NCL moving final-payment deadline to 120 days before departure

Posted on 16 November, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Artists impression of the Norwegian Bliss.

FORT LAUDERDALE — Norwegian Cruise Line will advance the deadline for final payment on its cruises from 90 days to 120 days before departure, said Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Details about which cruises would be subject to the 120-day deadline and when the policy will be implemented are forthcoming.

The move means consumers will have to pay in full faster and is likely a reflection of the strong seller’s market for cruising that developed in 2017. The 120-day deadline already applies to Garden Villa and Haven accommodations.

Del Rio, who revealed the news at Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld on Wednesday, told hundreds of travel agents that they will benefit directly from the decision.

“It’s great for both of us,” Del Rio said. “It locks in the customer early. You get your payment 30 days earlier, and it helps you with your cash flow. We think it’s wonderful for our agent community that you get to collect on your hard work 30 days earlier.”

Norwegian Cruise Line established the 90-day deadline in January 2016.

In a Q&A with Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann, Del Rio was asked if he wants to acquire any more of the eight former Renaissance Cruises ships for Oceania Cruises, which already has four (Insignia, Regatta, Nautica and Sirena).

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Azamara Club Cruises, a competitor owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., recently acquired a third former Renaissance ship (P&O Cruises’ Adonia, to be renamed Azamara Pursuit). Del Rio said he hopes Azamara gets the one remaining (currently sailing for Princess Cruises as the Pacific Princess).

“It won’t be us,” he said. “We’re happy with our four and we’re happy with our Riviera and Marina ships. But the next introduction for Oceania will likely be a whole new concept we’re working on.”

Turning to Cuba, Del Rio said there’s no doubt that the market has rewarded Norwegian’s decision to use its four-day cruise from Miami to provide two full days and an overnight in Havana.

“The booking curve for a four-day cruise now looks more like a seven-day cruise to Alaska or to Europe. People are booking it way in advance, and therefore the prices have risen. It is now profitable for you to sell four-day cruises where it wasn’t before,” Del Rio said.

Norwegian next year will devote a second ship, the Norwegian Sun sailing from Port Canaveral, to a Havana itinerary. “That gives you an idea of how important, how profitable, Cuba is to us,” he said.

Norwegian Jewel to Return to Australia

Posted on 28 October, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

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.”

Norwegian Upholding Cruise Industry’s Clean Air

Posted on 23 October, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

PHOTO: Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Sun. (photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line)
The cruise industry is collectively striving for cleaner air standards internationally, and Norwegian Cruise Line is doing its part by having environmentally enhanced its Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Sun.

“We have both a moral responsibility and business imperative to sustain the places we sail and the communities that support our industry,” said Cindy D’Aoust, president and CEO, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), in a press release.

“Through innovative and state-of-the-art air emissions programs, we make clean ocean air one of our top priorities.”

Norwegian specifically retrofitted the Jade and Sun with a new Exhaust Gas Cleaning system. Combined with the line’s Sail & Sustain environmental program, the technology will help to dramatically lower air emissions.

The exhaust scrubbers remove sulfur oxide and particulate matter prior to emissions exiting the ships’ smokestacks. Each vessel received five such scrubbers, one per engine. Together, they can reduce sulfur by up to 99 percent and 85 percent of particulates. Combined, the Jade and Sun will lessen the equivalent of around 3,000 tons of Sulfur Oxide, SOx, gas during the coming years.

As a whole, CLIA Cruise Line Members—Norwegian included—are always investing in new ship designs and innovative technologies. One objective is to reduce new marine vessel CO2 emissions by 30 percent come 2025. Other goals include lowering fuel consumption by 5 percent by applying hull paints with special non-toxic coatings and producing emissions-free energy via solar panel installations.

To such ends, the industry has collaborated with the likes of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in order to regulate environmental standards. It has also gathered NGOs and maritime stakeholders to share air emission reduction concepts.

Port destinations additionally partner with cruise brands to better the environment as the Port of Seattle has. The facility has even awarded lines for their shared commitment towards green initiatives.

“We at the Port of Seattle observe year after year the cruise industry’s commitment to reducing emissions while in port by using shore power and exhaust gas cleaning systems,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton, in the release.

“As part of our port community, cruise lines share our goals to reduce maritime-related emissions while maintaining a vibrant harbor. We look forward to our continued relationship with the industry and partnering on our mutual efforts to protect Seattle’s natural environment and air.”

Within the Norwegian fleet, the Jade and Sun represent two of what will soon be eight ships that have installed the scrubber technology. The Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Pearl and Pride of America already utilize the system, and the upcoming new Norwegian Bliss will launch with it in June 2018.

Norwegian is on its own way to achieve its MARPOL Annex VI compliance objective to lower its global sulfur cap from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent by 2020.

Besides clean air goals, the line’s Safety and Environmental Protection Policy calls for lessening overall operational impact on the environment, disposing of waste according to domestic and global regulations, the recycling and reuse of materials, and targeting other means to improve the environment via management.

All of this is to say the cruise industry—although environmentally imperfect at times—is making concerted efforts to be the best it possibly can be. Provided brands like Norwegian Cruise Line continue to do their part and uphold the standards they themselves pioneer, the earth and travelers will thank them.

For more information on the industry’s environmental efforts, visit https://www.cruising.org/about-the-industry/research.