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RCL Cruises says has injected £100 million to Southampton economy

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 September 2011 29 September 2011

Southampton’s cruise industry will enjoy a milestone bumper £100 million in knock-on economic benefits from the cruise business RCL Cruises Ltd during 2011. Two ships from the global company – Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse – are sailing from the city this year welcoming around 135,000 people to a cruise from Southampton in 2011, said RCL Cruises, which operates the Royal Caribbean International Celebrity Cruises and Azamara brands of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd in the UK.

The recent Economic Impact Analysis of the Port of Southampton report conducted by Marine South East earlier this year found that on average each cruise ship home-ported, or based, in Southampton generates around £2.5 million of knock-on economic benefits per cruise turnaround day.

Dominic Paul, vice president and group managing director, UK , Ireland and Northern Europe, RCL Cruises Ltd, commented: “ Southampton has been a great home for several ships in both the Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises family for the last six years. In that time we have significantly increased the number of people who choose to depart on a cruise from Southampton, received significant support from the port and city with improved terminal facilities and infrastructure, and become a major contributor to the region’s economy.”

The 3,634-guest Independence of the Seas is based year round in Southampton , and in 2011 will embark on 27 cruises from the city. That means almost 100,000 people will begin a holiday in Southampton just onboard Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas by the end of 2011.

Sister-company Celebrity Cruises operates the 2,850-guest Celebrity Eclipse from Southampton during the summer season with cruises departing from the city between April and October. In 2011 Celebrity Eclipse will complete 13 turnarounds in Southampton with over 35,000 people cruising from the city onboard the ship. The two ships were both officially named and launched in Southampton , and are set to feature the port as a base for 2012 too.

Voyages to Antiquity to operate Far Eastern fly-cruise programme 2012-13

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 September 2011 29 September 2011

Voyages to Antiquity, the UK based cruise operator that specialises in cruises to destinations of historic interest, will operate a series of fly cruises in the far Eat in the winter of 2012-13.

The company has published a programme of 16 to 22-night fly cruises that take in India,, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Indonesia. The first of these fly cruises will start on 13 November 2013 and the final one on 6 March in the following spring.

The company operates Aegean Odyssey, a ship of about 11,000 gross tons that was extensively refurbished prior to its entry in service with the Oxford based company in 2010.

Production starts for Viking Line's new cruise ferry

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 September 2011 28 September 2011

STX Finland Oy's Turku Shipyard today started the production of an environmentally friendly, new-generation cruise ferry to be built for Viking Line ABP. The start of production at the Turku Shipyard was carried out following the traditions of the yard. The event organised in the steel construction hall, was witnessed by representatives of Viking Line, STX Finland, the classification society Lloyd’s Register, invited guests and members of the press.

After completion, the new Viking Line cruise ferry (NB 1376) is considered to be the most environmentally friendly cruise ferry ever built. It is fuelled with liquefied natural gas (LNG), discharge and pollution into the sea have been eliminated, and the emission into the air is significantly lower than that of any other cruise ferry in the world. The 214-meter long cruise ferry is scheduled for delivery in the beginning of 2013. For the Turku Shipyards, the construction will bring approximately 2,600 many-years of labour.

“We are very proud to build this unique cruise ferry with such a high number of new technical innovations for Viking Line. The design and procurement processes for the cruise ferry have progressed as planned and we are very pleased that the production is starting on schedule. This is key project for STX Finland’s Turku Shipyard and I am pleased to see the shipyard´s production workload growing and the employment increasing,” says Jari Anttila, Director of STX Turku Shipyard.

Swan Hellenic unveils 2012 itinerary of Minerva after major upgrade of ship

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 27 September 2011 27 September 2011

The ‘all new’ Minerva, fresh from a major refit, will set sail from Portsmouth on 02 March 2012 to embark on a series of new spring cruises around the Canary Islands, Mediterranean and Black Sea, Swan Hellenic said in a statement.

The 2012 cruise programme allows passengers to explore the flora, fauna and landscapes of the Canary Islands on Islands of the Sun while Vintage Iberia & Italy allows guests to travel up the Guadalquivir River and stay in the centre of Seville – an experience which is unique to Minerva due to her smaller size.

Postcard from the Mediterranean showcases the romantically classic Mediterranean cities including Rome , Naples , Athens and Istanbul while Black Sea Panorama sees Minerva return to Constanta in Romania . A Classic Spring has been designed following the success of the 2011 spring botany themed cruises and explores the slopes of Mount Parnassus , the spring flowers in Katakolon and the stunning hillsides of the Adriatic .

The 2012 brochure also features new ports including Akrafjord in Norway – a scenic area south of Hardangar Fjord and Ostende, Belgium where passengers will spend an evening in port and hear WW1’s ‘the last post’ first hand. Other highlights include a welcome return to Israel and a second season of no fly cruises from new homeport Portsmouth.

Minerva will be returning to Portsmouth in 2012 for a number of no fly cruises following the popularity of cruises sailing from the new homeport last season. No fly cruises include St Petersburg and the Baltic with three historians accompanying this cruise as Guest Speakers and A French Accent where passengers can discover Bordeaux , Amsterdam and Bruges .

As part of Swan Hellenic’s discovery cruising ethos, all sailings are escorted by Guest Speakers, who bring each destination to life. All speakers have specialist knowledge relevant to the destinations, cultures and experiences on offer and include a number of National Trust and NADFAS representatives. Guest Speakers include Professor Mark Horton (Midsummer in Norway) of BBC’s Coast series, Mr Jeremy Pearson (Treasures of the British Isles) of the National Trust, military historian and NADFAS Accredited Lecturer, Professor Ian Beckett (South to the Mediterranean), Sir Roy Strong (Palaces & Gardens) who specialises in garden design and horticulture and The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Dr Richard Chartres, (Spring Celebration) noted for his role within the Royal Wedding service earlier this year.

Spanish operator Happy Cruises closes down on liquidity woes

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 September 2011 26 September 2011

Happy Cruises, the Spanish operator of three cruise ships that traded as Quail Cruises until 2009, closed down on Saturday with an abrupt announcement that a board meeting would be held ton Monday to discuss the future of the line. Its problem is said to be “liquidity,” media reports say

The line operated the 19,093-ton, 1992-built Gemini was built as Crown Jewel and later traded as Superstar Gemini, while the 22,945-ton, 1970-built Ocean Pearl had been built as Royal Caribbean’s first ship, Song of Norway, and has traded under a number of names since. The Clipper Group of Denmark now owns both ships and their charters were arranged through International Shipping Partners In Miami. The line’s third ship, the 21,884-ton, 1990-built Happy Dolphin, was built in Japan and formerly traded as Delphin Voyager. It is now on charter from Greek owners and had only been added to the Happy fleet in May.

Happy Cruises had been competing in the Spanish market with Royal Caribbean-owned Pullmantur Cruises and Carnival-owned Iberocruceros and was the only Spanish cruise line that was in a position to send ships to cruise from Cuba. The Gemini will terminate her present voyage in Valencia, the Ocean Pearl in Malaga and the Happy Dolphin in Venice.

Gemini had been intended to operate a second season in the Caribbean this winter, but this was cancelled in favour of a programme from Barcelona, leaving out an expensive element of flights from the operation, reports say.