Cruise News Daily Headlines for December 12, 2014

* Carnival Schedules Amber Cove Calls
In less than a year, ships will begin to call at Carnival’s newest Caribbean port, Amber Cove, on the Dominican Republic’s north shore.
   Yes, the port will follow the “formula” of the other ports Carnival has built - but that doesn’t mean it’s coming out of a cookie-cutter.

* Insignia Update
Oceania has sent a technical team to St. Lucia to assess damage to Insignia from yesterday’s fire. While they don’t yet have a full assessment, Oceania has decided to cancel the next sailing on December 17.

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Amber Cove

Cruise News Daily Headlines for December 11, 2014

* 3 Dead in Insignia Fire
Three people working aboard Oceania’s Insignia died this morning during an engine room fire after the ship docked at St. Lucia. No passengers were injured, and all were evacuated to local hotels to await flights home.

* Celebrity Expands in Asia
Celebrity Cruises has opened the books on their 2016-2017 Asian program, and during the season they will have two Millennium-class ships based in Asia which will sail 28 cruises.

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Cruise News Daily Headlines for December 10, 2014

* All at Once
Unlike past years, and other cruise lines with lots of ships operating globally, Norwegian Cruise Line decided to release their entire fleet deployment at once for the 2016/2017 season. It makes it a lot easier to see how it all fits together.
   You shouldn’t look for massive changes, but there are some interesting new programs included in it. On the other hand if you liked the 2015/2016 deployment, there’s plenty in the 2016/2017 program for you too.

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A Princess for a Princess!

This article, written by Michael Gallagher, public relations executive and historian for Cunard Line, is part of an ongoing series of key moments in Cunard Line's history

After Cunard Countess had entered service in 1976, Cunard Line looked forward to the introduction of her sister, Cunard Conquest, in March 1977. But when Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco consented to name Cunard Conquest, the company changed the name of the ship to Cunard Princess.

A Princess for a Princess.

The $60 million Cunard Princess would make Cunard American history, as her naming in New York was the first event of its kind in that city and the first of a Cunard ship actually in America itself!

Princess Grace and assembled guests arrived in New York for the scheduled christening, but there was just one problem: Cunard Princess was caught up in a ferocious Atlantic storm and arrived 63 hours late for her big event. The Princess and her 18-year-old son Prince Albert waited for her, and on 30 March 1977 the outdoor ceremonies took place from the deck of a Circle Line excursion boat moored between the terminal and the 17,586-ton ship.

It would take several attempts for Princess Grace to break the christening bottle of champagne. When she eventually did, the contents splattered all over her white straw hat and peach-coloured wool coat – and some of the assembled paparazzi.

Princess Grace is about to christen Cunard Princess
Here we go ,,,

Looking good ...

No, not quite!

Again ...

Smash and splatter!

Later that day, Princess Grace joined 400 other guests on an overnight cruise aboard Cunard Princess. When asked why she came all the way from Monaco for the naming, she replied, “Because I was very flattered to be asked – wouldn’t you do it, if you were asked to christen a lovely ship?” New York City Mayor Abraham Beame, who attended the ceremony, claimed that the Cunard Princess would be "a great boat to stow away on."

A jubilant Cunard even went as far as to claim that the Cunard Princess would be the last new cruise ship ever built! The cost of fuel had risen to unheard of levels and the supply of cruise berths had reached saturation point.

Conquest becomes Princess
Close inspection of the ship's hull reveals how crudely the name had been
changed from Conquest to Princess. Notice the "Q" behind the "N."

Cunard returned to New York for the naming of Cunard Crown Dynasty at Pier 88 on 16 July 1993 by former First Lady Betty Ford who was accompanied by her husband, former President Gerald R. Ford.

As for the earlier naming of Cunard Countess, Janet Armstrong, wife of former American astronaut Neil Armstrong, made Cunard history when she became the first American to name a Cunard ship. That ceremony took place in San Juan.

Cunard Countess awaiting christening in San Juan

Costa Crociere Appoints New Corporate Marketing VP

Luca Casaura new vice president corporate marketing of Costa Crociere

Luca Casaura

Genoa, 10 December 2014 – Starting from today Luca Casaura has been appointed Vice President Corporate Marketing of Costa Crociere, reporting to Norbert Stiekema, Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing.

In this position Luca Casaura will coordinate all marketing activities concerning the development and positioning of the brand, media and communication strategy, research and product development.

He started out at Unilever Italy in late 1997, before joining the Danone Group in 2000, where he gained a long-lasting experience. Since 2013 he held the position of Activia Global VP Marketing, launching the first ever Global ICP Campaign for the Dairy Market leading brand in 72 countries.

Between 2008 and 2012, Luca Casaura has been Marketing, Communication and Media Director for Danone Italy, having previously gained various international experiences, first as Marketing Director of the “Enfants et Desserts” division of Danone France and later as Marketing Director of Danone Canada.

“I am very excited to work with Luca” commented Norbert Stiekema “an outstanding marketer with proven vision, creativity and great capability to bring change, all of which are key elements in building a stronger Costa brand”.

Luca Casaura, 42, married and father of a young daughter, with a strong passion for history and theatre, began his international career after graduating in Economics & Politics from the prestigious Bocconi University in Milan.

Source: Costa Crociere

Cruise News Daily Headlines for December 9, 2014

* How It Should Be Done
St. Thomas is, as the saying goes, everybody’s favorite port. If that’s the case (and it seems to be, given the number of ships that dock there every day of the week), they are expecting traffic to just keep growing. To keep up with the expected growth - and the other Caribbean ports - two more berths will be built there to handle megaships.
   WICO (West Indian Company Ltd), the operator of the port, announced last week they plan to build a new pier with two berths to handle ships as large as Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class, currently the largest ships sailing - and it will be ready in time for the 2017-2018 winter season.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about Carnival being beneficial ... and paying out.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for December 8, 2014

* More Executive Shuffling at the Top
Royal Caribbean filled their top post today for their RCI brand, and unlike many vacancies we’ve seen lately, it was filled from within the company, by Michael Bayley, currently heading up the company’s Celebrity brand. Filling the top post then at Celebrity will be Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, currently RCI’s EVP of operations.
   In announcing the promotions, the company said they were “recognizing the deep bench of internal talent.”

* Longer Is Better
After years of telling us about the growing popularity of shorter cruises, many of Carnival’s customers are telling them something else. They want longer cruises, and as soon as the line opens them for sale, they buy them.
   Based on the popularity of the recently-added longer cruises from Galveston and Baltimore, Carnival has now added eleven more, longer voyages from a variety of ports.

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