Category Archives: Cruises

Genting Cruise Lines has announced that Dream Cruises will be the first cruise brand to restart service in Singapore with World Dream, as she makes her homeport debut from November 6, 2020. World Dream will also be the newest built cruise ship to homeport in Singapore, offering 2 and 3-night experiences for Singapore residents. Dream Cruises continues to be at the forefront as the first cruise brand in the world to resume operations in a safe manner with two key homeports in Asia, starting with deployment in Taiwan in July 2020. A mandatory COVID-19 test will be conducted on all guests aged 13 and above before embarking on World Dream.

Ahead of World Tourism Day, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is celebrating the forthcoming arrival of Norwegian Spirit to Australia & New Zealand waters for the first time. The ship has recently undergone the most extensive bow-to-stern modernisation in the history of the line’s innovative fleet and is designed with the adult cruiser in mind. NCL’s new Australia and New Zealand itineraries allow travellers the opportunity to experience New Zealand’s pristine vistas and Australia’s rugged coastlines from one of the best vantage points in the world – the ocean. The inaugural 2021/2022 summer sailing season sees Norwegian Spirit head Down Under, offering a collection of 8, 10 and 12 day port-intensive itineraries departing from Sydney and Auckland that will reveal breathtaking beauty to even the most well-travelled. From cruising the scenic peaks and tree-lined cliffs of Milford Sound, to exploring the historic buildings and fine food of Akaroa – New Zealand’s only French settlement – or venturing to Eden’s Ben Boyd National Park for some snorkelling in the summer sunshine, guests will be spoilt for choice when it comes to activities to explore ashore. Once onboard the all-new Norwegian Spirit, guests will experience laid-back luxury as they explore a completely enhanced ship, offering reimagined and refined adult-centric spaces, fresh staterooms and 14 new venues. Further updated elements include the second Onda by Scarpetta restaurant at sea, a doubled-in-size Mandara Spa, an expanded Pulse Fitness Center and the adult-only retreat Spice H2O. Guests can enjoy panoramic ocean views from Spinnaker Lounge, or a glass of bubbles in the Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired Magnums Champagne & Wine Bar. Norwegian Spirit boasts 10 bars and lounges and 14 dining options – from Teppanyaki, an …

Riya Group’s Marine Travel division has seen tremendous growth in the past few months. Manoj Samuel, Director, Riya Group, says, “This is the only unit which has not gone down since the pandemic. We do marine charters all over the world. Riya Marine Travel has been facilitating travel for seafarers since 16 years, offering services like special airfares for seamen, visa, insurance, hotel accommodations near ports, calling cards, etc for crew working on offshore rigs, commercial vessels, and cruise ships.”

Ark Travels, a B2B company specialising in cruise representation business, has penetrated further into the non-cruising space with the acquisition of Outbound Konnections, spearheaded by Anjum Lokhandwala, who will continue as its Director. Kishan Biyani, MD, Ark Travels, says, “I felt this was the right time to enter into the non-cruise space. Along with Ark Travels, we can have a bouquet of products besides cruises, Club Med Resorts and Europamundo Vacations to offer to their B2B network without increasing overheads.”

As part of its ‘Mission Begin Again’, the Indian Government will permit cruise ships to commence sailing from 1 October. In light of this development, Jalesh Cruises announces the commencement of its cruise MV Karnika from 6 November, 2020. Jalesh Cruises will offer free COVID-19 rapid testing to all passengers.

Celestyal Cruises, that sails to the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, has added to its fleet the Costa NeoRomantica from Costa Cruises. Built in 1993 and extensively refurbished in 2012, the 1,800-guest ship has 789 cabins, 132 of which feature balconies, as well as a variety of dining and entertainment venues, bars and lounges, two pools, a gym and a panoramic spa. Celestyal Cruises’ CEO, Chris Theophilides, says, “While Covid-19 has brought a temporary pause to our operations, it is important that we look to the future with optimism and continue to deliver on our strategic plan to grow the business and enhance the Celestyal experience through investment. This mid-size cruise vessel is ideally suited to our business model.” Details of the ship’s delivery and deployment will be announced at a later date. Celestyal Cruises’ existing 2021 and 2022 itineraries that were recently launched remain unchanged.

Genting Cruise Lines has announced the restart of operations for Dream Cruises with Explorer Dream operating two and three-night ‘Taiwan Island-Hopping’ itineraries beginning from 26 July 2020. It will depart from Keelung and calling at Penghu, Matzu and Kinmen islands. The ship has undergone deep cleaning after observing strict quarantine measures for her crew.

CLIA to host webinar for Asian travel trade on 24th June on newly launched free of cost online training course ‘Cruise Champion’

Switzerland, currently being regarded as one of the safest countries to travel to, has announced the opening of tourism businesses with cautious optimism. In light of the same, BLS Navigation, that owns and operates boats on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz in the famous Interlaken region of Switzerland, has announced selective resumption of operations for tourists. Represented and promoted by AccessIndiaReps in the Indian market, BLS Lake Cruises in Interlaken have become a favourite for Indians in the past few years. “All boat journeys here are included in the Swiss Travel System Pass free of cost for individual travellers, and we offer great prices for groups,” says Ashish Saran, Founder & CEO, AccessIndiaReps. Kaspar Stettler, Head of Sales, BLS Navigation, adds, “We are happy to resume our Interlaken Lake Cruise operations with necessary precautions and are operating our boats from various locations popular with tourists and local visitors, including restaurant services on the boats. We are positive that cross-border travel will open up from other parts of Europe and the world, and we resume full services soon. We love Indian tourists and have been seeing good numbers in the past years and are extremely hopeful that the Indian market will recover soon and we will see our Indian friends again.”

Genting Cruise Lines has launched a new B2B app geared toward the company’s travel trade and business partners to provide a wealth of information, all in the palm of their hands. The “GCL India” app available on both Android and Apple devices shall deliver a comprehensive platform for business partners to access a range of helpful tools including itineraries, brochures and presentations, cruise calendars, photos and videos and important news. The goal of the app is to streamline information delivery and to speed up the turnaround time of providing essential materials to their end consumers.