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Princess Cruises readies full activation of second MedallionClass ship

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 December 2018 04 December 2018

Princess Cruises has announced that it is now preparing Regal Princess as the second ship fully activated with Princess MedallionClass experiences that are currently delivering enhanced and personalized cruise vacations to guests onboard Caribbean Princess. Regal Princess will be fully activated for her Caribbean Season starting February 17, 2019. The Princess OceanMedallion, included complimentary, is a wearable device that elevates the guest experience by delivering enhanced experiences and personalized service resulting in high guest satisfaction scores.

Considered a breakthrough in the vacation industry and recently honored with a CES 2019 Innovation Award, the OceanMedallion features leading-edge technology that delivers personalized service through enhanced guest-crew interactions, eliminates friction points and enables interactive entertainment.

Princess MedallionClass vacations offer guests a portfolio of experiences specifically designed to enhance their cruise vacation, including:

– Fast ship boarding with OceanReady – guests who arrive at the terminal with travel documents (i.e. passports) uploaded to their profile have a personalized check-in process that starts their vacation with ease. Personalization starts pre-cruise by guests becoming OceanReady while at home.

– On demand beverage delivery: Using smart devices, guests have the ability to order drinks using OceanNow and have them delivered directly to them throughout the ship and even in their stateroom.

– The best Wi-Fi at sea: MedallionNet is fast, reliable, affordable and unlimited. MedallionNet provides land-like speeds that allow guests to stay connected from anywhere on the ship including staterooms which are each equipped with a Wi-Fi access point. With MedallionNet guests easily share vacation experiences with friends and family back home, stream TV shows, movies and sports events, and even make voice and video calls.

"Our guests have been absolutely wowed by OceanMedallion vacations on Caribbean Princess, and we are proud to roll-out the full Princess MedallionClass experience on Regal Princess starting early next year," said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises, the world's largest international premium cruise line. "With two Princess MedallionClass ships sailing in the Caribbean, we continue on our path to fleet-wide activation providing even more guests an enhanced level of personalized service."

Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard delivers Nieuw Statendam

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 December 2018 03 December 2018

At the presence of the Italian Vice Minister of Infrastructures and Transport Edoardo Rixi, Nieuw Statendam, the new cruise ship of Holland America Line, a brand under Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise operator, was delivered last week at the Fincantieri Marghera (Venice) shipyard.

The ceremony was attended for Carnival Corporation by Chairman Micky Arison, and President and CEO Arnold Donald together with Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America Group and Orlando Ashford, President of Holland America Line, while for Fincantieri, Giampiero Massolo, Chairman, and Giuseppe Bono, CEO.

The new vessel, the sixteenth ship built by Fincantieri for Holland America Line, is the second Pinnacle class ship after Koningsdam, delivered in 2016. Fincantieri will also build a third unit of the series at the Marghera shipyard with delivery scheduled in 2021.

Nieuw Statendam is about 99,500 gross tons, almost 300 meters long, with accommodation for up to 2,660 passengers on board in more than 1,300 cabins. The ship’s technology is aimed at optimizing energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impact and it responds to the most demanding and current safety regulations.

The interiors are characterized by a contemporary style which blends perfectly with the traditional elegance, which distinguishes all the ships in the fleet. The design has been created, as for Koningsdam, by the designer Adam D. Tihany and the designer and architect Bjorn Storbraaten, with “the architecture of music” being an inspirational element for the design of many public areas.

Fincantieri has built 87 cruise ships from 1990 to today (64 from 2002), while other 53 are currently being designed or built in the Group’s yards.

Kelly Craighead appointed as Cruise Lines International Association President and CEO

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 November 2018 30 November 2018

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced that its Global Executive Committee has appointed Kelly Craighead as President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2019. Craighead will be taking over the role currently held by Cindy D'Aoust, who in July of this year announced her intent to leave her position by year’s end.

Craighead has spent over 15 years in the public and private sectors, recently serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism in the U.S. Department of Commerce where she advanced travel and tourism priorities within the Administration and with Congress. As the first Executive Director of the National Travel & Tourism Office, Kelly led initiatives that generated over $250 billion annually from International visitors to the U.S. while also representing the United States internationally. Kelly remains active in global tourism efforts and is engaged with several international organizations focused on advancing travel and tourism priorities.

"I am extremely pleased that Kelly will be joining CLIA to support the global cruise industry during this golden age of cruising. Her extensive experience in the hospitality and travel industries, combined with her leadership skills and passion for results, are second to none. This is an exciting time for our industry, steeped in opportunity and I look forward to working with Kelly in the years to come." said Arnold Donald, Global CLIA Chairman and President & CEO of Carnival Corporation & PLC.

In the role of President and CEO, Craighead will direct CLIA's global team to continue to unify, represent, advocate and promote the common interests of the organization's members and the global cruise industry. Among her top priorities will be to continue to share the tremendous value and excitement of cruise travel – making it the best holiday or vacation choice for every traveler around the world.

“Demand for cruising is exhibiting strong growth, making the cruise industry a critical partner to localities, regions and nations around the world,” said Craighead. “I am excited to be joining such a strong and well-respected organization at an important time for the industry. I look forward to listening, learning, and better understanding the needs of our members and building on the strong foundation".

MV Werften starts production in its new shipbuilding hall complex

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 November 2018 28 November 2018

One of the most advanced welding plants in Europe was put into operation at the MV Werften yard in Rostock today. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Economics Minister Harry Glawe, representatives of Genting Hong Kong, MV Werften, the automation provider Pemamek as well as other project partners were present in the new hall 11 when the plant produced its first weld seam.

“The new plant enables us to make a significant increase in the capacity of our steel prefabrication for the Global cruise ships in Rostock and take a further, important step towards Industry 4.0. It is one of the most innovative laser-hybrid panel lines in Europe and also unique, as it is specially tailored to our processes and the Global Class,” explained Peter Fetten, CEO of MV Werften.

The semi-automatic, highly efficient plant is the heart of the 400-meter long hall area 11.1 and the entire steel prefabrication at the yard. Panels measuring up to 25 x 16 meters will be produced with it. The panel line with all integrated equipment is unique in Germany.

Its features include a one-sided butt welding station with laser-hybrid welding head and additional MAG tandem welding heads with integrated milling, automated profile assembling with two-sided fillet welding of profiles using the laser-hybrid process and programmable robot portals. The highly automated thin panel welding line optimally fits the digitalisation and logistics concept of MV Werften.

Pemamek’s CEO Jaakko Heikonen stated: “It is a great honour to be one of the main production solution providers for MV Werften and part of the company’s success story. Pemamek’s innovative panel line is unique, as we customized it for MV Werften. Its technology is perfectly tailored to meet the production requirements for the Global Class cruise vessels and will provide an important basis for the shipyards’ future growth. During the entire project our collaboration has been great, and we look forward to continuing it in future.”

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Economics Minister Harry Glawe commented: “The acquisition of the shipyards by Genting Hong Kong Limited and their development into specialists for cruise ship construction has given the shipbuilding and indeed entire maritime industry of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a completely new perspective. Order, capacity utilization and employment levels are continuing to develop positively. The state-of-the-art and innovative panel production line will significantly improve production operations, as well as further sharpening the company’s edge in the fiercely competitive shipbuilding market. Today is another good day for shipbuilding in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.”

The German Federal State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the German Federal Government granted six million Euros in support of innovation for the technologically advanced production plant. Several regional companies have contributed to the value added of the project. The prestigious Fraunhofer Institute in Rostock carried out the feasibility study on optimized cycle times, while a Schwerin-based firm supplied the system control for coordinating the cranes and welding portals.

In addition to the panel production in the hall area 11.1, sections are to be produced and fitted out in the area 11.2. Hall 11.3 for profile manufacturing is to be completed in May 2019. The three halls will provide a total of 25 workstations. MV Werften is investing over 100 million Euros in the new shipbuilding hall complex, where up to 150 employees per shift will work in the medium term.

Havila Kystruten names its four newbuilds

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 November 2018 28 November 2018

Havila Kystruten, the new Norwegian Coastal Line will from January 2021 sail on the iconic Norwegian coastline between Bergen and Kirkenes, a route that over the last years has been operated only by Hurtigruten.

The Havila Coastal Line ships will be the most environmentally friendly ships in traffic along the Norwegian coast and driven by LNG and huge battery packs, says CEO of the company Arild Myrvoll.

 The ships will set a new standard for environmentally friendly ships and we will be able to sail into the World Heritage Site Geiranger without emission by 2021. This is five years prior to the zero-emission requirements given by the The Norwegian Parliament for sailings into the World Heritage fjords. 

The ships that will continue a proud Norwegian coastline history now got their names. Havila owner Per Sævik announced earlier this year a name contest among his eight grandchildren to find names for the ships.

The frames given were that the name should contain Havila and the name of a star. The involvement among the grandchildren has been great and we are now pleased to present the names: Havila Capella, Havila Castor, Havila Polaris  and Havila Pollux.   Havila Capella and Havila Castor will be built at the Tersan yard in Turkey, while Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux will be built at the Barreras yard in Spain. 