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About Spacejunkie2

I love all things Cruise and add that to my hobby Photography I'm in dreamland, I'm an exTravel agency owner with the inside contacts, so I will try to keep you updated in all things travel related with a side serving of images and other maritime stories.

Norwegian Getaway Kicks Off Summer Program in the Mediterranean

Completing Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2023 lineup in Europe, the Norwegian Getaway is kicking off its summer program in the region today.

Sailing in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, the 2014-built vessel is set to offer a series of nine- to 16-night itineraries departing from different ports.

The first cruise of the season, for instance, sails from Lisbon, Portugal, to Civitavecchia, a port near Italy’s capital city Rome.

Cruising in the Western Mediterranean, the nine-night itinerary includes visits to a total of seven destinations in Spain, France and Italy, such as Málaga, Ibiza, Barcelona, Villefranche and Livorno.

Continuing its season, the ship offers an Eastern Mediterranean itinerary on June 24. Also sailing one-way, the nine-night voyage sails from Civitavecchia to Italy’s Trieste after visits to ports in Italy, Sicily, Greece and Croatia.

Between late July and October, the Norwegian Getaway is also set to offer itineraries in Northern and Western Europe.

On September 15, for instance, the 4,000-guest ship offers a 16-night cruise to the British Islands and Iceland.

Sailing roundtrip from England’s Southampton, the itinerary also features visits to Western European destinations, including France’s Le Havre, Germany’s Hamburg and Belgium’s Zeebrugge.

Following additional itineraries in the region, the Getaway is set to return to North America on November 4. On that day, the ship wraps up a 13-night transatlantic crossing that sails between Southampton and New York City.

In addition to the Norwegian Getaway, eight Norwegian Cruise Line ships are set to operate in Europe in 2023.

The local program stretches through December and features the company’s two newest vessels – the 2022-built Norwegian Prima and the 2023-built Norwegian Viva.

Other vessels sailing in Europe this year include the Norwegian Breakaway, the Norwegian Epic, the Norwegian Dawn, the Norwegian Star, the Norwegian Jade and the Norwegian Gem.

CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Changes Name to Adora Cruises

CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Limited announced today it has changed its name to Adora Cruises Limited, effective immediately.

The new name, inspired by its brand name “Adora Cruises” will further strengthen the popularity and reputation among customers and reflects the vision of the company to bring to guests A Voyage in Love and to build a leading homegrown Chinese cruise line, according to a press release.

Adora Cruises Limited also adopts the same logo as its brand Adora Cruises, using Chinese red, sunshine yellow, earth green and star-sea blue in the shape of A and the ship bow to display the brand personality of happiness, care, vitality, and creativity. Its ambition is to bring guests a tasteful combination of traditional elegance and modern flair, and an immersive and fun-filled experience at sea.

“Our new company name is in line with our brand name, which is more memorable and recognizable. It better communicates our goal to build the most admired cruise brand in China. Together with the company’s name changing, Adora Cruises Limited gets ready to set sail in the full resumption of the Chinese cruise market,” said Chen Ranfeng, Managing Director of Adora Cruises Limited.

The former CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Limited was founded in 2018. After years of development, the company has solidly enhanced its operational capability in sales, marketing and commercial operation, product design and development, hotel management, maritime operation, and newbuild project supervision and development etc.

Yang Guobing, Chairman of Adora Cruises Limited, said, “After years of development, Adora Cruises Limited has become an independent and full-functioning cruise company and has its own brand. We are getting well prepared in sales and marketing, product and hotel management and maritime operation.”

MSC Cruises and Gasum Partner for LNG Solutions

The Cruise Division of MSC Group and Gasum have signed a long-term agreement for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the new flagship of its MSC Cruises brand, MSC Euribia, as well as a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the goal of cooperating on the supply of synthetic e-LNG made with renewable energy, according to a joint company statement.

This is part of the cruise company’s strategy to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its marine operations by 2050.

The LOI between MSC Cruises and Nordic energy company Gasum is a landmark cooperation that aims at securing MSC access to liquefied synthetic gas, or e-LNG, which is produced using hydrogen, created by hydrolysis with renewable energy and captured CO2, the companies said.

Gasum and MSC Cruises are together creating an actionable roadmap for cutting emissions in MSC’s cruise operations with sizeable volumes of several thousand tons of e-LNG starting in 2026.

The companies also signed a long-term agreement on the delivery of LNG for MSC Euribia.

With this agreement, Gasum supports MSC Cruises in cutting emissions with the immediate use of LNG.

Linden Coppell, Vice President of Sustainability & ESG, MSC Cruises, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Gasum on our journey to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Securing a reliable supply of LNG and e-LNG is of critical importance to our decarbonisation efforts, and the LOI and long-term agreement that we have announced today are significant steps on that journey. Partnering with Gasum will enable us to access new and cleaner fuels needed to make net zero cruising a reality. We need more suppliers like Gasum to step up and support our industry with its environmental targets. We are ready and waiting to buy more of these new fuels.”

Mika Wiljanen, CEO, Gasum added: “As an alternative fuel supplier dedicated to the energy transition, Gasum is proud to offer support to MSC Cruises, a major maritime player, in their quest to improve the environmental footprint of their operations. At the same time, MSC Cruises is supporting the development of the most promising alternative fuel by proving demand for it. This LOI on e-LNG is a landmark agreement for the shipping industry as it demonstrates that e-LNG will be available to the maritime transport sector within a short timeframe. We are also very happy about the long-term LNG supply agreement which we believe is the start of long-lasting cooperation.”