Tag Archives: Oceania Cruises

Three deaths after Oceania ship fire

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Three deaths after Oceania ship fire

Oceania Cruises confirmed last night that a crew member and two contractors died following an engine room fire on the ship Insignia in the Caribbean.

One member of crew remains in the hospital and is reported to be stable following the blaze which occurred while the ship was in St Lucia.

“The fire was contained to the engine room and extinguished. All guests are safe and have disembarked the vessel,” the luxury line said.

“Three crew members and two contractors who were working onboard were transferred to a local medical facility.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that two contractors and one crew member did not survive. We extend our deepest condolences to their families during this very difficult time.”

All 656 passengers are safe with charter flights arranged to fly them to Miami, as well as transfers and hotel accommodation until flights to their home cities can be organised today (Friday).

The 10-day cruise, which departed San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday and was due to arrive in Miami on December 17, has been cancelled.

It is not known if there were any Britons on board the vessel, which was refurbished earlier this year following a two-year charter to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

Insignia originally entered service in 1998 as one of a series of identical small ships built for the now defunct Renaissance Cruises.

Oceania said: “Our top priority is ensuring all 656 guests return home as quickly and comfortably as possible.

“All guests will receive a 100% refund, and a 50% credit towards a future Oceania Cruises voyage.

“Oceania Cruises president and chief operating officer Jason Montague, along with a team of guest and crew support and technical personnel, are in St Lucia.

“This team is leading the effort to ensure guests and crew are well cared for, as well as working with the ship’s team and authorities to assess the situation.”

More details will be made available as they become known, the line added.

Norwegian Cruise Line snaps up Ocean Princess as part of fleet expansion

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Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has wasted no time in adding to the Oceania Cruises brand it recently acquired as part of its purchase of Prestige Cruises.

The firm has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Princes Cruises to buy Ocean Princess, a 684-passenger ship that will join the Oceania stable.

NCL will not take delivery of the vessel until March 2016, at which point it will undergo a $40 million (£25.4 million) refurbishment in Marseille before becoming the fourth ship sailing under the Oceania Cruises brand, joining Regatta, Nautica and Insignia.

The Ocean Princess is to be renamed Sirena and president and chief executive officer of NCL Kevin Sheehan said the deal ” provides measured capacity growth based on the proven platform of Oceania Cruises’ highly regarded mid-size ships”.

Customers will be able to book their place on Sirena for when it sets sail in April 2016 from March next year and NCL said the extensive refurbishment – set to take 35 days – will “elevate the ship to the Oceania Cruises’ standard of elegance”.

The firm will use the recent refurbishment of the Insignia as inspiration for the facelift and plans to incorporate Oceania’s two speciality restaurants – the Polo Grill and Toscana.

NCL has not yet released details of the routes and destinations and it has in mind for the Sirena, but with Oceania Cruises calling at over 330 points globally it is likely the ship will be well-travelled. President and chief operating officer at Oceania Cruises Kunal S Kamlani said the Sirena addition “opens up an entire array of new itinerary options”.

“The award-winning guest experience delivered on our ships, coupled with a collection of innovative itineraries that cater to new markets, will combine for an alluring siren song for both our current and future guests,” he remarked.

NCL confirmed the purchase of Prestige Cruises – the parent firm of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises – earlier this month. It is paying $3.025 billion for the company and the move means 22 ships – including the Sirena – will be under NCL’s control, with a further four due to be added over the next five years.

The last cruise frontier?

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Maldives: The last cruise frontier?

By Tom Stieghorst
*Insight In a recent interview, I asked Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman Richard Fain what travel destination was on his bucket list, and after a moment’s thought he said, “the Maldives.”

The islands in the Indian Ocean are so remote that Fain felt like he could get away from everything by going there.

Indeed, the Indian Ocean may be the most out-of-the-way cruise destination you’d ever want to experience. With the rise in expedition cruises to the Antarctic, the Indian Ocean may be the last frontier.

Among the lines going to the Maldives are Costa Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruises.*TomStieghorst

Seabourn describes the islands as “tiny specks in a vast expanse of ocean.” Male, the main inhabited city in the chain, is described by Conde Nast Traveler as “a combination of the Robinson Crusoe paradise of childhood dreams and a honeymoon destination fit for the Hollywood A-list.”

What is there to do there? “Absolutely nothing,” Fain said.

Most of these lines visit the Maldives on an itinerary from southern or eastern Africa to India or Southeast Asia. It is a long, thin route that involves lots of sea days, a long flight from North America — unless you’re on a world cruise — and a considerable expense.

Seabourn’s cruise next January sandwiches a visit to Male and Colombo, Sri Lanka, in the middle of eight long sea days on a voyage between South Africa and Singapore.

Princess has a 46-day journey on its schedule that takes visitors to the Maldives on an “odyssey” from Australia to South Africa.

Oceania Cruises plans to be there Dec. 3 and 4 on a 30-day cruise from Dubai to Cape Town, South Africa. In the next few years Silversea Cruises has four voyages with the Maldives on the itinerary, including a 17-day trip between Singapore and Mombasa, Kenya, next March.

In 2016, Silversea’s new expedition ship, the Silver Discoverer, will offer a 17-night cruise that starts in Phuket, Thailand and ends in Male, after stops in Myanmar, India’s Andaman Islands and Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.

So the next time a client says they’ve “been there done that” when you suggest an ocean cruise, you might respond with, “Have you thought about going to the Maldives?”