Rebecca Gibson

The Aponte family, which owns MSC Group, achieved a long-held ambition in July 2023, debuting Explora I, the first boutique ship for its new luxury cruise brand, Explora Journeys.“Our executive chairman, Pierfrancesco Vago, started with a blank piece of paper and a vision of redefining the luxury ocean travel experience,” says Achille Staiano, chief commercial officer of Explora Journeys. “For the family, the true meaning of luxury is experiencing new things...

Each year, Tarragona in Spain hosts a castell competition, where teams with people of all ages and abilities share their collective strength to build the highest human tower. MedCruise president Figen Ayan drew a parallel between the castells and the more than 154 ports and 57 associate members in the MedCruise Association when opening the 64th MedCruise General Assembly in Tarragona, Spain, in June 2024.“We all carry universal values such as teamwork, solidarity,...

Explora Journeys officially named Explora II, the second of its luxury cruise ships, during a ceremony onboard the vessel in the port of Civitavecchia, Italy, on 15 September.The ceremony was hosted in the Journeys Lounge by Italian actress and TV personality Lorella Cuccarini and was attended by senior representatives from the port and MSC Group, including founder and group chairman Gianluigi Aponte, as well as international journalists, key travel partners and other invited...

Chesapeake Shipbuilding has started constructing American Maverick and American Ranger, the sixth and seventh small ships in American Cruise Lines’ Project Blue series, at its yard in Salisbury, Maryland.Set to begin cruising in 2026, both ships have been fully stabilised to enable them to sail along the US Eastern Seaboard and will accommodate 125 guests. Each vessel will have 56 staterooms with private balconies, as well as a deck of suites ranging from 420 to 620 square...

Mexican resort developer Group Vidanta has implemented cruisePAL’s solution to manage reservations for its new cruises to the Caribbean and Mediterranean.Grupo Vidanta will implement the web-based cruisePAL Reservation System (CRS) to streamline and centralise all reservation management processes and enable agents to work remotely. The solution, which will be integrated with Grupo Vidanta’s existing systems, will manage bookings, reservation modifications, payments, sales...

Over the past 25 years, Bolidt’s Gerben Smit has been involved in yacht construction work, more than 50 refits on different types of vessels and newbuild projects for over 100 passenger ships, including Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival and Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas. During this time, he has held several roles at Bolidt and in his new role as operations director, he is helping the organisation to encourage cruise brands and ferry lines to use...

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri is to construct two new cruise ships for Viking, both of which will be delivered in 2030.The 54,300gt vessels will be “based on the successful features” and innovations of the previous ships Fincantieri has constructed for Viking and will accommodate 998 passengers in 499 cabins. They will be built according to the latest environmental, safety and navigation regulations and feature new innovations to enable the ships to operate with...

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