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.
Port Tampa Bay and Royal Caribbean International will celebrate the return of cruising on Saturday with the arrival of the Serenade of the Seas, a week ahead of her first commercial cruise and first revenue cruise from the port in more than 18 months.
Port Tampa Bay will welcome Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas to Cruise Terminal 6 before she departs on her maiden voyage next Saturday.
“The return of cruising will have a far-reaching impact on our region, with many small and local businesses standing to benefit,” the port said, in a statement. “Business Research & Economic Advisors estimated that a 3,000-passenger ship generates an average of $334,000 in passenger and crew onshore spending per call in a homeport city. The development of Sparkman Wharf, Water Street, Armature Works, and other hotels, dining, shopping, and entertainment projects in Tampa continues to boost the attractiveness of the bay area as a homeport. Cruise visitors to Tampa have the convenience of accessing a nationally top-ranked airport, secure parking garages – just steps away from all three cruise terminals, world-class beaches, and local attractions like Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, and Ybor City.”
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava – along with members of the Board of County Commission, the PortMiami team, and industry partners – has lauded the successful inauguration of the Scarlet Lady, Virgin Voyages’ first new cruise ship to her homeport, PortMiami.
The Scarlet Lady was delivered on Valentine’s Day 2020 and was due to make her maiden voyage from PortMiami on Apr. 1, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the line had to postpone her maiden season. Scarlet Lady started passenger operations from Miami on the evening of Oct. 6.
The 2,800-passenger Scarlet Lady features innovative technologies that reduce fuel demand. The brand prides on its commitment to creating an “Epic Sea Change For All,” supporting the commercial advancement of clean energy, alternative fuel sources, and other climate-positive initiatives. The line also took actions a step further by utilizing carbon offsets to balance impacts on climate change.
Additionally, Virgin Voyages’ new Cruise Terminal V, soon to open at PortMiami, will be “Shore Power Ready” by 2023. The terminal is part of Miami-Dade County’s Shore Power Phase 1 Project that will generate county-wide benefits by reducing emissions from vessels burning bunker fuel while at berth.
“We’re extremely grateful for support from the mayor’s office in bringing Shore Power to PortMiami,” said the Founder of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson. “Our team at Virgin Voyages is committed to contributing efforts that push our industry towards a more sustainable future and remain stewards to the environment.”
“Miami-Dade County is grateful to Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin team for their incredible partnership and commitment to creating a more resilient industry, indeed an Epic Sea Change For All,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “I am truly proud that together with Virgin Voyages and other partners, we are positioning PortMiami as a leader in sustainability and creating a more resilient cruise industry for generations to come.”
Costa Cruises has added various new features to its cruise offerings, as well as renewed its visual identity.
According to a press release, Costa’s new concept is based on “enabling guests to explore destinations through unique experiences, both onboard and ashore.” To build these experiences, the company has focused on three key areas – cuisine, tours, sustainability – with a new visual identity to communicate them.
The concept is in line with the principles of its “Manifesto for value-driven, sustainable and inclusive tourism,” the decalogue that outlines the company’s commitment to “grow together with local communities.”
“Now our ships are sailing again, we decided to completely renew our offer. The innovations are so significant that we can talk about a whole new way of travelling with Costa. We want everyone who holidays with us to enjoy unique, enriching experiences, discovering destinations in the most authentic, insightful, sustainable way possible,” explains Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises. “For more than 70 years Costa has been synonymous with cruise travel. At this very important time for the recovery of tourism, we wanted to rewrite the future of cruises in a way that is more responsible and mindful of people and the planet, with the aim of steering the sector back to the constant growth it saw before 2020.”
When it comes to cuisine, Costa worked with chefs Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darrozeand Ángel León. The chefs have explored authentic local recipes from the destinations visited by Costa ships, reworking them with their own personal know-how.
In that way, Costa Cruises has created two new features: the Archipelago restaurant and Destination Dishes. Destination Dishes are individual recipes designed by the three chefs, interpreting the traditions and flavors of the places guests will be visiting the following day. They are available at main restaurants on all Costa ships, included in the price of the cruise.
The new Archipelago restaurant, available on the Costa Smeralda and coming soon to other ships in the fleet, gives guests three menus to choose from, one by each chef. The menus offer five dishes created to explore each part of the sea route through its cuisine. Archipelago features “island” tables for a more intimate experience, framed by a copper sculpture enclosing pieces of driftwood, installations made using wood salvaged from the shore.
The chefs’ menus were designed “with the greatest attention for the ingredients,” according to the press release. Most of them are being sourced from local producers, and the way the dishes are prepared allows to prevent food waste, Costa said.
The driftwood decorating the “islands” was salvaged as part of “Guardians of the Coast”, the environmental education program for the protection of the Italian coastline run by the Costa Crociere Foundation. For every dinner eaten at the Archipelago, Costa said it will donate part of the proceeds to Costa Crociere Foundation to support environmental and social projects.
The company has rethought its entire range of tours, too. The itineraries have been redesigned to accommodate longer stopovers in ports, giving guests whole days to explore their destinations and make the most of their whole cruise.
“Costa tours become genuine experiences discovering the essence of each place, allowing guests to enjoy the most genuine traditions, flavours and colours, and creating value for local communities,” the cruise line wrote.
As part of its transformation, Costa Cruises has decided to transform its logo too, with a new visual identity. The letter “C” in the logo, which has been accompanying Costa on seas worldwide for over 70 years, has been given a new look, which brings “two different motifs” together in a “sinuous, enveloping embrace,” The two motifs are the earth, seen in yellow in the lower part of the logo, and the sea, in blue in the upper part, joined in the same experience thanks to cruises with Costa.
Costa’s latest innovations are already available on ships currently in service: the Costa Smeralda, the flagship powered by LNG, and the Costa Firenze, offering week-long cruises around the western Mediterranean; the Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa, with week-long cruises around the eastern Mediterranean; the Costa Diadema, now running 10-day cruises to Spain and Portugal.
Innovations will then be extended to the next ships gradually returning to operate, including the new flagship Costa Toscana, the second LNG-powered ship in the fleet, in service from March 2022.
