Category: The Cruise Examiner

by Kevin Griffin

Two different parts of Carnival Corp & plc are taking totally opposite actions in the UK market this month. While Costa Cruises has announced that it is ruthlessly cutting travel agents out of its UK marketing formula, Cunard Line is about to be given a degree of independence from big sister P&O Cruises in order to improve its relations with travel agents. Elsewhere, MSC Cruises has announced that it will double its Havana-based fleet in 2016 while Diamond Cruise is set to introduce a former Celestyal ship on cruises out of Shanghai. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

After several years of discussion and development, China is finally close to ordering its first purpose-built cruise ship, which could be delivered in 2010 under the auspices of the recent Carnival-inspired round of negotiations with China State Shipbuilding and shipyard group Fincantieri of Italy. Still in the Far East, Japan’s Peace Boat organisation, which has for several years been chartering cruise ships for round-the-world itineraries, has announced that it intends to build a ship of its own, known as the Ecoship project. Finally, like Royal Viking in the 1970s, Viking Ocean Cruises is expanding its itineraries to North America and the Caribbean, starting with a Transatlantic voyage to Montreal in 2016. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

As a number of Western-designed mega-ships are prepared for introduction to the Chinese market, brief opportunities will arise over the next couple of years to cruise on these ships in Europe, where they are being built, before they set off for China. Two of these will be the 4,180-berth Ovation of the Seas next year and the 3,560-berth Majestic Princess in 2017. Elsewhere, Azamara Club Cruises, is entering the World Cruise market in 2018 with its Azamara Journey, sailing from Sydney. Finally, P&O Cruises Australia is now available to book in the UK through an exclusive agency agreement with Cruiseco UK, which hopes to have 100 outlets in the UK by the end of the year. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week was a great week for Sydney-siders as two separate events were held in their wonderful harbour. Not to be content with the Wednesday arrival of all five of the P&O Cruises Australia fleet for the christening of its two newest units, Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria, Saturday saw the arrival of the two largest cruise ships serving Australia with Royal Caribbean International’s Explorer of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas. Elsewhere, one Chinese ship has been withdrawn while other Chinese owners have acquired a third ship. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

November 9 saw the arrival of the new Aranui 5 at Papeete, where she is now preparing to take up the supply role to the Marquesas and Tuamotu Islands next month. A product of Huanghai Shipbuilding in Shangdong, China, she is one of the world’s last mixed passenger and cargo ships. Elsewhere, Celestyal Cruises will be taking on a replacement for its third ship and mounting a program of 7-night cruises from Turkey. Meanwhile, the newly formed Miami-based Cruise Management International has taken over the ocean operations of the Swiss-based FleetPro Group. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week saw an announcement by Genting that it would be using the two ships it has on order at Meyer Werft for delivery in 2016 and 2017 to launch Asia’s first premium class cruise line. To be called Dream Cruises, the line’s new ships will have a passenger space ratio about 5% higher than Celebrity’s Solstice class vessels. Meanwhile, in Canada, the Port of Vancouver is slowly recovering from the onslaught it received from Seattle several years ago after newer and faster ships saw more Alaska cruises sailing the extra distance from Seattle. Finally, we have updates on previous stories on Crystal River Cruises and Thomson Cruises. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

This week sees two former Deilmann ships going to new operators. First, the Danube river cruiser Mozart has been purchased by Crystal Cruises for its nacent river yacht operation and second, the ocean-going Deutschland has been chartered from its US owners by Germany’s Phoenix Reisen for five summer seasons. Crystal has also announced orders for two new river yachts from Lloyd Werft. At the same time, AIDA Cruises followed Carnival Cruise Line last week with an announcement that it would be basing its AIDAbella year-round in Shanghai from the spring of 2017. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

The recent news that Carnival Corp & plc was forming a new Chinese-based cruise line was followed last week by an announcement from Carnival Cruise Line that it would be moving its own 2,124-berth Carnival Miracle to China in 2017, to be followed in 2018 by the 2,974-berth Carnival Splendor. Elsewhere, statistics published by the Montreal Cruise Committee last week emphasised a weakness in the Canadian cruise market. The much smaller country of Australia, with a population two-thirds of Canada’s, and located 10,000 miles away, produced more passengers through Montreal this year than Canada could. Meanwhile, in a surprise move, Variety Cruises announced that it was taking over the 34-berth small ship Callisto. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week’s big news was Carnival’s announcement, in the presence of the Chinese president and British prime minister, that it was forming a new Chinese-based cruise line (whose ships may fly the UK flag) in conjunction with two Chinese state-owned concerns. Meanwhile, plenty of action is set to take place. In 2016, Royal Caribbean International will introduce the first newbuilding to China when its Ovation of the Seas sails east, Norwegian Cruise Line will send its Norwegian Star, MSC Cruises its MSC Lirica, Costa and Princess one more ship each and Star Cruises the first of two newbuildings. In 2017, three more newbuildings are set to follow, with the Norwegian Bliss (to be renamed), Majestic Princess and the second new Star ship, while Carnival Cruise Lines and AIDA Cruises enter the China market for the first time with one more ship each. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week came news from Saga that it had ordered a 55,900-ton cruise ship from Meyer Werft in Papenburg, builders almost three decades ago, in 1986-92, of such well-respected ships as the Homeric, Crown Odyssey, Horizon and Zenith. The new Saga ship, for delivery in 2019, plus a possible sister for 2021, will join the eight “R” ships that set the precedent for this size of cruise ship in 1998-2001, along with Oceania Cruises’ Marina and Riviera from 2011-12 and the Viking Ocean Cruises trio of 2015-17. Compared to the ultra-luxury ships that have tended to occupy this size bracket in the past, these ships will prove that there is a market to be met between the mass market ships carrying thousands of passengers and the ultra-luxury ships that carry just hundreds. This new class of ship will bring back passengers whose needs have been ignored by the arrival of the very large mass-market ships. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

There have been many changes in the field of expedition cruising in recent years. New ships were built, a few of them. Russian ships were chartered, a few more. And ships were converted, variously from small ships, coastal vessels and ice-class ferries. Last week’s announcement by Silversea that it was converting its Silver Cloud into an ice-class ship followed a move two years ago by Seabourn to ice-strengthen its own Seabourn Quest. Meanwhile, ship managers, naval architects and shipbuilders have come up with various proposals for new designs. First off the block, a few years ago now, was Sunstone Ships of Miami with its Project Unlimited, then STX France introduced its Ulysseas design this March and the Danish firm of Knut E Hansen followed with its own design just this month. This week we look at the two alternatives of converting or building. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Following on the order of five Crystal ships from Lloyd Werft and reports in August, it has now been confirmed that Genting Hong Kong is taking a majority interest in the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven. And last Friday, Silversea announced that it would convert its 296-berth Silver Cloud to an Ice Class polar expedition ship. Finally, Cunard Line has confirmed the appointment of SMC Design as lead contractor for the 25-day Queen Mary 2 refit scheduled to take place at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg next spring. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Seven cruise ships participated in the Hamburg Cruise Days that finished yesterday, an event that followed directly after this year’s Seatrade Europe convention in that famous port city. This week we take a closer look at what is going on in Hamburg – the market, the events and the industry. We examine the Hanseatic port’s third cruise terminal, opened just three months ago, and we visit the German cruise fleet’s largest vessel and flagship, Mein Schiff 4. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

As work proceeds at St Nazaire on the largest cruise ship afloat, the 227,000-ton Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International has announced its newest port, Splashaway Bay, which happens to be the children’s water park on board the new ship. Other details have also been announced recently. Meanwhile, from naval architects Knud E Hansen in Denmark comes news of a new green expedition ship design. And Down Under, Coral Princess Cruises has now renamed itself as Coral Expeditions. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Two weeks ago, we covered the TUI cruise fleet operated by the TUI Cruises joint venture with Royal Caribbean and the wholly-owned Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Thomson Cruises. Today, we have a look at TUI’s expedition arm, with ships operated by Toronto-based Quark Expeditions and Seattle-based Zegrahm Expeditions. Emerald Waterways, meanwhile, are about to order three more 172-berth vessels for rivers they do not presently cruise on. And we have a quick look at the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s cruise from Europe to Bermuda and Nassau seventy-five years ago this month. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Eighty-five years ago, Canadian Pacific’s newly built Empress of Japan appeared with a white hull, something her running mate the Empress of Canada had adopted the previous year. Within a year, the 42,348-ton Empress of Britain joined them, remaining the largest white-hulled passenger ship for thirty years, until P&O’s 45,270-ton Canberra of 1961. Soon, lines such as P&O, Pacific Steam, Blue Star, Lamport & Holt and Royal Mail would join them. Meanwhile, CMA CGM is introducing three new passenger-carrying cargo ships to its Caribbean and South American route, while the three they replace will open up a new passenger service between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. And finally, we have a look at some of the world’s longest cruises, as brought to us by Prestige Cruise Holdings. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

This week we look at TUI AG and its various cruising arms – the TUI Cruises joint venture with Royal Caribbean Cruises and its wholly-owned Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Thomson Cruises brands. Elsewhere, Quito-based Metropolitan Touring will soon take delivery of the stabilized Santa Cruz II, its most luxurious ship yet. And MSC Cruises has now claimed the number one spot in terms of capacity offered in Europe. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week saw much news emanating from Norwegian Cruise Line. As well as producing a tidy profit, it announced returns to markets such as Asia and Australia, where it is opening new offices in Sydney and Hong Kong, as well as to South America. Meanwhile, minority Norwegian owner Genting Hong Kong, now owner of the Crystal and Star brands, is having a look at buying part of the Lloyd Werft shipbuilding business in Bremerhaven. Elsewhere, Cruise & Maritime Voyages has announced that Astor will return to Australia in 2016-17, this time sailing in both directions via Panama. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

With the imposition of the new Emission Control Areas throughout Europe and North America reducing the maximum sulphur content in fuel to 0.1%, and 0.05% next year, there is now a move towards using LNG as a clean fuel for cruise ships. By burning LNG, large passenger ships are able to reduce their CO2 emissions by 25%, NOx by 85 to 90% and SOx to practically nothing. LNG fuel is clean, producing very low particle emissions, no visible smoke and no sludge. And as a bonus it is cheaper than marine diesel oil. There are problems however. LNG’s volume is 1.8 times that of diesel fuel, and with the necessity of using highly-insulated cylindrical tanks, the space required for bunker storage is almost four times what is required for conventional square tanks. Availability is another problem, but ships sailing within closed systems or on repetitive itineraries should be able to cope. Meanwhile, until such time as ships routinely fuel with LNG, it will require either dedicated fuelling stations or delivering LNG to the ships. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Carnival Corp & plc announced last week that it would soon have six ships based in China, three year-round and three on a seasonal basis. On top of this, a member of the 3,560-berth “Royal Princess” class, will be designed and built specifically for the Chinese market. Royal Caribbean Cruises, by comparison, will soon have five ships based in China. Generally larger than those sent by Carnival, they will include the 4,180-berth Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas as well as the 3,114-berth Voyage of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas. With Norwegian Cruise Line having increased gratuity levels twice this year, as well as adding a room service charge and switching to a la carte pricing in many of its alternative restaurants, we have a look at its new version of “feestyle cruising.” And Dublin sees 13,000 cruise visitors in a day. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Two weeks ago The Cruise Examiner disclosed that the Megastar Taurus was about to join Crystal Cruises, which it will now do in December as the Crystal Esprit. But now comes even bigger news. As well as introducing Crystal Yacht Cruises, the brand will inaugurate Crystal River Cruises as an upmarket all-inclusive river product and Crystal Luxury Air for air cruises. But that’s not all. The really big news is that Crystal is about to order three new all-inclusive ultra-luxury 1,000-berth 100,000-ton Crystal Exclusive class ships, starting in late 2018. Elsewhere, Haimark Line has joined Carnival’s fathom brand in announcing that they will cruise to Cuba from Florida beginning next year. And Norwegian is changing many of its alternative dining venues to a la carte pricing. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week saw two major announcements that will affect Cuba cruise volumes not only in 2016, but also for years to come. The first came from MSC Cruises, which announced that it would be basing its 1,756-berth MSC Opera at Havana from this December until April 2016, while the second was an announcement by Carnival Corp & plc that fathom’s 710-berth Adonia would be offering fortnightly 7-night sailings from Miami to Cuba. Further north, not only Bermuda, but also Quebec suffered in a planned shuffle by Holland America Line. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week saw the closure of Fincantieri’s main shipyard at Monfalcone due to a court order seizing certain portions of the yard used to store waste products. A government decree was then passed on Friday so that work can recommence at the yard, which is building two large cruise ships for Carnival and Princess plus the first of its new Seaside class for MSC. Meanwhile, Hurtigruten has acquired a passenger vessel in Portugal that it intends to convert to an expedition ship and unconfirmed rumours from Singapore have Star Cruises’ luxury small ship Megastar Taurus about to join the Crystal fleet. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last Tuesday saw the announcement by Virgin Cruises that it would be building three 2,800-berth ships at Fincantieri in Italy. Although little has been said about the product, we have a look at what this new brand could be like. Elsewhere, while Greece looks as if it could soon go back to the drachma, we have a look at the remains of what once used to be a thriving cruise fleet. And, finally, Star Cruises returns to Australia this year. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

In news that was a little different, last week saw the newest Great Lakes cruise ship, the 210-berth Saint Laurent, involved in an incident in a lock in the St Lawrence Seaway that saw her sustain a 10-foot gash to her bow and will cause the loss of two cruises while she is repaired. Elsewhere, we have a look at Carnival’s biggest new orders, all intended for Costa group brands, as they compare to Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class ships. And finally, Cruiseco are offering more fly/cruise opportunities on their river cruise operations in Southeast Asia. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week came the news of Carnival Corp & plc’s new fathom brand and its project to introduce social-impact cruising. This week, while nothing outstrips fathom’s plans in sheer terms of scale, we look at other attempts, both in the past and now, to introduce something similar. Elsewhere, the Cruise Industry News Annual Report is now available so we take a quick look at how world cruise markets have fared in recent years. Finally, G Adventures has announced a new 38-day odyssey along South America’s west Coast in the spring of 2016. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week saw the announcement of a new cruise brand from the Carnival group, called fathom (all in lower case), with word that it will be assigned P&O Cruises’ Adonia to sail weekly from Miami. As the new fathom ship, she will spend three days each week at Carnival’s new cruise terminal at Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic while passengers help out the locals ashore. Elsewhere, UK-based The River Cruise Line has chartered a new flagship, the Serenity, while we also have a look at the Yangtze River cruise trade in light of last week’s local disaster. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Star Clippers has recently announced plans for a 300-berth square-rigged ship that will be designed after one of the world’s two largest square-rigger, the France II. Now under construction at Brodosplit Shipyard in Croatia, she will join the fleet in 2017. Elsewhere, UK-based Riviera Travel is in the course of doubling its fleet of owned river ships to four, while Germany’s 550-berth Deutschland has now gone to US buyers Absolute Nevada, who will charter her to Semester at Sea as the World Odyssey. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

This week, The Cruise Examiner reports on a two-day Cruiseco UK conference held on board Celebrity Cruises’ 2,750-berth Celebrity Eclipse this weekend. In a day full of news, announcement was made yesterday of the first Cruiseco UK “Rock the Boat” cruise for September 2016, UK representation for P&O Cruises Australia, and a multi-million dollar exclusive charter of Royal Caribbean’s 4,180-berth Ovation of the Seas from Singapore to Sydney in November 2016. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week saw the opening of the St Lawrence cruise season at Montreal and the first cruise into the Great Lakes by the 210-berth Saint Laurent. We also have a look at the goings on at TUI Group and its cruise arms, TUI Cruises, Thomson Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. And Viking Cruises’ first upper premium ship, the 930-berth Viking Star, was christened at Bergen last night. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

This week, The Cruise Examiner reports on a twenty-hour voyage on Un-Cruise Adventures’ 74-berth Wilderness Explorer, one of nine ships now operating in the Un-Cruise fleet in the waters of Alaska, British Columbia, Hawaii, the Galapagos, Costa Rica and Panama. Elsewhere, Semester at Sea is taking on the former Peter Deilmann’s Deutschland as a replacement for the Explorer, which begins service in the Mediterranean as Celestyal Odyssey next month. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Earlier this month, Norwegian Cruise Line announced that it would be introducing a new all-inclusive policy to its 3- and 4-night Miami-Bahamas cruises on the Norwegian Sky, with effect from 2016. Elsewhere, Royal Caribbean International has introduced a new policy of no cruise discounting within 30 days of sailing. Applied first in North America this policy will probably follow later in Europe. Both moves are innovations. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Today sees the christening in Southampton of Royal Caribbean’s new 168,666-ton Anthem of the Seas, while Viking Ocean Cruises’ 47,842-ton Viking Star leaves Venice on her way for her own christening in Bergen next month. The 10,992-ton Le Lyrial will meanwhile make her own maiden voyage from Venice on May 9. This week we compare the three ships, each part of a quartet, while we also assay the implementation of Royal Caribbean’s new Dynamic Dining concept. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last Friday saw the delivery of Royal Caribbean’s new 168,666-ton Anthem of the Seas, but rather than repeat what everyone else is saying about the new ship’s passenger features, today’s Cruise Examiner goes behind the scenes to look at her efficiencies. Meanwhile, as Australia rapidly outstrips Canada in terms of the number of cruise passengers each country produces, the St Lawrence ports of Montreal and Quebec will be seeking more embarkations. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week saw the magnificent new 443-foot 150-berth river cruiser S.S. Maria Theresa sailing on her maiden voyage through the waterways and canals of the Benelux before entering service between Amsterdam and Budapest for the summer. We have a look at some aspects of this vessel and her owners, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, in another part of the world, Quark Expeditions has announced that the 102-berth expedition icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov will be returning to revenue passenger service in 2016, with a 75-day complete circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean that can also be booked as for separate itineraries. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Last week big news broke from both Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corp & plc. Royal Caribbean for its part will be sending its newbuilding “Quantum” class ship Ovation of the Seas to cruise from China next year, bringing the Royal Caribbean International fleet based in that country to five ships sailing from four ports. Meanwhile, for its part, Carnival Corp & plc has announced orders for nine new ships, five from Fincantieri and four from Meyer Werft. As yet, their distribution has not been announced but they are to be delivered between 2019 and 2022 and will be not only for European and North American brands, but also for China. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

MSC Cruises has been trying to bust the US market for more than a decade but has not yet been able to do it in a meaningful way. But two-and-a-half years from now, it will introduce its best ship into service from a modernized dedicated pier in Miami, with the MSC Seaside, first of a brand-new design. Elsewhere, sidewheel paddle steamers now cruise only two of the world’s rivers, the Nile and the Murray, but that number is about to double when the Loire is added next month and the Elbe next spring. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Just as P&O Cruises and Royal Caribbean International introduce two new ships to the UK market comes news from Germany that it has finally surpassed the UK in terms of the number of ocean cruisers it produced in 2014. With Aida and TUI both in the course of introducing new tonnage, Germany will have introduced five large new ships (with 14,000 berths) by the end of next year compared to the two (with 7,827 berths) that are now being introduced in the UK. Meanwhile, a new merged Lindblad Expeditions will float in the US later this year, with the news breaking at the same time of plans to order at least two new expedition ships for delivery in 2017 and 2018. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

Surprise news arrived last week when NYK announced it was selling Crystal Cruises to Star Cruises owners Genting Hong Kong, and that a third ultra-luxury ship would be built. Elsewhere, Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that it was transferring its Splendour of the Seas to affiliate TUI Cruises for operation by TUI Group’s UK affiliate Thomson Cruises, something that will introduce balconies to the UK operator’s fleet. (more…)

by Kevin Griffin

When Queen Elizabeth II christens P&O Cruises’ Italian-built Britannia next week, she will become the second P&O ship to be named by Her Majesty, joining the German-built Oriana, which she named in 1995. Between 1947 and 2010, the Queen has also named four ships of the sister Cunard Line. Over in New Orleans, meanwhile, US cruise circles are abuzz with Viking River Cruises’ plans to introduce half a dozen new 300-passenger vessels, or 1,800 more berths, to the Mississippi River between 2017 and 2019. (more…)