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Royal Caribbean to introduce Art on Royal fleetwide

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 June 2011 29 June 2011

Royal Caribbean International is relaunching the cruise lines art program with the one-of-a-kind Art on Royal. The new exclusive program expands the breadth of onboard art-inspired events, with tours, seminars and auctions. Art on Royal integrates the entire onboard collection aboard Royal Caribbean's fleet of the world's 22 largest and most innovative cruise ships, and features Royal Art Icons, select artists among the entire Royal Caribbean Art Collection, and works by Royal Caribbean Signature Artists Romero Britto and Thomas Kinkade. This exclusive program, developed in partnership with Art Actually, was first piloted aboard Oasis of the Seas; is also currently aboard Adventure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas; and will be available on most ships by the end of the year.

"Royal Caribbean International has compiled one of the world's largest private art collections, valued at $120 million, on display aboard our fleet of ships for our guests enjoyment," said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of Hotel Operations, Royal Caribbean International. Guests have always marveled at our art and many have inquired into how to purchase them. Art on Royal will offer guests the opportunity to take home a lasting work of art as a memory of their cruise vacation, as well as provide a broad menu of enriching, art-inspired programs, featuring Royal Caribbean Signature Artists and Royal Art Icons pieces. This new art program is part of the Royal Advantage, Royal Caribbean's commitment to deliver a compelling and most contemporary vacation experience.

Unique to Royal Caribbean are Royal Caribbean Signature Artists, who include pop-culture icons such as Romero Britto and Thomas Kinkade. The BRITTO Gallery aboard Allure of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas – and soon to be added to Splendour of the Seas – offers the artists contemporary masterpieces that evoke a spirit of hope and convey a sense of warmth. The Thomas Kinkade Gallery aboard Mariner of the Seas features expressions of love, home, family, peace, community and the beauty of nature by one of the most collected living artists in history.

Through the unique Art on Royal program, guests have the opportunity to view and purchase a one-of-a-kind piece, as well as enjoy events on select sailings throughout the year. In addition, Art on Royal offers a range of gifts, souvenirs and high-valued originals, including limited-edition signed photography, prints and objects, one-off unique pieces, wall pieces and reliefs, miniatures, and artist commissions.

Art on Royal is managed by Art Actually and is inspired by the art that is on permanent display across the Royal Caribbean fleet of cruise ships. This extensive art collection has been compiled over a period of 20 years and contains thousands of unique art works by hundreds of established and emerging artists. The Royal Caribbean Art Collection is one of the largest private collections to be on display in its entirety on a constant basis.

Based in Miami and founded by the owners of ICArt, the curators of the Royal Caribbean Art Collection, Art Actually has created the unique shipboard art program, Art on Royal, to deliver both enrichment and a commercial perspective to Royal Caribbean guests. More information is available at www.ArtActually.comor by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

P&O Cruises replaces Tripoli in winter itineraries

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 June 2011 26 June 2011

Due to the current unrest in Libya P&O Cruises has cancelled all three scheduled calls to Tripoli.

Adonia's call to Tripoli on December 30, 2011 has been replaced with a call to La Goulette, Tunisia on December 31, 2011. To accommodate this change it has been necessary to alter the call dates for Haifa, Ashdod and Malta. The amended itinerary is as follows:

Departing on December 20, cruise no. D115 calls in Piraeus, Limassol, Ashdod, Haifa, Port Said, Alexandria, Malta, La Goulette, Salerno and Naples.

Prices start at £2,239 per person based on two sharing an ocean view cabin, including flights.

The call to Tripoli on January 11, 2012 as part of Oriana’s X201 world cruise departing on January 5, 2012 has also been cancelled and is replaced by Naples and Malta.

The full world cruise is priced from £8,804 per person based on two sharing an inside cabin, and includes £500 per person on board spending money.

The 18 night Southampton to Dubai sector of the world cruise (XAQ) departs on January 5, 2012, and the amended itinerary is as follows:

Southampton, Oporto, Naples, Malta, Port Said, Suez Canal, Suez, Sharm el Sheikh, Muscat and Dubai.

Prices start at £1,687 per person based on two sharing an inside cabin, cruise only, and includes £45 on board spending money.

Oceana’s Tripoli call on March 3, 2012 on cruise E203 has been replaced with Alexandria. Departing Southampton on Sunday February 26, 2012, the ports of call in the 24 night cruise are now Southampton, Cadiz, Alexandria, Port Said, Limassol, Ashdod, Haifa, Piraeus, Katakolon, Messina, Valencia, Lisbon, Southampton. Prices start at £1,859 per person

All prices are per person and based on two adults sharing on a full board basis including all main meals, entertainment and most facilities.

P&O Cruises will continue to monitor the situation in Libya and if it improves and it is deemed safe to call in Tripoli, it will return to the original published itineraries.

Saga Pearl II seen to call as Quest for Adventure at Finnish port 2012

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 24 June 2011 24 June 2011

Saga Cruises, 19,000 gross ton Saga Pearl II will make a final sailing for that brand in the spring of 2012, but a vessel called Quest for Adventure is scheduled to call at the Finnish port of Turku at the end of May next year under the Saga Shipping umbrella, the port’s website shows.

Saga Cruises introduced Saga Pearl II last year as replacement of the 1965 built Saga Rose that was sold for scrap.However, the company’s original plan had been to introduce it as Quest forAdventure under the Spirit of Adventure brand name, which currently operates aship of the same name as the brand.

Saga officials recently said that no decision had been made about the future of Saga Pearl II after it will make way for Saga Sapphire, which is currently trading as Bleu de France and which will join the Saga Cruises’ fleet in March 2012 after a refit.

Fred.Olsen to offer five night mini cruise to commemorate Titanic

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 June 2011 23 June 2011

The year 2012 marks the centenary of one of the most momentous events in cruising history; the tragic sinking of the RMS Titanic. To mark the occasion, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines will be operating a mini cruise aboard its cruise ship, Balmoral, calling at each of the historic ports on the liner’s short-lived maiden voyage.

The ill-fated RMS Titanic, then the world’s largest passenger steamship, was the pride of the White Star Line fleet, and departed with great fanfare and excitement from Southampton on 10^th April 1912. The Olympic-class liner was carrying 2,223 passengers en route to New York City when she struck an iceberg, and sank on 15^thApril 1912. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people, making it one of the most serious peacetime disasters in maritime history.

Fred. Olsen’s five-night mini cruise, L1202, departs from Southampton on 3^rd April 2012, and visits Liverpool – port of departure for so many thousands of migrants and luxury travellers to the New World – and Belfast – the city in which RMS Titanic was built – before returning to Southampton. In Belfast, there will be an opportunity to see the site of the Harland and Wolff shipyard, where RMS Titanic was built between 1909 and 1911. Guests can also see the new state-of-the-art, six-storey visitors’ centre, ‘Titanic Belfast’, at the shipyard, which is opening its doors for the first time in April 2012 to mark the centenary of the launch of RMS Titanic.

Prices for this historic five-night cruise start from £559 per person, based on two adults sharing an inside twin cabin, Grade ‘I’. The price includes accommodation, all meals and entertainment onboard and port taxes.

Royal Caribbean announces Serenade of the Seas Winter 2012-2013 Dubai season

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 June 2011 23 June 2011

Royal Caribbean International has announced the deployment of Serenade of the Seas to Dubai for its winter 2012-2013 season. Serenade of the Seas will offer vacationers 17 sailings, departing every Monday on seven-night United Arab Emirates and Oman itineraries from December 2012 through April 2013. Serenade of the Seas will replace Brilliance of the Seas and offer vacationers a different Royal Caribbean International ship, aboard which guests can explore the cultures and heritage of the two Middle Eastern nations. Additionally, vacationers can choose a Royal Caribbean cruisetour to explore and experience more inland attractions. Serenade of the Seas winter 2012-2013 Dubai cruises and cruisetours are currently open for booking.

Vacationers can choose the Arabian Explorer cruisetour itinerary, which combines a four-night escorted land tour with Serenade of the Seas seven-night cruise. Destinations featured on the land tour will be Dubai, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah, where guests can enjoy dune bashing; savor dinner and entertainment at a Bedouin desert camp; and visit the Hili Archaeological Gardens and the Ali Ain National Museum. Royal Caribbean cruisetours take the stress out of planning a vacation; are escorted by an expert tour director; and includes transfers, transportation, hotel accommodations, breakfasts, and select meals.

Serenade of the Seas seven-night itinerary also calls at Fujairah and Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E., as well as feature overnight stays in Muscat, Oman, and Dubai at the conclusion of the cruise. Vacationers also can choose a 15-night Mediterranean and Suez Canal transit cruise, departing December 2, 2012, from Malaga, Spain, to Dubai; and a return 15-night return to Barcelona, departing April 15, 2013.