Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced that it will host its 2024 Investor Day on May 20 at the New York Stock Exchange, NYC.
According to a press release, the event will feature presentations and a Q&A session with Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer, as well as other members of the company’s senior leadership team.
Attendance at the live event is by invitation only and will be broadcast online, available to all interested parties. A replay of the webcast and related slide presentations will remain accessible on NCL’s website for an additional 30 days.
MSC Cruises announced its new summer 2024 “Stay & Cruise” program, offering guests the chance to extend their seven-night sailing into a nine or 10-night voyage, according to a statement.
The add-on packages are available for sailings on 11 MSC ships at five destinations; Athens, Venice, Rome, Miami and New York.
Travellers can add two nights’ accommodation with breakfast before or after their seven-night voyage at a 4-star hotel in Athens, Venice and Rome or a 3-star hotel in Miami, plus the option for two or three nights at a 4-star hotel in New York.
All “Stay & Cruise” packages offer a half-day excursion to explore the city’s attractions.
Ground transfers from airports to hotels are included for guests staying before the cruise and from the hotel to the ship. Additionally, for guests staying after the cruise, transfers from the ship to the hotel and from the hotel to the airport are also included.
The offer applies to the MSC Divina, MSC Fantasia, MSC Musica, MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview from Civitavecchia for an extended stay in Rome before or after a cruise.
The add-on package to explore Venice is available pre- or post-cruise onboard the MSC Armonia, MSC Lirica and MSC Sinfonia from Marghera-Venice. Additionally, guests sailing on the MSC Opera, departing from the port of Piraeus, can extend their vacation in Athens.
The program is available for Caribbean itineraries on the MSC Seascape departing from Miami with an additional two-day stay in the city.
Guests sailing onboard the MSC Meraviglia can also extend their trip pre-cruise in New York before the ship sets sail.
An add-on package for Istanbul will also be available soon for MSC Cruises’ winter 2024-25 ‘Stay & Cruise’ program.
Coming off a big newbuild order from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Daniele Fanara, director of new building and after-sales at Fincantieri, is positive about the future.
“We are serving all segments of the market, from small luxury vessels to mega-size vessels to upper premium,” said Fanara, speaking to Cruise Industry News. “This covers all the brands in the cruise industry.”
Fanara said Fincantieri was very proud to be working with a variety of operators and being able to serve each of them in a tailored customized way.
“We have cross-fertilization with our technology, including the capacity to design the vessel,” he added.
NCLH Order
The new Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings order for eight ships includes orders for all three company brands, with new classes of ships for each of them. Norwegian, Oceania and Regent will all get new bigger ships, with orders for the Norwegian brand stretching to 2036.
“We are proud of the trust that Norwegian gave us to develop such an important program,” said Fanara.
Looking at future technologies, Fanara said the ships were being developed.
“Our attention is focused on three main fuels,” he said. “One is LNG, one is methanol, and one is hydrogen. Hydrogen is the most innovative one. We are developing new ideas on how and when we can implement hydrogen onboard the vessels.”
New ships for Oceania and Regent are being developed to be methanol-ready.
“Today there is no real answer on the fuel of the future,” Fanara continued. “It’s a matter of availability. What’s important from our side is that we are always studying the latest technology available. We are also exploring CO2 capture technology.”
Fanara said among the alternative fuels, LNG was notable in the fact it was being used today.
“Ships are sailing on LNG. The other technology is in a different phase of development. We need to monitor them so we are ready to implement them if necessary,” he explained.
Questions are coming in from cruise lines on alternative fuel practicalities, Fanara said, but with the most questions on hydrogen.
“It is the most innovative, it is the most unknown.”
Industry
Fanara called the cruise industry resilient.
“Soon after Covid, the speed at which the industry recovered and came back to strong booking and revenue levels is incredible,” he said.
Fanara expects other orders to follow, citing market demand and the value gap between cruise- and land-based vacations.
Shipbuilding Costs
Costs are up to build ships.
“A greener vessel is for sure more expensive to build,” Fanara noted. “But is the value of this additional cost worth it for the industry?
“The owners can say the ships are more expensive. We had Covid, we had wars and the result of this has been inflation. If you mix inflation and the technology transition, the result is not less expensive ships.”
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