Category Archives: Cruises

The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) is planning to open up a slew of citizen-focused facilities being built at a cost of up to Rs 300 crore over the next six months, a senior official has said. “Many projects are in different stages of development and nearing completion. Works of around Rs 250-300 crore will be opened before the onset of the monsoon,” said Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, MbPT. The port remains one of the biggest land owners in the cramped megapolis and is undertaking a slew of projects aimed at benefiting the citizens and also the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. The projects to be completed include starting the ropax ship, which ferries both passengers and motor vehicles, from Mumbai to Mandwa for which a separate jetty and break water is being built, a ferry service connecting south Mumbai with Belapur in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai and beautification of the waterfront at Princess Dock. Bhatia said a domestic cruise terminal with restaurants will also be inaugurated, which is slated to handle a cruise service between the financial capital and Goa that will be starting soon. The projects to be inaugurated also include water taxis on the eastern waterfront, two floating restaurants at Gateway of India and one at Marine Drive, he said, adding that for deepening the tourism potential, a ferry service to the Kanhoji Angre island at Khanderi will also be started. The port is planning an event for the Rs 3090-crore International Cruise Terminal on January 11. It will take up to 18 months to complete the project that is aimed at upping the calls by global cruises to the country. MbPT is also working on starting …

Azamara Club Cruises has entered into an agreement to purchase the Azamara Pursuit, a ship that will complement the brand’s proposition further by taking travellers to destinations hitherto unexperienced. Come March 2018, TIRUN Travel Marketing, the exclusive India representative of Azamara Club Cruises will provide Indian travellers the opportunity to enjoy the most uniquely-curated destination experiences in the sister ship of Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest. Commenting on the acquisition, Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing, said, “Azamara Pursuit will further add to the brand’s value as a cruise line that guarantees the best of aesthetics, experience and extravagance to travellers, bringing its guests the experience of a boutique hotel at sea. We are pleased to extend the opportunity to our guests to travel to destinations as exciting as Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Belfast, Akureyri and many more on this ship.” The Azamara Pursuit will be covering a total of 61 destinations, out of which 15 destinations have not been visited yet by any of Azamara’s ships. The ship will be travelling across all the seven continents, allowing travellers to experience an assortment of geographies and cultures.

The Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) recently-released report ‘2018 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook’ offers an in-depth look at the cruise industry’s overall global economic impact as well as the trends impacting cruise travel in 2018. Joel Katz, Managing Director, CLIA Asia, said, “With an annual source market growth of more than 40 per cent, Asia is emerging as one of the most significant cruise destinations and cruise source markets in the world. Cruising is expected to capture a much larger percentage of the Asian population in the near future, which could catapult Asia’s share of the global market.” As part of the 2018 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook, CLIA forecast nine top cruise travel trends for the coming year. As per the report, travel agents continue to see a steady demand from consumers in planning and executing holidays. One of the trends reported in the study indicates that the next evolution of experiential travel sees travellers taking a step further to seek ‘transformational’ experiences. Some upcoming cruise itineraries include the opportunity to indulge in local cuisine, guided tours through small villages and even visits inside private homes.  

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has introduced the next generation of its booked guest mobile application – Cruise Norwegian. Andy Stuart, President and CEO, NCL, said, “Whether they’re 60 days from their sail date or in the middle of their cruise, Cruise Norwegian brings seamless access to a myriad of on board offerings, services and activities right into the palms of our guests’ hands. Once on board, the app will allow guests to continue customising their ideal cruise experience and view or manage their existing account information, allowing them to maximise their time and spend it on the things they enjoy the most.” The app features functions that will help passengers in the booking process, their time on and off the ship as well as stay connected with friends and family both on board and back home. Through the app, users can also preview and book shore excursions, make dining and entertainment reservations, purchase on board dining and beverage packages or special occasion packages before they cruise. It also provides directions to the port and with mobile online check-in functionality, guests can save time at the pier and have a paperless boarding process with mobile e-docs. The new app will be available on board Norwegian’s newest ship, Norwegian Bliss, when she launches in summer 2018.  

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Asia has announced the appointment of Jiali Wong as its new Regional Manager for Asia, based in Singapore. With almost 10 years’ experience in tourism, Wong will be responsible for growing industry engagement in the region and supporting the continued growth of cruise. This includes responsibilities for event development and growing CLIA’s Executive Partner programme in the region. Wong is seconded from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and most recently headed the Cruise Business Development team at STB where she forged strong interest and networks in the cruise industry. Joel Katz, Managing Director (Australasia & Asia), CLIA, says, “This is a new dedicated position, designed to support our members as the cruise industry continues to expand across Asia. We’re looking forward to working with Wong as we intensify our focus on advocating, educating, and promoting on behalf of the industry in the region. While the Asian cruise market has grown tremendously over the past four years – it has the potential to catapult ahead of competing markets.”  

Dream Cruises has announced that its inaugural vessel, Genting Dream, will be home-ported year-round in Singapore starting from December 3, 2017. This marks a first for Singapore to host a new and large-scale 151,300-tonne cruise ship year-round. The ship will call at more than 10 ports in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam during 2018. Naresh Rawal, Vice President Sales, Star Cruises, Dream Cruises & Crystal Cruises, added, “Apart from this, we are also waiting for the launch of World Dream sailing, the second ship under Dream Cruises, from Hong Kong. We also have something lined up for the new year with Crystal Air’s six-night itinerary that includes Sydney and Honolulu from December 30 to January 4, 2018.” The privately-owned luxury jet has the highest staff-to-guest ratio with Crystal Skye butlers, fine wines, Champagnes and premium spirits, networking area, a bar, 88 handcraft, fully-reclining Crystal Exclusive Class flatbed seats, state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Ark Travels, the Preferred Sales Agent for Star Cruises in India, recently hosted its annual get together titled ‘Big Bang Nautical Fiesta’ from August 13-16, 2017 onboard SuperStar Gemini. More than 400 of its travel agent partners were hosted for this event who came from all over India including smaller cities like Indore, Surat, Rajkot and Karimnagar near Hyderabad. The three-night itinerary included Singapore-Penang-Port Klang-Singapore. Kishan Biyani, Managing Director, ARK Travels, says, “The idea for this annual event was to start with two days which was held at Lavasa, to three days this year, and five days in 2018. This event is to say thank you to all our partners. We started nine years ago and with their support we have grown tremendously over the years. This event was to also showcase not just the cruising experience but also to show the partners what charters can offer. They deliver more value to the customer at almost the same price. Next year you will see a lot more charters in co-operation with Star Cruises. It could be from Bangkok or Malaysia.” For the forthcoming travel season, Ark Travels will be focusing on promoting other Star Cruises ships like SuperStar Libra (ex-Port Klang) and SuperStar Virgo (ex-Shanghai). Naresh Rawal, VP Sales – India, South Asia, Russia, Middle East and South Africa at Star Cruises, also announced at the event that the event will be held onboard Dream Cruises, one of the most spacious ships in Asia. “This year we started with a contemporary brand – Star Cruises. Next year we plan to have the event on Dream Cruises. The year after that, Crystal Cruises!” Rawal revealed.

Mumbai witnessed the gathering of a high-level delegation from different ministries and government authorities who announced their collective plan and focus to develop cruise tourism. Sharing their perspectives were: Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Government of India; JaykumarRawal, Minister of Tourism Government of Maharashtra; Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust; Vijay Waghmare, MD, MTDC; and David Dingle, Chairman, Carnival UK. Titled ‘Dawn of Cruise in India’ the seminar was aimed at encouraging cruise tourism in India, more specifically Mumbai, by improving infrastructure, facilitating quick and easy movement of cruise passengers, and easing taxation for cruise companies. Gadkari identified the reasons why cruise tourism had not taken off in India. As one of the initial steps, all relevant government agencies such as port authorities, security agencies, immigration authorities, customs, and port health authorities were identified and formed a task force to first assess the current condition and then look at the global best practices. Speaking at the conference, Rawal said, “Maharashtra is pleased to be the homeport of choice for cruises in India. The association with the shipping Ministry mutually assist to formulate policies to support Maharashtra’s position as a cruise hub. Therefore, there is huge potential for cruise tourism among domestic as well as international travelers. Cruise tourism will assist to earn huge foreign exchange and generate job opportunities.”

Indian travellers will now be able to enjoy Indian cuisine at the Sabor Indian Cuisine, the premium restaurant in Royal Caribbean International’s cruise ship Navigator of the Seas. Sabor, which originally featured a Mexican cuisine. Sabor will be available for 2017 European sailings only and can only be booked onboard. In recent months, the number of Indian guests on the Royal Caribbean sailings has increased exponentially which motivated RCI to change Sabor’s menu. Commenting on the decision, Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN said, “The number of Indian travellers onboard Royal Caribbean International has increased considerably. RCI decided to have a menu that comprises dishes reflecting the culinary heritage of India. Inspired by the flavors of the country, cuisine at Sabor has been kept as diverse as the region’s expansive culture.” All sailings of the Navigator of the Seas will leave from Southampton till October 2017, with itineraries distributed across different durations from five days to 14 days sailings, which are popular with Indians. The cruise ship will sail though England, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Italy and more.

The Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai along with Pullmantur Cruises, represented by its GSA in India Griffon, conducted a workshop in Mumbai for a few select travel agents. While Ignacio Ducasse, Director and Tourism Counsellor, Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai, spoke on the Canary Islands of Spain, Vivek Jain, Managing Director, Griffon, gave a presentation on the winter sailings of Pullmantur’s Horizon and Sovereign cruise liners starting this November. The Canary Islands are the seven islands of Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro in Spain.