Viking Line's newbuild received 22 500 name suggestions

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 09 May 2019 09 May 2019

In early April, Viking Line initiated an open competition to find a name for its new cruise ship. Altogether 22 486 suggestions were received from Sweden, Finland, Åland and the rest of the world. Following the challenging work carried out by the jury, Viking Line has selected ten finalist entries and now invites the public to vote for their favourite. The voting started on May 8.

The year 2021 will denote the beginning of a new era of cruise experiences on the Baltic Sea as Viking Line launches its new climate-smart ship. The ship, which will sail the route between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden, is currently under construction in Xiamen, China. Meanwhile, Viking line is seeking a name for the new ship with the help of cruise enthusiasts.

"The name of a ship is significant in reflecting both tradition and future expectations. Many of our ships have historically carried a name with an ending -ella to honour Mrs Ellen Eklund, the spouse of the company's founder Gunnar Eklund. However, we have broken with the tradition, most recently in 2013 with the Viking Grace, so we are not stuck with any particular type of name. It is incredibly delightful that as many as 22 486 individuals all over the world contributed to the name competition and we find all of the ten finalist entries as highly worthy alternatives," explains Gustaf Eklund, Head of Business Development at Viking Line, in charge of the development of the new vessel.

Yesterday, on May 8, Viking Line's name competition proceeded to the voting phase and the public is invited to vote for their favourite among the selected finalist entries. The voting is open until 19 May, and the name of the new ship will be announced on 27 May. The winning name will decorate the most climate-smart cruise ship sailing on the Baltic Sea, and the inventor of the name will be awarded a trip for two on her maiden voyage as the main prize in the competition.

Spanish born chef Jose Pizarro partners with P&O Cruises

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 08 May 2019 08 May 2019

José Pizarro, the Spanish-born, UK based chef is one of three new ‘local food heroes’ who are partnering with P&O Cruises to bring an authentic taste of the destinations visited by its newest ship Iona in 2020, the company said in a statement.  

Iona’s maiden winter season will be spent in Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands, and guests will be able to enjoy the culinary creations of José. The chef is a master of tapas and dedicated to showcasing Spanish cuisine in his three prestigious London restaurants and will now do the same on Iona.  Joséis designing a bespoke tapas menu for The Glass House, as well as signature Spanish dishes, such as paella in a new dining option- Taste 360.

To bring local flavours into Iona’s dining experiences whilst in the Norwegian Fjords, P&O Cruises has enlisted the help of celebrated Norwegian chef Kjartan Skjelde and photographer and home cook Marte Marie Forsberg.  Kjartanhas created a six course Norwegian tasting menu for The Epicurean restaurant on Iona. Marte Marie is designing a bespoke range of local dishes which will appear in Taste 360. Guests dining in Iona’s main restaurants will be able to sample Norwegian flavours too, with special local dishes appearing across the menus.  

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said “One of the best ways to explore a destination is to try the native dishes that tell stories of the history, culture and lives of the locals. Our new local food heroes will be champions of fresh, seasonal ingredients and recipes that fly the flag for their homelands.  We are privileged to have chefs of their calibre helping us to create authentic dining experiences that reflect the ports we are visiting during Iona's maiden year.”

José Pizarro is from Cáceres in Spain and has now lived in London for 20 years. He grew up on a farm and was inspired by the cooking he saw in his mother and grandmother’s kitchens. In his early career José worked in the Michelin-starred El Chapín de la Reina restaurant in Madrid, before being appointed head chef at award-winning El Mesón de Doña Filo. José then moved to London where he found work at the prestigious Eyre Brothers restaurant before co-founding the Brindisa restaurants.

 

MSC Cruises to fine tune specialty dining offering on some ships

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 08 May 2019 08 May 2019

MSC Cruises said it would make some changes to its specialty restaurant offering on some of its ships.

Its partnership with Michelin starred Spanish Chef Ramón Freixa, whose HOLA! Tapas Bar originally pioneered on MSC Bellissima, will be extended to two further ships in the fleet.

The speciality dining concept will be found on board MSC Meraviglia from May 2019, and MSC Grandiosa from November 2019. Further information on the concept can be found in the release below.

In addition the company will also be making some updates across the fleet, including the changing of Eately on MSC Divina and MSC Preziosa, and the Tex-mex on Fantasia to the super popular Butcher’s Cut restaurant. This change comes at an exciting time for UK guests as MSC Preziosa will be sailing from Southampton on several occasions throughout 2019.

Antonio Paradiso, MD MSC Cruises UK & Ireland said ‘Following feedback from our guests we are delighted to be adding a Butchers Cut to further enhance dining choices on MSC Preziosa. The restaurant concept has proved very popular with our British & Irish guests across the rest of our fleet therefore it is a perfect edition to MSC Preziosa which will be sailing from the Southampton this summer season’.

 

Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten takes delivery of Hanseatic Nature

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 07 May 2019 07 May 2019

Hanseatic Nature, the first of 230 passenger capacity expedition cruise ships Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten is building at the Vard shipyard in Norway, has entered service.

The ship’s construction, design and routes revolve around providing a true expedition experience and getting as close as possible to nature. It also offers the highest standards of comfort and service,  Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten said in a statement.

The second ship of the class will be called Hanseatic Inspiration and it is due to enter service in October, while Hanseatic Spirit will follow in May 2021.