Costa Luminosa departs on around-the-world cruise from Savona, Italy

Costa Cruises' Costa Luminosa departed from Savona, Italy, yesterday on a 98-day Around-the-World voyage during which guests will cross three oceans and visit 39 destinations on five continents, returning to Savona, Dec. 21. It is an ideal trip for cruise lovers desiring to circumnavigate the world in a little over three months, encountering exotic cultures and extraordinary places.

More than 1,000 guests will departed from Savona, with another 260 boarding tomorrow at Marseille, France, and 240 more embarking at Barcelona, Spain, for a total of nearly 1,500 cruise passengers. A wide range of ages and nationalities is represented: the oldest traveler is 95, while the youngest is just 1 year old. There are more than 30 different nationalities on board, mainly Swiss, German and French, followed by Italian and Spanish.

Costa Luminosa is one of the most amazing ships in Costa's fleet. Even thousands of miles from home, guests will still be able to enjoy real Italian hospitality. And those seeking to follow Costa Luminosa's incredible voyage can simply go to the Costa website and see what's happening in real time through the two webcams installed on board.

Exclusive festivities were planned to celebrate the ship's departure from Savona: a quintet played live music as guests boarded the ship from the Palacrociere, while a special poolside party accompanied the departure "countdown" after greetings from the captain.

"The itinerary of this Around-the-World voyage will include stops in marvelous countries like France, Spain, the Antilles, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, Hawaii, Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Jordan," said Pietro Sinisi, captain of Costa Luminosa. "It's a real dream come true for all great travelers who, thanks to Costa Cruises, will be able to visit five continents during a single trip."

Special shore excursions will give the world cruise an exciting and unique touch. Excursions that are the most popular among guests include a fascinating tour of the island of Antigua and a visit to Nelson's Dockyard National Park, teeming with history; a tour to the attractions of San Diego, California, like the Gaslamp Quarter and the Old Town; and a four-hour visit to see the natural wonders of the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Costa Luminosa will make longer calls at some particularly interesting destinations such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Cochin and Mumbai, India; and Dubai, U.A.E. (two days); Sydney, Australia; and Singapore (three days). This will give travelers a chance to discover the unique characteristics of these special vacation spots, taking advantage of the exclusive excursions offered by Costa Cruises, some of which include an overnight stay at a hotel on shore: after an afternoon of shopping in Los Angeles and an overnight stay in a magnificent room facing the Sunset Strip, guests will have the opportunity to take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon; from Sydney guests can experience the magic of Ayers Rock, savoring dinner in the middle of the desert. After discovering the magnificence of "The Twelve Apostles," the iconic limestone stacks of Melbourne, Australia, guests can leave the ship at Perth, Australia, to travel to Bali, there to be immersed in the enchanting atmosphere of white-sand beaches and pristine nature for a couple of days before returning to the ship at Singapore. Finally, from Cochin guests can visit Delhi and Agra, India, to fully experience the spirit of the Indian tradition and admire the Taj Mahal.

"We are extremely proud to welcome our guests onboard this special voyage, and their choice represents how much they are passionate about the Costa brand," said Norbert Stiekema, executive vice president sales and marketing for Costa Cruises. "The Around-the-World cruise follows on the heels of a soldout, record-breaking month of August and represents a really exclusive offer by Costa. Starting in fact from the Round-the-World cruise, the fall season is also on an upswing, and bookings continue to increase. It's a sign of just how much our product is appreciated, offering Italy's finest on board and providing the opportunity to visit a variety of unique destinations in absolute comfort. From this point of view the Around-the-World cruise is obviously at the top, but we have lots of other proposals these months that are suitable for everyone: the short mini-vacations, seven-day cruises to the most beautiful destinations in the Mediterranean, or vacations on board our neoCollection ships that visit brand new locations with longer calls."

The next world cruise departs from Savona on Costa Luminosa on Jan. 6, 2016, with a 108-day itinerary that will cross the two Tropics and end April 23, 2016.

Carnival revamps its commission tier structure

Carnival Cruise Line yesterday announced it is reducing the number of sailed cabins required for each commission tier, which creates significantly greater earnings opportunities for travel agents. The sailed cabin requirement to reach each tier will be reduced, on average, by 32 percent for the 11-15 percent commission tiers.

The change is based on extensive input from travel agents and builds upon a number of initiatives the company has instituted over the past few years to bolster its commitment to travel professionals. This latest move has been the number one priority of new VP of Trade Sales Adolfo Perez and his sales leadership team. The new commission structure is applicable to new bookings made starting January 1, 2016.

“The new commission tiers will enable our travel partners to reach higher commission levels faster and earn more money when selling Carnival,” said Perez. “This change positions our commission program as one of the most competitive in the industry and is a demonstration of our commitment to travel agents and how much we value their support.”

Carnival’s commission program will continue to follow the line’s sailed cabin approach, whereby travel agents are incentivized based on how many cabins they sell that subsequently sail. “Our goal was to make the new program meaningful and impactful and to build upon the many initiatives we’ve implemented over the past two years,” said Mike Julius, Carnival’s senior managing director of U.S. trade sales. “We have worked with hundreds of travel partners through our Carnival Conversations program and one-on-one dialogue to understand what is important to them to make sure that we got this right. We believe the new program is a real game changer for us and will put additional commission dollars in the pockets of our valued travel agent partners.”

Perez and the extended Carnival sales team will be launching a sales support blitz through the end of the year to share the commission program specifics and to help agents be positioned to take advantage of the new commission tiers at the start of 2016. This support program will include webinars, office visits and updates during the line’s Carnival Conversations events. The sales support blitz will kick off with a podcast hosted by Perez and Julius, which will debut featured on GoCCL.com beginning today.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines launch Bookmark Cafes

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based destinational cruise shipping company, says it has launched onboard coffee and luxury chocolate shops as the ‘The Bookmark Café’.

“Fred. Olsen first introduced this relaxing, sociable area across its fleet of four smaller, more intimate ships – Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch – during the ships’ dry-docks in 2013 and 2014,” the company said in a statement.

This popular addition to the onboard facilities – which adjoins the ships’ Libraries – serves a delicious selection of specialty coffees and teas from world-renowned Taylors of Harrogate, as well as high-quality Pralines, Champagne Truffles and other hand-made chocolates.

Nathan Philpot , Sales and Marketing Director for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “The concept for ‘The Bookmark Café’ stems from where the coffee shops are positioned on each ship, and the brand has a classic and simple design, which complements the stylish décor on board.

“We have received fantastic feedback since we introduced the four Bookmark Cafés across our fleet, and they have quickly become firm favourites with our guests. Each one is located right at the heart of the ship, and retains a sociable and relaxing atmosphere for guests to pass the time with a luxurious latte or Taylors’ loose leaf tea, and delicious, hand-made chocolates as an extra treat. In fact, our chocolates have proved so popular that we find many guests take them home to share with friends and family!”

Two Ponant vessels sail through North West Passage

Le Boréal and Le Soléal, two ships of the French expedition cruise shipping company Ponant, have North West Passage from Greenland in the east to Siberia in the west.

"Having achieved a first for France in 2013, Ponant has pulled off a world first with two of its ships crossing the passage three days apart on the historic explorers’ route via the Bellot Strait. This latest achievement is the culmination of more than 15 years’ experience sailing in the Arctic and Antarctic regions," the company said in a statement.

“It is with great pride that we announce this crossing under the French flag, unique in international maritime history,” said Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée, Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Captains Etienne Garcia and Patrick Marchesseau on Le Boréal and Le Soléal ensured their passengers were able to take full advantage of an extraordinary experience aboard these two luxury yachts. Designed to sail in extreme regions, each has 132 staterooms and suites and have obtained the international Cleanship label from Bureau Veritas, the French classification society, for their innovative green equipment.

Along the voyage through the narrow channels and shifting glaciers of this little known region, they explored historic landmarks like Beechey Island of Franklin expedition fame, Gjoa Haven where Amundsen anchored his ship over a century ago, and Cape Bathurst. They also saw hundreds of belugas, around 60 bears and nearly 500 narwhals. Another highlight for passengers was meeting French adventurer Charles Hedrich, the first man to cross the Northwest Passage solo in a rowing boat.

Wolfgang Ebenbichler appointed Vice President Guest Experience, Food and Beverage for Princess Cruises

Wolfgang Ebenbichler has been appointed to the role of vice president, guest experience, food and beverage for Princess Cruises. In this role, he will be responsible for leading a team that connects with guests each day through a wide spectrum of culinary, dining, bar and lounge experiences.

Ebenbichler brings many years of experience as head of food and beverage operations and as an executive chef at hotels and resorts around the world, including Caesar's Entertainment, the Opryland Resort, and Starwood’s Disney World Swan and Dolphin, where he was responsible for developing a number of new food and beverage concepts.

Most recently he has served as Chief Executive Officer of u4iA Concepts, a hospitality organization that designs concepts and connects resorts and casinos with third-party restaurant and bar operators.

“Wolfgang brings valuable experience and a wealth of knowledge in food and beverage management and operations to Princess Cruises. We know he will drive a successful team to deliver to our guests memorable culinary experiences,” said Rai Caluori, executive vice president of guest experience and product development. “He will play an incredible role leading the development and implementation of many new culinary offerings including the roll-out of our new partnership with Chef Curtis Stone, new developments for Chocolate Journeys with Chocolatier Norman Love and our popular craft beer series, to name a few.”

A chef by training, Ebenbichler completed his culinary certification and hospitality management studies in Austria and began his career in the United States with culinary management positions at Ritz Carlton hotels.