Grandeur of the Seas Returns to Service

Grandeur of the Seas leaves dry dock in Freeport on Tuesday (July 9, 2013) showing the stern area repaired from the May fire damage.

With repairs completed from its May 27 fire, Grandeur of the Seas returned to Baltimore yesterday, its year round home port.

After the early morning fire, Grandeur sailed under its own power to Freeport where passengers disembarked and were flown home. Repairs have been underway since at the Grand Bahama Shipyard at Freeport. No cause of the blaze has ever been released.

Grandeur left Freeport on Tuesday. The ship is hosting a one cruise for travel agents from Baltimore tonight.

Her first passengers will board on Friday (July 12, 2013) as scheduled.

We have a photo on our blog of Grandeur of the Seas leaving the yard at the completion of repairs on Tuesday.


Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean

Giles Hawke Appointed as UK & Ireland Managing Director for MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises confirms that former UK & Ireland Managing Director Giulio Libutti has left the company by mutual agreement. After 5 years of committed leadership, the company would like to thank Mr Libutti for his hard work and wish him every success in future endeavors.

The company also confirms that Giles Hawke has been appointed as the new UK & Ireland Managing Director and will take up this position on November 13, 2013.

Giles Hawke spent nine years at Crystal Holidays and a year at Highlife Breaks before joining Carnival UK. He was at Carnival UK for nearly eleven years, the last six of which were spent in the role of sales and customer service director.

“We are confident that Mr Hawke will be an excellent addition to MSC Cruises UK & Ireland and look forward to welcoming him on board,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises.

In the interim, MSC Cruises’ strong management team and its highly qualified and committed employees will continue to develop the MSC Cruises brand in the UK, overseen by MSC Cruises Corporate Executive Neil Palomba.

Source: MSC Cruises

Cruise News Daily Headlines for July 10, 2013

* Regent Seven Seas Orders Long-Awaited Ship
If new ships and additional capacity fuel the industry, Regent Seven Seas did their part today by ordering a new luxury vessel from Fincantieri today.

The 54,000-ton ship, which will be Regent’s largest, will carry 738 passengers (double occupancy) and be named Seven Seas Explorer.


* Halifax Sees Things Differently
Halifax (NS) is the latest port that wants to provide shore power to cruise ships calling there. Actually, the plan to offer it beginning next year was already put in place back in January, but now the power company is working out what to charge cruise line customers and formally proposing a tariff for approval. They seem to be taking a different approach than their counterparts in most ports.


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

Regent Orders New Ship

Regent Seven Seas Cruises announced today they have ordered a 54,000-ton cruise ship for delivery in the summer of 2016. The new ship will be named Seven Seas Explorer, and be built by Fincantieri in Italy.

Seven Seas Explorer will carry 738 passengers. The specs call for hull length of 732 feet and a beam of 102 feet with a 23 foot draft. 

Additional details will follow in the complete story which will appear in today's edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Cruise News Daily Headlines for July 9, 2013

* What Six Months and $40,000 Will Get You
The boom in world cruises continues, and Oceania’s entry into the 2015 market is an incredibly impressive one - a 180-day (that’s like six months!) complete circumnavigation of the globe from Miami.


* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about QE2 getting ready to sail ... and the Schettino trial is delayed.

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