Costa to Build a 4,900-Passenger Ship
Costa Crociere has placed an order with Fincantieri for the construction of a new ship. The ship will have a total guest capacity of 4,928. Delivery is planned for October 2014.
Regent Seven Seas Expands Staff With New VP of Key Accounts
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has named Barbara Staiger to the newly created position of vice president, key accounts. She will develop and execute marketing plans for several North American-based business partners. She reports to Randall Soy, senior vice president of sales.
Norwegian Tightens Its No Smoking Policy
Cigarette smoking in staterooms will be banned on all Norwegian Cruise Line ships, effective January 2012. Guests will be permitted to smoke on outside balconies of balcony staterooms. Cigar and pipe smoking is prohibited both in staterooms and on balconies. Outside, guests may smoke cigarettes, cigars and pipes only in designated areas. Inside the ship, cigarette smoking will be permitted in specified sections of the casino only. In all other public interior venues, smoking is prohibited; this includes all bars, restaurants, conference rooms, corridors, etc. Some Norwegian ships offer enclosed cigar bars for cigar and pipe smoking.
Uniworld Adds Europe Itineraries, New Shore Programs for 2012
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will add three new river cruise itineraries and three new shore excursion programs to its 2012 lineup. The new itineraries are: Gems of Germany; Belgium & the Netherlands, and Grand Treasures of Europe. The new shore excursion programs are: the Choice Is Yours program, for experienced travelers who have already seen Europe’s most popular sites; the Go Active program, with new active options, and the Gentle Walking program, relaxed-pace walking excursions with private guides. Uniworld also plans to completely remodel three of its cruise ships in 2012 – the River Countess, River Duchess and River Royale.
Windstar Offers Two Free Hotel Nights on December Holiday Cruises
Windstar Cruises will offer six holiday Sail & Stay packages in the Caribbean and Costa Rica this December. Each package includes a cruise and two hotel nights. Booking deadline is Aug. 31. On offer are: Flavors of the Caribbean, with two nights in St. Martin; Yachtsman’s Caribbean voyage, with two nights in St. Martin; St. Martin to Barbados, with two nights in Barbados; Jewels of the Windward Islands, two nights in Barbados; Panama Canal voyage, with two nights in Costa Rica. and Naturally Costa Rica, with two nights in Costa Rica.
Silversea to Debut 19 Overland Tours in 2012
Silversea will add 19 mid-voyage overland tours in 2012, bringing its total number of overland tours to 50. The new tours include: five-day Venture into Amazonia, on Jan. 7 sailing from Fort Lauderdale; three-day Gorah Elephant Camp, on Jan. 14, 24 and Feb. 3 sailings from Cape Town; four-day Ayers Rock & the Red Centre, on Dec. 20, from Singapore, and two-day Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, on Feb. 13 sailing from Cape Town.
Costa Romantica to Undergo Renovation
Costa Romantica will undergo an extensive renovation between late October and late January. The ship will then be renamed the Costa neoRomantica. Construction of two new half-decks with 111 new cabins will expand capacity to 1,800. Also new will be 120 cabins and suites with private balconies. New areas include a wine bar, a coffee and sweets bar, a show lounge bar with dance floor, a cabaret and a nightclub. Amenities will include a spa with gym, therapy pool, treatment rooms, sauna, spa restaurant and 50 spa cabins and six suites. Initially, the Costa neoRomantica will sail 11-day cruises to the Canary Islands from Savona, Italy, followed by two-week Northern Europe itineraries next summer.
Crystal’s New Shore Trips Spotlight California's Culinary Arts, Outdoors
Crystal Cruises is introducing 18 new shore excursions on two seven-day L.A.-roundtrip Crystal Symphony sailings this fall. Outdoor opportunities and culinary arts unique to California are the focus of the excursions, offered on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4 departures. Options include: hiking, biking, horseback riding, paragliding, kayaking, jeep safaris, Segway tours, and tasting trips to Santa Ynez and the Napa Valley and lunch at the Culinary Institute of America.
In Brief
This fall, Avalon Waterways is waiving the single supplement on more than a dozen October sailings. . . . American Cruise Lines is adding fall foliage sailings this season on the Hudson River and seven fall foliage cruises on the Chesapeake Bay. Hudson River cruises depart from New York or Providence, and the Chesapeake cruises from Baltimore.
Tauck christened its new river ship, the ms Treasures, in Germany earlier this month. The 118-passenger ship features fourteen 300-square-foot suites, seven 183-square foot junior suites and 38 cabins. . . . AmaWaterways’s AmaDagio will sail the Rhone River in southern France in 2012. The ship will sail seven-night Lyon to Arles (or reverse) itineraries from late March through the end of the year.
MSC Cruises added adults-only relaxation areas, called “cocoons” in solariums on the MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia. . . . Norwegian Cruise Line renamed the exclusive suite complexes on the Norwegian Epic, Gem, Pearl, Jade and Jewel The Haven. The complexes are also planned for the line’s Project Breakaway ships, where they will consist of 42 suites, a private restaurant, cocktail bar and concierge desk, and two-story Haven Courtyard, with two private massage rooms.