Dover Cruise Port to welcome 96 cruise calls in 2017

Posted on 24 March, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Photo Credit; Dave Jones Port of Dover taken from the Carnival Legend.

Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Magic will return to Dover in both 2017 and 2018 (Image: Port of Dover)

Destination Dover and Dover Cruise Port is set to welcome 96 cruise calls in the 2017 season, which started on 15 March with a call from Saga Cruises’ Saga Pearl II.

This year, several cruise lines will return to the UK port including Holland America Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Phoenix Reisen with Artania and Albatros. Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Magic will also return on 24 May and then make further turnaround calls on 28 June and 9 July. Disney Magic has also booked four calls for 2018. Another highlight of 2017 will be an inaugural call from Silversea Cruises’ Silver Explorer on 1 June.

“It’s wonderful that the cruise season is underway again here at Dover Cruise Port and fantastic to be able to announce that Destination Dover has secured so many cruise calls for the 2017 season,” said Sonia Limbrick, Port of Dover’s head of Business Development (Cruise). “The history and inspiring regeneration of Dover Western Docks and town has created a buzz of excitement within the industry and placed Dover firmly on the map as a destination of choice for both local and international cruise passengers.”

Penang Port and Royal Caribbean to upgrade Cruise Terminal

Posted on 20 March, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Ovation of the Seas at Penang Port

Story by http://www.cruiseandferry.net/

Penang Port and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have formed a joint venture to upgrade and extend Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) in Georgetown, Penang.

Plans include improving accessibility for disabled passengers and extending the existing cruise berths from 400 metres to 688 metres to enable SPCT to simultaneously host two cruise ships with more than 4,900 passengers. Parking areas will also be redeveloped to include spaces for tour buses and ease the flow of traffic in the areas around the terminal.

The Malaysian port will hold a 60% stake in the US$35 million project, while Royal Caribbean will cover the remaining 40%. The project has received support from Malaysia’s state and federal governments, and their associated agencies, including tourism bodies. It will also be a focal part of the Malaysian Tourism EPP6 plan, which aims to create a ‘Straits and Borneo Cruise Riviera’.

Royal Caribbean is scheduled to make 38 calls in Penang in 2017

Royal Caribbean working on mobile app

Posted on 31 January, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Harmony of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it has a new mobile app under development that should be ready to debut this summer.

On a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter and year-end earnings, RCCL chairman Richard Fain said the project, dubbed Excalibur internally, is expected to debut on six to 11 ships over the next year, followed by a rollout on one to two ships a month after that. RCCL’s major brands are Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.

Fain didn’t say much about what the new app will do, but said it will “reflect all of the technologies available today.” He said the Wow bands, a wearable RFID device that assumes many functions of the key card, have been “extremely effective in simplifying the process for our guests. But it’s also obvious that the technology has improved a lot in the last two years.”

Wow bands are available to guests on Quantum-class ships (including Anthem of the Seas) and the Harmony of the Seas.

He called Carnival Corp’s recent unveiling of its Ocean Medallion and Ocean Compass personal technology “a very positive thing for our industry. It was a terrific roll out and got a lot of positive publicity which in the end inures to the benefit of all of us.”

Image result for ocean medallion carnival

In other topics discussed on the call, CFO Jason Liberty said that the company’s Wave period “is off to a strong start,” and that it is “trending nicely higher” from last year. He said officials are particularly encouraged by strength in North America.

“Over the past three months, bookings have been well above last year’s levels,” Liberty said. “We turn the year in a record booked position. We have fewer staterooms to sell for the year.”

In the fourth quarter, RCCL had net income of $261 million up from $206 million a year earlier. Revenue was flat.

For all of 2016, net income was $1.2 billion, up from $665.8 million. In 2015, RCCL was impacted by a write-down for the Pullmantur brand. Revenue in 2016 grew 2.4%, to $8.49 billion.

RCCL forecasted 2017 earnings in the range of $1.48 billion to $1.53 billion.