CELEBRITY
CRUISES placed an order for a fourth Solstice-class cruise
ship with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft, with an expected delivery
date in fall 2011. The three other 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger
Solstice-class ships are the Celebrity Solstice, the Celebrity
Equinox and the Celebrity Eclipse, with slated deliveries every
year between 2008 and 2010. Celebrity's fleet would grow to 11
ships with the $798 million new ship-order, a testament "to the
demand we've received from travel agent partners and travelers" for
Celebrity, said parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises' CEO Richard
Fain. All four Solstice-class ships are being constructed by Meyer
Werft and will have 90% outside cabins, 85% of those with verandas.
NCL
CORP. will offer priority hiring to soldiers in an army
employment program for jobs on the line's U.S.-flagged NCL America
ships. NCL joined the Army's Partnership for Youth Success program,
to help NCL "develop long-term relationships with quality
candidates for our NCL America ships in Hawaii," said Colin Veitch,
NCL's president and CEO. Under an
agreement with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, interested
enlistees agree to interview for one of approximately 50 positions
on NCL America ships upon completion of their term of
service.
THE FOURS
SEASONS WILL FLOAT on a luxury residential cruise ship
development slated for a 2010 delivery. BV International Ocean
Holdings opened sales for private residences aboard Four Seasons
Ocean Residences, a partnership with the Four Seasons Hotels and
Resorts brand. The 48,600-ton residential vessel will have 112
wholly owned one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom residences, from
800 to more than 7,000 square feet, starting at $3.8 million and
will feature a helipad, a putting green and more than 70,000 square
feet of public space.
THE PORT OF
COPENHAGEN in Denmark will invest $40 million in a new
dock for cruise ships, scheduled for completion in 2009. The dock
is primarily geared towards cruise ship turnarounds, the port said,
and the investment is part of a long-term strategy to attract more
cruise ship traffic. "Good facilities play a leading role when
cruise lines and passengers choose a destination," said Per Schmidt
of the Port of Copenhagen. The port said it would set a new record
in terms of cruise ship visits this year, with 290 vessels slated
for arrival, carrying 420,000 cruise passengers, a 5% increase
compared with 2006.
Cruise
E-Letter Editor: Johanna Jainchill
Phone: (201) 902-2065
[email protected]
For promotional
opportunities in the E-letters, contact [email protected].