Other Things You'll Want to Know - July 25, 2018

CND subscribers also read about:

• Moulton Brown products with the exclusive Seabourn scent will be available for a short time again on the Moulton Brown website. 
• Virgin Voyages has chosen Wartsila to power and operate their ships, allowing Virgin staff to focus on passengers. 

Details appeared in the July 25 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Virgin Finalizes Three-Ship Order

Virgin Cruises had a splashy announcement that they were going to order, but today, they quietly signed on the dotted line to finalize the order for three ships from Fincantieri.

The builder said they would be built at their Sestri Ponente yard near Genoa for delivery in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The complete story appeared in the December 20 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Like a Virgin

Most everyone in the cruise industry knows Virgin is going into the cruise business, and today they made it real by announcing they had signed a binding letter of intent with Fincantieri for three ships.

Today’s announcement in Miami, however, seemed more designed to get the attention of those outside the industry (at least in Miami) and plant Virgin’s flag (as it turns out, literally) in the cruise capital.

And it all happened in true Virgin style, complete with Richard Branson arriving in a helicopter through a cloud of Virgin Red smoke.

The complete story appeared in the June 23 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Would you have expected anything less from Virgin?

Photo courtesy of World Red Eye. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

A Name from the Past

Colin Veitch is a name we haven’t heard much of in the last few years - make that since the end of 2008. He was the visionary CEO who took Norwegian Cruise Line from a conventional cruise line to almost where it is today.

He had a non-compete clause in his contract with Norwegian, so it wasn’t surprising that he dropped off the radar of cruise news for a while. And it’s not surprising to learn that he’s been involved with Richard Branson and his new Virgin Cruises venture. But it now seems that he’s probably not going to be involved anymore.

Details appeared in the March 11 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for December 4, 2014

* Celebrity Orders New Class
Royal Caribbean signed a letter of intent today with STX France for a pair of vessels today for their Celebrity brand. The company already has an order with the yard to build Oasis 3.
   The ships will be a new class of vessel with the working name of Project Edge. They will be sized at 117,000 tons and will have 2,900 lower berths.

* Virgin Hires a CEO
The Virgin Group made it official today: They are entering the cruise business and creating Virgin Cruises, and Bain Capital will be their investment partner.
   Making it seem more real, they announced they have hired a CEO, cruise industry veteran Tom McAlpin.

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

Cruise News Daily Headlines for November 18, 2014

* Back to Their Roots
This summer, Windstar went back to the South Pacific and Tahiti after a ten-year absence. Now they’ve decided - beginning next summer - to make it a permanent thing and sail there again year round.
   The return to Tahiti is Windstar somewhat returning to its roots. Tahiti was the line’s signature route (under the previous owners), and the return will even be with one of the original sailing yachts, the 148-passenger Wind Spirit, making it all the more romantic.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about giving me 5 ... and Virgin Cruises securing a major investment.

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

 Mike Schwanke, Marketing Director of TUI Cruises. pushes the button to start the steel cutting
thus starting production of Mein Schiff 5

Cruise News Daily Headlines for March 26, 2014

* Royal Caribbean Reveals Quantum-class Dining Program
Royal Caribbean International this evening revealed their dining concept, called “Dynamic Dining,” for the Quantum-class ships.
   Royal Caribbean fans are going to be wowed by the program which covers the ships’ 18 restaurants, offers a wide array of cuisine, and allows passengers to choose how to dress and when to dine. Cruisers who have been cruising Norwegian Cruise Line or Princess over the last few years are going to see something rather familiar and are going to be asking themselves, “Where’s the beef?”

* The Adventure Finally Begins
Monday we reported that Royal Caribbean had delayed Adventure of the Seas’ departure from San Juan by a day while the propeller blades were removed from the non-working propulsion pod so the ship could sail more efficiently. The delay meant dropping Barbados from the itinerary.
   Unfortunately, removing the blades proved more difficult than anticipated, and it took divers until today (Wednesday) to complete the job, so Adventure didn’t depart San Juan until 11am today.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about second thoughts lead to a cruise ... and Virgin ready to move forward.

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