Tag Archives: Far East

TUI’s Winter Program Includes Two Ships in the Caribbean, Return to Asia

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Mein Shiff 3 entering the River Mersey Liverpool, photo credit Spacejunkie2 (flickr)

With its entire seven-ship fleet in service, TUI Cruises has a global footprint for the winter 2022-2023 cruise season.

While most of the fleet is set to offer traditional fly-cruises in the Caribbean and the Canaries, the brand will also offer itineraries in other parts of the world, such as Northern Europe and the Middle East.

Another highlight of the season is the return to Asia, with voyages visiting both the Far East and Southeast Asia onboard the Mein Schiff 5.

Cruise Industry News looked into the company’s full program or the upcoming winter season. Here’s the breakdown:

Caribbean

Mein Schiff 1
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,900 guests
Built: 2018
Homeports: La Romana (Dominican Republic) and Montego Bay (Jamaica)
Length: 14 nights
Itineraries: Caribbean and Central America visiting Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia
Sailing Season: October 28 to March 31

Mein Schiff 2
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,900 guests
Built: 2019
Homeports: La Romana (Dominican Republic) and Bridgetown (Barbados)
Length: 14 nights
Itineraries: Eastern and Southern Caribbean with visits to St. Maarten, Tortola, St. John’s, Martinique, St. Vincent and more
Sailing Season: November 4 to April 7

Canaries, Madeira and Azores

Mein Schiff 4
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,500 guests
Built: 2015
Homeport: Gran Canaria (Spain)
Length: Seven nights
Itineraries: Canary Islands, Madeira and Morocco visiting La Gomera, Tenerife, Arrecife, Funchal, Agadir and more
Sailing Season: October 30 to March 26

Mein Schiff Herz
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 1,850 guests
Built: 1997
Homeport: Tenerife (Spain)
Length: Seven nights
Itineraries: Azores and Cape Verde, in addition to Canaries and Madeira
Sailing Season: November 10 to April 6

Northern Europe and Roundtrip Cruises from Germany

Mein Schiff 3
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,500 guests
Built: 2014
Homeport: Bremerhaven (Germany)
Length: Four to 35 nights
Itineraries: 26- to 35-night cruises to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, the Azores and the Caribbean sailing roundtrip from Germany, in addition to four- to 14-night itineraries in Northern Europe
Sailing Season: November 1 to April 23

Southeast Asia and the Far East

Mein Schiff 5
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,500 guests
Built: 2016
Homeports: Singapore and Hong Kong
Length: 14 nights
Itineraries: Southeast Asia visiting Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in December, January and February, in addition to Far East cruises to China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea in March and April
Sailing Season: December 7 to April 26

Middle East

Mein Schiff 6
Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,534 guests
Built: 2017
Homeport: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
Length: Seven nights
Itineraries: United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman including overnight stays in Dubai and visits to Sir Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Khasab and more
Sailing Season: October 29 to March 18

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

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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 Enters Second Three-Way Agreement in Singapore

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Costa Cruises has announced that it has entered its second three-way agreement with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Changi Airport Group (CAG). Costa stated that the three-year partnership will leverage its global presence, Singapore’s cruise hub status and Changi Airport’s air hub connectivity to further enhance Southeast Asia’s appeal as a cruise destination.

The partnership will see joint-marketing initiatives rolled out in different countries where Costa operates worldwide. It is expected to bring in over 100,000 international fly and cruise visitors to Singapore over three years.

Costa currently has four ships deployed in Asia year round. The Costa Fortuna, which has a total capacity of 3,470 guests and is sailing in the Far East, will be homeported at Singapore from mid-November 2018 to March 2019.

In 2017, Singapore welcomed 421 ship calls and logged a passenger throughput of 1.38 million. This represents an increase of 3 percent and 17 percent respectively over 2016 figures, according to Costa.