News

TUI Travel expects online to account for half of 2014 bookings, to generate £1.8 billion in turnover

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 10 April 2014 10 April 2014

TUI Travel, the London based tour operator, expects online sales will hit 50% of total sales this year, worth £1.8 billion in turnover, Travel Weekly reports in a daily newsletter.

The company is a major retailer of cruises and owns Thomson Cruises that operates five ships on the British market.

A quarter its bookings in the first quarter of this year came via tablets or smartphones, the company has revealed. This represents a 78% increase in bookings made from mobile devices between January and March last year. In the same period, 49% of total web traffic came through smartphones.

TUI UK and Ireland managing director Dave Burling said: "This shows the investment we have made in these devices. Customers want to research these holidays on the devices of their choice."

Burling added: "We have got a huge online business. This January we had half a million browsers of our hotel videos on our website; this gives you an indication of the scale of the business.

“The biggest trend online has been the move towards developing sites which can work not just on desktops but on tablets and smartphones. We are continually looking at investing in this business and in terms of the quality and service we give,” he was quoted as saying.

Explorer to join Voyager and Radiance of the Seas in Australia and South Pacific for winter 2015-16 season

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 08 April 2014 08 April 2014

Royal Caribbean International today announced that Explorer of the Seas will join Voyager of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas for the winter 2015-16 season at Sydney. Royal Caribbean’s winter 2015-16 Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific season will open for reservations on April 29, 2014.

From November 2015 through April 2016, Explorer of the Seas will primarily sail 11- and 14-night New Zealand cruises, with up to seven ports of call in the South Pacific country, while Voyager of the Seas will sail 8- to 12-night South Pacific and Fiji cruises, all round-trip from Sydney.

During its inaugural Australia season, Explorer of the Seas also will offer 3- and 4-night cruises in November 2015 and in February and March 2016 for vacationers to sample one of the world’s largest and most innovative cruise ships. During its third consecutive winter season, Voyager of the Seas also will sail a 13-night South Pacific and New Zealand cruise on Nov. 5, 2015, which will call at Bay of Islands and Auckland in New Zealand, as well as a 7-night Tasmania cruise on Nov. 28, which will feature an overnight at Hobart, as well as call at Melbourne, Australia.

For its part, Radiance of the Seas will offer vacationers a variety of itineraries to the South Pacific and Fiji, New Zealand, and throughout Australia. Vacationers can choose eight- to 14-night South Pacific itineraries from Dec. 2015 through Jan. 2016, or circumnavigate Australia in November 2015 and from late-February through March, 2016 – each comprising a 16-night New Zealand and southern Australia sailing from Sydney to Perth (Fremantle), followed by a 16-night northern Australia and Bali cruise back to Sydney. Radiance of the Seas also will sail four- to seven-night Tasmania cruises, departing Dec. 11, 2015, and Feb. 18 and Mar. 28, 2016, and a 10-night Queensland cruise, departing Feb. 8, 2016.

Vacationers also can chose among a wide variety of sailings that span distant regions as part of each ship’s repositioning. Explorer of the Seas will take guests on a 10-night Singapore to Perth itinerary, departing Nov. 3, 2015, followed by a 16-night southern Australia and New Zealand cruise that arrives in Sydney on Nov. 29 for an overnight stay. The ship reverses these itineraries at the end of the season, departing from Sydney on Apr. 12 and from Perth (Fremantle) to Singapore in late April. Voyager of the Seas also will reposition between Singapore and Sydney on 14-night northern Australia itineraries on Oct. 22, 2015, and April 16, 2016, with the former featuring an overnight in Singapore.

Alternatively, Radiance of the Seas’ trans-Pacific crossing will combine Hawaii with Australia or Canada on a 10-night Hawaii cruise from Vancouver, B.C. and subsequent 18-night, trans-Pacific itinerary to Sydney, departing Sept. 11 and 21, 2015, respectively. A return trans-Pacific cruise will sail from Sydney to Hawaii on Apr. 3, 2016, followed by an 11-night Vancouver-bound sailing on Apr. 20.

AIDAprima delivery to be delayed

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 08 April 2014 08 April 2014

The delivery of AIDAprima, the first of two 124,500 gross ton cruise ships AIDA cruises in Germany has on order at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, will be delayed, AIDA Cruises said in a statement.

“Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) asked us for more time to complete the construction of AIDAprima. Although we regret these circumstances they are nothing unusual for the construction of prototypes. With AIDAprima we will receive something very special – the prototype of a whole new AIDA generation,” AIDA said.

"Our highest aim is to build a ship that will delight our guests with its product innovation, a top quality and more service, even if we will receive it now later than originally planned. We have informed all guests who have already booked a trip with AIDAprima in the premiere season, and of course offered them attractive alternatives."

The ship was due to enter service in June 2015.

“Our highest aim is to build a ship that will delight our guests with its product innovation, a top quality and more service, even if we will receive it now later than originally planned. We have informed all guests who have already booked a trip with AIDAprima in the premiere season, and of course offered them attractive alternative,” the company said.

AIDA Cruises is part of Carnival Corp & plc group.