Tag Archives: cruise ship

Will cruise documentary do more harm than good?

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British viewers will get a warts-and-all look at the workings of a cruise ship in a new four-part documentary coming to ITV next month.

Called The Cruise Ship, the documentary will go behind the scenes on board the 3,600-guest Royal Princess vessel, giving the general public access to footage of staff and crew members.

The footage was shot as the ship sailed across the Caribbean, which included a stop at Princess Cruise’s private island.

It will air on ITV on consecutive Friday nights beginning on July 11th.

Managing director of Princess Cruises for UK and Europe, is convinced that the documentary will prove positive for the cruise holiday industry as a whole.

“Cruise holidays are an increasingly popular choice in the UK and we are confident that this series will widen the appeal even further,” he stated.

This will not be the first cruise ship documentary aired in the UK, as the National Geographic Channel broadcasted a series called Cruise Ship Diaries, which was filmed on board the Costa Serena.

The question is, do behind-the-scenes documentaries ever paint a good picture? Will this documentary actually put people off?

Cruise and Maritime charters ‘classic ship’

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By Phil Davies

A 550-passenger ‘classic cruise ship’ is being chartered by Cruise and Maritime Voyages next year to replace Discovery after it is withdrawn from service.

The vessel Azores, which was re-built in 1994 for $150 million, will operate year round sailings, with its first departure from Bristol Avonmouth on January 26 on a 30-night voyage to the Caribbean.

The Azores has been chartered from Lisbon-based Portuscale Cruises on a long term basis. All crewing and ship management services will be handled directly by CMV.

Full details of the ship’s Azores programme for next year alongside CMV’s Marco Polo and Astor will be unveiled tomorrow (Tuesday)  when a 2015 first edition preview brochure is released featuring more 50 sailings until October 2015.

Eight five per cent of Azores’ 277 cabins have an ocean view and almost 20% are of a de-luxe standard including nine balcony suites. All cabins also have a bath tub and mini bar.

CMV commercial director Chris Coates said: “Azores is an excellent, upgraded addition to our cruise fleet and has been affectionately and very well maintained by her owners.

“We are confident that Azores will prove to be a real winner with our dedicated growing number of loyal customers and will also attract new clients seeking smaller ship alternatives and regional ex-UK no fly cruise options.”

Rui Alegre, CEO of Portuscale Cruises, added: “I’m a strong believer in developing close and long term business partnerships. I’m very pleased to have concluded a charter with CMV and look forward to working closely with their team in successfully establishing Azores on to the British market.

“Azores is a beautiful ship and has been operating very well in achieving high levels of customer satisfaction. I am proud that she will be carrying CMV passengers next year and for many years to come”.

FINCANTIERI: “VIKING STAR” LAUNCHED IN MARGHERA

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FINCANTIERI: “VIKING STAR” LAUNCHED IN MARGHERA
Today the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera saw the launching of the “Viking Star”, the first of three cruise ships that Fincantieri is currently building for Viking Ocean Cruises. The ship will now move into the fitting-out stage, leading to its scheduled delivery in the spring of 2015.
Fincantieri has already started work on the “Viking Sea” and the “Viking Sky”, the second and third ships in the series, which will be respectively delivered at the Marghera shipyard in the spring of 2016 and at the Ancona shipyard during the summer of the same year.

Attending the ceremony for the shipowner was Torstein Hagen, founder and chairman of Viking Cruises, while Fincantieri was represented, among others, by Antonio Quintano, the yard manager.

“Viking Star”, like its two sister ships, will be positioned in the small cruise ship segment. In fact, with a gross tonnage of about 47,800 tons, it will have 465 cabins with accommodation for 930 passengers.
The ship has been designed by SMC Design of London, while Rottet Studio in Los Angeles has been engaged to design its interior, where every attention will be paid to style and elegance.

The construction of this series of ships is evidence of the solid business relationship between Viking and Fincantieri.