Liverpool will lose Fred Olsen’s Business
Even though the spanking new Pier Head cruise terminal has been set up at the city center water front at the Port of Liverpool, Fred Olsen Cruises will be pulling out from the port. The cruise line was one of the most valued customers for the Port of Liverpool, and it is set to lose the business. This is despite having set up the 19 million cruise terminal, which was inaugurated in 2009. The Liverpool Port suffered the setback due to the brand new terminal being out of bounds for ship turnaround calls. Turnaround calls mean the embarking as well as disembarking commuters and supplies at the start and beginning of the voyage. This is not allowed at the Pier head Cruise terminal. The terminal can only be used for day visits by ships, and not for turnarounds. This state of affairs is due to Southampton, [...]
MSC returns to La Goulette, Tunis
MSC Cruises gave the news that cruises offered by the company will be reinstating La Goulette at the Tunis Port in Tunisia as a port of call on their regular itineraries, beginning from July. Major cruise lines had stopped calling at Tunis since there were a few internal security issues. As the country has now returned to normalcy and the security levels become stable, MSC will be offering the port of La Gaulette as part of the itinerary for the seven night Mediterranean cruises. MSC Cruises CEO, Pierfrancesco Vago stated that tourism is one of the most important resources for the economic revival of Tunisia, and that they were proud of being able to support this. MSC Lirica and MSC Fantasia is scheduled to come back to La Goulette on 5 t h of Jul, with MSC Sinfonia and MSC Splendida coming [...]
MSC Cruises Launches In Ship MSC Aurea Spa Suites
This fall, MSC Cruises are reaching out to spa lovers all over the world by introducing the new MSC Aurea Spa Suites. This category of suites will have their debut on the MSC Fantasia and the MSC Splendida. The category will have a range of similarities with the MSC Yacht Club accommodations. MSC Aurea Spa Suites will make their entrance for the first time in the MSC Fantasia on a 11 night round trip cruise that departs from Genova on 5 t h November and calls at Portugal, Morocco, Spain and Italy. On MS Splendida, they will debut on the 11 night 13 t h cruise from Genoa that calls in Turkey, Greece and Italy. The elegant retreat close to the MSC Aurea Spa as well as an assortment of spa facilities are provided to the guests booking the MSC Aurea Spa Suite as part of the cruise fare. There [...]
P&O Cruises Announces New Ship coming in 2015
P&O Cruises announced a considerable expansion of its fleet last week by the addition of a cruise ship weighing 141, 000 GRT. The ship will be built by Fincantieri ship yards in Italy. The new ship will be part of the service only by March 2015 at the earliest. The ship is as yet unnamed and has a capacity of three thousand six hundred and eleven passengers. The ship will be the largest in size among the fleet of P&O Cruises. The ship is the largest cruise ship that is built aiming at the British Market specifically. The ship will be built at the Monfalcone yard of Fincantieri and will have an all in cost of about € 155,000 per lower berth. The ship will usher in an era of excitement for P&O cruises, and will feature an innovative and stylish design. The passenger facilities will [...]
2011 Hurricane Season Forecast
Along with sunshine, Caribbean Cruise season, BBQ’s and more, this year’s summer will also be marked by something much more unwelcome – the Atlantic hurricane season. The season starts from June 1st and goes on till Nov 30th every year. The yearly occurrence is however predicted to be much higher than above normal in the 2011 season, according to the annual preseason report issued by the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). To be more specific, what the NOAA is forecasting is twelve to eighteen named storms or winds that have velocities of more than thirty nine mi / hr or more. Of the storms, six to ten has a potential of becoming hurricanes or winds that have seventy four mi per hour or more velocity. Out of the hurricanes, 3 to 6 can [...]
Europe’s River Cruise Season Falling Low
The water levels on the Rhine, a major river in Europe, are supposed to be at their highest in the present months traditionally. However, commercial river traffic operators have been warned of water shortage and possible bottleneck formation at the narrow points of the Rhine as well as its various tributaries. The news website Bloomberg reported that the water levels on the Rhine and its tributaries have been at their lowest in seventeen months. The snow season was poor, and as a result the meltwater from the Alps Mountains that give water to the rivers of Europe has also been low, which has resulted in lower water levels. In addition to this the month of April was unusually dry. The situation is at the moment affecting only freight barges that have been traveling with lighter loads to prevent [...]
P & O Adonia Christened in Southampton
The newest ship part of the fleet of P & O Cruises, the Adonia, was named by Dame Shirley Bassey, singing legend, in Southampton, UK. The Adonia has a capacity of 710 passengers. The ship, formerly part of Princess Cruises and named Royal Princess was rechristened as Adonia part of P & O cruises. The ship underwent an over haul for three weeks at the Grand Bahama Shipyard, where a number of additions and refurbishments were made to fit in with the rest of the fleet at P& O. The theme for the christening ceremony, which was headed by Dame Shirley Bassey, a legend vocalist, was diamonds. The diamonds theme was placed in honor of the song “Diamonds are Forever”, which is one of the greatest hits sung by the diva. Adonia is now the smallest ship part of the P & O cruises fleet. [...]
Holland America Line Will Sail From Rotterdam Year-Round from Sept 2012
Holland America Line has announced that it will be deploying the cruise ship Rotterdam leaving from Europe on a number of extended itineraries that will start from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This will be with effect from Sept 2012. Rotterdam was chosen as a homeport as the HAL has a deep connection with the city and also because of its convenient situation in North west Europe. The Itineraries that are launched till spring 2013 will include two extended trips that will set sail for thirty four and ninety days and a number of regional sailings from 14 to 18 days. After concluding the European summer season that was previously announced, the Rotterdam will set sail on 15th Sept, 2012 for the fourteen day Portugal and Spain Explorer Cruise which will take the Strait of Gibraltar to Barcelona [...]
So Cal Dream turns Nightmare?
The list of cruise ships that have pulled out of the So Cal (Southern California) Market has another addition, and this time it is Holland America Line (HAL). The So Cal region is suffering under a depression of sorts with respect to the cruise ship market. A number of big cruise lines have deployed ships in the region on other destinations. The Holland America Line’s cruise ship Oosterdam, which was sailing on regular cruises on the ex San Diego Mexican Riviera region from Oct to Apr, has been announced to be redeployed to Australia in Oct 2012. However, Holland America Line has not declared all the deployments it plans to make beyond fall 2012 and it also has not commented whether Oosterdam would be replaced by a ship on the Mexican Route. According to the statement made by Holland America [...]
Voyages to Antiquity
‘Voyages to Antiquity’ Cruise Line was set up in 2010 by Gerry Herrod, famous cruise entrepreneur. Herrod is famous for heading such lines as Discovery Cruises, Orient Lines and Ocean Cruise Line. Voyages to Antiquity have passengers from countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia as their targeted passenger base. There is only one ship part of the fleet at Voyages to Antiquity. The cruise line entered the market with a number of cruises on the Mediterranean on the Aegean Odyssey, which was formerly named as Aegean I. Gerry Herrod is said to have been inspired to set up the concept for Voyages to Antiquity when he read the “Middle Sea” by Lord John Julius Norwich, who described the ancient civilizations of the central and eastern Mediterranean region. There [...]