, a company that offers advisory services in investment and development finance. From 1997-2000, he was a member of the executive board of the World Bank Group in Washington, DC, representing the Nordic and Baltic countries. Earlier, Niemi served as md and board member of the Finnish Guarantee Board.
Smith issued a statement today welcoming the competition, saying it will 'further stimulate the market.' He said Star has 'underlined the increasing popularity of cruise holidays among Australians' and pointed out that P&O will have five ships in Australian waters between November and April - Pacific Sky, Pacific Princess, Star Princess, Adonia and Aurora.
Ross and Denise Blackmore of Cruiseabout were also quick to respond by sending an e-flash to their database, and they report strong sales for Leo's return season since bookings opened at 9 a.m. today.
The Blackmores said Leo's 2004 three-day cruises to nowhere from Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for from A$520 per person will be 'wonderful exposure for the Star Cruises product and will introduce many more Australians to cruise holidays.'
' Sponsored by the International Council of Cruise Lines and Cruise Lines International Association, the seminar is set for two cities: New York on Oct. 15 and Miami on Nov. 7.
The session will examine how cruise lines are addressing such issues as safety and security in the aftermath of 9/11, health, sanitation and environmental concerns, and changing economic conditions. Topical issues like Norovirus will get special focus. The session will also review trends in pricing, homeporting, passenger growth and economic impact, and a behind-the-scenes ship tour is planned.
Seminar panelists will include senior government officials, academic and industry experts and senior cruise line executives. To reserve space at either seminar, media should contact Matt Triaca at 1-202-530-4690. RSVP for the New York session is requested by Oct. 10 and for Miami, by Oct. 31.
An additional EUR225m are likely to be raised within five years under authority granted to the Costa board.
The cash injection results from a rights issue approved yesterday by Costa shareholders during an extraordinary general meeting which voted to increase the company's capital from EUR189,689,777 to EUR228,935,933 by issuing 39,246,156 new ordinary shares.
The new shares will have a EUR1 face value but they will be underwritten at EUR7 per share, including a EUR6 premium. As many as six new shares are to be issued for any 29 shares owned. The equivalent value of the equity generated by this increase is expected to amount to around EUR275m. The extraordinary general meeting of shareholders fixed Nov. 14 as the date at which the new shares must be subscribed.
In addition, Costa's board has been given the power to decide within five years whether to issue an additional 32,182,415 shares with a face value of EUR1 each, to be offered to shareholders at EUR7.
Crystal Symphony and Serenade of the Seas were in port today, and Carnival Victory and Norwegian Crown arrive tomorrow.
'Being down on the dock today and speaking with many of the passengers as they were getting on and off our vehicles, it felt great to see how much they appreciated us taking them around and showing them the incredible scenes all around town,' says Dennis Campbell of Ambassatours Gray Line. 'Many of them commented also on how impressed they were with how many shops and restaurants were open considering how bad the storm hit us.'
Today's ship calls are extremely appreciated, Campbell adds. 'Halagonians and Nova Scotians are good and strong people and we wish to get back to our normal way of life as quickly as possible,' he tells Seatrade Insider. 'So many local businesses were hurt as a result of the hurricane, the arrival of the Crystal Symphony and Serenade of the Seas today was a sign of getting back to our normal way of life and was very welcome by so many local tourism industry suppliers.'
Halifax and Lunenberg lost a total of five cruise calls due to Hurricane Juan, a Category 1 storm that claimed two lives in Halifax and knocked out power around the province.
Official launch took place at a champagne reception at Caviar House in London last night.
Crystal Cruises, Hebridean Island Cruises, Peter Deilmann River & Ocean Cruises, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, SeaDream Yacht Club and Windstar Cruises make up the alliance, details of which are available on a new website www.exclusive-collection.co.uk.
Edwina Lonsdale, chair of the PSA's Exclusive Collection, explains: 'There is such a huge diversity of cruise holidays now that we felt it was important to help holidaymakers differentiate between the types of experience available. We aim to show that ultra-luxury cruise lines can exceed the service and attention to detail offered by luxury land-based resorts and offer better value for money.'
Itineraries to 15 destinations are planned, from Fremantle on Australia's west coast to Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart, Tasmania in the south and northward to Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns with visits to the South Pacific islands of Fiji, New Caledonia and the Isle of Pines in Noumea.
SuperStar Leo's return to Australia comes in the wake of a successful inaugural stint in that country earlier this year, when the vessel left Hong Kong to avoid the peak of the SARS crisis. While that redeployment occurred on very short notice, Star was able to fill the ship. Now, with a much longer lead time, the line expects to rely more on its international sales network in Asia, Japan, the UK, Europe and North America.
Chief operating officer Chong Chee Tut says the new deployment 'sees Star Cruises attempting to strike an optimal balance in catering to an already established market presence in Hong Kong and at the same time satisfying a growing demand for our cruises in a relatively new area of operations, Australia.' Chong hopes that Australians who sample the ship in their home waters will be enticed to try cruises to Vietnam and China when SuperStar Leo returns to Hong Kong.
The Australia season begins on Jan. 12 when SuperStar Leo arrives at Fremantle. Maiden calls will include Fremantle, the Tasmanian destinations of Hobart, Freycinet and Port Davey, Hardy Reef in Queensland and Isle of Pines in the South Pacific. The ship returns to Hong Kong on March 26 to commence cruises at the start of the peak summer holiday period.
The event takes place from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 10 and is free for NSC/NACC members and $45 for guests. The price includes dinner and wine/beer with an intracoastal cruise. Norwill will cater 'Viking food.' RSVPs are requested by Oct. 6 to [email protected]
Additionally, Scott Knutson, formerly Carnival's vp of sales -Central Region, has been named vp of sales - Southeast Region.He replaces Tracey Kelly, who recently moved to Holland America Line as vp sales.
As director of sales - Central Region, Julius will oversee 21 businessdevelopment managers who are responsible for maximizing sales and marketingopportunities for travel agents in 15 Central US states. He remains based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Knutson, who is relocating to Orlando, will oversee15 BDMs in nine Southeastern states.
Julius joined Carnival in 1989 as BDM for theNorthern Midwest region. Knutson joined Carnival as a sales manager for Northern California in 1988 and was named director of sales - Central Region in 1994 and vp of sales - Central Region eight years later.
'Work is scheduled to begin at the end of next year and completed 18 months later,' reports South Corsican Chamber of Commerce (CCI) president Raymond Ceccaldi to Seatrade Insider.
Ajaccio, one of four ports owned by the CCI, has homeport aspirations and hopes when the new pier is ready to become a serious contender for Western Mediterranean turnarounds. Last April, a new 1,000sq mtr multi-functional Congress Centre opened at the waterfront. This can double as a passenger terminal to process the turnarounds, and with two international airports in the south of the island, Ajaccio is well positioned to target such business. Whilst hotel capacity in the capital could be a problem in the peak season, Ceccaldi says there are plans to build two new hotels near the Campo Dell'Oro Airport at Ajaccio.
Cruise business in South Corsica is up on 2002 with a 34% increase in passenger numbers at Ajaccio. 'We will handle 100,000 passengers at Ajaccio this year, back at pre-9/11 levels,' reports CCI director Paul Grimaldi.
