Friday, April 4, 2014

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 4, 2014

* Have You Forgotten Something or Do You ...
“Remember Everything” - that’s the theme of Celebrity Cruises’ new marketing campaign that will break on Monday (April 7), first on television in the US and Canada. It will then spread into trade and consumer print, digital, social, and direct mail, as well as experiential events.

* Stingray City Becoming Victim of Its Own Popularity
Published reports in the Cayman Islands are saying that the Stingray City attraction off Grand Cayman, one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, is being abused by the tour operators who make their living off of it, primarily because of its popularity.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Oasis of the Seas becoming a floating cat house ... and a different way of handling things.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Silversea's new Silver Discoverer embarked on its first revenue cruise yesterday.


Photo courtesy of Silversea Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission. 

MSC USA Expands Executive Team

Strategic Hires and Promotions Signal Commitment to North America

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (April 4, 2012) – Today, Richard E. Sasso, president of MSC Cruises USA, announced a dedicated and specialized executive team has been assembled to build on the momentum of MSC Cruises’ expansion into North America and to ensure that the needs of the line’s travel agent partners are met.

Ken Muskat, former senior vice president Sales & Marketing, who joined the line in June of 2013, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Sales, Marketing, PR and Guest Services. In this expanded role, he will continue to oversee the North American sales, marketing, public relations and customer service aspects of the organization, while adding responsibility for the reservations department, handling trade and consumer reservations.

In making the announcement, Sasso said, “Ken’s contributions in under a year have helped propel awareness of MSC Cruises to our travel agent partners and consumers in North America. It’s been an eventful twelve months and we look forward to hitting even more milestones in the coming years.”

Muskat started with MSC Cruises in June 2013 as the line finalized preparations to home port the MSC Divina in Miami, its first ship with a year-round presence specifically for the North American market. Muskat led the orchestration of celebrations for the ship’s arrival, including the escort provided by a fleet of FIAT 500 watercrafts, as well as a number of travel agent specific initiatives, such as road shows, a dedicated radio program, launch of a travel agent Facebook page, and more.

Sasso also announced the appointment of Rick Cazzell in the newly created position of Vice President of Trade Support & Guest Services. He will take on responsibilities for reservations, consumer direct sales, customer service and IT.

Cazzell will report to Muskat, who commented, “Rick brings tremendous experience running call center operations, delivering customer service training and expertise in systems and technology that will elevate the service we provide to our trade partners.”

Cazzell brings more than 25 years of experience in a number leadership positions within a variety of travel contact centers. Most recently at Silversea Cruises, he oversaw day-to-day operations of the direct sales team working directly with various other departments, including Marketing and IT, to deliver bottom line results. Prior to that he has also led other such travel related contact center operations for companies like Interval International; PRC where he oversaw the Expedia.com’s Care and Sales teams; and American Express where he spent over 12 years in a variety of roles.

Shoring up MSC Cruises group sales department, Sasso also announced that MSC Cruises veteran Jim Henwood will take on the expanded role of Senior Vice President Hotel Operations and Group Services. This new position will ensure total alignment and flawless execution of group business, especially the affinity group market, from the quoting process to the execution onboard.

Source: MSC Cruises

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 3, 2014

* Two Die in Incident with Independence of the Seas
Two dockworkers died Wednesday afternoon at St. Kitts, in an unusual accident as Independence of the Seas was leaving the dock.

* Don’t Drink the Water (or Swim in It, Either)
The US Consulate in Bermuda has issued a warning to Americans visiting the island, that swimming at the island’s beaches could be hazardous to their health due to contamination from sewage. The warning went on to say that any US tourists planning to swim off the south shore should consider immunizations for Hepatitis A and typhoid.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Crystal broadcasting the FIFA World Cup ... clean fuel incentives ... and the secret ship.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Life boats being attached to Regal Princess in anticipation of delivery next month.

Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 2, 2014

* What Royal Caribbean Is Doing in San Juan
Earlier this week we told you that Royal Caribbean had decided not to send Adventure of the Seas to Southampton for the summer of 2015, and instead, it will remain in San Juan for a summer southern Caribbean program for the first time since 2009. Today Royal Caribbean detailed what their plans are for San Juan for then and through the 2015-2016 winter season.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Norwegian Star getting a black mark this year instead of a star ... Princess being powerless to get to St. Thomas on time ... a unique way to celebrate an anniversary ... and take a bow.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Meyer Werft put the last block in place on Quantum of the Seas yesterday, marking the end of that phase of construction.


Photo courtesy of Meyer Werft. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Cruise News Daily Headlines for April 1, 2014

* The Audience Has Spoken
After a week-long cruise brimming with Princess’ best entertainment, Caribbean Princess passengers have chosen vocalist Zach Winningham as Princess’ Entertainer of the Year.

* Queen Victoria Breaks Line
Unusually strong winds associated with a storm in San Francisco Bay caused Cunard’s Queen Victoria to break several of its aft mooring lines Monday afternoon, and the ship began to move away from the dock.

* Close to Too Much
The US Embassy in Nassau has issued another security warning to US citizens traveling to Nassau and the surrounding area regarding the high number of crimes of violent or potentially violent crimes in popular areas.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Princess' Entertainer of the Year, Zach Winningham

Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission. 

Monday, March 31, 2014

Cruise News Daily Headlines for March 31, 2014

* On Second Thought, We Think We’ll Stay
Royal Caribbean International had been planning to leave the seven-night southern Caribbean market out of San Juan during the summer of 2015. The plan had been to send Adventure of the Seas from its San Juan home port to Southampton to operate a series of summer cruises from there.
   Today, however, Royal Caribbean announced a change of plans, and Adventure of the Seas will remain in San Juan and will continue to operate their southern Caribbean program through the summer.

* A Twist in the End of the StoryLast week we told you about Carnival Ecstasy saving the lives of 41 people from Cuba in the Florida Straits whose boat was taking on water. The cruise has returned, and passengers are talking about the feeling of jubilation on board after the rescue. Some of them are also talking about another twist we didn’t know about.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Carnival Appoints SVP of Asia Operations for Princess Cruise Brand

Anthony Kaufman Appointed Senior Vice President of Asia Operations for the Princess Cruises Brand

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (March 31, 2014) – Anthony Kaufman has been appointed by Carnival plc to the new position of senior vice president, Asia operations for the Princess Cruises brand. In this newly created role, Kaufman will oversee multiple sales and marketing teams throughout Asia that are focused on growing the Princess brand throughout the region and supporting the brand’s itineraries in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore. In addition, he will continue to develop Princess Cruises’ strong relationships with government authorities, industry associations and business partners in the region. He will also facilitate coordination with the many operating departments that support Princess’ growing Asia deployment.

Previously Princess’ senior vice president of commercial affairs, Kaufman will now focus on the company’s new program to base ships in both the Japan and China cruise markets. In Japan, the Princess brand is entering its second year with two ships based in three homeports. New this year, one Princess ship will be based in Shanghai to introduce a brand-new premium “Princess Class” cruise experience to the China vacation market, and will then move to homeport in Singapore to offer a series of cruises in the Southeast Asia region.

“Tony’s appointment will provide a single point of focus as we continue to expand in Asia,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. “He brings to this role more than 20 years of experience with Princess, and his extensive commercial experience, coupled with his strong relationship and leadership skills, will harness the great work happening across our growing Asia teams.”

Kaufman’s background includes a variety of positions at Princess including onboard revenue, shore operations, supply chain, newbuild contracting, and legal, among others. He joined Princess in 1993 as assistant general counsel and director of business affairs. In 2000, Kaufman was appointed general counsel of Princess’ then-parent company, P&O Princess Cruises plc, based in London. In 2003, he returned to Princess Cruises’ headquarters in California to take on his role in commercial affairs.

Kaufman will be based in the company’s Santa Clarita, California headquarters office.

He holds a B.A. degree in communication studies from UCLA and a law degree, cum laude, from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, where he was an editor of the Loyola Law Review.


Source: Princess Cruises