Tag Archives: new build

Regent Seven Seas Cruises orders fifth ship

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Regent Seven Seas New Builds

 

Regent Seven Seas Cruises said it has ordered a version of its 750-passenger Seven Seas Explorer, which will add a fifth ship to its fleet.  

The line said it reached an agreement with the Italian shipyard Fincantieri to deliver the ship in 2020 at a price of about $480 million.

The Seven Seas Explorer, due in July, has had record-breaking pre-delivery sales.

“We expect that the positive impact on earnings and impressive return on investment from Seven Seas Explorer will be significant. and that her sister vessel will make a similar contribution,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Regent’s parent company.

Regent’s three other ships are Seven Seas Voyager, Navigator and Mariner.

Several luxury cruise lines have new ships on order, including Seabourn (launching the Seabourn Encore at the end of the year), Silversea Cruises (gaining the Silver Muse next year), and Crystal Cruises (building a trio of ships for delivery starting in 2018). 

MSC Seaside bookings open

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The MSC Seaside is scheduled to sail its maiden voyage in December 2017.

MSC Cruises said it has begun accepting bookings from repeat customers for MSC Seaside, a new ship that will be based in Miami.

Guests who are members of MSC’s Voyager Club will get their standard 5% discount, plus a bonus Classic drink package applicable to first and second guest in a stateroom. Bookings for the general public open Dec. 29 with the same drinks package offer.

The 4,100-passenger ship is expected to sail week-long Caribbean cruises; its first cruise is scheduled to leave Dec. 21, 2017. Prices start at $589 per person, MSC said.

Seaside will feature a unique 360-degree ocean level promenade on Deck 8 that will include indoor/outdoor shops and restaurants, as well as a buffet area and a pool, which are traditionally located on a cruise ship’s higher decks.

Saga’s new all-balcony German-made cruise ship

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The cruise line will offer an all-balcony 1,000-passenger ship from summer 2019 as the first of two modern vessels to meet demand
An artist's impression of the Veranda area shows the slick design on the new Saga ship, which will be available from 2019
An artist’s impression of the Veranda area shows the slick design on the new Saga ship, which will be available from 2019 Photo: Saga
 

Saga Cruises has ordered an all-balcony ship that will be available to holidaymakers from 2019, to accommodate demand on the holiday company’s popular sailings.

The new vessel will carry fewer than 1,000 passengers in around 540 suites and cabins, each with a balcony. Around 15 per cent of cabins will be designed for single occupancy and leisure facilities will include outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a spa, saunas, treatment rooms and beauty salon.

Artist impression, The Veranda

Artist impression, The Veranda

Saga Cruises currently only operates two ships, the 446-passenger Saga Pearl II and the 706-passenger Saga Sapphire, both of which are set for an eventual phase out. Demand for sailings on the ships is extremely high: they carried around 25,000 passengers last year, with a 75 per cent repeat passenger rate.

The new ship is significant as sailings on the two existing vessels sell out far in advance, suggesting that demand from cruisers outstrips what Saga can currently offer.

“There is no expectation that customers will pay more.”
Robin Shaw, chief executive of Saga Cruises

The 55,900 grt vessel that will come into service in 2019 will be built by Meyer Werft in Germany. The shipyard recently put the finishing touches to Norwegian Cruise Line’s soon-to-launch Norwegian Escape and is building Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas.

A second new vessel may also enter service by 2021.

• Saga sets sail for further cruises

Robin Shaw, chief executive of the cruising division, said that, “There is no expectation that customers will pay more” as a result of the new ships.

Lance Batchelor, Saga chief executive officer, added that cruising remains, “at the heart of the Saga brand”.

Feedback from passenger forums indicated that passengers are keen to maintain the friendly, “one ship for everybody” ethos that Saga is known for. Dining can be accommodated in a single sitting and there will be no exclusive areas on board, or restaurants that charge supplements.

Research commissioned by Saga into travel buying patterns of the 50-plus age group found that spending on cruising is expected to increase by 43 per cent to £2.2 billion by 2020. This compares with £1.65 bn in 2014 of £41 bn on travel and tourism as a whole.

Nearly a third (32 per cent) of the over-50s in employment said they were planning to increase their spending on cruises post retirement.

The Saga Pearl II and the Saga Sapphire will visit 14 new ports between them in 2016, including Holy Loch, Scotland; Boulogne-sur-Mer in France; Pyramiden in the Svalbard archipelago; San Remo in Italy and Southwold in Suffolk.