Costa China Set to Introduce ‘Game Changer’ New Ship
“It is our first newbuild dedicated to the Chinese market,” said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Group Asia, referring to the new Costa Venezia, which debuts in Shanghai next May. “We are creating a strategy for the new ship and it will be a game changer.” That strategy is offering Italy at Sea to Chinese…
Shipbuilding Strategy
Luigi Matarazzo was recently named director of Fincantieri’s Merchant Ships Business Unit with direct responsibility for marketing, sales, design, purchasing and manufacturing of cruise vessels. “My main tasks are to consolidate our relationships with shipowners and to ensure that the ships we are building are built to the highest quality and delivered on time and,…
Bahamas Paradise Ups Its Food and Beverage Game
“The biggest advantage for us is our two-night itinerary, which means that we are at our homeport at least three times a week. Calling at West Palm Beach every other day allows us to supply the ship regularly with fresh meat, seafood, fruits and more. That’s something the other cruise lines simply can’t do,” said…
Biggest Year Ever in Asia-Pacific for Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean International will be offering 71 sailings on three ships out of Singapore in 2019 – the Voyager, Quantum and Spectrum of the Seas, according to Angie Stephen, managing director, Asia-Pacific for Royal Caribbean Cruises. “2018 is a banner year for us,” she said. “It is our biggest year ever with 78 sailings. “While…
Shorepower An Ongoing Debate
Norway’s Kristiansand was the second European port to offer shorepower to cruise ships when its 16 MW installation came on line in September. The only other European port offering shorepower is Hamburg, at its Altona Terminal, while Livorno expects to be operational by the end of the year. A spokesperson for the Port of Hamburg…
Capacity Up Down Under for Royal Caribbean Brands
Royal Caribbean Cruises will have five ships in the Australia and New Zealand markets during the 2019-2020 season, according to Susan Bonner, vice president and managing director. The Royal Caribbean brand will return with the Ovation, Voyager and Radiance of the Seas; Celebrity with the Solstice; and Azamara with the Quest. “Sailing from October to…
Ponant: ‘Leading the Market’
By 2022, Ponant’s fleet will grow with the additions of six 180-guest Explorer-class ships and an LNG-powered icebreaker. Just over the next three years, the number of departures will be more than doubled on an annual basis for the French brand, according to Hervé Bellaiche, executive vice president of sales. “We are confident we have…
MSC Cruises ‘Working All Markets’
“We are expanding in all our markets, deploying the new MSC Seaview in South America next winter, adding the Lirica alongside the Splendida in Dubai and moving from a smaller to a larger ship in South Africa,” Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises, told Cruise Industry News in an exclusive interview. “Obviously, we are also…
Norwegian ‘On Trend’ in Food and Beverage
“We are very much on trend with what our guests’ expectations are and the many ways we can exceed those,” said Wes Cort, vice president, food and beverage operations, Norwegian Cruise Line. “We are very diverse in what we offer from our standard concepts that are at the top of the list in terms of…
Working at Sea: Recruitment Challenges
The expansion of the cruise industry over the next decade brings great career opportunities for many seafarers, but also recruitment challenges for the cruise lines, according to Lena Dyring, assistant director, cruise operations, Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU). She said that guests’ satisfaction ratings depend on interactions with crew. And new ships also require highly skilled…
MSC Building ‘Consistent Connected Experience’
Two kilometers of fiber optic cable on the MSC Meraviglia interact with 16,000 connectivity points, including 3,000 beacons and 700 digital access points in an effort to provide a connected experience to passengers, according to Daniele Buonaiuto, CIO. Guests on MSC’s newest vessels and the recently-refurbished MSC Splendida can indulge in a state-of-the-art digital platform…
New Technology: Carnival LNG Bunkering
With the AIDAnova slated to start regular service in the Canary Islands in December, Carnival Corporation has been working on the LNG bunkering processes and procedures not only for the new AIDA ship, but also for the Costa and Carnival ships that will follow. Carnival has contracted Shell to supply AIDA and Costa with LNG…
People Are Key
“My role is making sure that our brands are wildly successful and that the people within those brands are able to achieve the brand promise,” Stein Kruse, group CEO of the Holland America Group and Carnival UK, told Cruise Industry News. With 51 ships and some 60,000 employees at the six brands he is overseeing,…
Core Strategy Is Key
Having announced itineraries through May 2020, Carnival Cruise Line does its deployment basically on an annual cycle, opening up a year’s worth of inventory at a time, according to Fred Stein, vice president of itinerary planning. “Meanwhile, every day, every week, we are constantly monitoring the performance of all our products, and it becomes an…
Collective Planning Puzzle
This year will be a big year for Royal Caribbean Cruises with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises introducing new ships. The new ships in turn are the primary drivers generating itinerary changes throughout the fleets, according to Chris Allen, vice president, deployment and itinerary planning, Royal Caribbean Cruises. Celebrity will be introducing the new…