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Silversea starts first-ever seven-continent World Cruise

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 11 January 2020 11 January 2020

For the first time in history, travellers have embarked on a seven-continent World Cruise. Silversea’s Silver Whisper set sail on the Legends of Cruising 2020 on January 6, departing Fort Lauderdale for Amsterdam, where guests will arrive on May 25 having circumnavigated the world. Pushing the boundaries of travel, guests on Silversea’s World Cruise 2020 will travel deep into 62 destinations in 32 countries, including the Antarctic Peninsula over three days.

Designed by the ultra-luxury cruise line’s team of destination experts, many exclusive events will enrich the pioneering 140-day voyage for guests. Many Silversea executives were in attendance at a bespoke bon voyage event on January 5 – including the cruise line’s President and CEO Roberto Martinoli – as world-cruising guests convened ahead of the cruise. Held at The Breakers, an aptly luxurious resort in Palm Beach, the bon voyage reception enabled the travellers to socialise and share their excitement for the journey to come.

“It was an honour to bid our guests bon voyage ahead of our World Cruise 2020,” says Roberto Martinoli. “Legends of Cruising is our most immersive World Cruise to date, offering an unprecedented range of experiences. From Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam, Antarctica to Aqaba, the variety of destinations discovered by our guests will showcase the authentic beauty of the world like never before. Our guests’ enthusiasm for the voyage has been reflected in the exceptionally strong booking numbers.”

Among the array of enhancements planned for the Legends of Cruising World Cruise 2020 is a pioneering new cocktail programme, which will immerse guests in sailed destinations through regional drinks and local ingredients, as well as the fascinating stories behind each. Previewing Silversea’s new S.A.L.T. programme, which will be inaugurated with the launch of Silver Moon in August 2020, the new cocktail offering will comprise 62 cocktails that will create a sense of place, inspired by the distinctive characteristics of each visited region. Guests will also enjoy cocktail masterclasses, as they learn to mix their own beverages, and will sample cocktail pairings to discover new flavours. Guests will be gifted a special gift box, which will contain a book full of recipes and the stories behind all featured cocktails, meaning they can continue the party once home.

To enrich the experience exclusively for world-cruising guests, Silversea Cruises has introduced a collection of 33 brand new, bespoke shore experiences for 2020 – the World Cruise Collection. Travelers can embark on a musical and culinary journey in San Juan hosted by an acclaimed artist; attend a private performance of a world-renowned folkloric ballet troupe in Salvador da Bahia; delve into the Polynesian culture with a celebrated anthropologist in Moorea; savor a four-course lunch, prepared by a celebrity chef, in Singapore; indulge in a candlelight dinner under the stars in the Red Sea desert; marvel at Caravaggio's masterpieces in Rome's churches and museums; and tour the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh with the last-serving admiral, among other special experiences.

Also, for the very first time on a Silversea World Cruise, travellers will benefit from Zodiacs activities, supervised by the cruise line’s industry-leading Expedition Team, enabling them to indulge their curiosity for discovery under the guidance of experts. In the Antarctic Peninsula, for example, Silversea’s Expedition Team members will lead Zodiac tours on which guests are likely to witness penguins, seals and other animals in their natural environment, as well as large icebergs, before landing at designating landing spots for on-shore discovery.

A strong line up of guest lecturers will enrich a fascinating entertainment programme for guests: John & Tracy Fleming, Michael Buerk, Bill Miller, Tony Leon, Tom Keneally, James Bradley, Mark Elovitz and Piet De Vries will all take to the stage*. Personalised gifts, guest entertainers, local shows, and themed evenings will enrich the experience further still.

The first-ever expedition World Cruise next year

Silversea will welcome guests aboard two pioneering World Cruises in 2021, including the world’s first-ever Expedition World Cruise. Offering distinct sets of experiences and differing ways to discover our planet, the Finest World Tour and the Uncharted World Tour will enable Silversea’s guests to travel the world on their own terms, as they cruise in superlative comfort.

MSC Cruises’ report charts future of cruising in hyper-connected, urbanised world

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 08 January 2020 08 January 2020

MSC Cruises, the Geneva based cruise shipping company, has published The Future of the Guest Experience, a forward-looking report that explores the trends that will impact the future of the travel industry.

Created in partnership with The Future Laboratory in London, one of the world’s leading futures consultancies, the report identifies the ways in which travel and hospitality brands will have to deliver ultra-high definition (UHD) experiences to satisfy the needs of the guest of the future. “Impacted by hyper-connectivity, urbanisation and demographic transformation, the report shows that the future for the cruise industry is full of challenges but more importantly opportunities,” the company said in a statement.

Furthermore, luxury will be hyper-luxurious, spas will be hyper-revitalising, entertainment will be 5D and beyond, and purpose-driven travel that enriches the lives and minds of guests will be the norm. “Guests of the future will prize fluidity, freedom and cultural fluency whilst seeking out discovery and self-improvement. Travel brands will need to respond by providing experiences that resonate with individuals across a wider range of mindset and communicating new perspectives that help them grow and progress,” MSC Cruises said.

 Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman said in the statement: “One of the challenges of the cruise industry is that we need to design and build new ships that will still be cutting-edge for our guests 30 years from now. As such, innovation and consumer trends are at the very core of our DNA and we need to have a strong and clear vision for the future whilst combining this with timeless style. Through intelligent innovation and design, with strong commitment to sustainable travel, we will be able to facilitate all kinds of future experiences.”

Future guests will be looking for a truly personalised holiday experience and as we become more connected than ever before, technology will provide brands with the information needed to tailor experiences to the individual. The report demonstrates that the trend of Data ID Wallets will enable brands to create a truly dynamic, seamless and hyper-personalised guest experience.

Cruise ships and resorts will themselves become data touchpoints, assessing guest behaviour to better inform the services offered. And AI assistants and wearables will continue to play an important role in meeting the needs of guests.

MSC Cruises said it is already leading the way in leveraging voice activated AI technology to provide a service to guests. ZOE is the world’s first virtual personal cruise assistant and was introduced on board in March 2019. Currently speaking seven languages, with more in development, ZOE will evolve to become an integral part of the cruise guest’s experience, anticipating needs and tailoring information according to each guests’ preferences.

Technology such as ZOE will also be key in facilitating the trend Subconscious Design, where responsive technologies will seamlessly alter environments to individual guests’ moods and emotions. The cruise cabin of the future could feature bio signal sensors that track heart rates and facial expression, adjusting light and temperature for maximum comfort. Or smart materials could act like living art, changing to create a visually immersive environment aligned with a guest’s emotional state.

Hyper-connectivity will also drive people to seek out human connection to avoid dehumanisation and so the trend of Anthropo-tainment will see human-centric entertainment that places people at the heart of the show, accessible to all ages, genders and nationalities. Driven by a hyperconnected world making travel more accessible, this trend will see entertainment breaking down geographical, cultural and demographic barriers.

 

 

Costa Smeralda departs today to its maiden voyage

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 21 December 2019 21 December 2019

Today’s first departure port of Savona marks the official entry into service of Costa Smeralda, Costa Cruises’ new flagship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a low impact fossil fuel that constitutes an environmental breakthrough for the entire cruise industry.

Costa Smeralda is the first ship in the Costa fleet to be powered both in port and at sea by LNG, meaning improved air quality and protecting the environment with the virtual elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions) and particulate matter (95-100% reduction). The use of LNG will also greatly lessen emissions of nitrogen oxides (85% direct reduction) and CO2 (reduction of up to 20%).

Costa Smeralda is part of the Costa Group’s fleet expansion plan, with a total of seven new ships slated for delivery by 2023 and an overall investment worth over €6 billion. Of these new additions, five – including Costa Smeralda and her sister ship Costa Toscana scheduled to enter service in 2021 – will be fueled by LNG. The Costa Group was the first cruise operator in the world to introduce this ground-breaking innovation in favor of sustainability, which is set to substantially reduce the whole fleet’s environmental impact. More specifically, the Italian cruise company intends to achieve a 40% reduction in its fleet’s CO2 emissions by 2020, some 10 years ahead of the target laid down by IMO (International Maritime Organization).

On account of her outstanding environmental performance, which goes far beyond current regulatory requirements, Costa Smeralda has been awarded the Green Plus, the highest additional voluntary notation assigned by RINA (international certification body) to ships that are environmentally compliant.

The new flagship, which is over 180,000 gross tonnage and was built in the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, will be sailing today from Savona on her maiden cruise in the Mediterranean. The one-week itinerary includes calls in Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia.

“With the entry into service of Costa Smeralda, the use of LNG for cruise ships has become more and more a reality, bringing immediate tangible benefits in terms of reduced environmental impact. The Costa Group was the first to believe in this technology and we’re investing in the construction of some five new LNG-fueled ships, thus advancing on the path towards increasingly sustainable tourism,” said Costa Cruises President Neil Palomba. “Costa Smeralda is an unprecedented project, also because she combines environmental innovation with product innovation, offering holiday experiences the likes of which have never been seen before, albeit while retaining Italian hospitality as the basic distinguishing feature of our brand.”

Thanks to the entry into service of Costa Smeralda, and of Costa Toscana in 2021, the Costa Group will further boost the economic impact generated in Italy. In 2018, this output amounted to €3.5 billion with 17,000 jobs created. In 2020 it is expected that there will be approximately 450 new hires added to the Italian employees working in the hospitality sector on the Costa fleet’s cruise ships. Also particularly significant will be the growth in direct expenditure by guests during stopovers, with an average of €74.60 per passenger in every European port visited by the company’s ships. For example, in Costa’s main homeport of Savona, 900,000 passengers are forecast in 2020, a year-on-year increase of around 30%.

Costa Smeralda is a veritable “traveling smart city”. In addition to the major innovation represented by LNG-fueling, the new flagship has a series of state-of-the-art technological features designed to further reduce her environmental footprint. All the ship’s daily water supply requirements are met by processing seawater directly on board in special desalination plants. Energy consumption is reduced to a minimum thanks to an intelligent energy management system. On Costa Smeralda there will be a further phasing out of single-use plastic items, most of which have already been replaced by products made of alternative materials in the bars and restaurants on Costa’s ships. Once this has been extended fleetwide, there will be a reduction in consumption of over 50 metric tons of plastic a year, ahead of the entry into force of the relevant EU Directive. Costa Smeralda will also have 100% separate collection of waste on board with recycling of plastic, paper, glass and aluminum, using an integrated approach aimed at implementation of circular economy projects. Costa’s focus on food issues will continue also on the new flagship, with the 4GOODFOOD program designed to reduce food wastage and to recover food surpluses for social betterment. In fact, Costa Smeralda will be replacing Costa Diadema for the offloading and donation to charity of surplus food in each port of call on the itinerary, in collaboration with the European Federation of Food Banks. In addition, one of the innovations on Costa Smeralda is the Ristorante LAB, where guests can have fun cooking and learning about food sustainability at the same time.

Costa Smeralda is the result of a one-off creative project designed by Adam D. Tihany, the central idea being to convey and celebrate Italy’s finest all in one location. Tihany led an international team comprising four prestigious architectural firms – Dordoni Architetti, Rockwell Group, Jeffrey Beers International and Partner Ship Design – who were called on to design the various areas on board. The furnishings, lighting, fabrics and upholstery, and accessories were all made in Italy especially for the new flagship by 15 partners who are all ambassadors of Italian excellence. What’s more, the tribute to Italian design is showcased in the CoDe - Costa Design Museum, the first-ever museum on a cruise ship. The amenities on board are perfectly in line with their sumptuous surroundings: highlights include the Solemio Spa; the entertainment areas, like the Colosseo with its video walls screening hi-tech, digital shows; theme bars in collaboration with leading Italian brands; 16 restaurants and “food experience” areas, notably the new eatery specifically conceived for casual family dining. Costa Smeralda will also offer “Adagio Tours”, a one-of-a-kind project resulting from the partnership between Costa Cruises, AISM (the Italian Multiple Sclerosis association) and Costa Crociere Foundation. These shore excursions are designed to meet the needs of all Costa’s guests who want to enjoy their chosen destinations at a slower pace; Adagio Tours are particularly suitable for people with disabilities, parents with toddlers in strollers and the elderly.

The arrival of Costa Smeralda brings to 29 the number of the Costa Group’s ships currently in service, confirming its leadership in Europe and China. All the fleet members fly the Italian flag.

Carnival's next-generation Mardi Gras delayed by two months

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 20 December 2019 20 December 2019

Carnival Cruise Line has been informed by officials at the Meyer Turku shipyard that delivery of Mardi Gras will be delayed and is advising booked guests and travel advisors that the first revenue sailing of the ship will be Nov. 14, 2020.

With this new schedule, Carnival will now take delivery of the ship in late October and its first revenue sailing will depart from Port Canaveral on Nov. 14, 2020. Consequently, the first eight sailings that were scheduled starting Aug. 31 have been cancelled, including European, transatlantic and New York-based itineraries and four Port Canaveral itineraries.

Carnival said that the guest notification process began promptly after the notice by Meyer Turku so that impacted guests could begin to make alternative vacation plans. As a gesture of goodwill, Carnival is offering these guests a 25 percent future cruise credit (FCC), in addition to the full refund of their cruise fare (and applicable fees and taxes and other pre-purchased cruise components), as well as assistance with non-refundable airline and hotel reservations already booked. In addition, if guests rebook their cruise vacation using their 25 percent FCC by Feb. 18, 2020, they will be credited with an additional $100 per person onboard credit for that cruise. Carnival has also communicated guidelines to travel advisors regarding commission protection.

“We have been working closely with Meyer Turku executives to keep the Mardi Gras delivery on schedule, and while we deeply regret disappointing our guests, this change in the delivery date is required to make sure all of the ship’s systems, features and technology will be fully operational, so that we can give our guests the vacation they expect. Our commitment is to deliver a great and innovative ship, and Mardi Gras will definitely be that when it arrives in North America,” said Ben Clement, Carnival Cruise Line’s senior vice president of newbuild.