• We Travel 2U - Weblog

    We Travel 2U-Weblog

    Disney Cruise Line has unveiled new experiences for adults sailing aboard its newest ship, the Disney Wish, in summer 2022.

    According to a press release, in addition to a previously announced Star Wars-themed lounge and fine dining experiences inspired by “Beauty and the Beast,” the 2,500-passenger ship will debut a variety of new venues for adults, including the fleet’s first outdoor spa retreat, salon and barbershop experiences, and a collection of bars and lounges.

    “With the Disney Wish, we wanted to design an experience that allows our grown-up guests to relax, recharge and reconnect in unique ways that only Disney Cruise Line can create,” said Laura Cabo, portfolio creative executive, Walt Disney Imagineering. “(W)e added more variety and made them more accessible than ever before. This ship has truly been designed with adults’ vacation needs in mind, and I know our guests are going to return home feeling refreshed after their Disney Wish vacation.”

    Senses Spa

    A new addition to Disney, Senses Spa, will feature a dedicated outdoor relaxation space with whirlpool spas, plush loungers and yoga sessions. This open-air space is a new extension to Disney Cruise Line’s Rainforest experience, which has been reimagined for the Disney Wish. The Rainforest will introduce the fleet’s first ice lounge, allowing guests to combine thermal therapies. It will also include heated ergonomic loungers, sensory spa showers and sauna, steam and dry chambers.

    Senses Spa will also feature private treatment rooms and spa villas for couples. In addition to a menu of massage, facial and acupuncture therapies, guests will be able to select from a menu of specialized treatments customized to their needs, such as pain management and sleep improvement.

    Adjacent to the spa, the reimagined Senses Fitness will offer exercise and wellness facilities, including the main room with exercise equipment, a dedicated cycle studio and an aerobics room.

    Salon and Barbery

    The Disney Wish will premiere two brand-new salon experiences — the fleet’s first standalone venues for hairstyling and beauty services — where adults can treat themselves in inviting, social environments that have been uniquely designed with inspiration from classic Walt Disney Animation Studios films.

    Untangled Salon

    At Untangled Salon, adults can let their hair down and have it styled any way they want, Disney said in a press release. Inspired by Disney’s animated princess Rapunzel, this salon will be adorned in shades of purple and gold, decorated with floating lantern light fixtures and outfitted with privacy screens depicting Rapunzel’s own paintings.

    In addition to haircuts and styling, Untangled Salon will also offer manicures, pedicures, teeth whitening and skin treatments.

    Hook’s Barbery

    Hook’s Barbery will be a unique twist on a traditional European men’s salon, offering cuts, shaves, and nail and skincare. Decked out in dark woods, leather chairs and golden mirrors, space will brim with narrative details inspired by another Disney character, Captain Hook: an inlaid wooden map of Never Land, a hidden pocket watch and a hook, among others.

    Hook’s Barbery will also feature a hidden bar serving bourbons, vintage whisky and port, aged rum and premium spirits.

    Nightlife

    The Disney Wish will also offer a collection of relaxed and refined bars and lounges reserved exclusively for adults each evening. For the first time, Disney said, these venues will be spread out among the ship’s other core gathering places for a more flexible experience that will allow adult guests more opportunities to enjoy “me time” throughout their cruise.

    Keg & Compass

    Keg & Compass is a pub that, according to the press release, celebrates the adventure and romance of the sea, designed in the style of a late 1800s Norwegian sailor’s map room. Drawing inspiration from the rich folklore of Norse seafaring, period-style oil paintings will depict tales of the deep and intricate carvings of tentacles, barnacles, compasses and more.

    Spanning the entire ceiling will be an old maritime-style map that features a homage to Disney characters and stories related to the sea. In addition to such characters as Ursula and Moana, the map will call out important locales related to The Walt Disney Company and the design and construction of the Disney Wish.

    Guests will be able to watch live sports, news and major broadcast events while sampling a specialized selection of beers, including three custom craft brews available exclusively aboard the Disney Wish, along with an assortment of liquors, wines and cocktails.

    Nightingale’s

    According to Disney, Nightingale’s is a refined piano bar inspired by Cinderella’s lyrical rendition of “Sing Sweet Nightingale” in the 1950 film. It offers fine wines, bubblies and hand-crafted cocktails.

    Classically modern with a soft metallic palette, the predominant design feature will be a glittering chandelier above the piano. This lounge will be a thematic extension of the fairytale-inspired Grand Hall from which it stems.

    The Bayou

    The Bayou is an informal New Orleans-inspired lounge themed to “The Princess and the Frog.” Its design includes magnolia blossoms, lily pads and a canopy of twinkling fireflies overhead, as well as a bronze statue of each character and two gazebos inspired by the city’s iconic wrought iron metalwork structures.

    This venue will offer cocktails, coffees and beignets in a “lively, social atmosphere complete with live entertainment and musical performances,” Disney said.

    More for Adults

    The Disney Wish will also feature a new lounge, a trio of premium culinary experiences and a dedicated pool district on the upper decks exclusively for guests ages 18 and older.

    Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge

    For the first time on a Disney ship, guests will embark on a tour of the Star Wars galaxy at Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge, a bar styled as a luxurious yacht-class spaceship. This immersive experience will be reserved for adults every evening, offering interactive tasting experiences and signature beverages inspired by the films.

    Speciality Dining

    For food and drinks, adults will be able to enjoy Palo Steakhouse, Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement and The Rose.

    • Palo Steakhouse is an evolution of the Palo restaurant familiar to Disney cruisers. It now combines Italian dining with the classic refinement of a modern steakhouse in a setting inspired by Cogsworth, the majordomo-turned-enchanted clock from Beauty and the Beast.

    • Enchanté will feature a gourmet menu crafted by three-Michelin-starred Chef Arnaud Lallement in a venue inspired by Beauty and the Beast’s candelabra maitre d’, Lumiere.

    • Inspired by the fateful flower at the heart of the story, The Rose is a lounge at the entrance of Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté, most suitable for a pre-dinner aperitif or after-dinner cocktail.

    Quiet Cove Pool District

    A Quiet Cove, guests aged 18 and older will find an adults-only area dedicated to lounging, sipping and soaking. The place will offer an infinity pool with panoramic views of the ocean, a whirlpool spa, an open-air bar and a poolside cafe.

    Maiden Voyage and Inaugural Season

    The Disney Wish will sail its maiden voyage on June 9, 2022, followed by a season of three- and four-night cruises to Nassau, Bahamas, and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, from Port Canaveral, Florida.

  • We Travel 2U - Weblog

    We Travel 2U-Weblog

    The building of P&O Cruises second Excel class ship Arvia, arriving December 2022, has started at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Warnemunde, Germany.

    The first component of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ship, the floating engine room unit (FERU), has been moved into the shed at the Meyer Werft shipyard where the Arvia will be constructed.

    Made by Neptun Werft the FERU, with Arvia’s engines and LNG tanks within it, is 140 meters long, 42 meters wide and weighs approximately 12,000 tons.

    The Arvia will feature Altitude Skywalk, a unique high ropes experience, and offer a maiden season of Caribbean fly/cruise holidays, from homeport Barbados.

  • We Travel 2U - Weblog

    We Travel 2U-Weblog

    MSC Cruises has signed a five-year agreement with Cruise Saudi for preferential berthing rights at the port of Jeddah.

    According to the cruise line’s press release, this is a “further sign of its long-term commitment to support the development of the local tourism sector by operating cruises in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.”

    The announcement was made in Jeddah as one of the company’s most modern ships, the MSC Bellissima, celebrated the opening of the city’s new passenger terminal with a commemorative event onboard.

    The new cruise terminal will welcome guests onboard for MSC Bellissima’s inaugural season in the Red Sea with three- and four-night cruises from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to both Egypt and Jordan until the end of October.

    The event onboard the MSC Bellissima was hosted by Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises and Fawaz Farooqui, managing director of Cruise Saudi, for local dignitaries, senior officials from the Saudi Tourism Authority, Cruise Saudi, the Saudi Ports Authority – Mawani as well as members of the Saudi Arabian media and travel community.

    The Master of the ship Captain Roberto Leotta, who will helm the MSC Bellissima in the months ahead, exchanged crests with Fawaz Farooqui in a traditional maritime ceremony to celebrate a vessel’s maiden port call.

    MSC said that those onboard for the event were given guided ship tours, treated to a special show by MSC Cruises’ entertainment team and also enjoyed fine dining in a range of the ship’s specialty restaurants.

    “This is a very special, historic day for all of us. The largest and most modern cruise ship to operate in the Red Sea has set sail from Jeddah’s new terminal to mark a new beginning for cruising in Saudi Arabia and, more broadly, for its growing tourism industry,” said Vago.

    “We can now allow our global guest base to come and experience our unique itineraries in this beautiful country with its historic UNESCO World Heritage sites and pristine shores. And with the new agreement in place, together with Cruise Saudi we will work in unison to develop this very special aspect of Saudi Arabia’s determined and sustainable growth in tourism which mirrors exactly our own strategy and ambition … And we will work together in attracting guests from all corners of the world as well as local markets for a Red Sea and Arabian Gulf holiday like no other onboard our modern and environmentally high performing vessels,” he added.

    Chief Operations and Commercial Officer for Cruise Saudi, Mark Robinson, said that the event marked a great milestone for Cruise Saudi and for the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia, “in line with Vision 2030.”

    “The creation of Cruise Saudi, tasked with launching the cruise industry in Saudi Arabia, happened just six months ago at FII in Riyadh. Yet in these few months we have been able to work with international partners such as the Cruise Division of MSC Group and national bodies such as the Saudi Ports Authority, MAWANI, the Red Sea Gateway Terminal, the Saudi Tourism Authority, the Ministries of Transport, Culture, Health and Tourism, Saudi Customs and Immigration, the Saudi Border Guard, Jeddah Chambers of Commerce and many more such organizations to build Saudi Arabia’s first cruise terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port, and to mobilize the infrastructure, manpower and systems required to host global cruise lines for Saudi Arabia’s first full summer and winter cruise seasons,” Robinson said.

    He added: “The remit of Cruise Saudi; to create 50,000 jobs by 2025, to facilitate the building of an additional five ports, with Jeddah as a homeport, and to welcome 1.5 million annual passenger visits by 2028; is an ambitious one, which will play a major part in strengthening the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia. It is a vision that we would not be able to accomplish were it not for our trusted business partners such as MSC.”