Seven Seas Grandeur Begins to Take Shape

Fincantieri laid the keel today for Regent's Seven Seas Grandeur at their Ancona yard. The 55,500-ton vessel is expected to be delivered in 2023. 

In the photo below, the first block of the luxury vessel is being lowered into the dry dock.

The complete story appeared in the July 12 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Photo courtesy of Fincantieri. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.
 

Did Someone Say That Was Vegan?

Your meal may literally still be growing until just before Regent Seven Seas introduces a new range of menu items on October 1. On that day, the luxury line will be introducing a list of 200 new plant-based items across all its menus.

The plant-based items are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

The complete story appeared in the May 20 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Seven Seas Splendor Launched

Fincantieri launched Regent Seven Seas' Seven Seas Splendor at their Ancona yard on Saturday (February 9).

Details appeared in the February 11 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Additional Ship Ordered for Regent Seven Seas Brand

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has ordered a 54,000-ton ship for their Regent Seven Seas brand from Fincantieri.

The ship will be the sixth ship in the Regent fleet and a sister to Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Splendor (scheduled for delivery in 2020).

Details appeared in the January 15 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

That Won't Suck

On Monday, Norwegian Cruise Holdings announced a plan to reduce the use of single-use plastics and eliminate the use of plastic straws by August 2018.

The plan applies to all 26 ships in their fleet across all three brands (Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises) and both island destinations (Great Stirrup Cay and Harvest Caye).

Details appeared in the August 1 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Overboard from Seven Seas Mariner

The US Coast Guard received a call from Seven Seas Mariner this morning saying a 73-year-old man had gone overboard about 4:30am (Pacific time). It was verified by video of the man going overboard from his eighth-deck stateroom balcony.

The complete story appeared in the July 10 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Seven Seas Splendor Keel Laid

Fincantieri laid the keel today for Seven Seas Splendor at their Ancona yard.

The 55,000-ton ship is a twin to Seven Seas Explorer that was delivered by Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yard in 2016. Delivery is scheduled for the spring of 2020.

The complete story appeared in the June 28 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Photo courtesy of Fincantieri. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

It's Not Us, It's Them

The latest Carnival brand to realize that customers just aren't comfortable going to Turkey is Princess Cruises.

But before there was Cunard and P&O, and before Holland America, there was Norwegian Cruise Line, but we just didn't know it.

The complete story appeared in the December 13 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Everybody to Cuba

This morning, the government in Cuba approved programs to the island by three NCLH brands and two RCCL brands.

Even though these limited programs are the beginning of changing the game in the Caribbean, Cuba didn't fling the doors wide open, and the US rules are still in place.

The complete story appeared in the December 7 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Updated 3:48pm
Both Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced this afternoon they have received approval from the Cuban government to begin cruises to the country from the US.

NCLH says their Oceania brand will be the first to call on Cuba with Marina on March 7. Seven Seas Mariner of their Regent band will be next with two cruises in April 2017. Norwegian Sky will follow up with a selection of four-day cruises that will overnight in Havana in May.

RCCL said their Royal Caribbean International and Azamara Club Cruises brands will operate cruises from Florida to Cuba. The company said details will be announced soon.

The cruise itineraries will comply with U.S. Department of Treasury rules that permit travel companies to transport approved travelers to Cuba to engage in people-to-people activities as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Details will appear in today's edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Just Delivered

Fincantieri delivered the 55,200-ton Seven Seas Explorer to Regent Seven Seas today at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yard near Genoa.

The complete story appeared in the June 30 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - May 5, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings signing a new contract with EMC to quadruple the bandwidth they provide to passengers for internet service. The new lightning-fast service will be available on all three of the company's brands by July.
• AIDAprima will be christened in Hamburg on Saturday night with coverage provided on the internet. It will be christened with a 12-liter bottle of Moet & Chandon's finest. A photo is below. 

Details appeared in the May 5 edition of Cruise News Daily 

Champagne at the ready for Saturday's christening of AIDAprima

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

Explorer to Be a Sister

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said today they have contracted with Fincantieri to build a sister to Seven Seas Explorer for their Regent Seven Seas brand.

The complete story appeared in the March 31 edition of Cruise News Daily

Will the Last Line to Leave Turkey Please Turn Out the Lights?

The brands of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings - Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas - said today they were suspending all calls at Turkey through 2016.

The complete story appeared in the January 22 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Fincantieri Floats out Explorer

Fincantieri floated out Regent’s Seven Seas Explorer today at their Sestri Ponente yard near Genoa.

This signifies the end of major construction on the 56,000-ton vessel. Interior finishing now will occupy all of the time until the ship is delivered to the NCLH brand next summer.

Water begins to enter the dry dock to float the ship for the first time.

Photo courtesy of Regent Seven Seas. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

Looking to the Future with NCLH

Yesterday’s conference call to discuss NCL Holdings’ second quarter earnings with financial analysts gave us a glimpse of the company’s plans for the future and, if you put it all together, perhaps a peek into their thought process, perhaps a bit more than they intended.

The complete story appeared in the August 5 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Fincantieri Lays Keel for New Regent Flagship

This morning Fincantieri put the first block in place for Regent's Seven Seas Explorer at their Sestri Ponente yard.

Delivery of the 56,000-gross ton ship is set for the summer of 2016.

Details appeared in the January 21 edition of Cruise News Daily.


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

Regent Begins to Detail Seven Seas Explorer

In only about a year and a half, Regent Seven Seas’ long-awaited newbuild will be joining the fleet, and today, the line released the first design details of the small, luxury vessel.

With a ship as small as this, 56,000 tons, you shouldn’t look for lots of features. Instead the emphasis will be on dining, entertainment and on the destination.

The complete story appears in the January 13 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photos courtesy of Regent Seven Seas. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for November 19, 2014

* Done Deal
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd announced today they had completed the acquisition of Prestige Cruise Holdings, giving Norwegian ownership of two additional cruise brands (Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises) for $3.025 billion in cash and stock.

* Itineraries Fit for a King
Holland America Line today announced that Koningsdam will debut in the eastern Mediterranean. Fincantieri will deliver the ship on February 15, 2016 at Marghera, and its Premier Voyage will sail from Civitavecchia (Rome) on February 20.

* Seems Like Billy Joel Has Taken up Residence on Crystal Serenity
Beginning on the current voyage, passengers aboard Crystal Serenity are enjoying a new type of production show, “My Life: The Music of Billy Joel.”

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for September 2, 2014

* Big Deal
Rumors began to circulate over the weekend when a Reuters story was published, but they were confirmed first thing this morning when Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings issued a press release saying that they have an agreement to acquire Prestige Cruises International.
   The purchase price was listed as $3.025 billion in cash and stock, including the assumption of debt. It will be financed with existing cash, new and existing debt facilities and by issuing approximately 20.3 million shares of common stock.

* Another Ship to China
By now we’re used to seeing lines operate more and more ships in the Chinese market, but word came late today that a well-known ship is going to China, but it is being sold to a Chinese operator.
   RCCL said they would sell Celebrity Century to  Exquisite Marine Ltd., a holding company led by Ctrip.com International Ltd. Celebrity will continue to operate the ship into April 2015.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for July 15, 2014

* Another Ship in the Pipeline
Fincantieri cut the first steel today at their Sestri Ponenti yard near Genoa for Prestige Cruise Holdings’ recent order for their Regent Seven Seas brand.

* Work Continues Refloating Costa Concordia
Today and tomorrow are all about getting Costa Concordia ready to float up the rest of the way and then be safely towed to Genoa. This isn’t just about making checks and minor adjustments (although they are), this is about doing things that couldn’t be done while the ship was resting on the underwater platform which are necessary to make the ship float up the rest of the way.
   Most of it involves final positioning of the sponsons, which actually make the ship float. Because today is all about the sponsons, we thought this would be a good time to get a little more detail and understand them better.

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

Cutting the first steel for Seven Seas Explorer

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