Tag Archives: New Zealand

Norwegian Jewel to Return to Australia

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Norwegian Jewel

Norwegian Cruise Line has opened bookings for the line’s 2018/2019 Australia and New Zealand cruises aboard Norwegian Jewel, the ship’s second season in Australia and New Zealand.

Following an expansive refurbishment, the Norwegian Jewel will spend a second season down under cruising a set of itineraries taking in the “best of Australia” including Melbourne, Cairns, Hobart; and New Zealand including Milford Sound, Wellington and Tauranga, as well as itineraries to the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, and a transpacific voyage from Vancouver to Tokyo (Yokohama).

In late October 2018, Norwegian Jewel will undergo a three-week dry dock in Singapore, as part of the Norwegian Edge multi-million-dollar revitalization program.

“Norwegian Jewel’s Australia and New Zealand sailings have received a great deal of anticipation and excitement from guests both locally and internationally,” said Andy Stuart president and chief executive officer for Norwegian Cruise Line. “The region is a bucket-list destination for many of our guests with a warm culture, lush lands, sandy beaches, action-packed adventure and more. We are thrilled to be returning to this dream destination with the iconic Norwegian Jewel looking as if she were a brand new ship.”

New Zealand chalks up ‘phenomenal’ 2015-16 cruise season

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Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

A record number of more than 254,000 passengers and almost 92,000 crew visited New Zealand between August 2015 and June 2016.

‘This represents a phenomenal growth of 26% which translates to an injection of NZ$484m into the economy,’ the outgoing chairman of Cruise New Zealand, Kevin O’Sullivan, told delegates at this year’s annual conference in Wellington.

O’Sullivan, who has been appointed CNZ’s executive officer, said the country welcomed nine new ships during the 2015-16 season and that the annual Cruise New Zealand Economic Impact Report forecasts even stronger growth for the future.

‘The 2016-17 cruise season starts again at the end of this month and we expect to welcome 11 ships new to New Zealand and another three new ships are scheduled for the following season,’ he said.

‘Although we are expecting to experience a slight dip in passenger numbers despite this new capacity in 2016-17, it will rise by 11% to a new record in the 2017-18 season.’

He said the dip in the coming season is almost entirely due to the exit of P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Pearl which had previously operated during the winter months.

‘What is exciting about the 2016-17 cruise season is that the ships will make 791 port visits, an increase of 13% on 2015-16,’ he said.

He said the cruise sector will not only inject a projected NZ$490m into New Zealand’s GDP and support 8,878 jobs in the coming season, it will also spread the tourism dollar to regions less frequented by international travellers.

It is predicted that the total number of passengers will be 282,538 in 2017-18, injecting NZ$536m into the economy.

Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas construction almost half complete

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Royal Caribbean’s next Quantum class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, has reached a construction milestone that brings it one step closer to entering service.

Royal Caribbean Australia & New Zealand shared this photo of Ovation of the Seas to show that she is almost half way to being completed.

It has been thirteen months since the steel cutting ceremony took place and if all goes well, she will be ready for conveyance down the River Ems for sea trials in the middle of March 2016.

Ovation of the Seas is under construction at the Meyer Werft ship yard in Papenburg, Germany.  Ovation of the Seas will be debuting in April 2016 and will be offering cruises in Asia and Australia.