Products & services

Viator launches shore excursion booking website

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 18 April 2012 18 April 2012

Viator, Inc., the leading resource for researching and booking tours and activities around the world, has unveiled a new website specifically designed to help cruise passengers find and book shore excursions with savings up to 60% off typical rates offered by cruise lines, the company said in a statement.

The new website – shoreexcursions.viator.com – features more than 500 shore excursions in over 80 of the most popular ports around the globe, including new destinations Juneau, Monaco and Mykonos.

 The site has been designed for the complex nature of shore excursion bookings and will offer only relevant tours and activities, based on the specific itinerary of the cruise ship, with itineraries available from the world’s leading cruise companies including Carnival Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland America, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean.

"All passengers need to do is select the cruise line, ship name and departure date, and Viator will instantly load the cruise ship’s itinerary and present only those excursions that can specifically work for each port of call based on arrival and departure times, and availability," the company said.

Lloyd Werft partners with Vogler Marine Agencies in North America

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 16 April 2012 16 April 2012

Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven will have a stronger presence from now on in one of its most important core markets. Vogler Marine Agencies LLC, which has been one of the most successful international agencies since 1995, will represent all of the yard’s production sectors, not only in the USA but also in Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Costa Rica with immediate effect.

Lloyd Werft Managing Director Rüdiger Pallentin agreed on the co-operation with Don Vogler during the recent Cruise Shipping trade fair in Miami. Vogler has worked with his company in Flemington (New Jersey) since 1995. "There is hardly anyone more closely linked to the ship repair business as Don Vogler - a professional with many years of experience," said Pallentin.

In addition, Vogler is the exclusive representative of well-known manufacturers of ship equipment and also works closely with North American shipping companies – a combination which Rüdiger Pallentin hopes will have particularly positive benefits for Lloyd Werft. This concerns not only cruise shipping companies but also those companies operating container ships, vehicle transporters, bulkers and tankers and with which Vogler Marine Agencies LLC enjoys "an outstanding reputation." The new co-operative venture is being complemented by Sam Williams and his office in Houston (Texas), which mainly concerns itself with the offshore sector. This is a sector which Lloyd Werft itself has concentrated on for several years and is keen to expand further.

Vogler Marine Agencies LLC will in future represent Lloyd Werft’s entire production spectrum, not only including ship repair and conversion sectors but also new building and ship completion, sectors in which the yard has won a particularly good international reputation in the past few years. Rüdiger Pallentin said "we have gained a strong, new partner who will noticeably and significantly improve our presence on the North American continent."

Contact information for the new Lloyd Werft representation in the USA is as follows:

Vogler Marine Agencies LLC
20 Bartles Corner Road
Flemington, New Jersey 08822-5717
USA

Telephone: +1-908-237 9500
Fax: +1-908-237 9503
Mobile: +1-908-581 0900 (Don Vogler)
+1-908-500 2811 (Sam Williams)
e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABB wins long-term contract from Carnival to improve energy efficiency

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 17 April 2012 17 April 2012

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a long-term service contract from Carnival Corporation to maintain and upgrade ABB’s Azipod equipment over the next 15 years for 20 ships in their fleet, cutting costs by as much as $1 million a year per ship.

Carnival is the world’s largest cruise ship operator and has 20 cruise vessels with Azipod propulsion systems. ABB’s energy efficient Azipod uses less fuel than traditional systems, and provides better manoeuvrability in all operating conditions. The upgrades are projected to improve the already high energy efficiency of Azipod units by 2.5 to 4%.

"Customers in all industries are looking at ways to reduce overall lifecycle costs and make such costs more predictable, while continuing to improve equipment performance," said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. "We provide a full portfolio of services, including ongoing technology upgrades and dependable maintenance support to help extend the life of equipment, and ensure that it runs at the highest energy efficiency levels possible."

The service contract covers technology and energy efficiency upgrades for all Azipod systems and propulsion condition monitoring for all ships, and other system equipment maintenance. 

The contract includes technology upgrades such as the newly designed Azipod optimized fin shape, which receives water flow from the propeller at a new, less acute angle that redirects the flow more efficiently and Azipod Dynamic Optimizer, a software tool designed to control the pod toe angle, which provides even greater fuel savings for large vessels. 

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs some 135,000 people.

ABB supplies complete electrical and propulsion systems for TUI Cruises' newbuilding

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 29 March 2012 29 March 2012

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order to provide complete power plant and propulsion systems for the first new build ship for German cruise operator TUI Cruises. The ship is being built in Finland at the STX Europe yard in Turku.

TUI Cruises, a joint venture between German tourism company TUI AG and Royal Caribbean International, is increasing its passenger capacity to serve the growing sea vacation market in German-speaking markets. Shipbuilder STX Europe has worked with ABB on numerous marine projects; ABB’s ability to deliver energy efficient systems was a key decision driver in this project. 

ABB’s delivery will help the new ship maximize its onboard energy efficiency while providing a reliable power supply for all equipment and systems, as well as optimize its fuel consumption.

ABB will supply complete power plant and propulsion systems for the new ship, including medium voltage generators, main switchboards, propulsion transformers, propulsion drives, propulsion motors, thruster motors and ring main units for power distribution. ABB will also provide engineering, project management and commissioning services. 

“Our Marine business provides the industry’s most complete offering of systems and services to help any large vessel operate at top levels of energy efficiency, while providing the solid electrical infrastructure that ensures reliable operation of all onboard systems,” said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “ABB’s recent series of project wins in the cruise ship sector underscores the demand for state-of-the-art solutions and supporting services that help these ships operate at peak efficiency over their entire lifecycle.”

Deliveries for the TUI ship are scheduled to start in spring 2013, with commissioning scheduled for early 2014.