New ships to replace old, enhance return profile -- Donald.

The contract Carnival Corporation & plc signed with Meyer Werft in Germany and Meyer Turku in Finland to build a total of four 180,000 gross ton ships is consistent with the company’s measured capacity growth strategy to replace less efficient capacity with newer, larger and more fuel efficient vessels over time, said Carnival Corporation & plc CEO Arnold Donald

"We are looking forward to executing on the next step in our fleet enhancement plan," said Donald. "At a cost per berth in line with our existing order book, these new ships will enhance the return profile of our fleet," he said in a statement.

Two of the ships will be built in Turku and two at Papenburg. They will be delivered in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

The Papenburg ships will be destined to AIDA Cruises, Carnival group's German unit, which has three ships of about 40,000 gross tons in its fleet. These are among the smallest ones operated by any major contemporary market brand.

Carnival orders four 180,000 gross ton LNG powered ships at Meyer

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise shipping group, has placed an order for four 180,000 gross ton LNG powered cruise liners at Meyer shipyards.

Two will be delivered for AIDA Cruises, its German brand, from the Papenburg yard in Germany. The two due from Meyer Turku in Finland wll be allocated to a brand at a later point.

The contracts are worth several billions of euros in all.

The orders are part of a nine ship order programme that the Carnival group unveiled in the spring. Each of the ships will have a maximum capacity of 6,600 passengers, which is the highest number of any existing vessel or any newbuilding on order. Their lower bed capacity will be 5,000.

Arnold Donald. CEO of the Carnival group, said that the ships are part of the group's programme to grow capacity and to replace older vessels with larger and more efficient ones.

The design of the ships has focused on making public areas on board more flexible so that they can be used more efficiently, which again enhances the cruise experience of passengers.

Jan Meyer, Managing Director of Meyer Turku, said that the orders bring stability for the company and its sub contractors. The Meyer family acquired the shipyard in Turku last year from the South Korean STX Offshore & Shipbuilding group.

Carnival Corporation launches new brand

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Cruise vacations have appealed to the masses for decades as an ideal way help you alleviate stress, help you relax and help you learn more about people and places.

Carnival Corp. is betting that many people think a cruise vacation is a fitting way to help others, too. John Roberts reports

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The world's largest cruise company on June 4 announced that it is launching a new brand called "fathom" that will sail seven-day voluntourism voyages from Miami to Carnival's brand-new port Amber Cove, which is set to open in October 2015 in the Dominican Republic. The fathom line is set to launch April 2016 and will use a ship redeployed for the task from one of Carnival's other lines. The 710-passenger P&O Cruises' Adonia will be the first ship in the fathom line when it moves from the British line. The ship remains named Adonia.

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Carnival made the announcement at the United Palace Theatre in Washington Heights, a New York City neighborhood with a large Dominican population.

Carnival Corp. said it aims to set the pace as it sets sail into what it defines as "social impact travel." The cruises to the Dominican Republic will be designed to offer passengers authentic, meaningful travel experiences as they work alongside residents on projects that meet community needs. The fathom line expects to have a long-term, systematic partnership approach with its partner countries "that allows for sustained impact and lasting development."

Carnival named Tara Russell president of the fathom brand, Carnival Corp.'s 10th line, and Global Impact Lead, a newly created role at Carnival Corp. Previously, Russell founded and was CEO of Create Common Good, a nonprofit that provided food-service job training. She also was part of the founding team of Jitasa, a global social venture providing affordable financial services for nonprofits.

Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said "what most impressed me about Tara is her passion for making a difference."

Russell said there is growing market demand for the type of experiences fathom will offer.

"Meaningful travel, working alongside residents in their communities can be among the most life-affirming experiences," she said.

Cruise passengers on a fathom trip will pay about $1,600 per person for the week and are free to spend their time as they wish, and additional types of excursions are available to purchase aside from the included voluntourism activities. But Donald said he doesn't think this type of trip is likely to attract a passenger who aims to just relax and spend his or her time on the beach. He also said that if the demand exists, Carnival would consider expanding the fathom line.

The cruises by fathom to the Puerto Plata region of the Dominican Republic will aim to assist the communities in three main areas: education, environment and economic development.

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"We work alongside their needs," Russell said. "But we'll also celebrate the fun we have together."

For example, a passenger might do an "eat with …" day, meaning you would wake up and go to the home of a family. You spend the morning teaching English. The family would then teach you how to cook a typical Dominican meal for lunch and walk with you to show you around their town.

Other projects include working to help educate cacao farmers on organic growing practices, for example.

"We won't fabricate impact," Russell said.

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The ship will serve as a hotel, essentially when you are in port for four days and three nights at Amber Cove. Passengers can start booking cruises this month at www.fathom.org or 1-855-9fathom.

Adonia was built in 2001 as part of the defunct Renaissance Cruises. The ship also has sailed as part of Princess Cruises and is the smallest member of the P&O fleet. It was refurbished in 2011 and will enter dry dock in March 2016, directly before it debuts under the fathom brand.

 

German market seen to reach 2 million passengers in 2016

The German cruise market, which produced about 1.8 million passengers last year, should reach the 2.0 million mark in 2016, said Michael Ungerer, president of AIDA Cruises, the German contemporary market unit of Carnival Corp & plc group.

"The demand for cruises continues. Between 2014 and 2017 the capacity of German cruise lines will grow by 42.9 %. By 2016 we want to reach the 2.0 million mark in Germany and there may also be a further million guests on top in the upcoming three to four years," Ungerer said in a statement

However, this can only be achieved, if all responsible parties start to think about the necessary requirements today. "The existing infrastructures of the Year 2015 will not be sufficient for this," Ungerer underlined.

Update: Capsized cruise ship upright; hundreds of passengers have died

The Reuters news agency reports that 396 bodies have been recovered and 14 persons have been confirmed as saved.

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A Chinese river cruise vessel has capsized last night in freak weather condition whilst en route from Nanjing to Chongqing, a voyage of 1,500 kilometres. Alan Lam reports.

Owned and operated by Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation, the 76-metre vessel, Eastern Star (东方之星), was carrying about 458 people, most of them senior citizens on a weeklong cruise, when it overturned in the Damazhou section of the river at about 21.30 local time (13.30 GMT). The captain is reported to have said that the ship was struck by a cyclone or some kind of tornado. The ship had sent no emergency signal. Alarm was raised by several passengers who had swum ashore and alerted the police.

By daylight five people were confirmed dead with hundreds still missing. The ship is currently floating upside down on a wide stretch of the river. Calls for help have been heard from the inside the vessel. The rescue effort is continuing and the weather condition remains inclement.

The master has been detained by the police.