Watch the Norwegian Joy Transit the Panama Canal

Watch the Norwegian Joy Transit the Panama Canal

The Norwegian Joy has made her inaugural transit of the famed Panama Canal as the 2017-built ship was in the Canal on October 22.

It is the first of six transits for the ship this season, including two partial transits, part of 29 transits from neo-Panamax vessels scheduled for the 2019-2020 season, according to a statement.

The season kicked off earlier this month as the Island Princess was the first cruise ship through the Panama Canal to mark the start of the 2019-2020 season.

The Norwegian Joy is a sister ship to the 2018-built Norwegian Bliss, and both vessels are the largest cruise ships to have sailed through the Panama Canal at 333 meters long and with a beam of over 41 meters.

Following her debut in Alaska this summer, the Joy is offering Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal voyages during the winter 2019-2020. 

Ten more vessels will make their first Panama Canal transits this season, including the Norwegian Dawn, Ponant’s Le Dumont D’uwille, P&O's Ventura, the Carnival Glory, Scenic Eclipse, Flying Clipper, Seven Seas Splendor, Hanseatic Inspiration, Hanseatic Nature and the Greg Mortimer.

Video:

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El Norwegian Joy de @CruiseNorwegian cuenta con circuito de carreras, simulador de realidad de virtual que incluye la famosa película Star Wars y muchas otras amenidades.
Para esta temporada, se espera un total de 29 tránsitos de cruceros neopanamax por el Canal de #Panamá.

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Steel Cut for Carnival's First China-Built Ship

Steel Cut for Carnival's First China-Built Ship

Aida Cruise.

Steel was cut last week for Carnival Corporation's first-China built ship, now under construction at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd facility., and due for delivery in the second half of 2023, according to Chinese news sources.

At the steel cutting ceremony, a rendering and vessel model was unveiled, which appear to show a Vista-class ship with a dual AIDA/Costa funnel, and sporting an AIDA livery.

Carnival's China newbuild project is part of a joint venture, with the ships set to go to a yet-to-be-named domestic brand in which Carnival is a partner with China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Fincantieri is also involved, having licensed the Vista-class platform.

Further information about the domestic brand has yet to be revealed.

The joint venture calls for the transfer of existing vessels (two Costa ships) and then the newbuild project, with orders firmed up for a pair of 135,000-ton Vista-class ships, and an option for up to four more.

The contracted price is reported to be $770 million per new vessel.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean join forces to develop St Lucia cruise facilities

Carnival and Royal Caribbean join forces to develop St Lucia cruise facilities

Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises have signed an agreement to construct a new cruise terminal on the island and manage its existing facility.

The cruise giants signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saint Lucian government on Tuesday to form a joint venture for the project.

The cruise line brands account for 75% of all cruise ship deployment to the island.

The joint venture will manage and operate the current cruise pier and terminal facilities at the Port of Castries and design, finance, build and operate a new cruise port in Vieux Fort on the southern part of the island.

Prime minister of Saint Lucia Allen Chastanet said the agreement marked “a major step towards enhancing” the country’s tourism offering.

He said: “Saint Lucia has had record-breaking cruise arrivals over the past few years and we thank our partners Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean for their continued confidence in our amazing destination.

“It is essential that we continue to diversify what we have to offer, grow our brand and ensure that different sectors in our island’s economy benefit from the growth in cruise tourism and that Saint Lucians can benefit from the opportunities which arise from the increased numbers; which means we have to improve our capacity.

“This signing is historic, as this project will have a major impact on the sustainability of the cruise sector and the reach of cruise tourism to the south of the island. This will also mean employment at several phases of the project, the expansion of existing businesses and the formation of new enterprises.”

Giora Israel, senior vice president of global port and destination development for Carnival Corporation said: “This is an exciting day for our guests who already love the beauty and deep culture of Saint Lucia and an important step in sustaining cruise tourism growth for the island.”

Michael Bayley, president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean International said the cruise market is the fastest-growing sector of tourism and in the next decade cruising in the Caribbean is anticipated to grow by 40%.

Zero Emissions Target: First LNG Cruise Ship to the U.S.

Anticipating the first LNG-fueled cruise ship to sail out of a U.S. port, Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, Tom Strang, senior vice president of maritime affairs for Carnival Corporation, told Cruise Industry News that the company has worked closely with Port Canaveral, the LNG supplier, the Coast Guard and other stakeholders, paving the way.

“There were little formal rules existing on ship-to-ship bunkering,” he explained, “so together with Shell and Port Canaveral, we have agreed to follow the standardized processes we developed for our bunkering operations in Europe, in Tenerife and Barcelona. Our LNG ships pretty much share the same technical platform enabling us to follow the same processes and procedures.”

Strang noted that crew and officers have been trained in the bunkering operation at CSMART where Carnival built a full-scale mock-up bunkering rig.

In addition, an engineering simulator was built for training purposes, and pilots also travelled to CSMART to learn how the ship will handle.

Explained Strang: “With LNG, the rate of loading of the engines is slightly slower with a gaseous fuel than with conventional fuel, but working with the engine manufacturer, the shipyard and Valmet’s automation engineers, we have been able to negate any major issues.

“Also, if there is an emergency and full power is needed immediately, the engines will switch over to diesel and you get an immediate response.”

In addition, some MGO has to be burnt routinely to keep it moving through the tanks, he added. It is also used as a pilot fuel for the LNG.

Bunkering by barge in Port Canaveral, the process for the Mardi Gras will take about six to eight hours, according to Strang. That is longer than conventional bunkering, and the goal is to find ways to speed up the process, while obviously maintaining safety, he noted.

LNG will take Carnival all the way to IMO’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target as far as the newbuilds are concerned. “We have 21 new ships on order,” Strang said, “and 10 of them are LNG, after the AIDAnova, which entered service late last year.

“The percentage of the fleet with LNG will be high. Later we will also see how we can continue to reduce our carbon emissions by potentially introducing biogas or synthetic gas into the supply chain.”

Funchal Set To Be Towed to Liverpool

According to industry sources, the classic 1961-built Funchal will soon be towed to Liverpool as new owners Signature Living have made the final payment on the vessel.

“Their plans have changed again and they will not be locating her in Ibiza as previously reported,” said a source familiar with the situation.

Thus, Signature Living plan to tow the ship to Liverpool, refurbish her, and then find a permanent spot for the vessel in the UK as a hotel vessel.

Last December, the vessel was sold at auction for 3.9 million euro to Signature Living, a UK hotel operator.

In a first, Carnival to base four ships in Galveston

As the Carnival Radiance, the ship will have 115 additional cabins plus new bars and restaurants.

The Carnival Radiance will be deployed in Galveston in the spring of 2021, putting four Carnival Cruise Line ships in the Texas port year-round for the first time.

The Radiance is the current Carnival Victory, a ship that will undergo a $200 million bow-to-stern renovation and name change.

In Galveston, the Radiance will be joined by the Carnival Breeze, currently sailing from Port Canaveral, as well as the Carnival Dream and Carnival Vista. Together, the ships will carry an estimated 900,000 passengers a year.

In a 38-day drydock, the Radiance will get a Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse, the Cucina del Capitano family-style Italian restaurant, a Bonsai Sushi, a RedFrog Pub, and the first Big Chicken restaurant created by Carnival's chief fun officer, Shaquille O'Neal.

Starting May 14, 2021, the Radiance will alternate five-day Galveston cruises to Mexico with three different nine-day itineraries as well as a pair of eight-port 14-day Carnival Journeys cruises.

The 7-year-old, 3,690-passenger Carnival Breeze will become the largest ship to operate a short cruise program from Galveston. The Carnival Dream will shift to six- and eight-day Caribbean voyages while Carnival Vista will continue with seven-day Caribbean cruises.

Report Shows Cruising’s Growing Appeal

PHOTO: Cruise ships at a port in The Bahamas. (photo via Brand X Pictures / Stockbyte / Getty Images Plus)

Cruising continues to grow in popularity with the American public.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) estimates that by the end of 2019, approximately 30 million people around the world will have set sail on a cruise, and it’s likely that Americans make up a sizable chunk of those choosing to cruise.

In 2017, CLIA found that nearly 12 million cruisers were from the United States, making it one of the leading markets.

New research from YouGov also revealed a strong appetite for cruising among U.S. travellers.

The survey found that three in 10 (31 per cent) of Americans had been on a cruise and one in six (16 per cent) plan on taking a cruise within the next 12 months.

In addition to knowing how many people have cruised, the YouGov analysis reveals travellers’ intent to cruise.

The survey found that 6 per-cent of Americans say that it will be their first time cruising. Twelve per cent indicated that they have been on a cruise before and plan to take another cruise within the next 12 months—market size of 31 million people. There are 46 million Americans who say that they have been on a cruise but do not plan to take one in the next 12 months, and 64 per-cent (approximately 160 million) Americans have not been on a cruise before and don’t plan on going on one within the next 12 months.

Within the never-cruised segment, there are a few important data points. These non-cruisers are likely not taking a vacation in 2019, but many could be considering travel in the coming year.

Among total cruisers, demographics give insight into who is looking to cruise in the future. Seven per-cent of first-timers were millennials, 8 per-cent were Gen-Xers, 4 per-cent were baby-boomers, and 1 per-cent were silent generation.

When it comes to repeat cruisers, 16 per-cent were millennials. Eleven per-cent were Gen-Xers, 10 per-cent were baby boomers, and 12 per-cent were silent generation.

Those who lapsed a year or more between cruises were most likely to be silent generation cruisers at 32 per-cent. Baby boomers made up 23 per cent of this group, Gen-X was 17 per-cent and millennials were 14 per cent.

The YouGov survey also found that first-time cruisers were more likely to be African American, live in cities and more likely to vacation with their children. Two in five are parents with children under the age of 18 and more than one-third have travelled for business and leisure this year.

When targeting this group, go beyond traditional social media. Ads in podcasts, movie theatres and billboards catch the attention of first-timers.

PHOTO: Couple taking a selfie on a cruise ship. (photo via michaeljung/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Like first-timers, a family is a big consideration for repeat cruisers. Many are parents and many more bring family members with them when they cruise.

YouGov found that repeat cruisers were more likely to look to advertisements when choosing which cruises to take and preferred ads tailored to them. Social media advertising was also more appealing to the repeat cruiser and they most frequently use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Cruising is more popular with East Coast and travellers in southern states, likely because the proximity to homeports simplifies travel. Regardless of location, however, cruising’s ability to act as an intersection between experiential travel and innovation and convenience appeals to a wide variety of Americans.

Princess Cruises claims Medallion Net offers ‘best WiFi at sea’

Princess Cruises claims Medallion Net offers ‘best WiFi at sea’

Princess Cruises claims it has rolled out the “best WiFi at sea” which will help attract new-to-cruise passengers.

Princess Cruises has fitted nine ships with Medallion Net WiFi so far and plans to complete rolling it out across its fleet by July next year.

The WiFi will power the line’s Ocean Medallion technology, which is fitted on new ship Sky Princess.

Speaking onboard the ship during its shakedown cruise from Trieste to Athens, Prag Shah, the line’s global head, experience and innovation, said: “One of the biggest detractors people have of cruising – like the younger generation – is that they cannot be connected as well as on a land-based holiday.

“Millennials always like to be posting and sharing their experiences with everybody.

“We wanted to make connectivity onboard better and a lot of effort and creativity went in to do that. From a cruising standpoint, being able to promote and sell longer cruises brings another type of cruiser into the equation.”

John Padgett, Carnival Corporation’s chief experience and innovation officer, addressed media and travel agents via the internet to demonstrate the connection strength on the new vessel.

He said: “There are no longer any sacrifices by coming on a cruise vacation. Cruise holidays have been an amazing value for years, but you have tended to sacrifice this feeling of connectivity.

“There are no longer any sacrifices there. We are the only cruise line that offers anything like this. I want you to use as much bandwidth as you like because that makes your experience better.”

Padgett told the audience Medallion Net, which costs $9.99 per day, as the “best WiFi at sea”.

Sky Princess is the first of the line’s vessels which was built with Ocean Medallion. Several guest services, including ordering food and drink anywhere on the ship, locating friends and family, and navigating your way around the vessel are available through the wearable technology.

The line has retrofitted four of its existing ships with Ocean Medallion.

When asked what developments would be made to Ocean Medallion technology going forward, Shah said: “Personalising [Ocean Medallion] is going to be where we are putting a lot more focus [in 2020].”

Missing Crew in NYC Force New Rules

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has put in a new temporary restriction regarding crew shore leave in New York and New Jersey following a recent spike in desertions, according to a statement.

“During a two-week period in September 2019, seven crewmembers deserted after being granted shore leave while in the New York/Newark seaport,” a spokesperson said.

The new rules also coincide with the spike in cruise traffic in the Northeast with fall foliage season.

“Crewmembers must now complete five contracts prior to being eligible for shore leave,” the spokesperson said. “CBP recognizes the hardship this may place on crewmembers; however, this protocol is necessary to address the increase of desertions at this port.”

On a recent call overnight call in New York, a senior officer told Cruise Industry News that only 9 per cent of his ship’s crew met the new criteria, which is not in place in other U.S. ports.

The Grandeur of the Seas to Transfer to Pullmantur

The Grandeur of the Seas will move from Royal Caribbean International to the Pullmantur brand in early 2021.

The 1996-built ship will increase Pullmantur's capacity by 1,950 berths, representing a 32.5 per cent increase for the Spanish brand, according to Cruise Industry News data. Royal Caribbean is a stakeholder in Pullmantur.

The ship will sail in Northern Europe in summer 2021 following a major refurbishment. Other fleet changes at Pullmantur include the Zenith, which is exiting the fleet at the end of this year and will be transferred to Peace boat.

The Grandeur will join the Monarch, Sovereign and Horizon at Pullmantur.

Star Breeze Lengthening Underway in Palermo for Windstar

Sparking torch in hand, Windstar Cruises President John Delaney made the final cut to the hull of the Star Breeze at Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo today as Windstar's lengthening project gets into full swing. 

The months-long drydock will add room for 100 more guests, but also a host of further upgrades: two new restaurants, a new pool, a new spa, and countless technical advancements, including complete engine replacements when the ship debuts early next year. 

After the cut, Fincantieri crews were balancing the 4,000 ton fore section on 12 skid plates.

Once the load is perfectly balanced the section will be moved about 50 centimetres and then rechecked. Overnight it will be moved forward to make room for the new 25.6-meter-long mid-section, Delaney said.

Delaney praised the shipyard for its expertise as well as its speed. Crews were working in three shifts around the clock to meet the massive scope of work.

"It was really darn impressive to see how much they'd done," he said. "I actually walked under the ship today and I have to tell you it was a little creepy."

Windstar's $250 million Star Plus Initiative will see the Seattle-based company lengthen its three Star-class ships, placing a new midsection in each of them.

A first look at Sky Princess, a sister with some distinction

The aft WakeView Pool has an infinity pool appearance and is an outdoor gathering spot. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

As the fourth in a class of ships that Princess Cruises began introducing in 2013, the Sky Princess will be familiar in many ways to travel agents.

But there are a couple of newly designed areas and some new wrinkles, along with 50 more cabins that aren't on the three predecessor ships in the class, giving agents a few new things to learn.

The biggest deal about the Sky Princess is the two Sky Suites that have been introduced at the very top of the ship. The 1,873 square feet of space occupied by the suites includes 1,000 square feet of a balcony that extend around the suites, affording a 270-degree view of the surrounding ocean as well as a prime seat for the poolside Movies Under the Stars presentations at night.

A reserved bungalow at Princess Cays, a fancy telescope for stargazing and a "Suite Experience Manager to service your every need" are part of the package.

A second new area on the Sky Princess is Take Five, a theatre for live jazz music, plus educational programming, historical presentations and other events that will make it more than a place just to hear music.

Located across from the casino on Deck 6, Take Five occupies a space that on previous ships have been called Club 6 and included a featured bar and a small dance floor.

The new cabin area has been carved out a forward area on Deck 17 that includes The Sanctuary on previous ships. On the Sky Princess, The Sanctuary moves one deck up to Deck 18, while on 17 a kind of ship-within-the-ship area has been created on three sides of the Neptune Pool. The accommodations are mostly balcony cabins, with eight larger suites for clients with bigger budgets.

The pool deck dancing-waters fountain that made a distinctive debut on the Royal Princess has been abandoned in favour of a hot tub and some patio banquettes.

When it comes to smaller wrinkles, there is a small new WakeView Ppool at the far aft end of the ship on Deck 16, giving a nice experience looking back at where the Sky Princess has been at sea.

There's a stairway from the pool deck up to the Fitness area one deck above, and then a new mini-golf area one deck above that.

Four new hot tubs have been introduced on decks 17 and 18 that don't exist on previous ships.

Two aft cabins have been removed on the deck below the WakeView Pool to accommodate its depth.

Some smallish changes have been made in the lineup of shops, restaurants and bars on decks 6 and 7. For example, the Deck 7 Wheelhouse Bar on previous ships has been incorporated into the Crown Grill and becomes the Crown Grill Bar on the Sky Princess.

The Sky Princess' pool deck. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

The little dedicated library space that had been located outside the Wheelhouse Bar disappears entirely.

Some features introduced with the Royal Princess in 2013 remain largely unchanged, such as the sizeable World Fresh Marketplace buffet restaurant on Deck 16. 

And the multi-deck Piazza remains an elegant atrium area, with familiar features such as the Vines wine bar, the International Cafe and Sabatini's restaurant, although the Bellini's champagne bar has become Good Spirits at Sea, and the Crooner's piano bar gives way to a new restaurant, Bistro Sur La Mer.

Steady Growth for Carnival in Galveston

The Carnival Radiance and Breeze will join the Vista and Dream sailing from Galveston year-round in May 2021, Carnival Cruise Line announced today.

“We’ve been undergoing steady growth in Galveston since we started sailing there in 2000 with one ship,” said Fred Stein senior director of revenue planning and fleet development, Carnival Cruise Line.

The line went to three ships out of Galveston in 2015, with the Vista taking the place of the Breeze recently and adding more berths to the market.

“The next level of growth is adding a fourth ship,” Stein continued.

The four ships will mean Carnival is posting a 25 per cent increase in berths out of Galveston, according to Cruise Industry News data, with over 13,000 berths based in the Texas port in 2021.

Demand comes via 37 million people within a 500-mile drive, according to Stein, and many who fly in from the West Coast to Houston.

The Radiance, which will be converted from the Carnival Victory after a $200 million drydock next year, is moving to Galveston from Port Canaveral, while the Breeze comes over from Port Everglades for her Texas return.

The Freedom will be redeployed elsewhere, with an announcement expected soon.

All told, Carnival could carry nearly one million guests from Galveston on 235 itineraries in 2021, ranging from five to 14 days.

Stein said the port’s infrastructure can handle the four ships, and parking capacity was more than sufficient. 

The Radiance will concentrate on mainly five-day cruises, but three new nine-day options are available that depart on Fridays. Stein said these voyages were ideal as they offered a nine-day vacation, but for the most guest, only a week off work.

One nine-day option will call at Cozumel, Limon (Costa Rica), and feature a partial Panama Canal transit or a visit to Colon (Panama), while another features Key West, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. The third voyage calls at Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel.

“This is the most differentiated content we have been able to offer from Galveston,” Stein told Cruise Industry News. 

The company is also offering two 14-day Carnival Journeys sailings, featuring eight ports each. 

“Those offer a lot of differentiated port content you wouldn’t get on a short cruise,” Stein said.

The Carnival Breeze will move into the short cruise rotation, sailing year-round four- and five-day itineraries.

“The Breeze has been in Galveston for quite a while,” Stein said. “She is very popular in Texas and will take on the four- and five-day cruises that the Dream is doing.”

Four-day “weekend” cruises leave on Thursdays and call in Cozumel while five-day cruises depart on Mondays and Saturdays with calls at Cozumel and either Progreso or Costa Maya. 

The Dream will move to a new six- and eight-day cruise schedule in May 2021 while the Vista will sail week-long cruises on two separate Western Caribbean itineraries.

Carnival plans to carry its 8 millionth guest from Galveston in early 2021.

2000 to 2020

Carnival started year-round cruising out of Galveston in 2000 with the Carnival Celebration, which was based in the port and offered four- and five-day Western Caribbean sailings at the time.

At the time, the Miami-based brand was the first major cruise line to base a ship year-round out of Galveston. Carnival made a five-year deal in 2000 and in return, the port invested in renovating its passenger terminal and building a parking facility for 1,100 cars.

It’s been all growth then, with the Jubilee joining the Celebration in 2002. 

The ships got bigger over time, and two ships became three in 2015, with 2021 set to see four ships sailing year-round for Carnival from Galveston.

Revealed: Global Dream Hull Art

Genting Cruise Lines as unveiled Global Dream’s hull artwork, “A Dream Through Time and Space."

Shanghai native and London-based Illustrator Shan Jiang were commissioned to create the latest chapter of the Dream Cruises hull art romance for the new 5,000-guest 208,000-ton ship.

Having worked with a variety of notable companies and publications, Shan’s work is strongly influenced by his home city of Shanghai; its skyscrapers and bungalows, contemporary concepts and traditional superstitions and flourishing subcultures, the company said.

The hull art continues the epic journey of the mermaid and the astronaut as they seek to satisfy their boundless curiosity and explore an infinite universe driven by the desire for the extraordinary, the company said, in a statement.

"Embodying the independent and fearless spirit of a new generation of traveller, the two worlds of the mermaid and astronaut blend together, resulting in a new way to explore the seven seas– one that combines age-old maritime tradition with space-age technology," Dream Cruises announced, in a statement.

The dream also confirmed the new ship would visit Singapore in early 2021 on her repositioning cruise from MV Werften.

“Singapore has been an important homeport for Genting Cruise Lines over the last 26 years and we are pleased to announce that Global Dream will celebrate her inaugural arrival in Singapore in Q2 2021 during her relocation cruise from Germany to Asia,” said Kent Zhu, President of Genting Cruise Lines. “We greatly appreciate and look forward to the continued support from the Singapore Tourism Board and our partners from Singapore and across the region.

“Having just celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Singapore last year, we are excited to return with the unveiling of Global Dream’s hull artwork at this year’s ITB Asia in Singapore. As arguably the most identifiable feature of a cruise ship, the hull artwork is another important milestone in the development of any cruise ship and will set the personality of the ship when she launches,” added Zhu. “The new hull artwork provides a fresh take on our beloved mermaid and astronaut characters and captures the adventurous spirit and sense of modernity that will be the hallmarks of Global Dream’s essence.”

Innovation Drives Biggest Orderbook

“Innovation, innovation and innovation describe our strategy going forward,” Luigi Matarazzo, executive vice president of the Merchant Ships Business Unit at Fincantieri told Cruise Industry News. “In order to consolidate our leadership position in design and construction of passenger ships, we will continue to create new innovative cruise ship prototypes that are characterized by challenging architectural and structural solutions, reduced environmental impact and increased safety and comfort for passengers.

“Our ship of the future is a new large cruise ship platform designed to minimize the environmental impact, maximize energy efficiency and raise safety levels.

“The powerplant will be fueled by LNG, integrating catalytic reduction systems and new energy recovery and storage systems,” Matarazzo continued. “Studies of hydrodynamics and fluid dynamics, numerical and experimental, will be applied to different fields, from propulsion efficiency to optimization of exhaust gas trajectories. Energy efficiencies will also be pursued through the redesign of the main systems. The concept exists only on paper so far, but I am sure she will soon be a game-changer.”

A key role is played by CETENA, Fincantieri’s research centre, which is leading research and development efforts in new technologies and specializing in the development of proprietary “smart” software for improved safety and optimized ship management, Matarazzo explained.

“Cruise operators and shipbuilders have to be at the forefront of environmentally friendly solutions for shipping,” he added. “There is no silver bullet, but significant results can be achieved through consistent and coordinated efforts.

“For optimization of the primary energy sources, we offer a wide set of solutions, ranging from advanced treatment of emissions to the use of dual-fuel/LNG based power generation to the application of hybrid solutions based on batteries. In the near future, we can also see fuel cells, which we are actively studying.”

Eco-friendliness and sustainability is the mantra for each design and manufacturing phase, according to Matarazzo. “We have been able to achieve remarkable results by carefully optimizing each individual plant and system and thus significantly improving the environmental footprint of our vessels over the past several years.

“But the human factor also needs to be considered,” he added. “We are also focused on helping the crew optimize their management of vessels and deal with the increasing complexity of systems. Thus, we are developing smart software, able to assist and guide the crew in safety and energy management.”

Fincantieri has also expanded its capabilities and resources through acquisitions like Insis, which is an information technology and electronics solution provider for the defence and civil sectors and is working with such groups as Cdp, Eni and Terna in research and development.

“On top of that,” said Matarazzo, “we have made a commitment to sustainability, having published our 2018-2022 plan, which covers all our activities and is a decisive step to consolidate our culture of corporate social responsibility.”

Viking Expeditions Set to Launch with Pair of 378-Guest Ships

Viking Cruises has rolled out its expedition offering in Viking Expedition Cruises, which currently has select itineraries available only to past guests before general sales open in early 2020.

Viking will build a pair of expedition ships at VARD, the Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris. Each Polaris-class ship will carry 378 guests and offer Polar Class 6 hull specifications.

The expedition offering will mix in with the company's dominant river cruise brand and luxury cruise offering as Torstein Hagen continues expanding his Viking Cruises empire.

The ships will have six cabin categories with the smallest starting at 218 square feet. Cruise Industry News previously reported the ships will feature submarines and carry a large 20-person expedition team.

Similar to the company’s ocean program, the brand will offer the “thinking person's” cruise product.

Onboard, guests can look forward to trademark Viking features such as Manfredi's Italian Restaurant.

Among the options available for early booking, the company's Antarctic Explorer program sails from Ushuaia in early 2022, with each cruise at 13 nights for the inaugural season. Early bird offers start at $15,393 per person. Embarkation starts in Buenos Aires, where guests will spend a night before a charter flight to Ushuaia.

An Arctic Adventure program is also available for past guests for early booking, sailing roundtrip 13-day cruises from Tromso in August and September 2022.

Royal Caribbean reveals new South Pacific private island destination

Royal Caribbean reveals new South Pacific private island destination

Vanuatu in the South Pacific as been confirmed as the location for Royal Caribbean International’s latest private island destination.

Confirmation of Perfect Day at Lelepa in Vanuatu was made last night.

It is expected to be the first carbon-neutral private cruise destination in the world.

While details remain sketchy, it was revealed that the island will be created in partnership with the local community to showcase the natural ecological beauty and diverse local culture of the island nation as well as provide employment and education opportunities.

Perfect Day at Lelepa will have a different look and feel from Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Caribbean, the line’s president and CEO Michael Bayley said “because our guests around the world all have different definitions for their perfect day – and all of them are right. Our designers and nature have created the ideal South Pacific experience and we expect the results will be stunning”.

The cost and opening date were not disclosed but Perfect Day at Lelepa will be built with sustainability features designed to safeguard the island’s ecosystems.

Cox Architecture, a sustainable, design-focused contemporary architectural firm based in Australia, will serve as the lead architect on the project.

Bayley said: “We believe our destinations should be sustainably designed.

“That idea goes beyond simply protecting the ecological features of Lelepa and includes showing respect for the people and traditions that make this a special place.

“Anyone who has encountered the tremendous natural beauty of Lelepa can understand why it is the perfect setting for ‘Perfect Day.’

“Our guests who travel to the South Pacific are seeking authentic adventures and genuine relaxation, and they will find both here.”

Vanuatu prime minister Charlot Salwai added: “Vanuatu is a true paradise for both our people and the visitors we welcome to our shores each year.

“Today marks a major step forward in our island nation’s close relationship with Royal Caribbean and one that will support sustainable growth for future generations.

“The Ni-Vanuatu people look forward to welcoming Royal Caribbean guests from around the world to enjoy extraordinary adventures and relaxation during their Perfect Day at Lelepa.”

Targeted Iranian Tanker Plugged as it Heads for Gulf, Iran Says

An undated picture shows the Iranian-owned Sabiti oil tanker sailing in the Red Sea. National Iranian Oil Tanker Company via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS 

DUBAI, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Leakage of cargo from an Iranian-owned oil tanker apparently hit by missiles in Red Sea waters off Saudi Arabia has been stopped as it heads for the Gulf, the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr reported on Saturday.

The tanker Sabiti was targeted on Friday, Iranian media reported earlier, an incident that if confirmed will stoke friction in a region rattled by attacks on tankers and oil installations since May.

“The tanker is heading for Persian Gulf waters and we hope it will enter Iranian waters safely,” Mehr quoted an unnamed official as saying. “The cargo leakage has stopped.”