Bohai Ferry adds new cruise itinerary

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: More News More News

Published: 13 June 2015 13 June 2015

Bohai Ferry, one of the main Chinese domestic cruise operators, has yesterday (11 June) started yet another new route, this time between the Chinese port city of Yantai and Japan. Alan Lam reports from Hong Kong.

With its one ship, Zhong Hua Tai Shan (the former Costa Voyager), the line is spreading its limited asset thinly across China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Following the launch of its first international itinerary between Yantai and South Korea early last year, Bohai Ferry announced the launch of its Shanghai-Taiwan cruises in November 2014. Six months later, its ship is also heading for to Japan and this is by no means the end of the story.

This latest move makes the company’s ambitious plan to acquire further vessels more urgent. Bohai Ferry has previously indicated that it had plans to procure these vessels at “appropriate times”, including the option of having one of them built in China. These plans remain intact. “The company is planning to purchase another two to three cruise ships in the next five years and build a cruise ship in a Shandong-based shipyard,” Yu Xinjian, General Manager of Bohai Ferry, told a press conference recently.

Whichever choice it eventually makes, one thing is certain: the ships will be big and they will be new. The Chinese market now expects both of these criteria.

Cunard outlines 175th anniversary celebrations in Halifax, Boston and New York

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 12 June 2015 12 June 2015

On 4 July 2015, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 will embark on the capstone of Cunard’s 175th worldwide anniversary celebrations with a commemorative Transatlantic Crossing departing from Liverpool, England, paying tribute to the original voyage made by the company’s first flagship, Britannia, on 4 July 1840. This journey inaugurated the first scheduled mail and passenger service across the Atlantic and Cunard will be celebrating this historic milestone in three cities which hold a special place in the company’s storied past: Halifax, Boston and New York.

Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s reigning flagship, will depart Southampton on 2 July, then call on Liverpool, the “spiritual home” of the company, amid fanfare and fireworks, and then sail onward to North America with celebratory on board and commemorative shoreside events scheduled for each port of call.

“Cunard is honoured to be one of the few companies who can claim a 175-year history, and to celebrate this milestone and our enduring relationships with these cornerstone cities means so much to us,” said Richard Meadows, president, Cunard, North America. “We look forward to honouring Sir Samuel Cunard in his birthplace of Halifax, to commemorate our heritage in Boston in what was the first American company headquarters, and to salute our U.S. homeport, New York in a festive and fitting fashion,” he continued.

Halifax, 10 July

Halifax, Nova Scotia, the home of founder Sir Samuel Cunard, will be the first port to welcome Queen Mary 2 on 10 July.

– Cunard will mark the milestone occasion in a special outdoor ceremony, which will include local dignitaries, port officials and key members of the Halifax community. As a key component of the anniversary celebration ceremony, a public area of the future waterfront development will be named for Cunard. The ceremony will take place on the grounds of an upcoming mixed use development created by Southwest Properties and Streamliner Properties in collaboration with the Waterfront Development Corporation. Rhapsody Quintet, who are also members of Symphony Nova Scotia will perform during the event.    

– Cunard has joined together with the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to create the first annual “Samuel Cunard Prize for Vision, Courage and Creativity,” which will be awarded to James D. Irving, Canadian industrialist. This inaugural prize event will take place every year aboard Queen Mary 2 and recognize a different recipient who exemplifies the world-changing vision, courage and creativity shown by Samuel Cunard throughout his life.    

– Re-opening of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Cunard exhibition, as well as the launch of a new Samuel Cunard retrospective exhibit, showcasing the company founder’s impact on global business, transportation and world events.    

– Queen Mary 2 will sail away with a festive evening departure, slated to include local navy cadets, with more details to be announced shortly.    

Boston, 12 July

Early morning on 12 July, Queen Mary 2 will sail into Boston, Massachusetts, the company’s first port of call in the U.S. and the home of its first North American headquarters.

– A special dedication ceremony to launch the newly renovated Cunard Building with the donation of the Servia ship model by Cunard. The model, built in 1881, is being brought over on Queen Mary 2 from the Science Museum in England and will be placed in the front entrance of the former North American Cunard headquarters at 120 State Street. Located in the Customs House District, the building is part of a redevelopment of the area and historically renovated by Highland Development and Morris Architects through the stewardship of the building’s owner, Bill Mosakowsi, Public Consulting Group.

– 1:30 pm: Captain Kevin Oprey, Master of Queen Mary 2, will throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees game at Fenway Park.    

– Evening: Fireworks will mark Queen Mary 2’s evening departure as she sets off towards New York City for the final leg of her 175th Anniversary tour.    

New York, 14 July

Although not a port of call in the original Crossing made by Britannia, New York has been Cunard’s North American home port for over a century.

– Captain Kevin Oprey, Master of Queen Mary 2 to ring the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.    

– Evening: Public viewing from Battery Park of a theatrical light and music show on Queen Mary 2 while the ship pauses in lower Manhattan harbor in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Three travel agents win Carnival Journeys cruises as part of recent contest

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 11 June 2015 11 June 2015

Carnival Cruise Line has announced the three winners of a recent contest awarding a free nine- to 15-day Carnival Journeys cruise, as well as a trip to Miami to visit the company’s headquarters and meet with the line’s management team.  The top three winners were selected from hundreds of entries submitted by travel agents who were asked to describe the most memorable experience they created for a client sailing on Carnival.

“I am excited to host these winners when they are in Miami in July,” said Adolfo Perez, Carnival’s vice president of trade sales and marketing. “It’s clear there are amazing travel agents who are committed to helping create wonderful vacation memories for their clients. These three entries exemplify the key role agents play in marketing the Carnival cruise experience which keeps guests coming back to them and, ultimately, to us,”  he added.

The three contest winners are:

– Jane Patterson of Destination Weddings Travel Group in Newmarket, Ontario; Patterson provided an amazing birthday celebration and first-time cruise experience for a 100-year-old cruise rookie.

– Marilyn Hyatt of Anywhere Inc., in Methuen, Mass.; Hyatt worked to make a cruise experience uniquely fun and memorable for group from the Polish Veterans Association who have become loyal, longtime group clients.

– Kelly Brewer of Brewer Travel in Lowell, Ark.; Using social media, Kelly shared the experiences of one of her energetic clients who is a young Carnival brand ambassador!

Winners receive a complimentary Carnival Journeys cruise for two in balcony accommodations. Carnival Journeys is a unique collection of nine- to 15-day seagoing adventures that kick off this fall and feature spectacular ports throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii and Mexico, along with exciting shipboard activities and experiences created especially for this one-of-a-kind cruise program.

During their visit to Carnival’s Miami headquarters, winners will receive a special behind-the-scenes tour by Adolfo Perez, followed by lunch with Carnival’s President Christine Duffy and Executive Vice President of Sales & Guest Services Lynn Torrent. Later that evening, Carnival’s sales team will host the winners for a celebratory dinner at a local restaurant.

P&O Cruises Australia replaces buffet with the Pantry

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: More News More News

Published: 11 June 2015 11 June 2015

P&O Cruises in one of the biggest transformations in Australian cruising history has removed the buffet on its ships. The traditional buffet will be replaced on P&O’s five Australian-based ships with the Pantry – a marketplace of fresh food outlets not unlike an upmarket food court where customers order and are served their meals.

Pacific Jewel entered dry dock in Singapore for her 15 day transformation on the 21st May. Along with a host of other refreshes it was time to say goodbye buffet and prepare a new and international food fair.

The company is describing this radical move as giving customers the chance to "move away from putting as much as they can on their plates
to customers eating what they want what they enjoy."

The Pantry will offer customers the choice of ordering all-inclusive food from a gourmet delicatessen a fresh Fish and Chip Shop, mouth-watering Mexican, Asian Food, Carvery Delights, and a Curry House.

What is already executed on Pacific Jewel is also planned for P&O’s new ships Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria.

The Pantry is just one part of P&O’s dramatic design revolution, developed and executed in close collaboration with Tillberg Design of Sweden.