its customers at discounted prices. 

The company’s travel offerings will be available in catalogues at more than 3,000 retail units around Europe, the report said.