Tag Archives: TUI Cruises

Marella Cruises aims to attract younger passengers with new adult-only ship

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Golden Era (Ex-Celebrity Century)

Marella Cruises has revealed its Explorer 2 ship will be adult-only when it launches in May 2019.

The line also said it would become an all-inclusive fleet, offer 11 new itineraries and seven ports of call from next summer.

The decision to go all inclusive is expected to appeal to passengers who are new to cruise and younger, Marella said.

Marella Explorer 2 will enter the fleet as a result of the ending of a Chinese joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Chinese travel firm Ctrip.

The vessel Golden Era earmarked for SkySea Cruise Line for the Chinese market will instead be bought by the Tui-owned UK line.

The ship will launch as Marella Explorer 2 in 2019 following an extensive renovation.

This will enable Tui Cruises in Germany to retain Mein Schiff 2 which had been destined to be sold to sister brand Marella.

Both Golden Era and Mein Schiff 2 are former Celebrity Cruises’ Century-class ships.

Golden Era was previously Celebrity Century, which entered service in 1995 with a capacity for 1,814 passengers, while Mein Schiff 2 formerly operated as Celebrity Mercury, entering service in 1997 and capable of carrying 1,912 passengers.

Royal Caribbean (RCL) is a half owner of Tui Cruises but is dissolving a 36% shareholding with Ctrip in SkySea Cruises.

SkySea Cruise Line began operations in May 2015 and established two home ports in Shanghai and Xiamen.

Tui Cruises announced last month plans to expand its fleet to serve the German market with an additional new build vessel for delivery in 2023. Tui Group’s overall cruise ship fleet will grow to 18 vessels by then.

Sebastian Ebel, the member of Tui Group’s executive board in charge of cruises, said: “We will continue to invest in our cruise portfolio and expand, modernise and rejuvenate our fleet. With these decisions, we increase the offer at Tui Cruises and accelerate the expansion of this growing segment.“

Marella Explorer 2 will feature new cabin types, including the 102 metres squared Royal Suite where occupants will be able to use a separate bedroom, dressing room, dining area and a whirlpool bath.

Forty percent of the 907 cabins will have balconies.

Marella said the popularity of adult-only sailings from Dubrovnik and the Asia itineraries for winter 2018 prompted the decision to offer an adult-only ship.

Marella Explorer 2 will be the first ship to be exclusively for adults in the fleet.

The vessel will be tailored to meet the needs of couples and groups by doubling the size of its sunbathing area, called The Veranda, featured on the Marella Explorer.

The Veranda on Marella Explorer 2 will feature new facilities, the line said.

Marella Cruises will also offer 11 new itineraries, such as Cities and Ice, Idyllic Italia and Secrets of the Mediterranean, and seven new ports of call next summer across its fleet.

Skagen in Denmark, Castellon in Spain, Alta in Norway and Margherita in Italy will all be included in Marella itineraries for the first time.

Chris Hackney, Marella Cruises’ managing director, said: “We continue to look at ways to offer something different to our current customers who have come to enjoy our ships and friendly service onboard and those who may be thinking about booking a cruise for the first time.”

The summer 2019 programme will go on sale on April 5.

The planned transfer of Mein Schiff 1 to Marella Cruises as Marella Explorer in May is unaffected, with the UK line also introducing its 2019 itineraries on April 5.

The vessel previously operated as Celebrity Galaxy as a sister ship to Century and Mercury, first entering service at the end of 1996.

The US cruise giant said: “Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Ctrip announced today that they are ending the SkySea Cruise Line joint venture.

“Tui AG’s Marella Cruises has agreed to purchase Golden Era, with delivery expected in December 2018.

“As a result of this transaction, Tui Cruises will now retain Mein Schiff 2 in its fleet, rather than selling it to Marella Cruises, giving Tui Cruises increased capacity in the strong German market.

“After the sale of Golden Era, it is expected that SkySea will wind down its business operations before the end of 2018.

“The companies expect that favourable business conditions in China and elsewhere will allow them to absorb most SkySea employees into available positions at RCL and Ctrip.

“Through its Royal Caribbean International brand, RCL will continue to serve the Chinese market, with the largest fleet deployment in the region and a strong collaborative relationship with Ctrip.”

Royal Caribbean expects the impact of the transactions to fall in a range of $0.12 to $0.15 a share this year. The loss will be excluded from 2018 adjusted net income, the company said.

Cruise liners may BOYCOTT Majorca and Ibiza

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Cruise liners may BOYCOTT Majorca and Ibiza unless Balearic government changes its mind about two-euro-a day-charge for passengers

Costa and MSC in Majorca Port

  • The Cruise Lines International Association says the new fee is undemocratic 
  • Cruise passengers had been exempt from the new Balearics tourist tax charge 
  • But now the authorities want them to pay two euros for every day on the islands
  • Cruise association has threatened legal action and might leave islands off routes

Cruise liners are threatening to shun Majorca and Ibiza unless the Balearic government changes its mind about charging passengers two euros (£1.78) a day to stay on the islands under the new tourist tax rules.

The association of cruise companies in Europe, the Cruise Lines International Association, says the new fee is undemocratic and could force companies to leave the islands out of its routes.

And it says that unless the Balearics rescinds the decision to slap the tourist tax on all cruise passengers for the first time next year, it might take the issue to court.

The islands’ government has already come under fire for doubling the so-called eco tax for all holidaymakers in the high season of 2018, meaning guests in luxury accommodation will pay a much as four euros (£3.56) a day.

Until now, cruise ship passengers have been exempt from the fee unless they were docked for more than 12 hours.

But from summer 2018, they will pay two euros a day regardless of the duration of the stay and the Balearic government says this move alone will generate revenue of about 1.8 million euros (£1.6million).

 

Untapped German demand is still very high, survey finds

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AidaPrima in Hamburg. Photo credit James Jones

Many Germans want to go on a cruise holiday even though relatively few have actually been on an ocean trip so far, according to a new survey by GfK.

Plenty of pent-up demand in Germany for Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines, researchers say
Photo: RCL/Michel Verdure
Cruises are not only one of the fastest-growing holiday segments in Germany but also have the greatest potential, a recent study by market researchers GfK found. Only 7% of German tourists have taken a vacation on a ship over the past five years. Yet as many as one in four finds this way of travelling personally very attractive.

This gap between high attractiveness and an actual lack of travel experience is bigger than with any other kind of holiday, according to GfK. This means that more than two-thirds of those who find cruises very attractive were not yet on a cruise ship.

Almost 2.4 million ocean cruises were undertaken by Germans in 2016. It was the first sea voyage for a good third of the passengers while 63% had booked a cruise again. Both these factors support continued growth for this holiday segment, as the level of attractiveness for cruises more than doubles once tourists have actually been on a cruise holiday.

“Cruise operators are managing to win a high proportion of first-time customers,” commented Dörte Nordbeck, Head of Travel & Logistics Germany at GfK. “It is very likely that many of them would like to repeat this special experience.”

Cruises are particularly attractive to those who have already been on an ocean cruise (60%) or a river cruise (41%).

In general, the attractiveness of cruises increases with age. Although every third woman between the ages of 25 and 34 is enthusiastic about a holiday at sea, only 16% of young men are. Only with increasing age do the holiday preferences in favour of a cruise between women and men become more and more similar.

In contrast, river cruises are only an ‘in-trend’ for 24% of Germans and just 18% describe this form of holiday as “very attractive”. Yet even this figure is three times higher than the 6% of Germans who have holidayed on a boat in the past five years.

River cruises are considerably less attractive for younger people, with only 10% of men and 18% of women aged 25-34 describing it as “very attractive”. Respondents aged 65 and over, however, favor river cruises just as much as ocean trips.