Tag Archives: Celebrity Cruises

Tui Explorer to join Thomson Cruises fleet next year

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Tui Explorer has been unveiled the name of the latest ship to join the Thomson Cruises fleet next year.

It will become the line’s largest vessel when it enters services from its homeport in Palma, Majorca in 2018.

Currently operating as Mein Schiff 1 for the German market, the vessel will be joined at the UK arm by Mein Schiff 2 in 2019.

Tui Explorer joins Tui Discovery and Tui Discovery 2 in continuing to introduce the Tui brand to UK ahead of the re-brand which sees Thomson disappear later this year.

Tui Explorer will run all-inclusive cruises with ten dining options including a new sushi counter and The Mediterranean, an area with a glass roof inspired by open air terraces and local tavernas which will house two inclusive restaurants – a pizzeria and tapas restaurant – plus the Hot Stone Grill at an additional cost.

New cabin types include 14 family balcony cabins that measure 20 square metres, sleep up to five people and have a balcony of up to 9 square metres, and a balcony cabin with more external space.

Standard inside cabins onboard Tui Explorer are 16 square metres, larger than any other standard cabin in the fleet.

Other features include a spa split into 11 different areas including a Finnish sauna with floor to ceiling windows, a couples room and two luxury treatment suites.

An adults-only sunbathing area called The Veranda will have padded sun loungers, pod chairs and day beds.

A new feature bar, Indigo, offers ocean views from the top of the ship and is home to a casino and nightclub.

Another new venue is The Lounge, complete with colour-changing bar and a brightly coloured piano to provide live music.

On sale later this month, Tui Explorer will sail four itineraries – Cosmopolitan Classics, Highlights of the Mediterranean, Magic of Spain and Mediterranean Secrets.

Ports of call will include Barcelona, the ports for Rome and Florence, Naples and Lisbon.

Thomson Cruises managing director, Richard Sofer, said: “I’m delighted to unveil the name of TUI Explorer, our biggest and most exciting ship yet.

“As part of our continued modernisation and transformation strategy, and our commitment to offering choice and flexibility, we’ve created a whole host of new spaces onboard to meet our customers’ needs.

“We’ve got ten restaurants and ten bars, as well as more onboard activities and spaces for families including an indoor cinema and a fantastic new Kids’ Club with children’s pool and slide.

“I’m also really excited about our new flagship entertainment venue, Indigo – a huge space with incredible ocean views, sat right at the top of the ship.”

The ship, which started life as Celebrity Cruises’ Galaxy in 1996, has a capacity for 1,924 passengers.

Royal Caribbean working on mobile app

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Harmony of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it has a new mobile app under development that should be ready to debut this summer.

On a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter and year-end earnings, RCCL chairman Richard Fain said the project, dubbed Excalibur internally, is expected to debut on six to 11 ships over the next year, followed by a rollout on one to two ships a month after that. RCCL’s major brands are Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.

Fain didn’t say much about what the new app will do, but said it will “reflect all of the technologies available today.” He said the Wow bands, a wearable RFID device that assumes many functions of the key card, have been “extremely effective in simplifying the process for our guests. But it’s also obvious that the technology has improved a lot in the last two years.”

Wow bands are available to guests on Quantum-class ships (including Anthem of the Seas) and the Harmony of the Seas.

He called Carnival Corp’s recent unveiling of its Ocean Medallion and Ocean Compass personal technology “a very positive thing for our industry. It was a terrific roll out and got a lot of positive publicity which in the end inures to the benefit of all of us.”

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In other topics discussed on the call, CFO Jason Liberty said that the company’s Wave period “is off to a strong start,” and that it is “trending nicely higher” from last year. He said officials are particularly encouraged by strength in North America.

“Over the past three months, bookings have been well above last year’s levels,” Liberty said. “We turn the year in a record booked position. We have fewer staterooms to sell for the year.”

In the fourth quarter, RCCL had net income of $261 million up from $206 million a year earlier. Revenue was flat.

For all of 2016, net income was $1.2 billion, up from $665.8 million. In 2015, RCCL was impacted by a write-down for the Pullmantur brand. Revenue in 2016 grew 2.4%, to $8.49 billion.

RCCL forecasted 2017 earnings in the range of $1.48 billion to $1.53 billion.

Celebrity Cruises reveals identity of new ships for Dublin and Southampton

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Celebrity Eclipse, home porting in Southampton

Celebrity Cruises has revealed Celebrity Eclipse will become the first ship from a major line to homeport in Dublin in 2018 after spending the last eight years sailing out of Southampton.

Solstice-class sister vessel Celebrity Silhouette will replace Eclipse in Southampton, offering northern Europe and Mediterranean itineraries from 2018. The deployment is the most significant ever made in the UK and Ireland by Celebrity Cruises.

Silhouette will sail seven and eight-night Norwegian Fjord sailings, 12 to 14 night Scandinavia and Russia itineraries and 13 to 14 night Mediterranean, Canaries and Azores itineraries.

Jo Rzymowska, vice president and managing director for the UK, Ireland and Asia, said: “The performance of the Celebrity Cruise UK and Ireland business has gone from strength to strength in recent years and we are pleased to be able to grow our offering in the region with both Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Eclipse homeporting from here during the 2018 season.

“After speaking with our trade partners we saw this as a great opportunity for us to expand and this is the biggest ever change made to UK and Ireland deployment.”

Rzymowska said Celebrity Eclipse is well known by customers and trade so would build a solid foundation as the line’s first ship sailing out of Dublin.

“Eclipse is a much-loved ship, so by moving her to Dublin we believe some guests will follow, as well as attracting new passengers too.

“Dublin is very popular with our north American guests who have great affinity with the country plus with its upgrades Silhouette can offer an enhanced experienced with sailings out of Southampton.”

Russia sailings on Celebrity Silhouette from Southampton in July 2018 include the chance to attend the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Moscow including the third position match in Saint Petersburg.

During its farewell season in 2017, Celebrity Eclipse will host a special ‘Modern Luxury’ two-night sailing to Le Havre as well as a President’s Cruise attended by the line’s president and chief executive Lisa Lutoff Perlo.

The Solstice-class ships will be joined by two other Celebrity vessels in Europe in 2018.

Celebrity Constellation will sail out of Venice, Rome and Barcelona while Celebrity’s newest ship Reflection will sail out of Rome with eastern and western Mediterranean itineraries.