Tag Archives: Norway

AIDA Announces Substitute Ports in the Baltic with Russia Out

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AIDA Cruises, Carnival Corporation’s German brand, has announced replacement ports in the Baltic and not call in Saint Petersburg this summer. 

The AIDAdiva, AIDAmar, AIDAnova and AIDAvita will see calls in Russia cancelled and replaced by destinations such as Riga (Latvia), Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway) or Visby (Gotland/Sweden).

The AIDAdiva will call at the Latvian capital Riga or Copenhagen instead of Saint Petersburg on its seven-day Baltic Sea roundtrip from Warnemünde starting between May 14 and October 8, 2022. The voyage with a departure date of May 7, 2022, will include a visit to Hamina in southern Finland.

For the seven-day round trips in the Baltic Sea with the AIDAnova from Kiel with departure dates between May 14 and October 15, 2022, AIDA Cruises has developed alternative routes in the Baltic Sea as well as to Norway and Denmark. Baltic cruises now include an extended stay in the Estonian capital Tallinn. Copenhagen/Kalundborg is also new on the itinerary.

The AIDAnova is now setting course for Scandinavia on new voyages. In addition to a visit to Copenhagen and Kristiansand, AIDAnova’s guests can enjoy a two-day stay in Oslo.

On its 10 day Baltic cruises, the AIDAmar will call at the port of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland and the Latvian capital Riga instead of Saint Petersburg.

In addition, the first sailing of the AIDAvita will depart on July 24, 2022. 

Viking Octantis Floats Out Ahead of 2022 Debut

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Viking has announced its first expedition ship – the 378-guest Viking Octantis – was “floated out” at VARD, marking a major construction milestone and the first time that the new ship touches water.

Scheduled to debut in early 2022, the Viking Octantis will spend her maiden season sailing voyages to Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes.

A second, identical expedition ship, Viking Polaris, is set to debut in summer 2022 and will sail journeys to Antarctica and the Arctic. 

“Working with Fincantieri over the last eight years, we have built the world’s most beautiful ocean ships. We are pleased to continue our partnership with Fincantieri’s VARD and celebrate this important milestone in the construction of our first expedition vessel,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.

“In creating ‘the thinking person’s expedition,’ we are perfecting polar expedition cruising, and we will usher in a new era of comfortable exploration in the heart of North America. Viking Octantis and her sister ship, Viking Polaris, will allow our guests to explore further – to the ends of the earth as well as closer to home. I would like to thank our partners at VARD and everyone working at the yard for the hard work and dedication on the building of Viking Octantis; we look forward to welcoming her to our fleet in early 2022.”

The float out is significant because it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction. The float-out ceremony of the Viking Octantis took place on December 22; she was then moved to a nearby outfitting dock for further construction and interior build-out. After final outfitting, Viking Octantis will be delivered at Fincantieri’s VARD shipyard in Søviknes, Norway.

Hurtigruten Prepares for Growth, Establishes Separate Expedition Cruise Entity

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Hurtigruten has announced it will redefine its growing cruise operations by establishing a separate expedition cruise entity, citing strong demand for 2021 and 2022 expedition sailings.

“2020 is a tough year for everyone in the travel industry. But the set back is only temporary. For the second half of 2021 and beyond, we are seeing a strong demand across all markets and all destinations, including the Norwegian coast, the Arctic and Antarctica,” said CEO Daniel Skjeldam.

“The demand reflects our predictions that expedition cruises, with all our advantages such as smaller ships, more flexibility and fewer guests, will prove even more popular post-COVID-19,” he added.

“We have only seen the beginning of what’s to come. Hurtigruten sees great demand and equally great opportunities in the expedition cruise segment from 2021 and beyond. This is the growth we are preparing for.”

Thus, the company is reorganizing its cruise operations in two different entities: Hurtigruten Expeditions and Hurtigruten Norway.  

Hurtigruten’s expedition cruises include more than 250 destinations from pole to pole, ranging from the Northwest Passage, Greenland, Norway, Svalbard, the British Isles to the Caribbean, South America and Antarctica.

Asta Lassesen has been appointed CEO of Hurtigruten’s global expedition cruise operations.

“As Hurtigruten continues to grow our expedition cruise offering, we will keep doing what we do best: Combining almost 130 years of exploration with cutting-edge innovation and our unparalleled commitment to sustainability to deliver unique experiences in some of the world’s most awe-inspiring destinations,” said Lassesen.

Hurtigruten’s expedition cruise entity will operate a fleet of eight small sizes, custom-built and green expedition cruise ships, the company said.