Top Headlines

Royal Caribbean to invest $300 million to revitalise five ships

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 12 July 2011 12 July 2011

Royal Caribbean International has announced that it will invest approximately $300 million to bring the latest innovations to the cruise line's ships across the fleet and introduce the highest guest-rated programs from its award-winning Oasis-class ships.

"The revitalizations will offer guests a greater variety of new onboard dining and entertainment options, pervasive Wi-Fi, iPod docking stations, and many more amenities, to deliver even more of the "WOW" aboard all Royal Caribbean ships sailing worldwide. Planned through 2014, the revitalizations are yet another example of why Royal Caribbean has been voted Best Cruise Line Overall for eight consecutive years in Travel Weekly's Readers' Choice Awards. These fleetwide enhancements build on Royal Caribbean's best-in-class global vacation offering and deliver to guests the Royal Advantage - the industry's most innovative cruise ships, combined with exciting itineraries and destinations, and world-renowned friendly and engaging Gold Anchor Service," the company said in a statement.

"The Royal Advantage revitalizations takes many of the best features that we have created in recent years and introduces them across our fleet, offering our guests enhanced vacation choices around the world," said Adam Goldstein, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. "We never stop trying to make the experience even better, and no other cruise line can offer the same high quality vacation experience with such an array of choices that cater to every guest."

The Royal Advantage revitalizations began with Radiance of the Seas in May 2011, and will be followed by Splendour of the Seas in November. In 2012, revitalizations are scheduled for Vision-class ships including Rhapsody of the Seas (March 2012) and Grandeur of the Seas (May 2012), as well as Radiance-class Serenade of the Seas (November 2012). Each ship will enter dry dock for approximately a month and re-emerge as even better versions of the ships that guests love, complete with new dining venues, entertainment options, technology enhancements and more.

"We are thrilled that the ongoing Royal Advantage revitalizations will result in a virtually brand-new fleet that offers the most contemporary experience, no matter which ship or itinerary vacationers choose," said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of Hotel Operations, Royal Caribbean International. "From new dining concepts to cutting-edge entertainment to technological advancements, we are raising the bar across the fleet to offer guests our signature Gold Anchor Service and the world's most innovative cruise ships that sail to exciting destinations worldwide."

With the cruise line's recently announced 2012-13 deployments, vacationers have the opportunity to enjoy new and unparalleled onboard experiences and itineraries. Revitalized Grandeur of the Seas will offer vacationers seven-night Western Mediterranean or 10- and 11-night Greece and Turkey itineraries from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and Venice, respectively, in summer 2012. Moreover, the newly revitalized Rhapsody of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas will offer vacationers additional dining and entertainment options for a cruise or cruisetour in awe-inspiring Alaska in summer 2012 or rugged Australia and New Zealand in winter 2012-13.

Among the revitalizations and enhancements to the Vision-, Voyager- and Radiance-class ships throughout the next three years, will be:

New Technology: Guests will enjoy pervasive Wi-Fi, interactive flat-panel televisions in staterooms, and electronic mustering.

Digital Wayfinding Systems: Onboard activities, real time updates, customized directions and routing, as well as ship factoids will all be at guests' fingertips with new plasma and LCD touch screen signs prominently placed throughout each of the ships.

Outdoor LED Video Walls: Oversized video screens will be installed on the pool decks to liven up outdoor entertainment and programming, day and night.

Royal Babies and Tots Nursery: Safe, fun and interactive vacation environments will be available in nurseries designed for babies and tots ages six through 36 months.

New Staterooms: New levels of accommodations, including staterooms ideal for families, will be added to suit a variety of guest needs and requirements.

Additional Dining Options:

Chef's Table: An exclusive experience co-hosted by the Executive Chef and Sommelier for an intimate wine pairing dinner of five courses.

Izumi: A pan-Asian cuisine restaurant featuring mouthwatering flavors and a sushi bar with hot-rock cooking.

Chops Grille: Royal Caribbean's signature steakhouse featuring a menu of prime cuts prepared a la minute.

Park Café: A casual dining venue featuring gourmet salads, sandwiches, soups and pastries.

Rita's Cantina: A casual yet vibrant restaurant offering traditional Mexican fare, comprehensive selection of margaritas and live evening entertainment.

Boardwalk Doghouse: A casual eatery for guest to enjoy a range of brats, links, wieners and dogs.

In 2013 and 2014, additional Royal Advantage revitalizations will take place on Vision-class ships, including Legend of the Seas and Vision of the Seas, four Voyager-class ships - Navigator of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas - and the Radiance-class Brilliance of the Seas. Royal Caribbean also will deliver the Royal Advantage through less extensive enhancements planned for Freedom-class Independence of the Seas, Voyager-class Mariner of the Seas, and Vision-class Enchantment of the Seas.

Radiance of the Seas' recent revitalization doubled the ship's onboard dining options among other enhancements, and is now alternating seven-night South- and North-bound Alaska itineraries this summer before repositioning for its first winter season in Australia and New Zealand. The final and most extensive revitalization this year will be Splendour of the Seas in November, which afterwards will offer two-, three- and four-night Brazil cruises, as well as seven- and eight-night Argentina & Uruguay Cruises from Sao Paulo, Brazil. In early 2011, Oasis of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, and Liberty of the Seas had received popular enhancements and programs that were introduced aboard the newly launched Allure of the Seas, such as the DreamWorks Experience. Having previously undergone extensive revitalizations in recent years, both Sovereign-class Majesty of the Seas and Monarch of the Seas are currently delivering the Royal Advantage to guests on short Bahamas cruises from Miami and Port Canaveral, Fla., respectively.

Crystal Cruises appoints Jack Anderson as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 30 June 2011 30 June 2011

Los Angeles-based Crystal Cruises has appointed cruise industry veteran Jack Anderson as senior vice president, marketing and sales, effective July 1. Reporting directly to Crystal president, Gregg Michel, Anderson will oversee the luxury line’s marketing, sales and public relations efforts worldwide.

Anderson most recently held the position of senior vice president, worldwide marketing, sales and public relations at The Yachts of Seabourn, and previously served as vice president of corporate marketing and sales for Carnival Corporation, and senior vice president of worldwide marketing, sales, public relations and guest relations for Holland America Line and Windstar Cruises. In all, Anderson brings more than 30 years of cruise industry experience in creating strategic partnerships, building revenue and leading top performing teams.

"Jack is greatly respected for his intelligence, creativity, integrity and motivating leadership," says Michel. "With his wealth of experience, passion for innovation and strong commitment to our retail distribution partners, we’re fortunate to have him on the Crystal team."

Anderson and his wife, Kelly, will reside in Los Angeles.

Silversea Cruises announces global commercial reorganisation

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 28 June 2011 28 June 2011

Silversea Cruises today announced changes to its global management structure to better respond to market requirements and facilitate its desired international growth.

The changes include two key executive appointments: Steve Odell, as senior vice president of sales and marketing for the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific, and Karen Christensen, as director of sales and marketing and general manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Manfredi Lefebvre, Silversea's chairman and chairman of the European Cruise Council, said: "Today we are seeing new geographic regions and countries that are disproportionately contributing to the cruise industry's development, particularly in Europe. This evolution poses challenges for commercial organisations that wish to benefit from this growth. Adapting the teams to accept the challenge is of fundamental importance and this is why Silversea is now announcing changes to its organisation which will better respond to market requirements."

Steve Odell has been responsible for Silversea's Asia Pacific region since 2001 and opened the office in Sydney in 2008. He has had tremendous success at developing business in the region. Odell will relocate to the company's London office at the beginning of July, where he will take on his new responsibilities for the extended geographical region. He will continue to report to Kenneth Watson, the company's chief operating officer.

Karen Christensen, who has been successful in her role as regional sales director for Australia and New Zealand within the Sydney office in recent years, will continue to report to Odell as she takes on her new responsibilities for the region.

There will be no changes in Silversea's Singapore office, which will continue to report to Odell in London.

The sales and marketing staff responsible for the European market, based in Monaco, will now report to Odell. The company also announced plans to open a new office in Frankfurt, which will be operational in the second half of this year, underscoring the importance of the German market. This new office will also have the responsibility for managing Austria and Switzerland.

Trudy Redfern, senior vice president for UK, Ireland and Middle East markets, has decided to leave Silversea as of 30 June, after more than seven years with the company. Redfern was instrumental in developing business in the UK, which is the company's second largest market.

At the company's office in Fort Lauderdale, Kenneth Watson will maintain global marketing and sales responsibility while heading up sales for the Americas.

Steve Tucker will continue in his role as vice president of field sales for North America and Melissa Araya will continue in her role as director of sales for Central and South America, and both will report directly to Kenneth Watson.

STX France cancels the newbuilding contract with Libya's GNTMC

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 22 June 2011 22 June 2011

STX France SA, a 66.66% owned subsidiary of STX Europe AS, has rescinded the contract with GNMTC (General National Maritime Transport Company) - the state owned Libyan shipping company - for the construction of a 140,000 GT cruise vessel for delivery end-2012. The reason for the rescission is the default of payment from GNMTC.

STX France is confident to be able to find a new buyer for the vessel. Due to insurance cover for such an incident, the rescission is expected to have limited impact on the financial results of STX France.

Broad based demand feeds world cruise market growth

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 22 June 2011 22 June 2011

A broad based demand is feeding the growth of world cruise market, said managing directors of Cunard Line and P&O Cruises in London yesterday. Both companies are adding one ship to their 2013 world cruise programmes, so that P&O Cruises will have four and Cunard Line three ships on these long haul voyages that take between 85 and 110 nights.

“Some people save up for 30 years to make a world cruise and to them it is a once in a lifetime experience. Some others come back year after year,” said Carol Marlow, Managing Director of P&OCruises. “Adult Gap Year,” whereby a person e.g. in his or her fifties decides to have time off in an otherwise busy career is also contributing towards growing demand of these long haul cruises, while some people that have been made redundant decide to use part of their redundancy package to book a world cruise, she said. Contrary to what might seem likely, Marlow pointed out that some of the passengers on world cruises have never been onboard a ship before, a fact that again adds to the diversity of the people that book these voyages.

The 2013 world cruise programme of Cunard Line, which is sending all three ships in its fleet on these long cruises forthe first time then, includes several overnight stays, which means that passengers have two full days and a night to explore the port in question. Peter Shanks, President and Managing Director of the company said that it is just the fact that people will have more time to explore the sights and places of interest in these ports that makes overnight stays popular, not so much thepossibility to explore local nightlife.

Both companies sell also segments of these cruises and in case of Cunard, lots of bookings will come from continental Europe, North America and Australia in addition to the UK. To ensure that potential passengers from all these parts of the world will have an equal opportunity to book, the company will start taking bookings in the afternoon UKtime on 14 July, when the programme goes on sale, Shanks said.

P&O Cruises mainly sources its passengers from the British market, but like those of Cunard, segments of its programme can be bought e.g. as liner voyages and the company expects to sell quite a lot of these on the Australian market. Marlow pointed out that although bookings will open for the programme on 14 July, those for segments will start on the following day. This is to make sure that passengers that want to book the whole voyage can do so and that the company’s reservation department has enough staff at hand to handle the expected surge in activity once the programme goes onsale.