Queen Mary 2 to undergo major refurbishment in early summer 2016
- Details
- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 15 July 2015 15 July 2015
As Cunard marks its illustrious 175 year history with the arrival in New York of its flagship, Queen Mary 2, it is proud to announce the next chapter of innovation and investment, introducing new designs and guest experiences to the world’s most iconic ocean liner.
From the company’s inception, Cunard has been at the forefront of ocean travel. Through establishing the first scheduled Transatlantic Crossings, to the first electric lightbulbs and en-suite bathrooms at sea, to the grandeur of the floating palaces of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, to the launch of the current fleet.
To ensure the tradition continues, Queen Mary 2 will undergo an extensive 25 day dry dock refurbishment at the Blohm+Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany next summer, 27 May- 21 June 2016.
This major refurbishment will further refine and refresh guest interior spaces and launch new exciting innovations designed to exceed guest expectations. Three of the key developments are announced today, reflecting the changing needs of Cunard’s guests:
– Research shows that increasing numbers of guests are seeking to holiday in multi-generational groups – grandparents, parents and children. Often this necessitates one member of the family travelling as an individual. To support this, and for those simply travelling alone, for the first time, 15 Single Staterooms will be introduced onto Queen Mary 2 during the refit.
– With further growing trends for those booking Balcony staterooms and those wishing to have more flexibility in their dining arrangements, 30 additional Britannia Club Balcony Staterooms will be created on board. Guests travelling in these staterooms will be able to dine at a time of their own choosing in the dedicated Britannia Club restaurant, which will be expanded.
– Just as families are holidaying across the generations, so pets are increasingly seen as integral to the family group. Queen Mary 2 is already the only cruise liner in the world to offer dedicated kennels and currently carries up to 12 dogs and cats on each Transatlantic Crossing. To meet strong demand - these kennel places frequently sell out - a further ten kennels will be created for four legged travellers.
With an eye to the detail that differentiates Cunard, both a lamp post and a fire hydrant will be installed on the area of deck reserved for dog walking as part of the kennels development, so that dogs from either side of the pond will feel equally at home. This was previously a feature of the kennels on Cunard’s former flagship, QE2, and was first introduced on board Queen Mary at the suggestion of The Duke of Windsor.
Extensive research has informed a series of further developments which will be revealed over the coming months, building on the flagship’s strengths as the epitome of luxury on a grand scale.
Richard Meadows, president, Cunard North America, said: "Queen Mary 2 is an icon in the world of luxury ocean travel. A ship that turns heads everywhere she goes, she is the pride of the Cunard fleet and we are committed to ensuring her reputation grows ever stronger. These enhancements are just the beginning of an exciting refurbishment for Queen Mary 2, and we look forward to making more announcements about this impressive refit in the coming months,” Meadows added.
The newly announced additional accommodation goes on sale on 15 July 2015 for Queen Mary 2 Summer sailings from late June 2016.
Carnival enhances shore excursion offerings
- Details
- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 14 July 2015 14 July 2015
Carnival Cruise Line has expanded its shore excursion offerings, adding exclusive new landside experiences and customized private tours, as well as new family-friendly enhancements, including fun complimentary beachside activities, value pricing and free tours in select ports for children under age five.
The new options build upon Carnival’s leadership position in the shore excursion arena, with nearly 1,200 unique landside experiences offered by the line in more than 50 ports of call throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Bahamas, Canada, New England, and Central and South America.
“Shore excursions are an important part of the Carnival vacation experience and we’ve gone to great lengths to provide our guests with even more choices and offer families unique value-added services and pricing options that are exclusive to Carnival,” said Erika Tache, Carnival’s director of product development.
Exclusive ‘Only-On-Carnival’ tour options in select Caribbean ports
For those who want to create unforgettable vacation memories in their own tropical paradise, Carnival now offers exclusive tours that not only include amenities like access to luxurious private villas but also unique enrichment activities that allow guests to fully immerse themselves in local culture and cuisine. The new tours include:
– La Casa en la Playa (Cozumel) – Recently named Carnival’s “Tour of the Year,” this five-hour-long tour offers an exclusive luxury experience limited to 30 participants with access to a beach house with five-star service for the day, complete with a personal chef and wait staff. Participants can also learn how to cook authentic Mexican cuisine, make refreshing Margaritas and mojitos, or simply relax on a white-sand beach while enjoying pampering and attentive service.
– Eat, Drink & Dance (Ocho Rios) – This tour is definitely on “island time,” designed to please guests’ palates and awaken their senses through Jamaica’s unique food, music and culture. After savoring spicy samples at a traditional jerk hut, guests enjoy a delicious meal at Miss T’s Kitchen which was featured on Guy Fieri’s Family Vacation on Food Network. The day continues with a visit to a beachside bar where mixologists create hand-crafted Jamaican rum cocktails and concludes with a spirited reggae dance lesson.
– Jamaican Home for the Day (Ocho Rios) – Just like the name implies, this day-long tour offers guests their own Jamaican home for a day where they can relax, kick off their shoes, and enjoy a fantastic home-cooked island lunch in their own private paradise. The tour also includes full use of the expansive property which features a beautiful secluded beach where guests can enjoy refreshing frozen daiquiris and other rum-infused cocktails.
– Photo Safari & Beach Expedition (Cozumel) -- Taking place over the course of two days, the tour begins with a one-hour photo seminar on board led by the ships’ photographers who offer tips on camera equipment, lighting, photo composition and more. The tour continues the following day with a visit to gorgeous Mexican beaches and a national park where participants are offered an informative hands-on demonstration to “Capture the Moments that Matter.”
– Eat, Drink & Walk (St. Thomas) – This self-described “walking culinary/culture tour” begins with a drive through the lush countryside to St. Peter Mountain Great House & Botanical Gardens, home to diverse plant and animal life and an observation level where guests can see the 15 islands that comprise the Virgin Islands chain. Participants can sample 24 different island rums as they learn how to make banana daiquiris and nosh on island-inspired food like saltfish, plantains, jonny cakes and West Indian pumpkin soup.
New family-friendly services and tours
Carnival is offering new “family friendly” shore excursion options in ports throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico, with tours offered at multiple price points to provide parents the ultimate in flexibility, value and convenience. Children age five and under receive complimentary beach excursions with their parents’ paid tour. Sample excursions include:
– Family Beach Escape (Freeport) – Designed with all-ages appeal, this tour begins with an air-conditioned ride to a breathtaking beachside resort. Here, under the watchful eye of trained youth specialists, kids can enjoy such activities as sandcastle-making competitions, treasure hunts and face-painting while parents can relax under oversized umbrellas and sip a cool tropical drink. Lunch is included and water toys, paddle boats, kayaks and other watercraft are available for rent.
– Island Beach Escape for Families by Power Catamaran (Cozumel) – After an exhilarating power catamaran ride, families arrive at Passion Island, which boasts white-sand beaches and clear turquoise waters along with full resort facilities with plentiful beach chairs and hammocks. Guests of all ages can enjoy volleyball, water trampolines and pedal boats, while kids get their own special beachside play area. A Mexican-style buffet with guacamole, grilled mahi-mahi and a kids’ menu is included in the price.
– Family Treasure Hunt with Lunch at Blue Lagoon (Nassau) – Families are sure to have a blast during this fun-filled adventure where participants must discover hidden treasures, collect clues and answer trivia questions on their journey to win the Pirate’s Bounty! After their plunder, families can soak up the sun on a stunning powdery beach as they enjoy a grilled lunch and icy beverages at Blue Lagoon Island, one of the top destinations in The Bahamas.
– All Inclusive Family Beach Resort Getaway (Montego Bay) – Hosted at the Mediterranean-inspired Seawinds Beach Club, one of Jamaica’s premier oceanfront properties that is home to magnificent beaches and world-class amenities, this tour includes lively island entertainment, along with a complimentary buffet lunch and drinks. When it’s time to cool off, families can take a dip in the ocean or one of the many on-property pools and enjoy fun water sports like sailing, snorkeling and kayaking.
Well-staffed beachside excursions provide families with extra assistance with services such as stroller storage as well as hosted fun activities like beachside games, and arts and crafts, along with play areas and water slides and toys, all available on a complimentary basis. Offered in all of Carnival’s Caribbean ports, the new activities are designed to keep kids entertained while offering parents some much-needed “we” time.
Unique valued-added options
For guests seeking a more authentic landside experience, there are exclusive private tours – operated via custom motor coaches, sailboats, yachts, and even helicopters – that take guests on off-the-beaten-path excursions tailored to the guests’ specific preferences. These excursions showcase non-traditional sightseeing sites typically not available to other guests, all under the guidance of an experienced local who provides an “up close and personal” view of the destination.
And with Carnival’s new on-board lounge tour dispatch system, tour operators come on board to meet shore excursion participants and tours depart from a shipboard venue versus the previous method of tour operators assembling large groups of guests on the pier, thus providing a more streamlined, organized and expedited departure. Carnival is the only cruise operator in the Caribbean to have local tour operators involved with this enhanced service option.
Industry-leading programs and offerings
All of these new offerings complement Carnival’s industry-leading programs such as the Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee. The only one of its kind in the cruise industry, the program provides a 110 percent refund in the form of a shipboard credit should consumers find a better price on a similar tour, providing much-needed peace of mind knowing that they’re getting the best price.
Each of Carnival’s 24 ships also offers a dedicated shore excursion desk with highly trained and experienced staff members who can recommend particular tours and answer any questions guests may have. Shore excursion personnel also personally experience the wide array of landside options in every port and obtain feedback from guests to strive for continuous improvement in the line’s shore excursion choices.
Carnival has also revamped the shore excursion section of its web site to include a greater variety of photos and videos, enhanced navigation and on-line reservations for both desktop and mobile devices, as well as guest-written reviews of the various options ashore.
Carnival group granted US licenses to direct US-Cuba cruises, fathom brand to spearhead move
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 07 July 2015 07 July 2015
Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping group, says it has been granted US licenses to operate direct U.S.-to-Cuba travel for the purpose of providing cultural exchange
The company intends intends to take travelers to Cuba beginning in May 2016 via its newly launched fathom brand – a new social impact travel brand providing purpose-oriented, social impact experiences, initially in the Dominican Republic.
Carnival group n intends to operate fathom travel itineraries directly to Cuba for the purpose of providing cultural, artistic, faith-based and humanitarian exchanges between American and Cuban citizens.
“Authorized under current US-to-Cuba travel guidelines, the new Cuban itineraries on fathom will strictly comply with US Department of Treasury rules that allow licensed travel companies to transport approved travelers to Cuba to engage in activities that support the Cuban people,” Carnival saod in a statement.
Carnival is in active discussions and plans to work with the appropriate authorities in Cuba so that Cuban approval is granted.
Launched 4 June as the group’s 10th global brand, fathom is designed as a purpose-driven brand to enrich the lives of its travelers and in the case of the Dominican Republic, drive sustainable social impact on a significant scale.
“The brand expects to attract 37,000 annual travelers who collectively could spend a total of more than 100,000 days a year either volunteering or immersing in educational and cultural exchanges in local communities.”
Beginning in April 2016, fathom will embark on weekly seven-day voyages from Port Miami aboard the Adonia, a 710-passenger vessel redeployed from Carnival Corporation & plc’s P&O Cruises brand in the UK. fathom's first impact destination will be the northern region of the Dominican Republic, where Carnival Corporation's new port of call, Amber Cove, will serve as home base.
Following the inaugural April month of voyages to the Dominican Republic, fathom intends to offer both Dominican and Cuban itineraries on a systematic and regular basis, giving travelers the opportunity to choose from two destinations and a range of activities from social impact in the Dominican Republic and educational and cultural exchanges in both countries designed to have a positive, transformative effect on the lives of the travelers.
"We are excited about receiving U.S. approval as the very important first step to ultimately take travelers to Cuba under the existing 12 criteria for authorized travel. We look forward to working with the Cuban authorities for their approval to help make the social, cultural and humanitarian exchanges between U.S. citizens and the people of Cuba a reality," said Arnold Donald, President and CEO of Carnival Corporation.
"We know there is strong demand from travelers who want to immerse themselves in Cuban culture, so this is a historic opportunity for us to enable more people to experience Cuban society. It is also an important opportunity for our new fathom brand to expand its positive influence in the world with this potential to add full-week immersion sailings to Cuba to its already planned full-week social-impact itineraries to the Dominican Republic beginning in the spring of 2016."
Tara Russell, president of fathom and global impact lead for Carnival group, added: "We're incredibly excited and humbled by this potential opportunity to help travelers experience the amazing beauty and culture of Cuba, while being able to provide educational and cultural exchange activities that will benefit both the traveler and the Cuban people. After establishing the Dominican Republic as our first partner destination, Cuba represents an important step for us to expand our ability to offer meaningful and enriching experiences to purpose-driven travelers.”
“Our goal remains the same for both destinations – to enable travelers to immerse, learn, serve and flourish while making enduring, sustainable contributions on a scalable and systematic basis. We are looking forward to building what we intend to be a beautiful and lasting friendship with the Cuban people."
Led by Russell's strong background in social entrepreneurship, fathom seeks to develop lasting social impact partnerships that allow for meaningful personal enrichment of the traveler, while providing systematic, long-term educational, environmental and economic development benefits in its partner countries.
"We're very interested in exploring the prospects of expanding our partnership with fathom to include Cuba, building new impact programs and lending our assistance to strengthen existing initiatives that will help educational, cultural and humanitarian efforts already going on in Cuba," said David Luther, founder and executive director of IDDI, a non-profit organization with the mission to help alleviate poverty in rural and urban areas in the Caribbean.
"IDDI has long-standing relationships in Cuba and more than a decade of experience working on the ground side-by-side with local officials to make a positive impact in Cuban communities. Nothing else like fathom exists to bring hundreds of like-minded travelers a week to communities of people who need ongoing support. With fathom and its travelers, the potential for making a lasting impact in people's lives is tremendous. We look forward to partnering closely with fathom to take our programs to the next level, and support growth and prosperity for the citizens of Cuba."
More Articles ...
