Thursday, March 26, 2015

Royal Caribbean to deploy newest ship to China

Royal Caribbean International said it will deploy Ovation of the Seas to China in 2016. The ship is the second newbuild that will be devoted to the Chinese market. The 4,000-passenger Ovation will be homeported in Tianjin, near Beijing, adding a fourth port in China to Royal Caribbean’s lineup.
In May, Royal Caribbean will redeploy its Quantum of the Seas to Shanghai from its current homeport in Bayonne, New Jersey. Ovation is also a Quantum-class ship, meaning two of the three Quantum ships will be sailing from China year-round. No other cruise line has put a newbuild in China, much less two.  “We are furthering our commitment [to China] by bringing two of the world’s newest and most advanced Quantum-class cruise ships to the region,” Royal Caribbean President Michael Bayley said at a news conference in Beijing. Ovation of the Seas, the third Quantum-class vessel, is scheduled to enter service in spring 2016. The second Quantum ship, Anthem of the Seas, will make its debut in Southampton, England, on April 22 and will sail from New Jersey after a summer season in Europe. Bayley said that Royal Caribbean is taking other steps to strengthen its cruise operation in China. It has created a curriculum with Tianjin Maritime College to train culinary and restaurant service employees and hired more than 3,000 students since the academy opened in August 2014, Bayley said. Also, Royal Caribbean is investigating potential Chinese drydock facilities to revitalize Legend of the Seas as early as 2018 and potential logistics centers in China to supply its ships deployed in the region. It is also looking at an inbound-tourism business model that would bring thousands of North Americans to visit China. The addition of Ovation will bring to five the number of Royal Caribbean ships sailing in China by 2016. In addition to Quantum and Ovation, the cruise line has positioned Mariner of the Seas in Shanghai and Voyager of the Seas in Hong Kong. Legend of the Seas will sail from Tianjin in 2016 until Ovation’s arrival, and then reposition to Xiamen.
A 52-day cruise from Southampton to Tianjin on Ovation opens for sale on March 26.
For more information on this and booking other RCCL cruises, contact TheCruiseOutlet.com for exclusive rates and amendities at info@thecruiseoutlet.com or 800-775-1884

Monday, March 23, 2015

Cruise Lines Cancel calls in Tunisia due to killings

Holland America Line has canceled upcoming port calls to La Goulette, Tunisia, on three cruises through the end of May.  The company said scheduled calls to La Goulette beyond the end of May will be evaluated as the sailing dates get closer.
Holland America is the latest cruise line to cancel calls to Tunisia after the March 18 attack in a museum killed 23 people, including 12 passengers on the MSC Splendida and five on Costa Fascinosa.  Both MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises suspended calls to Tunisian ports for the remainder of 2015. Star Clippers and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises also replaced scheduled calls to Tunisia in April with Sicily instead.
For more information on this and to make reservations on any of the affected cruise lines, contact TheCruiseOutlet.com which has exclusive information and rates at 203-288-1884