Fincantieri: Building the Future
“We are redesigning the future of navigation on a strategic and technological level,” Luigi Matarazzo, general manager of the Merchants Ships Division at Fincantieri, told Cruise Industry News. “The ships we are building will increasingly resemble large, hyper-connected, energy self-sufficient, lighter and greener, propelled floating cities, capable of recycling up to 90 percent of the…
Ambassador Cruise Line Offers No-Fly Edge
Ambassador Cruise Line launched service this spring and has been profitable from day one, said CEO Christian Verhounig. Acquiring two ships during the pandemic, the Ambience entered service in April while the Ambition (former AIDAmira) follows next spring. “What was very evident was that there was a gap in the market, and pent-up demand from the…
Carnival Cruise Line Rolls Out IT Updates. More Bandwidth
As Carnival Cruise Line welcomed its full fleet back into revenue operations earlier this year, it also welcomed a 50 percent increase in bandwidth on a per guest basis to the ships, said Luis Terife, vice president, connectivity revenue. “We have seen a significant increase in guest utilization, across the board, but especially with a…
Norwegian Prima Pushing the Boundaries for Food and Beverage
“We have always been creators and innovators when it comes to a lot of things and certainly in food and beverage, and with our new Prima class of ships, we wanted to really take things to a new level,” said Wesley Cort, vice president of food and beverage operations for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. “We…
MSC Cruises Builds Momentum with All Ships Back in Service
When the MSC Musica started sailing in early June, the entire MSC Cruises’ fleet was back in service. For the summer that means 11 ships in the Mediterranean, five ships in Northern Europe, two ships in the Caribbean and one ship in the Middle East, according to Gianni Onorato, president of MSC Cruises. “We have…
Virgin Voyages: Cutting Edge Tech
The goal for Virgin Voyages has been to eliminate the connectivity barrier for its Sailors when it comes to internet access aboard, said Andy Schwalb, director of IT. “What was loud and clear from consumer research is that customers did not want to feel disconnected while onboard,” he told Cruise Industry News. Working closely with…
AIDA Expands Job Platforms and Recruitment
Taking a very proactive approach to crew recruitment, AIDA Cruises uses Instagram Live as its streaming platform for AIDA Job Date, enabling the German cruise line to reach the German labor market and anyone who may be interested in a job onboard and getting to know the company. Explained Michael Kasten, head of talent acquisition…
Overcoming Cruise Supply Chain Hurdles
Overseeing hotel operations, food and beverage, crewing and purchasing for clients across the cruise industry, The Apollo Group was on the front lines of the industry’s start up in 2021. “We got to November thinking we’re getting there and then in December, we had Omicron. We had to stop a bit and start again,” said…
Itinerary Planning: Azamara Is Destination-Intensive
Launching the Azamara Onward in May, Azamara will have its four ships in Europe this summer on a variety of programs in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. The Onward sails her 11-day maiden voyage from Monaco to Venice, calling at Livorno, Civitavecchia, Sorrento, Amalfi, Kotor, Ancona and Ravenna. Among the more unique offerings is an…
Luxury Market Sets Expansion Course
The luxury segment of the cruise market is on an expansion course set to grow its passenger capacity by an estimated 60 percent over the next five years, from approximately 850,000 in 2022 to nearly 1.4 million by 2027. Based on the newbuild orderbook, the luxury fleet will be expanding from 69 ships today to…
The Year of New Cruise Brands
Five new companies are charging into the cruise industry in 2022 and are poised to be major players going forward. We take a look at who, what, where and when. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection As one of the biggest names in luxury travel, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection plans to offer a boutique product that combines…
Working At Sea: The Need to Attract More Seafarers
With the cruise lines resuming service and having to crew their ships in relatively short order, seafarers in all departments are in very high demand and the companies have to treat them accordingly, said Lena Dyring, director of cruise operations for the Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU). The spike in demand coincides with recruitment taking a…
Itinerary Planning: Carnival Staying “Fresh”
Always keeping its product fresh, Carnival Cruise Line has been moving ships around for 2022 and 2023 and will also welcome two newbuilds into the North American market, the Carnival Celebration this November and the Carnival Jubilee next November, Fred Stein, vice president, revenue planning and deployment, told Cruise Industry News. The Celebration will be…
MSC Set for 150 Drydock Days in 2022
Emilio La Scala, president and managing director, MSC Cruise Management UK, is preparing for a busy 2022 with approximately 150 drydock days for the company’s fleet, up from roughly 100 in 2021. 2021 saw work done on the MSC Orchestra, Poesia, Lirica, Fantasia and Divina, with eight ships set to drydock this year at the…
Carnival Corporation Driving Technical Innovation
“Where there are particularly large refits or complex ones, we provide project management resources to support the brands,” said Chris Millman, vice president of corporate marine technology at Carnival Corporation. Perhaps the biggest project coming up for Carnival Corporation is a battery system retrofit for AIDA Cruises, as the German brand will get a 10MW…