Tag Archives: cruise ship

Oceania Cruises plans to completely revamp two of its ships, Riviera and Marina

Posted on by
Reply

Oceania Cruises plans to completely revamp two of its ships, Riviera and Marina, and give them a full “stem-to-stern” overhaul.

The undertaking, which will be completed over the course of this year and next, is the next step in its ongoing OceaniaNEXT programme.


Once completed, Oceania said it would proudly deploy a fully refreshed fleet comprising brand new or “better-than-new” ships in every destination.


Oceania expects Riviera to re-enter service in December 2022 and Marina in November 2023. Each ship will accommodate 1,210 guests.


Every suite and stateroom will be renovated, while public spaces will feature a refreshed colour palette, new fabrics, furnishings and light fittings.


“At Oceania Cruises, we continue to raise the bar and elevate the guest experience at every opportunity,” said president and chief executive Howard Sherman.


He added the work would extend to new culinary concepts and “immersive new destination experiences”.

Riviera will debut on 7 December sailing a 16-day Mediterranean, Atlantic and Caribbean cruise from Rome to Miami.


It will then resume sailing seven- to 14-day trips from Miami to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America before returning to Europe in late March 2023. An inaugural Far East season will follow in late 2023 and early 2024.


Marina, meanwhile, will return to service on 13 November 2023 sailing a seven-day cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon. From Lisbon, Marina will sail to Miami to sail its annual South America season, starting 3 December 2023.
Details of Oceania’s 2024 itineraries will follow in the coming weeks.


Oceania’s other ships – Insignia, Regatta, Sirena and latterly Nautica – have all been refreshed, with Nautica returning to service on 1 April.

Costa Toscana to Host Fashion Show Before Inaugural Cruise

Posted on by
Reply

Sustainable fashion producer Jessica Minh Anh is set to transform the new LNG-powered cruise ship, the Costa Toscana, into a sky-high ocean catwalk on Feb. 28, 2022.

According to a press release, the, J Spring Fashion Show 2022 will be held against the cinematic backdrop of the Italian Riviera to deliver a message of “sustainability and style.” The event will welcome some global media and famous people on board the Costa Toscana, before its inaugural cruise in Portofino, Italy.

Participating brands, which will be unveiled in mid-February 2022, will premiere a combination of haute couture and ready-to-wear collections from five continents. Minh Anh’s previous catwalks included Paul Costelloe, Montblanc, Yumi Katsura, Ziad Nakad, Shiatzy Chen, and Tony Ward.

The red-carpet experience will feature Italian art, architecture, culture, luxury and delicacies alongside the impressive catwalk.

“This particular moment in history provides an opportunity for a sustainable ‘restart’ of our society. The Costa Toscana aligns perfectly with my mission of highlighting sustainability in a visually attractive way. It runs on liquefied natural gas, one of the most advanced technologies to reduce emissions right now. It represents a breakthrough in the travel industry. I am honoured to celebrate the resurgence of business and style on such a unique ship,” Minh Anh said.

According to the press release, J Spring Fashion Show 2022 is Minh Anh’s “comeback catwalk” after the success of “Runway on the Runway” at JFK international airport held before the pandemic. The show will combine three of Minh Anh’s catwalk series, namely Fashion x Sustainability, Catwalk-On-Water, and Sky-High. Previous editions took place atop the Eiffel Tower, London’s Tower Bridge, Grand Canyon Skywalk, Hoover Dam, Gemasolar Power Plant, and cruise ships in Dubai, New York, Sydney, and Hong Kong.

“Jessica Minh Anh is a pioneer in marrying fashion with sustainability, just like Costa Cruises in offering the most advanced sustainable ships”, said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises. “Costa has been the first in the world to operate LNG-powered ships and focuses on value-driven, sustainable and inclusive tourism. As the travel industry is gradually recovering, it is very exciting for us to welcome Jessica on board, and have her launch such an important message in a creative way on our new flagship, the Costa Toscana. We are also proud that this collaboration will happen in Italy and specifically the Ligurian Riviera!”

A site visit took place last weekend on the Costa Toscana in Civitavecchia, where Minh Anh met with the president of Costa Cruises to discuss the floor plan, schedule, setup and treatments for the media and guests.

The official campaign video captured Minh Anh running atop the sky-high catwalk in a bright pink dress against the backdrop of the ship, deep blue sea and skyline.

MV Werften Insolvency Administrator Seeks Back Pay for Workers, Completion of Global Dream Cruise Ship

Posted on by
Reply

A general view of the cruise liner Global Dream, which is still under construction at the shipbuilding hall of the MV Werften shipyards which are insolvent, in Wismar, Germany January 13, 2022.

A court-appointed insolvency administrator for German shipbuilder MV Werften is working on getting all 2,000 employees paid their December wages asap and will seek to continue construction on the Global Dream cruise ship, the law firm for the administrator said Wednesday.

Dr Christoph Morgen, from the Hamburg-based law firm Brinkmann & Partner, was appointed as the preliminary insolvency administrator by the Schwerin District Court on Wednesday. His appointment comes after the shipbuilder, owned by Genting Hong Kong, filed for insolvency on Monday after negotiations over financing between Genting HK and German state and federal authorities failed to materialize.

The Hong Kong-based cruise and resort holding company has since warned of more defaults may be coming, causing shares of the company to plunge by over 50%.

According to the law firm, Dr Morgen’s first order of business will be getting MV Werften’s employees, some 1,900 of them, past wages owed.

“The MV Werften Group did not pay the December salaries. It is now all the more urgent for the employees that they are quickly paid for their work,” Morgen said in a press release, which was published in German and translated using Google. “You need your money fast. My team and I have already initiated the pre-financing of the insolvency money. The implementation will take a few more days.”

MV Werften’s insolvency has also left the fate of its biggest project, the construction of the Global One/Dream cruise ship, hanging in the balance. The ship, which is being built for Genting HK subsidiary Dream Cruises, is reported to be about 75% completed and delivery had been planned for later this year from MV Werften’s Wismar shipyard. Continuing construction on the ship will be another priority for the administrator.

“I would like to finish building the cruise ship ‘Global One’ with the employees of MV Werften and the suppliers in Wismar,” said Morgen. “For this purpose, I will immediately start talks with all those involved in order to work out the requirements for the completion of the ship. In addition, from my point of view, it is important to jointly explore solution ideas for MV Werften and thus also for the many suppliers from the maritime industry, which is so important for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” he said, referring to the German state where the Wismar shipyard is located.

MV Werften was formed in 2016 with Genting Hong Kong’s acquisition of Nordic Yards’ three shipyards in Wismar, Rostock-Warnemunde and Stralsund, Germany. Since then, MV Werften has completed a number of projects for Genting HK subsidiaries, but its businesses have been hit hard from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the cruise and resort tourism industries.

In addition to MV Werften, Genting HK’s subsidiaries include Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruises, Star Cruises and Resorts World Manila, a major resort in Manila, Philippines.