Norwegian Cruise Line to introduce Moderno Churrascaria fleetwide

Norwegian Cruise Line is enhancing dining options for guests by introducing its signature Brazilian-style steakhouse on board additional ships in its fleet. Moderno Churrascaria first debuted on board the line's newest ship, Norwegian Epic, and was the first dining concept of its kind at sea. Because of positive guest feedback and popular demand, Norwegian is now offering this unique dining experience on eight Freestyle Cruising ships. The company is also introducing the ability for guests to pre-book dining reservations for specialty restaurants fleet-wide.

Moderno Churrascaria offers guests a whole new experience in dining at sea. This Brazilian "Churrascaria" or steakhouse, boasts a delicious salad bar filled with appetizers, gourmet vegetables, soups, salads and more. The experience is not only delicious, it is also interactive. As guests dine on a feast of salad bar selections, they are greeted by passadors who serve generous amounts of various beef, lamb, pork, chicken and Brazilian sausage tableside. For a cover charge of $20 per person, guests can enjoy a salad bar, filled with an array of gourmet options, as well as an unlimited amount of the mouth-watering meats.

Moderno Churrascaria is currently available on board Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Pearl. Norwegian Gem will be outfitted with this unique restaurant in late February, followed by Norwegian Jewel in March and Norwegian Star in April of 2012.

Guests wishing to dine at Moderno Churrascaria or any of the line's specialty restaurants now have the opportunity to pre-book their reservations before they cruise. With the introduction of a fleet-wide dining reservations system, guests cruising within 45 days on any Norwegian ship can plan and pre-pay for their specialty dining choices in advance by visiting ." target="_blank" style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 255); text-decoration: none; " href="http://www.ncl.com/myncl%3E.">www.ncl.com/myncl>.

Costa Allegra to be towed to Mahe

Today afternoon, around 12.30 pm CET (3:30 pm local time) the two tugs reached the Costa Allegra to assist the ship as well as a deep sea trawler, the French flagged Trevignon and maintains a speed of about 6 knots. At current speed and with stable weather conditions Costa Allegra may also anticipate its arrival in Mahé on March 1 early morning, Costa Crociere said in a statement.

Tomorrow, the arrival of an helicopter will be the expected to deliver flashlights (about 400) and fresh bread, while there is no lack of food and other comfort items. The ship's galley is not operational. "Also thanks to the arrival of a small generator, carried by a naval ship present on site as support, the ship's crew is doing everything possible to make the   situation on board more comfortable, trying to restore basics services on board. The speed of the ship, despite the hot and humid climate, creates a            slight breeze that helps making the situation more comfortable."

Meanwhile, today early afternoon, Costa Cruisess "Care Team" has arrived in Mahé: a group of 14 people made up of executives and qualified  managers as well as specialized technicians with the task of providing the necessary assistance both to the ship and to passengers as well as to crew   members on their arrival in Mahé.

Care Team members immediately met with local authorities and those responsible for the rescue coordination in  order to define the operational details of passengers arrival on the island and to guarantee the necessary accommodation in local hotels and an   efficient organization for their return back to their final destination. Eight of them will board Costa Allegra tomorrow morning thanks to a local naval   ship to meet Guests and discuss with them all the necessary arrangements and to assist the ships staff in deeper technical inspections.  



Norwegian launches new module in UK online agent training programme

Norwegian Cruise Line says it has launched a new elective module to its online agent training programme, NCLU www.nclu.co.uk 

The new brand elective aims to educate agents about the recently unveiled ‘Cruise Like a Norwegian’ brand platform, helping them to understand how they can use its messages to tell the story of the Norwegian experience.

The elective also contains sales and marketing tips and ends in a short online quiz which counts towards overall NCLU points. Nine courses are live on NCLU and all have been designed to help busy agents develop their product knowledge in bite-sized chunks.

To date almost 6,500 agents have registered with NCLU which launched in 2009. As well as online training, special events for top NCLU performers have also taken place with more planned for this year.

As part of the PHD@Sea programme students are whisked away aboard Norwegian Epic for a cruise where they will receive sales tips, take behind the scenes tours get involved in panel discussions and training classes. Students have until 29 February to make three bookings and take five NLCU courses to be in with a chance of receiving one of thirty places.

Nick Wilkinson, director of sales at Norwegian Cruise Line said: “Our new brand messages are all about conveying the experiences that guests can expect when they cruise with us,  whether it’s through dining, shopping, entertainment or relaxation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“By understanding what these messages mean, travel partners will be able to really bring the cruise holiday experience to life, which can be a very powerful selling tool when talking to customers.”  

 

 

Costa Allegra in tow, slow repatriation seen

Costa Allegra, the 28,430 gross ton cruise ship of Costa Crociere that lost power in the Indian Ocean after a fire in a generator room, has been taken in tow by deep sea trawlers and passengers will be evacuated on the Roche island, media reports say. The Roche island is located a few hundred miles away from Mahe, the Seychelles capital. Planes that can land at Roche can only take about 20 passengers, so it is expected to take a long time before the 636 passengers will all be flown to Mahe and then onwards to their home destinations, a report on BBC news website says.

 

 

All Discovery Cruising appoints business development manager

All Discovery Cruising, the trade facing arm of All Leisure Holidays has appointed Rebecca Lott as Business Development Manager to further strengthen its relationship with the trade.

 

"Rebecca boasts a wealth of cruise experience, having previously worked as Regional Sales Manager for Seabourn UK. In her new role she will work alongside the rest of the Business Development Management team to help develop trade awareness and sales of All Discovery Cruising’s three cruise brands - Voyages of Discovery, Swan Hellenic and Hebridean Island Cruise<' the company said in a statement.

 

Lott’s appointment follows the recent appointment of cruise veteran Nigel Lingard as Business Development Consultant and comes as Swan Hellenic gears up to welcome mv Minerva back to Portsmouth following a £10 million winter refurbishment. Later this year a second ship, Voyager, will be added to the Voyages of Discovery fleet and the Royal

Crown river cruise vessel will join the Hebridean Island Cruises line-up.

 

“All Discovery Cruising is looking to dramatically increase its bookings through the trade this year. Rebecca will play a key part in developing our existing trade partner relationships and supporting the many new retailers we believe will want to work with us. The investment in our Business Development Team is a clear signal of our commitment to retailers,”

Geoff Lawrence, Sales & Marketing Director, explained.