cruise&TRAVEL
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 Credit: Disney (PRESS RELEASE)_LEER, Germany – The Disney Wish reached another key milestone after nearly two years of construction, leaving the Meyer Werft shipyard on a journey to reach open water for the first time. When it sets sail this summer, the newest Disney Cruise Line ship will be filled with innovative new experiences steeped in Disney storytelling, including the first-ever Disney attraction at sea, immersive dining experiences themed to “Frozen” and Marvel, and a high-end lounge set in the Star Wars galaxy.
Maiden Voyage and Inaugural Season The Disney Wish will sail its maiden voyage on July 14, followed by a season of three- and four-night cruises to Nassau, Bahamas, and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, from Port Canaveral, Florida. To learn more about the Disney Wish or to book a vacation, guests can visit disneycruise.com, call Disney Cruise Line at 888-325-2500 or contact their travel agent.  MS Nordnorge in Hjørundfjorden in Norway. Photo: Fabrice Milochau / Hurtigruten Norway (PRESS RELEASE)_Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express partners with leading research organization SINTEF to create zero emission ships for the Norwegian coast, with the first ready to sail by 2030.
“We are excited to announce our most ambitious sustainability initiative to date; creating solutions for zero emission passenger ships, using the Norwegian coast as the ideal case. Our ambition is to sail an emission-free Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express ship by 2030,” said Hurtigruten Group CEO Daniel Skjeldam. Since the start in 1893, Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express has carried local passengers, goods, and tourists between 34 ports in what is known as the world's most beautiful sea voyage. The company is currently upgrading its existing fleet through what is one of the biggest environmental upgrade programs of it's kind in Europe, that will see CO2-emissions cut by 25% and NOx by 80%. The company aims to be a leader in sustainable travel, and Hurtigruten Norway CEO Hedda Felin makes it clear that the goal is zero emissions. (PRESS RELEASE)_FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA., March 31, 2022 – Taking Atlas Ocean Voyages brand to the next level, the luxe-adventure expedition line announced today a new marketing campaign called “Discover Yourself – Discover the World Anew.” The new campaign focuses on new travel experiences that redefine luxury and adventure as guests immerse in new travel experiences aboard Atlas’ luxe-adventure voyages. A new brand video, called “Life’s Great Adventures Start From Within,” spearheads the new campaign and showcases shipboard and shoreside experiences depicted with new, spectacular footage captured aboard the newly launched World Navigator. Both Inspirational and aspirational, the nearly three-minute video shows the glamorous and exciting day-in-the-life aboard an Atlas luxe-adventure voyage. To view the new “Life’s Great Adventures Start From Within” video, please visit www.AtlasOceanVoyages.com.
“We are proud to present Atlas Ocean Voyages’ new marketing campaign,” said Alberto Aliberti, President of Atlas Ocean Voyages. “Discover Yourself – Discover the World Anew is the next rendition of Atlas’ marketing campaign to inspire travelers to embark on a luxe-adventure voyage of a lifetime to remote and captivating destinations around the world. On board, guests enjoy all-inclusive luxury and Atlas’ signature casually elegant ambience.”  (PRESS RELEASE)_Miami, FL, March 30, 2022 – Oceania Cruises, the world’s leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line, announced the addition of dozens more dedicated staterooms for solo travelers along with the debut of the line’s Go Green and Beyond Blueprints shore excursion series as part of its industry-leading OceaniaNEXT initiative.
Each of the four ships will feature 14 Solo Oceanview Staterooms, which debut aboard Regatta on September 25, 2022; Nautica on September 26, 2022; and Insignia and Sirena on October 1, 2022.With the addition of these 56 staterooms, plus those that debuted to a sell-out success on Vista earlier this year, Oceania Cruises is reinforcing its commitment to solo travelers. The line also revealed two new shore excursion series – Go Green and Beyond Blueprints – to provide curious travelers with even more options for discovery, exploration, and personal connections with the destinations visited. “One of the greatest factors in Oceania Cruises’ success is that we not only listen to the feedback our guests and travel partners provide, we act on it. Our guests and travel partners wanted more options for solo travelers and more diverse tour offerings, and we are delighted to deliver,” stated Howard Sherman, President & CEO of Oceania Cruises.  Menus to feature seafood sourced sustainably from top Alaska fisheries (Princess) (PRESS RELEASE)_SANTA CLARITA, CALIF. (March 30, 2022) -- Guests on Princess Cruises’ Alaska voyages can now enjoy an immersive destination-dining experience as Alaska’s number one cruise operator launches its “Wild for Alaska Seafood” program aboard six vessels sailing The Great Land this spring.
This industry-first, location-based seafood initiative features an extensive menu rotation of Alaska seafood dishes, along with destination-inspired cocktail experiences—including flights of Alaska spirits sourced from local distilleries—inventive cocktails such as “Creamy Cinnamon Moonshine,” “Glacial chilled Martinis,” and hand-picked, premium wine pairings to go with Alaska seafood dishes. This culinary program is another enhancement to the award-winning North to Alaska program, bringing local Alaskans, culture, and fresh seafood on board and ashore to immerse guests in all things Alaska. “We take our role as the leader in Alaska cruising seriously and as such we’re always looking for new ways to enhance our guests’ experience, both on board and ashore, while helping them gain a deeper appreciation of this incredible cruising region,” said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises. “Guests are going to love these one-of-a-kind dishes that showcase the unique culinary offerings that add an exciting new dimension to our Alaska vacations."  Credit: Carnival (PRESS RELEASE)_MIAMI, March 30, 2022 – Many of Carnival Cruise Line’s 50th Birthday merchandise items which have proven popular with sailing guests are now available for purchase online, as well as select other offerings at shop.carnival.com.
“When we created the 50th Birthday retail collection, we were confident our guests would love the new and elevated styles, but the positive response has been absolutely overwhelming. Items we planned to sell over the course of weeks sold out in a day,” said Jeremy Schiller, vice president of retail operations for Carnival Cruise Line. “The expanded offerings now available in our online retail shop are a celebration of this success and an opportunity for our guests to still purchase the items they love while on land.” Designed to complement Carnival’s year-long birthday celebration, the 50th Birthday retail collection first launched in early March with a commemorative coin set that was released exclusively on Brand Ambassador John Heald’s Facebook page and sold out within minutes of posting, while garnering thousands of positive comments. Next up, an array of different commemorative items were sent to many of Carnival’s ships at sea and saw just as much popularity and demand from our guests.  Richard Branson in Razzle Dazzle (Virgin) (PRESS RELEASE)_MIAMI, FL - March 30, 2022 - Virgin Voyages, Richard Branson’s exclusively adult cruise line, responds to CDC’s voluntary dissolution of the Cruise Travel Health Notice. Put into place more than two years ago, this served as a platform that provided guidance to consumers on restrictions in cruise travel, grading systems and collaborative protocols for sailing safety. The removal of the health notice demonstrates the transition back into pre-pandemic operations for the cruise industry.
In collaboration with the CDC, the industry has taken tremendous strides in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cruise industry leaders, including Virgin Voyages', assembled quickly to develop leading protocols and actions to mitigate risk and successfully get back into the water with eager cruisers across the globe. Now, formally in operation since the summer of 2021 and with two ships in the water, Virgin Voyages is seeing unprecedented demand with bookings up nearly 120% from January to March of this year. This earmarks March 2022 as the strongest booking window to-date for the budding cruise brand. Tom McAlpin, CEO of Virgin Voyages says, “We’re absolutely thrilled to see that the CDC recognizes that it’s time to remove the Travel Health Notice website. While we feel this was a long time coming, we recognize this move as a demonstration of all of the hard work this industry has done to ensure that we’re offering the safest way to travel. It’s refreshing to see them meet us where we’re at, and clearly where our consumers are at considering the major uptick in demand we’ve seen.” Virgin Voyages remains committed to its elevated health and safety protocols and continues to put the wellbeing of its Sailors and Crew first. The brand recognizes what is working and looks forward to continuing to make strides that contribute to the complete comeback of cruising. With inaugural sailings debuting in 2021, Virgin Voyages now has two ships: Scarlet Lady with sailings in the Caribbean and Valiant Lady with sailings in the UK and launching from Barcelona this May. Virgin Voyages' third ship, Resilient Lady, will make her debut in Athens this summer. The brand's fourth ship will debut in 2023.  Abby Chava Stein, an American transgender author, activist, blogger, model, speaker and rabbi, relaxes on the Resort Deck of Celebrity Apex. Abby is the first openly transgender woman raised in an Hasidic community. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Celebrity Cruises' new campaign, the All-Inclusive Photo Project strives to change the face of travel marketing. (PRESS RELEASE)_Miami (March 29, 2022) – Celebrity Cruises is launching a bold new initiative to change the meaning of “all-inclusive” in the travel industry.
Recognizing the need to improve the representation of all people who travel in marketing materials, the new-luxury cruise line has created both a new campaign and the world’s first free to use, ‘open source’ travel image library. The campaign and collection - ‘The All-Inclusive Photo Project’ (AIPP) - aims to start a movement, calling on travel companies to help address the lack of diversity in travel marketing imagery. The stunning new images were unveiled today and feature the work of acclaimed photographers including: Annie Leibovitz; Giles Duley, an English documentary photographer and a triple amputee; Naima Green, a Black, queer New York-based photographer; and Jarrad Seng, an Australia-based photographer, filmmaker and creative director of Malaysian-Chinese descent. The collection features models, musicians, athletes, artists, activists, refugees and more, all change-makers in their own right from underrepresented groups, as they enjoy the varied offerings on Celebrity’s ships and within the destinations visited. (PRESS RELEASE)_SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (March 27, 2021) – Princess Cruises, the leading cruise line on the west coast with the longest history sailing out of the Port of Los Angeles, today revealed a first glimpse of its newest MedallionClass ship – Discovery Princess – celebrating her maiden voyage to the Mexican Riviera.
Earlier today, Princess President John Padgett, along with Discovery Princess officers, welcomed the first guests, Michael and Sally Smith, onboard with a special ceremony. From Sacramento, California the Smiths are frequent guests sailing with Princess for the last 10 years. Discovery Princess expands the cruise line’s fleet to 15 vessels, offering elegantly appointed accommodations, world-class entertainment, gourmet dining and cocktails, extensive alfresco dining areas and expansive views from the cruise line’s largest balconies at sea in the Sky Suites. A traditional naming ceremony celebration will take place at the Port of Los Angeles on April 29, 2022, with more details to follow.  Credit: Virgin Voyages (PRESS RELEASE)_WHAT: Resilient [ ri-zil-yuhnt, -zil-ee-uhnt ] - to spring back or rebound. After navigating the choppy waters of the past two years, Richard Branson’s exclusively adult cruise line is moving ahead full throttle, debuting its third ship in just a 12-month span. Resilient Lady launches this August, and at the helm of the newest 110,000-ton, mid-sized vessel is the beautifully powerful, Latina mermaid designed by oil painter and muralist Jodie Herrera.
WHY: Meant to be an emblem and guardian of the ship, Herrera’s Latina mermaid is a strong and powerful figure carrying Sailors forward onto incredible adventures. She’s a hero of the seas. Unrelenting. Courageous. Curious. Resilient. Inspired by the Varga Ladies painted on the aircrafts of American WWII planes, Virgin Voyages’ mermaids are a symbol of individuality and rebellion. Boldly emblazoned on the hull of its Lady Ships, the mermaids are empowering representations of the brand and its commitment to diversity. |
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