Royal Caribbean to have a total of nine ships to ply European waters in 2013
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 17 May 2012 17 May 2012
Royal Caribbean offers families and couples the best cruise ships to create or renew a Europe adventure of a lifetime, said Betsy O'Rourke, senior vice president of Marketing, Royal Caribbean International. Nearly every ship will have undergone revitalizations and enhancements to offer vacationers the most innovative and modern fleet in Europe. Couple that with exciting itineraries to the must-see destinations and our friendly and engaging Gold Anchor Service, you have a foolproof formula for an unforgettable Europe vacation.
In May and August, Vision of the Seas will alternate seven-night Norwegian Fjords and Scandinavia & Russia itineraries from Copenhagen, Denmark. The ship also will offer seven-night Scandinavia & Russia sailings from Stockholm in July. Two Ultimate Scandinavia & Russia itineraries each feature two overnights in St. Petersburg, one sailing on June 19 from Copenhagen on an 11-night itinerary that concludes with an overnight at Stockholm, and the second on July 28 from Stockholm on a 10-night itinerary that concludes with an overnight at Copenhagen. Additionally from Copenhagen, vacationers can select a 10-night British Isles cruise departing on Aug. 7, or an 11-night sailing on June 8 that ventures up the Norwegian Coast and beyond Latitude 66 North into the Arctic Circle.
Vision of the Seas complements Independence of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas' Europe 2013 sailings in the North Sea. Brilliance of the Seas also will sail the North and Baltic seas, but on longer 10- to 11-night itineraries from Harwich, England. Independence of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas will homeport at Southampton, to offer a wide range of itineraries to the Baltics, British Isles, Mediterranean and Canary Islands.
Legend of the Seas divides its Europe summer between the homeports of Rome (Civitavecchia) and Venice. From May through August, the ship sails a seven-night Western Mediterranean itinerary, calling at Genoa, Italy; Provence (Marseilles), France; and Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Valencia, Spain. A nine-night circumnavigation of the Italian peninsula, departing Aug. 31, brings Legend of the Seas to Venice, where the ship will offer vacationers a pair of 10-night Greek Isles and 11-night Greece & Turkey itineraries in Sept. and Oct.
Legend of the Seas bolsters Navigator of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas sailings from Rome (Civitavecchia) and Venice, respectively. Navigator of the Seas offers seven-night Eastern Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruises, while Splendour of the Seas offers seven-night Adriatic and Greek Isles sailings.
And from Barcelona, Liberty of the Seas offers vacationers five- and seven-night Western Mediterranean cruises and Serenade of the Seas offer a selection of 12-night Mediterranean Greek Isles and Mediterranean Venice itineraries. Liberty of the Seas exclusively offers the DreamWorks Experience, featuring lovable characters such as Shrek and Fiona, Kung Fu Panda, and the stars of upcoming Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, King Julien XIII, and Pengiuns Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico. Additionally, Liberty of the Seas will be the only cruise ship in the Mediterranean to feature Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 3D in the ship's main theater when the movie opens on June 8, 2012, as well as the only fully-licensed production of West End-hit Saturday Night Fever.
Most every Royal Caribbean ship in Europe will have undergone revitalization and enhancements to offer guests of all ages the elevated standards of the cruise line, such as renewed staterooms with new flat-panel televisions, the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery for the youngest guests age six to 36 months old, bow-to-stern Wi-Fi service, an oversized LCD entertainment screen overlooking the main pool deck, a Diamond Lounge for Crown & Anchor Society loyalty members, and a Concierge Lounge for top-tier Crown & Anchor Society members and suite guests. Dining options also will be expanding and include popular experiences introduced aboard Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, such as Park Café deli, Izumi Asian Cuisine, Giovanni's Table Italian trattoria, Chops Grille steakhouse, and an exclusive Chefs Table dinner and wine pairing.
Vacationers also have greater flexibility as to when they would like their Royal Caribbean Europe vacation to begin. For Liberty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas, vacationers have the opportunity to embark at a subsequent port on the itinerary. Guests enjoy the full itinerary, but in a different order of ports, round-trip from their port of embarkation. Vacationers can choose to embark Liberty of the Seas at Toulon, France, or Naples, Italy; Navigator of the Seas at Messina, Italy; Legend of the Seas at Marseilles, France, or Genoa, Italy; and Splendour of the Seas at Bari, Italy.
Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 22 innovative ships, calling on more than 270 destinations in 72 countries across six continents. The line also offers unique cruise tour land packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand.
Cruise experts confirmed for IHAS
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 16 May 2012 16 May 2012
The breakout sessions will provide an in depth look at how emergencies and disasters are handled in the Cruise, Aviation and Manufacturing, Retail & Energy industries. Experts will discuss their experiences and highlight best practice from incidents in which they have been directly involved, before answering delegate questions. Speakers include highly experienced executives from global brands, such as American Airlines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival UK, Flexjet, Maersk Drilling, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
"We have been involved in Family Assistance for the past five years and in that time have seen as individuals and as an organization the power of being there for people and the immense difference that we can make to people's lives. IHAS is a way of bringing people together, be they individuals, groups, organizations, volunteers and more importantly survivors." Andrew Baldwin, Customer Care & Communications Manager, Carnival UK
"The work of the Family Assistance Foundation has been critical to the evolution of our CARE team program, offering a quantum leap in the level of compassionate and effective psycho-social support to our guests and crew members when faced by a personal crisis." Steve Williams RN, CEN, CFRN - Director, Medical Operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Registration is now open for the International Humanitarian Assistance Symposium at www.ihas2012.com
All Leisure group buys UK tour company Page & Moy
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 16 May 2012 16 May 2012
All Leisure group PLC, the UK based destinatiional cruise shipping group, says it has reached an agreement with the shareholders of Page & Moy Travel Group Limited to acquire, on a debt free basis, 100% of the share capital of Page & Moy Travel Group The consideration will be a total of £4.2 million, before deduction of Page & Moy Travel Group’s transaction costs, payable in cash, All Leisure group said in a statement.
Page & Moy Travel Group, a leading tour operator offering holidays to a wide range of overseas destinations, has been offering a broad range of holidays, including touring holidays, city breaks, river and ocean cruises, safaris and classic rail journeys to the over-55s for more than 50 years. It currently trades under 3 brands, Travelsphere, Page & Moy and Just You, selling predominantly directly to its passengers from its dedicated call centre in Market Harborough. In the year to 30 November 2011 the group carried c. 88,000 passengers across its three brands.
All Leisure has a consistent strategy which is to achieve growth by exploiting the increasing demand for destination-led cruise holidays and by providing an increasing choice of other niche holiday products into the over-55 English speaking market. The Directors believe that the Group's chosen niche markets have a number of fundamental attractions:
• Significant barriers to entry. The Directors believe that a growing focus by regulators on safety and consumer protection is raising the barriers to entry for those wishing to enter the Group's markets. This is benefiting established brands with strong balance sheets.
• High levels of repeat business. The Group enjoys significant repeat passenger business, underlining the benefits of customer loyalty.
In realising this strategy, organic growth opportunities will be complemented by strategic acquisitions, reinforcing existing positions as well as increasing All Leisure’s exposure to new and attractive markets.
The Board believes that the acquisition of Page & Moy Travel Group is wholly aligned with this strategy and has excellent commercial rationale, as it both reinforces the Group’s existing positions, offering holidays to customers in the same age profile, and increases All Leisure’s exposure to new markets. The advantages of this transaction include, but are not limited to:
- Page & Moy Travel Group has a large UK customer database which is compatible with All Leisure’s. The enlarged group will have access to a list of nearly 4 million households (mainly 55 and over) and this is expected to lower the cost of customer acquisition
- Opportunities for greater cross selling across brands, particularly to fill All Leisure’s expanded cruise programme
- Reducing dependency on the cruise market, and introducing more balanced global destinations such as China and North America
- Providing numerous synergies across the two businesses - Strong use of scheduled flights will reduce transport costs for fly cruises. Majority of enlarged business will be direct and with both All Leisure and Page & Moy Travel
Group having high level of repeat business.
In the year to 30 November 2011, Page & Moy Travel Group’s revenue was £107.6 million an operating loss of £5.6m and, following the one-off impairment in full of the company’s goodwill of £35.6 million, a loss before tax of £45.1 million. The financial statements for the year ended 30 November 2011 were signed on completion of the deal and will be filed at Companies House within the statutory time limits.
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