Tag Archives: Azamara Cruise

Goldstein named RCCL president

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By Tom Stieghorst
_Adam GoldsteinAdam Goldstein has been named president of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), the parent company of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.

Goldstein has been president of RCCL’s largest brand, Royal Caribbean International, for the past 12 years.

In addition to president of RCCL, he will hold the title of chief operating officer.

The company said it will begin a search to find a successor to Goldstein as president of Royal Caribbean International.

In his new role, Goldstein will lead the company’s cross-functional teams, RCCL Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said.

“Adam has played a key role in growing Royal Caribbean International, step by step, into a global leader. In the course of doing so, he has become an impressive leader in his own right,” Fain said.

Goldstein joined the company in 1988, and served in a number of positions before taking the helm of Royal Caribbean International, including senior vice president of total guest satisfaction, senior vice president of marketing and corporate secretary.

A graduate of Princeton University who also holds a law degree from Harvard University, Goldstein is an accomplished table tennis player and has competed in middle-distance running events in the National Senior Games Association track and field championships.

RCCL doesn’t currently have a president or a chief operating officer.

In addition to its three North American brands, RCCL owns Spain’s Pullmantur, French line Croisieres de France, and a 50% interest in TUI Cruises of Germany.

Cruise lines spot ‘opportunity’ after pension reform in Budget

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By Lee Hayhurst

Cruise lines spot 'opportunity' after pension reform in BudgetCruise lines are confident last week’s pension reforms announced in the Budget will prompt a boom for cruises.

The proposed changes will free up pensioners’ cash earlier in their retirement. While one minister’s suggestion that newly retired people might blow it on fast cars made headlines, commentators predicted they were likely to book that dream trip.

Cruise lines were careful not to suggest they would actively encourage pensioners to spend their money unwisely, but they are expecting to benefit.

Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director at Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “Traditionally, retirees have downsized their homes to provide additional funds. These proposed changes will empower those qualified to rethink how they spend their savings.”

Mike Bonner, UK general manager at Silversea Cruises, said: “For our target demographic it’s got to be an opportunity.”

Azamara Club Cruises commercial director David Duff added: “It can only be a good thing for a business like ourselves if people get more access to their pension. I would like to think it’s an opportunity, but we have to be responsible about it.”

Hopes that pension changes would spur demand came as Clia UK & Ireland announced its latest figures, which showed the UK market grew by 25,000 passengers, or 1.5%, in 2013.

It also revealed the proportion of late bookings – those within three months of departure – was the highest for a decade at 40%.

However, Clia said there were signs of momentum returning to the industry with the deployment of P&O Cruises’ Britannia, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas and Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess from Southampton in 2015.

Clia director Andy Harmer said: “The industry’s continued confidence in the UK market is demonstrated by the increasing number of ships that will sail from British ports.”

Cruise lines and tour ops cancel visits to Ukraine, Crimea

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By Michelle Baran

Sevastopol's Monument to Scuttled ShipsAs Russia annexed Crimea and the Ukraine government began to withdraw its military personnel from the peninsula this week, travel suppliers began cancelling visits to Ukraine and Russia, as well as to Crimean destinations.

Cruise lines have begun altering some of their Black Sea sailings to bypass previously scheduled port stops in Odessa, Sevastopol and Yalta.

Windstar, Oceania, MSC, Regent Seven Seas and Azamara have substituted port calls in alternative countries, including Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.

Silversea canceled calls to the Crimean peninsula for the April 25 Black Sea sailing of the Silver Wind and for the July 21 departure of the Silver Spirit. However, should the situation in Crimea improve, the line said it would consider returning to its original itineraries.

Viking Cruises has a 12-day Footsteps of the Cossacks river cruise on the 196-passenger Viking Sineus, which sails from Kiev into the heart of the Crimean peninsula, with port stops in Sevastopol and Yalta. But its Ukraine departures begin in May, and the company has yet to decide if it will cancel any sailings.

“Though we know our passengers are paying attention to the developments on the ground, we have not yet seen significant cancellations,” Richard Marnell, Viking’s senior vice president of marketing, wrote in an email.

During a speech earlier this month at a dinner event to celebrate the christening of its latest generation of river cruise ships, Viking Cruises Chairman Torstein Hagen said that while nearly all of Viking’s river cruise capacity through the end of October was sold out, space was still available on its Ukraine sailings.

Many tour operators have already canceled either part or all of their 2014 tour itineraries that include stops in Crimea, offering affected passengers refunds or the option to rebook travel elsewhere.

Globus canceled all 2014 departures of its Ukraine and Crimea tour; Insight Vacations is no longer offering its 12-day Ukraine, Moldova and Crimea tour; and Intrepid Travel has canceled three Ukraine departures through mid-June.