Carnival Corporation Celebrates Opening of Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal

Posted on 19 December, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Corporation today celebrated the official opening of Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal with Shamal Holding following their strategic partnership signed in 2018 to develop the new cruise port as the main hub for cruise tourism in Dubai, according to a press release.

The occasion was marked with a walk-through by Abdulla Binhabtoor, chief portfolio management officer of Shamal Holding, and several Carnival Corporation executives, including Giora Israel, senior vice president of global port and destination development for Carnival Corporation; Michael Thamm, Group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia; Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises; Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises; Michel Nestour, vice president of global port and destination development for the EuroMed & Arabian Gulf region at Carnival Corporation; and Torben Seidenschnur, director CEO office and strategic development at Costa Group.

With the arrivals of Costa Firenze and AIDAbella, the official opening was also marked by two passenger cruise ships visiting the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal for the first time, coinciding with the start of the cruise season and the ships’ homeporting seasons from Dubai.

Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal is capable of accommodating two large cruise ships simultaneously, according to a company statement.

The facility spans over 120,000 square meters (nearly 1.3 million square feet) and includes two purpose-built terminal buildings that offer passengers and crew a safe embarkation and disembarkation experience. The terminals are equipped with four Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges that can simultaneously support the full turnaround of the largest class of cruise ships in the industry.

“After years of working closely with Shamal Holding, we are absolutely thrilled to welcome guests from around the world to Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal,” said Thamm. “As the world’s largest cruise company, our passion is providing our guests with extraordinary vacation experiences, and we are confident that our partnership with Shamal Holding will enhance the overall experience for our guests. The two terminals stand as a tribute to the remarkable appeal of Dubai and the Arabian Gulf as a cruise destination, and we look forward to working with Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal and its community partners to make Dubai Harbour a highly efficient and customer-friendly operation while facilitating new tourism opportunities through cruising in the region.”

“We’re delighted to see our partnership with Carnival Corporation and its brands hit another significant milestone as today we welcomed two extraordinary cruise ships to Dubai Harbour, the largest standalone dedicated twin-cruise terminal centre in the eastern hemisphere. It is exciting to see so many thousands of people enter the city through this stunning seafront district, the newest entry point to Dubai, which is already considered to be the ideal gateway to the region for cruise ships from around the world.”

Added Binhabtoor regarding the alignment with Dubai Tourism Strategy: “The Dubai Harbour development represents a historic milestone in Dubai’s role as this region’s foremost destination for lifestyle, leisure and luxury – a moment in history that brings forward the realization of Dubai’s ambition to become the most visited city in the world. However, it is not only an extraordinary destination for cruise passengers from every corner of the world, but also a natural gateway to the attractions that Dubai has to offer and, as a result of the city’s strategic location, other international destinations as well.”

Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises first began operating in Dubai in 2006. In late November, AIDAbella arrived in Dubai at Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal for the first time, marking the first regular cruise passenger operation for the new terminals and the start of the ship’s winter season. In addition, Costa Firenze’s arrival in Dubai on Dec. 16 marked the start of the ship’s season from Dubai, where it is homeporting for the first time ever, through March 2022.

Together, six brands from Carnival Corporation – AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (UK), Princess Cruises and Seabourn – will visit the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal by 2023 and in total, the six brands are expected by then to make 90 calls to the new twin-terminal cruise port.

Former Costa neoRomantica To Be Scrapped

Posted on 1 December, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

The Antares Experience – formerly known as the Costa neoRomantica and Celestyal Experience – is getting scrapped, according to Gadani Ship Breaking Yard.

The Pakistani shipyard posted several photos and videos of the former Costa Cruises ship on its Facebook page.

The ship was originally launched as the Romantica in the 1990s and renamed as the neoRomantica after Costa gave it a 90-million-euro upgrade in 2011-2012 adding two half decks, new staterooms and additional balcony-equipped accommodations.

Celestyal Cruises took delivery of the ship in summer 2020 and renamed it as the Celestyal Experience, according to the Secondhand Market Report by Cruise Industry News. The 1,800-guest ship immediately became the largest ship in the company’s fleet but, sadly, never sailed for the cruise line.

Celestyal CEO, Chris Theophilides, previously said that the purchase of the Experience allowed the cruise line to see “many more destinations.” It was expected to sail on March 5, 2022, with the seven-night Three Continents itinerary, calling in Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Cyprus. The ship’s sales price was not disclosed.

However, those operational plans were quickly scrapped as the pandemic showed no signs of stopping, and Celestyal published a statement on selling the ship – at the time to an undisclosed buyer. The vessel shortly reemerged as the Antares Experience.

Coast Guard Seeks Public’s Help Developing Mass Casualty at Sea Lifesaving Device

Posted on 14 July, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Costa Concordia after the initial disaster

Here’s a scenario for you… a cruise ship is sinking at sea and hundreds, if not thousands of people are in need of immediate rescue. Due to conditions, lifeboats are inoperable or infeasible. What’s the best option for rescue? That’s a question the Department of Homeland Security needs your help figuring out.

In collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has released the “Mass Rescue Operations Lifesaving Device Broad Agency Announcement” solicitation seeking the public’s help in coming up with innovative technology to respond to mass-casualty events at sea.

The solicitation asks innovators, industry, academia, and laboratories to submit solutions for a large capacity-floating device to keep survivors out of the water during mass rescue operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) will provide technical support to DHS S&T throughout the effort to help with the development of the device.

“We’re looking forward to working with the public to help develop their innovative ideas into a practical and useable design,” said RDC Commanding Officer, Capt. Dan Keane. “If successful, the mass life-saving device will give first responders additional capability and capacity to respond quickly to a mass rescue situation.”

Specifically, the solicitation seeks an effective solution for providing short-term lifesaving and rescue assistance in disasters that render existing systems, such as onboard lifeboats, inoperable or infeasible. The Coast Guard wants to develop a non-standard, one-time use, large capacity, an ultra-lightweight floating device that will be deployed from air or vessel during a mass rescue operation to mitigate the loss of life.

For example, if a large ferryboat or cruise ship is unexpectedly stranded or sinking, the ship’s staff may not be able to deploy the lifeboats. Coast Guard aircraft or vessels could respond and deploy mass rescue devices at the scene to better maintain passengers until all can be rescued.

“The purpose of a large-capacity floating device is to solely keep survivors out of the water during a mass rescue operation,” said S&T Program Manager Angela Blair. “The commercial marketplace already has large, flotation devices, but these are too heavy to be deployed from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter or easily lifted over a vessel’s bulwark for deployment.”

White papers are due by 2 p.m. EDT on August 5, 2021.

“The Coast Guard is excited to work with industry to develop this cutting edge, mission-critical, lifesaving capability,” said Tom Gorgol of the Coast Guard office of search and rescue.

For more information, visit the mass rescue solicitation on SAM.gov.