New ships for cruise hotspots

By

Marex

2018-11-01 16:57:25

Travel Leaders Group's latest survey of travel trends shows that the Caribbean remains the top international destination for American travelers, followed by river cruises in Europe and then cruises in the Mediterranean. As the global cruise fleet continues to grow, options need to be made globally.

Celebrity Cruises officially took delivery of Celebrity Edge Atlantic Shipyards in Saint-Nazaire, France this week. This 2,900 passenger ship is the first of four Celebrity Cruises Edge class ships. On November 6th, Celebrity Edge will begin its transatlantic trip to its home port, the T25 at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She will inaugurate her inaugural season by sailing on seven-night cruising itineraries in the Eastern and Western Caribbean, with her maiden voyage to the Western Caribbean on December 9, 2018, and her maiden voyage Eastern Caribbean, 16 December 2018. Then, in the spring of 2019, Celebrity Edge crosses again the Atlantic towards the Mediterranean with a range of crossings of seven to eleven nights in emblematic cities like Barcelona and Rome.

The Travel Leaders Group survey found that active and adventure travel, as well as food and wine travel, are currently among the most popular specialty travel choices. Virgin Voyages is part of this active market and this week the line has ordered a fourth ship to Fincantieri. This means that Virgin will debut at sea for four consecutive years starting in 2020. The new ship will be a sister of the others, with Lady Scarlet the first of the series. It will have a capacity of 110,000 gross tons, a length of 278 meters and will accommodate 2,770 passengers.

Last week, KfW IPEX-Bank and Commerzbank announced the financing of the third shipping ship of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The Polar Class 6 will sail in the polar regions with other destinations such as South America. It will have a length of 139 meters and will accommodate up to 230 passengers and 175 crew members.

Hurtigruten also ordered a new shipping ship last week from Norway's Kleven Verft. This will be the third hybrid-powered expedition cruise ship of the line. Its design is based on the Hurtigruten MS. Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen, currently under construction on the site. It will have a high class of ice, will accommodate 530 guests and is expected to be delivered in 2021. With a growing fleet of 17 custom-built expedition ships, Hurtigruten is exploring destinations including Antarctica, South America, Norway , Svalbard, Greenland and the Northwest. Passage and other Arctic destinations.

Meanwhile, One Ocean Expeditions has put back into service its latest ship, the RCGS Resolved, destined for distant and unspoiled destinations, including Central and South America and the North Atlantic Islands. The line is already carrying ships to the east coast of Canada, the Canadian High Arctic and Antarctica. RIMS ResolvedThe maiden voyage will be in Antarctica.

More than two – thirds of the professional travel agents in the Travel Executives' survey indicate that consumers are spending more per trip in 2019 than in the current year. According to Ninan Chacko, CEO of Travel Leaders Group: "The cruise industry offers an exceptional experience and level of convenience that allows cruise passengers to return from year to year and seduce newcomers with incredible new ships and options. less traditional, such as river and maritime cruises, which are attracting more and more interest. "