More News

Cunard to celebrate 100th anniversary of first world cruise, presents UK restart plan

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 March 2021 16 March 2021

Cunard said it will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its pioneering world cruise, and the first-ever continuous circumnavigation of the globe by a passenger liner, with two celebratory voyages in 2023 on board Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria.

The Carnival Corporation & plc group member company has also laid out plans for restart of cruises in the UK this summer, on Queen Elizabeth.

“To celebrate launch week Cunard will be offering double Shine points on all Cunard Fare bookings made between 16 and 23 March 2021. Additionally, all bookings made by agents before March 31, 2021 will benefit from the 1% commission increase announced in December,” the company said in a statement.

Cunard’s voyages will mirror many ports of call from Cunard’s first world sailings on ships RMS Laconia and RMS Samaria, as well as calling at some of today’s most inspiring destinations.

Queen Mary 2 via South Africa, Queen Victoria via Suez

Destinations on Queen Mary 2’s 102 night Centenary World Voyage will include Colombo, Singapore and Hong Kong, emulating RMS Samaria’s 1923 world sailing. The voyage also includes overnight stops in Dubai, Sydney and Cape Town as it travels from Southampton through Asia, Australia and South Africa. Prices start at £11,499 per person.

Queen Victoria’s 101 night Centenary World Voyage will visit RMS Laconia’s 1922/23 ports calls with stops in Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, Cabo San Lucas, Colombo, San Francisco, Hilo, Honolulu, Manila and Naples as well visiting Aruba, Jordan, Tonga and a full transit of the Panama Canal. Prices start at £11,999 per person.

Meanwhile, Cunard also said it would offer a series of UK voyages on Queen Elizabeth, providing a staycation opportunity this summer for British guests. More details will be revealed later this month.

Sailings will be from Cunard’s home port of Southampton and will be in UK coastal waters, seeking out the very best of the summer sunshine. Cunard’s flexible booking terms will be applicable for these voyages, so guests will be able to book with confidence.

UK cruising to restart, but more international cruises cancelled

These new UK staycation voyages will replace a number of international sailings that unfortunately will be cancelled due to the current environment.

“With the UK Government confirming that domestic travel is close on the horizon, we are introducing a series of exciting, shorter duration holidays for British residents looking for the perfect staycation in Cunard luxury this summer,” said Simon Palethorpe, president, Cunard. “These will be sailings from Southampton, for UK residents, around the UK and will make the very most of the summer sunshine.”

“However, with international travel restrictions still in place, we unfortunately need to cancel a number of departures. We know how much everyone is desperately looking forward to longed-for holidays overseas, so to all affected by this news, I am sincerely sorry for the disappointment this will cause,” added Palethorpe.

Sailings on Queen Victoria are now cancelled for departures up to and including August 27, 2021.

Queen Elizabeth’s summer Mediterranean fly cruise season and all departures up to and including October 11, 2021 are cancelled.

Queen Mary 2’s current program is affected by a number of factors and all departures up to and including November 12, 2021 are cancelled.

Seatrade panel highlights expedition cruise ship innovations

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 March 2021 11 March 2021

When you moderate a panel discussion of four or five professionals with vast industry knowledge at a Seatrade conference, you never quite know what will come up. At Tuesday's Seatrade Cruise Virtual's Expedition Cruising session on 'Innovation in Expedition Ship Design, our panelists were Per Eriksson, Tillberg Design, Loris Di Giorgio, SVP sales for the Merchant Ships Division at Fincantieri, Patrick Janssens, CEO of Shipyard De Hoop, and Josh Leibowitz, president of Seabourn Cruise Line. The session was sponsored by Bureau Veritas.

And yes, there was a surprise.

For the expedition niche, sustainability, safety and wellness is a particularly special challenge, given that these ships travel in the world's most out-of-the-way places, without the support of close-by ports with full infrastructure. Self-reliance, which starts with the design process, continues on with sourcing products, and eventually is reliant on construction, is critical. And at the same time, cruise lines and ship designers are all competing for the next wow effect to attract new-to-expedition travelers to the niche.

Seabourn's Leibowitz offered a special example of having all of that come together – when it developed its "wow factor" twin submarines, it had to go with lithium battery technology to power them over more traditional technology – because of the remoteness of the locale.

Ultimately, Tillberg's Per Eriksson commented that the expedition niche "is the Tesla of the cruise industry." Truly, it was that kind of lightbulb moment that you can't predict -- and it perfectly captured an insight.

Other highlights?

– DeHoop's Janssen told a terrific story about how his yard, building Silversea Cruises' Silver Origin in the beginning of the pandemic, managed to use a military approach to staffing when all around Covid-19 was ravaging and the Netherlands was on lockdown. Sea Trials produced another conundrum when the ship was forced to undergo fine tuning remotely -- via a team in Russia's St. Petersburg. LINK to story: https://discover.silversea.com/on-board/building-silver-origin/ "It was a combination of creative thinking and strict regimes," he tells us, that allowed the yard to complete the newbuild just two weeks late.

– All agreed that enhanced camera technology, combined with drones, is a crucial new development in expedition niche as it allows travelers to be " David Attenborough or Jacques Cousteau for a few minutes," says Eriksson. "You can remain at an even safer distance because the zoom capacity of cameras is incredible," says Seabourn's Leibowitz, "and you are able to get closer visually to the optics even if you're not able to get so close to risking disrupting the nature."

– With one of cruise's youngest fleets, the expedition industry, partly due to IMO regulations on banning the use of heavy fuel oil and the impact of the great recession of 2008 has meant that cruise lines are on a rapid expansion tear and delivering newbuilds that are tons ahead of the old expedition ships. This has resulted in the development of a number of new technologies, such as the first dual LNG Hybrid battery powered vessel.

Ultimately, what's exciting today is the new innovations. "Ships are now often designed to stay in one area," says DeHoop's Janssen, speaking specifically about the Galapagos, which is a yearlong destination for expedition cruise. "That is quite a brave move." From a sheer design perspective, DeHoop is testing "a water vehicle attached with an umbilical so passengers can dine under the ice." And new trends in design of onboard Zodiac landing platforms onboard mean that, on newbuilds, travelers may no longer have to jump onto the soft ribs. Instead, there are risible platforms that literally bring the Zodiacs into the ship's garage.

"I see lots of great opportunities in the future for shipyards and cruise lines to work together," Janssen says.

Article was written by Carolyn Spencer Brown, moderator of this panel and Chief Content Officer of Cruise Media LLC

VARD delivers second expedition cruise vessel to Coral Expeditions

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 March 2021 10 March 2021

VARD, one of the world’s major designers and builders of specialized vessels, has annopunced the handover of a second expedition cruise vessel, Coral Geographer, to Coral Expeditions of Australia.

Following a delivery of the sister ship Coral Adventurer in 2019, Australia-based Coral Expeditions ordered a second VARD 6 01 Expedition Cruise Vessel as part of its fleet expansion. The brand-new Coral Geographer is now ready to sail on new adventures after arriving from Vard Vung Tau, VARD’s shipyard in Vietnam. Her first maiden voyage with passengers will start from Cairns, Queensland, at the end of March.

The vessel’s VARD 6 01 design was developed by Vard Design in Norway in close cooperation with the customer. It has been specially tailored for personalized expedition cruises to remote and exotic destinations in Asia and Oceania. Coral Geographer is 93.7 meters long in total, with a beam of 17.2 meters. It has accommodation capacity for 120 guests. The on-board environment is geared for daily shore expeditions, lectures, and briefings, while finished to a high standard of comfort.

The vessel features public areas with ample open deck space. Staterooms with generous, open balconies occupy over half of the total vessel area. Original artwork sourced from indigenous communities in Australia visited by the company’s fleet grace the interiors. The ship features interior and ventilation systems provided by Vard Accommodation and is also equipped with Vard Electro’s state-of-the-art SeaQ product series for navigation systems, integrated systems, marine electronics, and electrical systems.

Mark Fifield, Group General Manager of Coral Expeditions says: “This is the second ship we are building with VARD. We are pleased with the result. We would like to place on record our deep appreciation for the professionalism and commitment of all the VARD staff involved in this project”.

Fredrik Hessen, General Manager of VARD’s Offshore and Specialized Vessels business unit, says: “We highly appreciate the great cooperation between Coral Expeditions and VARD. Together we have developed two excellent vessels for exciting adventures. We wish Coral Expeditions all the best and look forward to continuing our relationship in the future.”

The sister vessels Coral Adventurer and Coral Geographer have been customized to meet Coral Expeditions’ expedition product requirements in the Australian cruise market. With a focus on intimacy, high quality and optimal passenger experience, the vessels enable guests to experience exotic regional locations at close hand. Featuring advanced expedition tender capabilities and accommodation across four decks – from Bridge Deck Balcony Suites, Bridge Deck and Explorer Deck Balcony Staterooms, to Coral Deck Staterooms – the on-board environment is both comfortable and functional, allowing for relaxation, socializing, and daily shore expeditions.

PONANT appoints Hervé Gastinel as new CEO

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 09 March 2021 09 March 2021

PONANT has announced the appointment of Hervé Gastinel as CEO. Set to begin his role on March 29, 2021, PONANT begins a new chapter in its pursuit to become the market leader in luxury cruises and the world leader in sustainable tourism under the helm of Gastinel.

François Pinault, Artemis’ founder and manager, said, “I am delighted with the arrival of Hervé Gastinel. He is a true sailing enthusiast, who has all the skills to transform this wonderful company and facilitate the resumption of operations. After a difficult year, the next months will be decisive in accelerating PONANT’s development for the coming financial years.” He also made a point of thanking “the visionary creator who is Jean Emmanuel Sauvée,” the outgoing CEO of PONANT.

Hervé Gastinel is a true enthusiast of the sea and ships, having grown up near the sea with his mother, a philosophy teacher, and father, who was a shipbuilding engineer. A former officer-cadet and watch captain, he currently owns a yacht well-known on the regatta circuit and is an experienced deep-sea sailor. Prior to joining PONANT, Gastinel served as CEO at Beneteau group, world leader in pleasure craft, between 2015 and 2019, increasing its turnover from €970 million to more than €1.3 billion. According to French yachtsman, Loïck Peyron, “Hervé Gastinel is passionate about the sea and sailors, but he is also just as passionate about innovation and sustainable development, two key issues for tomorrow’s maritime transport sector.”

After studying management at ESSEC, finance at Dauphine and public management at Sciences Po and ENA, Gastinel worked on various projects at the General Inspectorate of Finance before becoming technical advisor to the President of the French Senate, where he was responsible for the economy, finance and new technologies. After his time at Saint Gobain as Planning and Strategy Director, he served as CEO at the building materials company Terreal, which has 25 manufacturing sites around the world, for 15 years before joining the Beneteau Group. He also remains Senior Advisor for the consulting firm EIM. Nicolas Hénard, the Chairman of the French Sailing Federation states that he is “a very special ENA graduate, who not only wields the full ENA toolbox but has the pragmatism of a skipper."

Commenting on his new role, Hervé Gastinel said, "Contributing to the restart and international development of PONANT in a sector undergoing rapid transformation is a great perspective. I look forward to joining the PONANT team, the employees on board as well as ashore, in France and abroad, and to continuing the great entrepreneurial adventure led by Jean Emmanuel Sauvée.”

For more than thirty years, PONANT, a subsidiary of Artemis since 2015, has taken its passengers to exceptional destinations by following the steps of the great explorers. The company continues to implement its strategy of innovation and excellence. Over the past five years, PONANT has doubled the size of its fleet, and will launch its thirteenth vessel this summer, Le Commandant-Charcot, the world’s first hybrid electric polar exploration vessel which will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

UK domestic cruising can start 17 May

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 09 March 2021 09 March 2021

Domestic cruising from UK ports can start 17 May alongside of other domestic travel, a move that the cruise industry has welcomed.

“We strongly welcome the announcement that cruise will be included alongside the restart of other domestic tourism in the UK,” said Andy Harmer, director, CLIA UK & Ireland, in a statement.

“The industry has been working with the Government over the last year on health protocols which put the safety of our passengers and crew first. Many of these protocols have already been tested successfully where cruise has been able to operate elsewhere in Europe.”

"The industry has long planned a phased restart for cruise, with domestic cruises representing the first stage of this plan. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the Government, including through the Global Travel Taskforce in order to ensure the safe restart of international cruise in time for the summer season,” Harmer stated.

As per 7 March, 22.4 million people or roughly a third of the country’s population has received vaccination against Covid-19,media reports say.

Photo: Liverpool Pier Head