Oceania Cruises’ new ship, the Oceania Vista, is joining the fleet in 2023.
The cruise line’s newest ship is being constructed by Fincantieri, as is Oceania Vista’s sister ship scheduled to arrive in 2025. Both are part of the brand’s new Allura class of ships.
The Oceania Vista will deliver the “Finest Cuisine at Sea” according to the company, with personalized service and a range of dining options for guests to choose from.
Aside from casual dining experiences such as a poolside burger, the ship will also feature private dining venues as well as Privée, a special venue for bespoke culinary celebrations for a maximum of ten guests.
The 67,000-ton ship accommodating 1,200 guests will embark on its maiden voyage from Rome, Italy to Barcelona, Spain on April 14, 2023.
Itineraries include visits to 24 countries across four continents for in debut season.
The Oceania Vista’s inaugural 2023 season will include: ● Exploring the Spanish, French and Italian Rivieras ● Greek Isles ● Holy Lands of Turkey and Israel ● Canary Islands ● Wine Country of Spain, ● Portugal and France ● The British Isles and Ireland ● Colonial America and Panama Canal
The itineraries will feature overnight stays in Lisbon, Venice, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Bordeaux, Montreal and New York City. The ship will also explore off-the-beaten-paths such as Port-Vendres, Bodrum, Kavala/Philippi, Bozcaada, Chania, Izmir, Salerno, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Killybegs, Saint-Pierre, Shelburne, Martha’s Vineyard and Corinto.
On April 26, the ship will embark on a ten-day journey from Barcelona, Spain with calls to the ports of Grenada, Tangier, and Lisbon. On May 16, the Oceania Vista will set sail on a 14-day Mediterranean Visions voyage.
Norwegian Star arriving into Liverpool photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)
Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings has announced its plans to source 100 per cent cage-free eggs globally by the end of 2025.
The global cruise company operating Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Sea Cruises, has planned a timeline which includes sourcing 25 per cent of cage-free eggs from U.S. suppliers in 2022, 50 per cent from global suppliers in 2023, 75% from global suppliers in 2025, and 100 per cent from global suppliers by the end of 2025.
“We applaud Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings for publicly publishing their global cage-free implementation plans. As the demand for cage-free eggs increases worldwide, cage-free is becoming the industry standard. Other hospitality companies like Millennium Hotels and Langham Hospitality Group need to follow NCLH’s lead or risk losing business,” said Jennie Hunter, Senior Campaigns Coordinator, at The Open Wings Alliance.
The decision comes following a cage-free campaign steered by the Open Wing Alliance, which aims to create a unified front for ending the abuse of chickens worldwide. The Open Wing Alliance is a global coalition initiated by The Humane League and includes 93 animal protection organizations from 67 countries worldwide.
In 2021, two other cruise lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean have made similar commitments and have published their implementation plans for sourcing cage-free eggs by 2025.
As consumer demand for cage-free eggs continues to grow, companies worldwide are announcing their plans for cage-free commitments.
Over 100 companies, including some of the biggest corporations around the world, have made such commitments to switch to cage-free systems including Nestlé, Aldi, InterContinental Hotels, Sodexo, Kraft Heinz, Compass Group, Shake Shack, Famous Brands, Costa Coffee, Burger King, Dunkin’, Krispy Kreme, Unilever, and Barilla.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) will generate record EBITDA and net yield in 2023, according to a very upbeat and confident Frank Del Rio, CEO and president, who spoke at a two-hour presentation aboard the Norwegian Prima in New York City on Thursday morning.
Del Rio said that bookings for 2023 were up from 2019, including a 16 per cent capacity increase, and at significantly higher prices.
Talking about the so-called key value drivers, Del Rio asked analysts not to lump NCLH in the same pool as the other cruise companies, and that the company differentiates itself in many ways, including targeting a more upmarket demographic, featuring ships for its three brands that are at the top of each market segment, and premium itineraries.
Other companies, he said, have so many brands they are sabotaging each other. In contrast, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises (the NCLH brands) are clearly differentiated, each in a different market segment. Del Rio described the brands as stand-alone that do not compete against each other.
Del Rio went on to say that itineraries are the number one driver of pricing and that he spends more time on itinerary planning than anything else. Another key driver is the cabin mix and he noted that the brands have a richer mix of cabins, with a higher percentage of outside balcony cabins.
He said that NCLH’s go-to-market strategy is focused on filling the ships, offering consumers value and deals they are happy with, while not discounting, and noted that they are beating their competitors by a large margin.
Pricing is almost irrelevant, according to Del Rio, who said the key is to have consumers feel they get a deal. And when products are bundled in that consumers buy dining and beverage packages up front, as well shore excursions, they come onboard with a so-called “fresh wallet” and spend more.
He noted that onboard spending on the Norwegian Prima on its trans-Atlantic crossing had been double of the company’s average.
By comparison, in 2018, 52 per cent of the passengers bought packages in advance of their cruise. For 2022, Del Rio said that number has increased to 85 per cent. He added that also means that more cruises are “sticking,” meaning there are fewer cancellations and higher advance deposits.
The average booking curve is now more than eight months out, he noted. From 171 days in 2016, the booking curve is now 245 days. The extended booking window also gives the company more visibility and the ability to manage pricing to maximize ticket and onboard yield.
Another key factor contributing to a strong 2023 is that NCLH is a U.S.-centric company, according to Del Rio, who said that 78 per cent of the passengers come from the U.S.
Among the trends noted were more direct bookings with the travel agency community constricting during the pandemic and with consumer behaviour changing to more online purchasing.
Looking forward, Del Rio and Mark Kempa, CFO and executive vice president, said the brands will continue to benefit from the underserved and unserved markets while continuing to be U.S.-centric.
They also said that NCLH has a lot of “headroom” to raise prices while comparing cruise to land vacations.
Among the key takeaways from the presentation, Del Rio underscored that not all cruise companies are created equal and that NCLH has laid the foundation for a strong 2023, surpassing 2019, targeting a higher-end demographic, which is reflected in its stronger pricing and bookings.
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