Tallink reports strong third quarter on higher passenger volumes

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 12 November 2015 12 November 2015

Tallink Grupp, the listed Estonian cruise ferry company, has reported a strong rise in third quarter earnings on higher passenger volumes.

Group net profit in the third quarter rose to €45.2 million from €36.2 million in the same period last year. Revenues increased to €273.6 million from €262.7 million.

The company reported a 5..5% rise in passenger volumes, to 2.70 million. However, the number of freight units carried fell by 1.0% to 76,062

“In the third quarter, the summer period high season, the Group experienced strong price competition. The proactive marketing activities, improved visibility of sales campaigns and earlier investments into increasingly important online sales solutions has enabled the Group to reclaim the market share on its main routes and increase the total revenue,” Tallink said in a statement.

The Estonia-Finland route third quarter revenue increased by 5.6% compared to same period last year. The increase is driven mainly by an 8.9% growth in the passenger number. The passenger number peaked in July when Group served a record number of 600,000 passengers, which is an all-time high monthly passenger number on that route. The growth of 15.3% in cargo units transported is supported mainly by added capacity.

The Finland-Sweden routes third quarter revenue increased by 6.5% compared to the same period last year, driven by 8.4% growth in the passenger number. The number of cargo units transported decreased by 28.8% due to reduced capacity.

The Estonia-Sweden route passenger number increased by 1.5% and cargo volumes decreased by 8.3%. The Latvia-Sweden route, operating with only one vessel compared to two vessels last year, showed a 25.6% decline in the passenger number and cargo units transported decreased by 35.2%.

The Group’s restaurants and shop sales increased by €9 million or 6.8% in the third quarter, compared to the same period last year, the sales growth is supported mainly by the growth in the passenger number. The upgrades to restaurant and shop concept throughout the fleet in past year, combined with the operational changes, have resulted in higher average on-board revenue per passenger.

The revenue from the chartered out vessels has reduced in the third quarter compared to the same period last year due to fewer ships in charter. Two ships previously in charter were sold in the second quarter of 2015.

MSC Cruises welcomes MSC Divina back to Miami

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 11 November 2015 11 November 2015

MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line, today celebrated the arrival of MSC Divina – one of the company’s newest and most modern ships – to Miami, where she will sail year-round to the Caribbean.

MSC Divina spent this past summer in the Mediterranean, following her inaugural Caribbean season sailing from Miami between November 2013 - April 2015. Her return to Miami marks a significant milestone for the company as it increases its focus on the North American market.

In addition, MSC Cruises announced that sales for its next-generation cruise ship MSC Seaside, will open on December 15th, two years ahead of her debut, in December 2017. MSC Seaside, which will join MSC Divina in sailing from a newly renovated and expanded dedicated berth and terminal at PortMiami, will be the first MSC Cruises’ ship to head directly to the U.S. from the shipyard, and be the first MSC Cruises’ ship to be christened in the U.S.

“MSC Cruises is embarking on an ambitious growth plan that includes seven planned new builds that will allow us to expand our geographical footprint to new destinations and double our capacity by 2022,” said Rick Sasso, President of MSC Cruises USA. “We’ve already seen significant interest from North Americans in MSC Cruises unique ‘Mediterranean Style Cruising’ experience and MSC Divina sailing year-round from Miami – coupled with the opening of sales for the ground breaking MSC Seaside – represents a new chapter for MSC Cruises as we grow in this region.”

MSC Divina enhancements

MSC Cruises tailors its on-board product to meet the needs of the market it is serving, while still maintaining a unique Mediterranean flair, no matter where in the world it is sailing.

During MSC Divina’s inaugural Caribbean season, the company catered to the needs of North Americans through customized enhancements, such as adapting menus and dining times to North American preferences; being the first cruise ship in the world to introduce Aqua Cycling at sea; and offering wine blending classes, in which guests work with wine experts to create, label and bottle their own blend of wine.

With the ship’s return to Miami, the cruise line will continue to make enhancements to MSC Divina’s offerings for a North American audience. This season, MSC Cruises is introducing four new shows to its award-winning entertainment line-up on MSC Divina, including “Treasure Island,” “The Voices,” “Swing” and “The Mask.” In addition, MSC Divina will feature new musicians and bands specifically selected for the U.S. market to play in bars and lounges, as well as new themed parties such as a fun, weekly “fluo” party (a glow-in-the-dark party), and a “snow” party with a snow cannon.

Given the popularity of its wine experiences, MSC Divina will launch a new offering, in partnership with Blend Craft Wines, called “Boutique Winery Tastings.” Guests on MSC Divina will have the chance to try rare wines from award-winning boutique wineries, many of which produce wines that are only for sale at the winery, or can only be bought by wine club members. As an added bonus, MSC Divina guests who participate in the tastings can then order many of the wines to be shipped directly to their home.

Other changes being made on MSC Divina as it returns to Miami include updated casino offerings, replacing approximately 50 percent of slot machines found on board with the latest premium games, and new children and family activities such as live talent shows put on by the children aboard.

Welcoming MSC Divina back to Miami

In honor of Veterans Day and as part of the company’s celebrations to welcome MSC Divina back to Miami, the company is hosting a special MSC Cruises Sea Side Salute event this evening. During the event, MSC Cruises will honor individuals and companies that have made an impact as it relates to veterans and family, employment, and community activism. Following a presentation of honorees, guests will then watch MSC Divina sail away from PortMiami on her first sailing since returning to the U.S. from the rooftop of the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Follow the celebrations at #SeaSideSalute.

Costa Cruises signs Memorandum of Understanding for sustainable development with the City and Port of Savona, Italy

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 11 November 2015 11 November 2015

Yesterday, the Municipality of Savona, the Port Authority of Savona and Costa Cruises signed a three-year memorandum of understanding for sustainable development in the cruise sector in Savona.

The agreement calls for joint initiatives in various areas to guarantee responsible growth of the cruise industry in Savona that, thanks to the presence of Costa ships in 2014, was Italy's fourth busiest cruise port, with more than 1 million embarking, disembarking and transiting passengers, according to CLIA Europe.

"Today, the municipal administration, along with the Port Authority and Costa Cruises, will sign a memorandum of understanding that provides strong evidence of the common goals to ensure truly sustainable development of tourism in the city," said Federico Berruti, mayor of Savona.

"This important document emphasizes the signers' commitment to work on an array of strategic themes ranging from respect for the environment to promotion and enhancement of our city and its cruise vocation through shared actions and instruments," Berruti continued. "The document that we are signing is a symbol of how the city has changed over two decades, through new potentialities that Savona and its tourism port, supported by the commercial harbor, have demonstrated, owing to its own independence, to be capable of offering in the future to our area."

"Thanks to close cooperation between Costa, the municipality and the port authority, Savona will become a long-term reference for sustainable development in the cruise sector, thereby creating economic, social and environmental value for the area," said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Crociere. "In recent years we have made major investments in Savona, such as the construction of the Palacrociere's second terminal, and we would like to continue to grow together with the city in a responsible manner."

"The signing of this memorandum of understanding formalizes a series of mutual commitments by the signers with the clear objective of continuing to improve and, if possible, implement what was built from 1996 to the present: this includes important infrastructures and a high-level service model for cruise passengers and ships, creating numerous jobs that on peak days will reach a total of 200," said Gian Luigi Miazza, president of the Port Authority of Savona.

"From the very beginning the objective was to make it easier to become more familiar with Savona, and today, the Infopoint in front of the Palacrociere is a decisive reference for cruise passengers," Miazza continued. "In other words, the idea is to work all together to meet new challenges in terms of future investments and increasing the figures to be generated over the long term, starting from today and from everything that the cruise system has already developed in Savona."

The main areas of initiatives included in the agreement focus on environmental protection, social and economic impact, and communication of the results achieved.

Regarding the emissions from ships in port, Costa Cruises is engaged in a series of initiatives aimed at thorough management of energy resources and limiting environmental impact, such as implementation of exhaust gas cleaning systems on seven of its ships to reduce exhaust gases, or replacing bulbs onboard vessels with low-consumption LED equivalents. The company has also announced construction of the first cruise ships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the cleanest fossil fuel in the world. Those vessels are to be delivered in 2019 and 2020, with Savona to become homeport for the first one. To obtain a more accurate overview of the environmental impact generated in Savona, Costa has also developed specific activities for monitoring in-port emissions, the results of which will soon be available.

The environment-oriented initiatives set out in the agreement will also involve vehicular traffic to and from the Palacrociere providing, for example, special communications to guests to give preference to those arriving by car from the Vado motorway exit instead of from Albisola.

Activities are already under way to monitor the noise impact of ships during port operations, with additional improvements to the current ship waste recycling and disposal process. To this regard plans also call for increasing cooperation with some important partners, such as CiAl. Also, another noteworthy project for safeguarding marine fauna is Whalesafe, with the aim of protecting cetaceans in the area of the Pelagos Sanctuary.

In the social and economic areas, initiatives are planned to consolidate relationships with the local communities. Palacrociere’s second terminal, inaugurated in 2014 and in which Costa invested 9 million euros (US$9.6 million), will increase cruise traffic even more over the next few years, thereby creating new jobs at the local level. In addition, a consulting company will be requested to develop a study to measure the economic impact of cruises in the area.

Efforts will also be made in terms of training, through the organization of professional traineeships for young people from Savona at the Palacrociere, along with courses on tourism welcoming activities for personnel who are already employed. There will also be educational programs for elementary and middle school students, and cooperation with universities and secondary schools for research projects linked to cruises and tourism.

The joint management, already formalized, by Costa, Municipality of Savona, Savona Chamber of Commerce and Port Authority of Savona of the Info Point, located in the dockyards next to the terminal, will improve tourist welcoming and information services for cruise passengers, and for which development projects are being planned in a cooperative effort with local associations.

The Palacrociere will open its doors to the city for visits by students, while also holding "open days", cultural events and conferences.

The support and sponsoring of local initiatives that focus on sustainability will also be evaluated along with involvement of Costa and its employees in volunteer projects linked to the area.

Continuation of the sustainability program signed today will be ensured by meetings involving constant updates between the Municipality of Savona, Port Authority of Savona and Costa Cruises, which also pledge to communicate the results achieved to the city.

Carinthia lounge to replace Winter garden on Queen Mary 2

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 10 November 2015 10 November 2015

Cunard Line will replace the Winter garden on board its flagship Queen Mary 2 with Carinthia lounge as part of the refit next June, the company said in a statement

“Carinthia Lounge will feature a fresh colour palette of powder blue, cream and gold, and versatile seating layouts including dining chairs and m tables near the new patisserie and chic curved lounge seating under decorative lights,” said the company, which is part of the Carnival Corp & plc group.

“The spacious venue will also feature a wine wall, vertical metal Art Deco-inspired screens, and a dark walnut timber dance floor,” Cunard Line said.

“By day this tranquil lounge will offer light breakfast and lunch options, speciality coffees and teas, a dedicated patisserie counter and Champagne Afternoon Tea. In the evening Carinthia Lounge transforms into an elegant evening lounge reminiscent of a late-night supper club specialising in premium wines and relaxed entertainment,” the company concluded.