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IG RiverCruise gives green light to German transport infrastructure plan

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 April 2016 06 April 2016

IG RiverCruise, an organisation that represents 22 river cruise companies in Europe, has given green light to Federal German transport infrastructure plan that includes investment in developing inland waterways.

The Federal Minister of Transport, Alexander Dobrindt, last month presented the draft of the 2030 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. According to this, €264,5 billion of federal funds are planned to be invested in the German infrastructure - with seven billion euro intended for the expansion and newbuilding of inland waterways.

“The IG RiverCruise appreciates the Federal Government’s efforts to retain and extend the navigability of German waterways. This applies especially in view of the fact that the river cruise industry will further gain in importance in the next years,” the organisation said in a statement.

The results of a study called “Der Fluss-Kreuzfahrtmarkt 2015” (the River Cruise Market 2015) conducted by the IG RiverCruise and published in cooperation with the German Travel Association (DRV) verify the growing relevance of the river cruise industry.

“During the last three years the western European river cruise fleet rose by 22 % and 20 further newbuilds for those waterways are scheduled to be delivered this year. Out of those, the main waterways concentrate on Germany and its neighbouring states,” IG RiverCRuise said

“More than 75 % of the German river cruise passengers traveled the cruise destinations Rhine, Main, Danube and their tributary rivers emphasising the significance of the German inland waterways, especially for this type of tourism.” remarked Helge Grammerstorf, Managing Director of IG RiverCruise.

“Based on the rising demand for river cruises the cruise industry is going to generate many new jobs, both in the nautical and the hotel sector.” said Thomas Bogler, President of the IG RiverCruise. Hence, the needed personnel will be recruited in Europe as well as non-European countries, as the West European labour market itself won’t be able to supply sufficient qualified employees

Voyages to Antiquity launches 2017 programme, introduces no fly cruises from Britain

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 April 2016 05 April 2016

Voyages to Antiquity, the British destinational niche cruise brand, has launched its 2017 programme. This includes 30 new ports of call and introduces cruises from the UK that do not involve flights, a new step for the company, it said in a statement.

Fincantieri lays keel of Carnival Cruise Line newbuilding

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 April 2016 05 April 2016

The keel laying ceremony of a newbuilding for Carnival Cruise Line, which is part of the Carnival Corporation & plc group, has taken place at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard. The vessel will go to sea in 2018. It will be about 133,500 gross tons, carry almost 6,500 people (guests and crew), and will be realised on the basis of the project of the twin vessel Vista, the largest ship which Fincantieri has ever built, due to delivery at the end of the month in Monfalcone, the shipbuilder said in a statement.

Celebrity names Giorgi chief marketing officer

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 April 2016 05 April 2016

Celebrity Cruises, the premium market unit in the Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL) group, said it has named Peter Giorgi Chief Marketing Officer. Giorgi will oversee the bold new “Modern Luxury Lives Here” brand campaign, as well as all aspects of the cruise line’s global marketing platforms, brand strategy and development, digital marketing, social media, research, loyalty, direct marketing and advertising. Giorgi will join Celebrity on April 15, 2016, and will report to Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises.

“This is an exciting time for Celebrity,” said Lutoff-Perlo. “We are excited for Peter to join our team. We are looking forward to him bringing his many years of creativity, brand strategy, disruptive and bold marketing, and success with other well-known consumer brands.”

Giorgi most recently served as Head of Global Advertising for Airbnb, where he led the development and execution of creative marketing platforms that contributed to the growth of one of the world’s most disruptive and newsworthy brands. His work at Airbnb included launching community-driven social campaigns, global film and digital campaigns, anthemic cultural campaigns and award-winning digital content.

Hurtigruten restructures UK commission payments

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 April 2016 04 April 2016

Hurtigruten. the Norwegian company that operates the coastal express service and expedition cruises, has announced a restructuring of commission payments in the UK, which it said could result in agents earning up to 20% commission, amid a raft of changes designed to re-engage the trade in selling the adventure cruise line, Travel Weekly reports.

“While the standard commission rate will drop from 15% to 13%, UK head of sales Anthony Daniels stressed this was ‘absolutely not a cut’, with new quarterly bonus payments of up to 4% and an annual bonus of 3%. Payments will be made at the time of booking rather than departure, meaning agents who meet specified targets could find themselves better off, “ the report said.

The company recently left CLIA UK & Ireland in order to profile itself as an expedition company rather than a mainstream cruise ship operator.

Speaking during an international fam trip hosting nearly 40 UK agents onboard the refurbished Kong Harald, he was quoted assaying: “The earning potential is now up to 20% because [agents] have got more departure years they can sell into, and the more they support us and the more business they drive, the more they are going to earn with us.

“It’s absolutely not about a cut; it’s the chance to earn more. The more you do with us, the more you will earn. We will pay per quarter so the actual cash flow is enhanced; now you can get four payments a year, and they will be based on booked revenue regardless of departure date, so the portfolio to sell has tripled.”

The company has a sleet of 14 ships, two of which are tailored for expedition cruising, mostly in Arctic and Antarctic waters.