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Oceania Cruises’ Marina commemorates Empress of Ireland tragedy

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 May 2014 30 May 2014

Oceania Cruises’ Marina has commemorated the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Ireland in the River St Lawrence in Canada 100 years ago.

Five to one at night on 29 May, church bells in Rimouski and Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer rang out in the still of the darkness to commemorate the loss of Empress of Ireland a hundred years earlier.

“Descendants of family members involved in the tragedy gathered in Rimouski for a series of commemorative events. One group of individuals who had assembled at Pointe-au-Père Marine Historic Site happened to notice that a cruise ship was passing by offshore in precisely the same location and at precisely the same time that the Empress of Ireland had been lost,’ Oceania said in a statement.

Marina had departed the Port of Québec on the evening of 28 May, just as the Empress of Ireland had done a century earlier.

Empress of Ireland was a 14,191 gross register ton liner that had been completed in 1906. On 29 May 1914, the 6,000dwt Norwegian collier Storstad collided in thick fog with the liner that went down with the loss of 1,024 lives. A court of inquiry laid the blame for the disaster on the Norwegian ship.

Despite the heavy loss of life involved, the sinking of Empress of Ireland is relatively little known as it occurred only a month before the assassination of Archduke Francies Fredinand and Archduchess Sophia, heirs to the thrones of Austra-Hungary, on 28 June in Sarajevo. The subsequent events led to the outbreak of the First World War in early August.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Saga Holidays sign up to new partnership

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 May 2014 30 May 2014

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has announced that it has signed a significant new partnership agreement with Saga Holidays, to promote and sell its cruises. Saga will have allocations on a range of 2014/15 Fred. Olsen cruises across its fleet of four ships – Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch – focusing on products that do not compete directly with Saga cruises, from a number of regional ports around the UK.

Saga will provide Fred. Olsen with an important sales distribution channel for early-to-mid-term business, thereby helping to reduce the volume of last-minute bookings, which can have a negative impact on yields.

Fred. Olsen and Saga previously enjoyed many years as trading partners, and Fred. Olsen is looking forward to working with Saga again.

Nathan Philpot, Sales and Marketing Director for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “This new agreement between Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Saga Holidays will help to improve our yields significantly, and our financial position overall. Both companies are keen for the venture to be successful; with Saga concentrating on selling regional departures early, we will be able to maintain sensible prices and maximise yields, which will benefit Saga, Fred. Olsen and our travel trade partners alike.

“Saga will be marketing Fred. Olsen’s cruises to its extensive database, which already recognises the value of buying travel and holidays through Saga; with this new agreement, Saga customers can now take advantage of Fred. Olsen’s competitively-priced cruise holidays, backed up by the expertise of our two trusted brands, from their convenient local port.”

Robin Shaw, Chief Executive of Saga Cruises, commented: “This is an exciting time for Saga cruising and this venture allows us to reach out to more people. We will now be able to offer even greater choice to today’s over-50s. Customers will get all the added extras that those who book with Saga directly enjoy – and the security that we will offer a great experience at excellent value.”

Fred. Olsen is proud to be the only UK travel company to receive a coveted ‘Gold Award’ from leading consumer review website Feefo, having achieved a 95% service rating of 'Excellent' or 'Good' in over 5,600 genuine, independent guest reviews in 2013.

Fred. Olsen was also delighted to be voted ‘Best Affordable Cruise Line’ and runner-up ‘Best Cruise Line’ in the ‘Cruise International Awards 2013’, and ‘Best Value for Money’ in the Cruise Critic ‘Editors’ Picks UK Awards 2013’.

STX Finland completes cruise ferry conversion for Fjord Line

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 May 2014 30 May 2014

On 4 June 2013, STX Finland and the Norwegian passenger ship company Fjord Line AS signed a contract on conversion of Fjord Line's cruise ferry. The steel production for the conversion project began 1.10.2013. In connection with the rebuild of MS Bergensfjord, the ship was renamed MS Oslofjord. The overall value of the conversion contract was approx. EUR 30 million, and it provided some 200 man-years of labour.

MS Oslofjord is 134 metres long and 24 metres wide ship, built in Norway in 1993. The converted ship will enter traffic between Sandefjord (Norway) and Strömstad (Sweden) in June 2014. The most significant change in the ship was transforming it from a night ferry to a day cruise ferry. Two cabin decks were converted to public spaces, which practically quadrupled the tax-free area, and increased the selection of cafeterias and restaurants significantly. The interior changes were designed by the Norwegian Falkum-Hansen Design. One fixed middle deck for cars was added, providing additional parking space. The third deck was extended, and a new area, called the Fjord of Coffee, was built there. In addition to interior design, the appearance of the ship changed as well. For example, the ship's window area increased, and its funnel was covered with aluminium. The conversion increased the ship's passenger capacity considerably. After conversion, the capacity is 1,800 passengers and 370 cars.

"The conversion implemented on the ship was extremely extensive and demanding. The basic design needed to be reviewed almost totally and the project was executed on a turnkey basis. We are very satisfied being able to hand over this totally renewed ferry to Fjord Line," says Kari Toivonen, Project Manager, STX Finland Oy.

"Now the MS Oslofjord looks like a brand new ship, and we are looking forward to introducing her to our passengers, truck drivers and freight shippers," says Marcus Pettersson, Fjord Line director for the Sandefjord-Strömstad route.

Ambiente Kreuzfahrten to close after failure to meet volume targets

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 May 2014 30 May 2014

Ambiente Kreuzfahrten, the German tour operator that has operated the 16,800 gross ton Azores on charter since the spring, will close down its business after it had failed to meet targeted passenger volumes, the Berlin based company said in a statement.

The last cruise of the company will run from 29 August to 5 September, which means that the charter of Azores that is owned by Portuscale Cruises in Lisbon will come to an end about two months earlier than what had originally been agreed.

Silversea announces appointments in sales

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 May 2014 28 May 2014

Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises has announced key appointments within its sales team.

Kim Guimaraes is promoted from director to vice president of national account sales for the Americas, reporting to Kristian Anderson, senior vice president and general manager for the Americas. She has been instrumental in advancing the strategic organisation and growth of the national accounts portfolio, and will continue to expand and develop these key account partnerships with a focus on increasing revenue performance. Guimaraes joined Silversea in 2010 as a regional sales director, bringing to her position over 24 years of management experience in the travel industry, including travel agency sales development and 12 years leading regional sales efforts for Carnival Cruise Lines.

Kris Endreson is promoted to vice president of field sales for the US and Canada, reporting to Anderson. She will oversee management of the field and inside sales teams, with responsibility for developing and implementing strategic sales initiatives. Most recently she served as regional sales director for the eastern US and Caribbean, and has a proven track record of outstanding sales performance. Endreson joined Silversea in 2011 as a regional sales director. Starting out in finance, her career transitioned to travel and includes 14 years as a sales manager with Royal Caribbean International.

Phil Flad, who joined Silversea last year as director of brand partnerships, is named regional sales director for the eastern US, reporting to Endreson. He will be responsible for driving sales in the region by strengthening and expanding relationships with agency partners, and will also continue to manage brand partnerships. His past travel industry experience includes 16 years in management positions with American Express.

Anderson said, "I'm delighted to announce these new roles for Kim, Kris, and Phil. These talented individuals are a tremendous asset to Silversea, and will continue to work to enhance the strong relationships we have established with our valued travel agent partners."