Top Headlines

Fincantieri and Viking sign an agreement for the construction of two more cruise ships

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 December 2012 04 December 2012

Viking Ocean Cruises, sister company of Viking River Cruises, the world’s leading river cruise line, and Fincantieri, world leader in cruise shipbuilding, today announced the signature of a Memorandum of Agreement for the construction of two more ocean cruise ships with an option for another two.

The new ships will be twins to those ordered earlier this year. In line with Viking’s intimate, destination-focused approach to cruising, the ships will be small by today’s standards at approximately 48,000 gross register tonnage (GRT). The related ship contracts will be completed subject to the customary closing conditions.

The Agreement, which strengthens the preferred relationship between the two companies, also includes a series of joint initiatives to the study of liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion.

Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking, commented on the announcement: “This additional order indicates just how strong early response has been to our ocean cruise concept which focuses on small ship destination cruising at a great value. We are very excited to have Fincantieri as a partner as we work to bring the destination back to ocean cruising.”

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: "We are very pleased to intensify our collaboration with Viking and this new agreement demonstrates our ability to compete in the market. We have done our part and we hope that the institutions responsible for supporting exports will continue to sustain those in this strategic industry for the national economy." Bono concluded: "We also hope that the unions and workers feel confident about the future by giving their utmost commitment to making our company ever more competitive. Without this determination, the excellent results achieved this year, namely acquisition of basically all the new prototype cruise ships projects in 2012, will be hard to maintain."

Strong demand prompts P&O Cruises to add Northern Lights to 2013 programme

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 03 December 2012 03 December 2012

P&O Cruises, which is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group, says it has added a 12 night Northern Lights cruise in its 2013 programme due to strong demand. The 69,153 gross ton Oriana will sail on this cruise on 1 March, the company said in a statement.

Previously, P&O Cruises had planned to introduce Northern Lights, which take Oriana up to Alta inside the Arctic Circle in Norway, to its programme in the winter of 2014.

“Due to unprecedented interest in the North Cape cruise in March, P&O Cruises has added another 12-night cruise, also to see the famed Northern Lights. The cruise offers a unique opportunity to see the natural phenomenon with an extended afternoon and evening stay in Alta, also known as the town of the Northern Lights, “ P&O Cruises said.

Winter cruises to the North Cape have become a high yield product with strong demand, Wendy Jeffreys, spokesperson for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, told Cruise Business. The company has operated cruises to Northern Norway in the winter for several years and will be doing so in the coming winter as well.

Other companies that will operate Northern Lights cruises from the UK in the coming winter include Saga Cruises that pioneered the product about five years ago and Cruise & Maritime Voyages, which is using two ships on these cruises. The 22,080 gross ton Marco Polo will sail from London Tilbury, while the 20,186 gross ton Discovery that is operated in a joint venture with Voyages of Discovery, will sail from Bristol Avonmouth.

A look at prices of Northern Lights cruises offered by various lines shows that they are not heavily discounted, unlike many other cruises on the UK market at the moment.

ECC calls for single European tourist visa

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 27 November 2012 27 November 2012

European states should work together to streamline the currently cumbersome and slow process of issuing tourist visas to non-EU cruise passengers, thereby unlocking potentially huge demand for European cruises, said Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, the chairman of the Europe Cruise Council (ECC).

He said: “The opportunities to attract cruise tourists from other parts of the world to Europe - with its unique and rich cultural heritage - are enormous. We are concerned, however, that this huge potential is being hampered by unnecessarily bureaucratic procedures for the issuing of tourist visas into Europe.

“Unlocking this potential would be greatly assisted by international action to facilitate and simplify the process of issuing tourist visas to cruise passengers from around the world wishing to experience a European cruise,” he said in a keynote speech at the Seatrade Med cruise and superyacht convention held on 27th-29th November at the Parc Chanot, Marseille in France.

Lefebvre d’Ovidio said he was encouraged that EU institutions, notably commission vice president Antonio Tajani, have recognised the urgent need for action to encourage in-bound tourism but he said political will was now needed to make progress on simplifying the process of issuing tourist visas.

The number of people who chose a cruise holiday in Europe has more than doubled in the past decade to over 5.6 million passengers in 2011, of whom about one million are non-European nationals. In total, passengers and crew spent an estimated total €3.5 billion during visits to the 250 port cities that welcomed cruise ships last year in Europe, according to ECC data. Including port-of-embarkation visits, each passenger spent on average over €99 every time he or she visited a European port, the ECC said in its June 2012 report on the contribution of cruise tourism to the economies of Europe.

Finnish government says no to Oasis financial package proposal- report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 23 November 2012 23 November 2012

The Finnish government has reportedly rejected a financial package presented to it that would have meant the government granting a loan to STX Finland so that it could build a third Oasis class ship for Royal Caribbean International. Talks are underway regarding a new proposal, the Ilta-Sanomat daily reports.

The rejected proposal would have meant that the Finnish government should have granted a loan under the terms of equity finance to STX Finland, which is part of the STX Europe shipbuilding unit in the South Korean STX Business Group, the report said.

STX Finland’s Turku shipyard built the two Oasis class vessels of Royal Caribbean that are currently in service. The company said last month it planned to place an order for a third 226,000 gross ton vessel, hopefully before the end of this year.

Norwegian and Princess to sail out from Port of Houston

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 18 November 2012 18 November 2012

The Port of Houston Authority is partnering with two separate cruise lines, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Lines, to offer new service from the Bayport Cruise Terminal.

Princess Cruises will make passenger cruise calls during the 2013-2014 cruise season, while Norwegian Cruise Lines has committed to begin service in 2014.

“We are ecstatic that these two premier cruise lines have chosen to sail from our state-of-the-art cruise facility at Bayport in Pasadena, Texas,” said Jim Edmonds, chairman of the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority. “Securing this cruise business helps fulfill our commitment by building the cruise terminal to spur job creation and economic development for the entire greater Houston and Pasadena region.”

The Port Commission authorized entering into agreements with both lines after meeting in executive session during a regular meeting today. Discussions with the companies have been under way for some time.

The Port Authority’s agreement with the lines is significant. It is projected that the cruise activity will have a considerable positive impact on the economy of Harris County and the greater Houston area, including the cities of Houston and Pasadena. Smaller cities near the cruise terminal are also expected to benefit.

Activity from a single cruise line is expected to generate annual economic impact of $50 million, according to the firm Martin Associates, including local purchases of $3.6 million. A total of 222 jobs will be touched, including the creation of almost 100 new jobs. An estimated $941,000 annually in state and local taxes is anticipated. The combined impact of the agreements with the two cruise lines over the next four years will be approximately $200 million.

Princess Cruises’ new service is scheduled to begin in November of 2013 with a total of 27 departures planned for the season.

Princess Cruises’ inaugural cruise is an unprecedented sailing aboard the Caribbean Princess to support U.S. veterans. The historic cruise, which will sail between Nov. 5 and Nov. 9, is expected to raise $1 million for two U.S. veterans’ organizations, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and Operation Homefront. Princess will begin marketing the new Houston-based cruises aboard the 3,080-passenger Caribbean Princess immediately.

Norwegian Cruise Lines and the Port Authority reached an agreement covering three years for Norwegian to sail from the cruise terminal beginning in 2014, with a total of 75 calls. The agreement includes an option to extend for up to two years.

Norwegian Cruise Lines will bring the 2,374-passenger Norwegian Jewel to Houston to sail seven-day Western Caribbean cruises. The deal marks a return to Houston for the cruise line, which last sailed from Houston in 2007. Norwegian said that travel partners and guests have been requesting the line return to Houston for some time. Norwegian’s cruises from Houston will go on sale to the public in mid-December 2013.

The Bayport Cruise Terminal, which was fully completed in 2011, is located in Pasadena, Texas, which is outside of Houston.