Luxury goes up-front - NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES

NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES goes up-front in the luxury cruise branch. 

The new company changed its name by using `voyages´, with that avoiding to be mixed with the standard term of the cruise industry. `Voyages´ is the new cruise.

The brand and product messaging of NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES is: an ultra-luxury adventure cruise line that will offer the experience of a mega yacht.
"Nothing is impossible as the word itself says `I'm possible´".

Quote from Audrey Hepburn

by Earl of Cruise

NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES ethics - courtesy NORWEGIAN YACHT VOAYAGES

A new enterprise NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES

Any new enterprise in the cruise industry, dominated by the big four (CARNIVAL, MSC CRUISES, NCL and ROYAL CARIBBEAN) has to find its niche ... competing with the big four is a hard venture and not easy to achieve. The luxury cruise branch is about 5% of the multi billion business, and it neither crowded nor to small to starting a cruise business.

NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES has announced the finalized design for their four-ship newbuilds on order with MetalShips & Docks, the first of which will be named CAROLINE. Honi soit qui mal y pense - does the name implement a connection to Monaco? Indicating the targeted passenger group? If only an coincident, it is clearly to be seen this new company has no interest in the mass market.
The ships, which will be 173.8 meters long (slightly longer than REGENT SEVEN SEAS’ 490 pax and 340 crew SEVEN SEAS NAVIGATOR) and will have a capacity for max 220 guests with a total officer/crew complement of 160. Suite sizes will range from 45m² (485 sqf) to 140m² (1,506 sqf), the company said. The luxury vessels will have 90 suites (180 pax in doubble occupancy). The ships will be enviromental friendly, LNG-powered and will also feature hydrogen fuel cells and battery banks.
"We are not going to be the second best. We are going to be the best. I know we have tough competition, but competition is always good," Ulf Henrick Wynnsdale said.
The first ship will be delivered in May of 2020, Wynnsdale told Cruise Industry News. Three more 220-passenger vessels will follow from Spain’s METAL SHIPS & DOCKS, Vigo, in 10-month intervals.

NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES ship design by Einar Hareide - courtesy NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES

The cruise liners in the mass market have a problem, they are designed for high passenger density, and because of the price and cost pressure they are less easily to be built in a truly environment-friendly way, because these immense additional costs are only re-established in a too long term, if.

"Our finalised Expedition & Explorer Mega-Yacht design by Einar Hareide is now at Marin Teknikk for their implementation on to technical drawings and engineering plans" said Ulf Henrick Wynnsdale, President and CEO, and added "We are fortunate to have an extraordinary designer like Einar J Hareide who with among other experiences, 15 years as Director of Design at SAAB cars, takes a new approach to our design like not many others would be able to do." courtesy of norwegianyachtvoyages

SAVE OUR SEAS - Source: YouTube

SAVE OUR SEAS is a project we are working on. We aim at leading the cruise fleet for sustainable sea travel by actively taking initiatives, we will transform the industry by innovative approaches and solutions to existing and new environmental challenges and in this way increase the environmental standards and overall goals.

`Voyages´ is the new cruise.

President and CEO Ulf Henrick Wynnsdale told that the word cruise did not fit into the company's branding or passenger demographic targeting after extensive research. Other new players, such as VIRGIN VOYAGES and RITZ-CARLTON with its RITZ -CARLTON YACHT COLLECTION, are also avoiding to use the word cruise. Wording this new venture cruise would indicate in the end it may be compatible to the common mass market. Using voyages makes them from the very first moment different.

"We are changing our brand name to NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES," the company said. "We plan to stay far away from the word cruise ship. As our project of building four Expedition Mega Yachts is moving forward we saw the need to update our branding and profile to better identify and reflect on the products and services we intend to provide. We feel that NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES appropriately does so. There are so many people that have a totally wrong picture of what cruising is all about. Expedition and voyages will sound much better."

A significant amount of fundraising for the project has been completed some time ago this year.
"The research we have seen in the market points toward smaller ships," Ulf Henrick Wynnsdale, CEO, told Cruise Industry News. "It will be a more adventurous product, and at the same time, the ultra-luxury part of that segment doesn’t have a lot of capacity."

Enviromentfriendly Luxury

The four ships will be the first expedition ships that are LNG ready, with capacity to sail up to 36 hours on LNG while burning MGO the rest of the time. They will also be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells, said Wynnsdale.

Since an initial ship concept was released in January, the company went back to the drawing board, adding capacity, making the ships bigger at 16,500 tons and giving them a totally new exterior look, courtesy of Hareide Design, which drew up a new vessel stance and incorporated much more glass into the ship’s design.

"The GA (General arrangement Plan) we have now is probably the ninth or tenth version. It’s been changing. We are not going to jump into this and develop a ship that is not top of the line," Ulf Henrick Wynnsdale said. "In January, we introduced the concept of an ultra luxury yacht with some expedition capabilities." Mr. Wynnsdale further stated "Now, the vessel is an expedition ship, while retaining the mega yacht look. A sales plan is being formulated with David Morris International and the company plans to target the high-end of the U.S. source market. Multiple focus groups have been held across the U.S. A hotel partner that will lend its name to the operation is still in the cards."

Mr.. Wynssdale further said: "I am confident that with the expedition vessels entering the market, the demand is more for luxury and exploration, and the onboard experience is going to be just as important as the destination."

Most staterooms will offer so-called infinity-style balconies. There will also be a top-deck observation lounge and large aft marina. Absent will be helicopters and submarines.

Penthouse living and dining area

Penthouse bedroom

Penthouse outer deck space

All renderings above - courtesy NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES

The vessels will be ready for polar operation.
"We want to have flexibility to go anywhere, and when you are building a ship, adding polar class is not that big of a deal," Mr. Wynnsdale said. "It’s early in the project. Our itineraries will be including the polar regions where we see demand."
The luxury vessels will have 90 suites, starting at 36 square meters each. Wynnsdale added he saw the Scenic Eclipse as the closest competitor.
The company is based in Oslo and is already putting together an operation in Miami.

Being GREEN is the must for cruise vessels today, TIER III will be a challenge for older vessels, and the areas where air pollution become more restricted are growing. and it is must reducing the carbon footprint ... we do not have a second world in our trunks.
"We are convinced that our extreme focus on sustainable sea travel and our new innovative solutions will be raising the bar for new stricter regulations for sea travel, not only in environmental-sensitive areas but on all seas around the world," said Ulf Henrick Wynnsdale, president and CEO. "While many claim to be hybrid vessels, they are mostly referring to their installed battery banks forso called peak-shaving," Mr. Wynnsdale continued. "Peak-shaving is where batteries give the extra energy needed at times, rather than additional diesel generators be required to start up, hence reducing emissions. However, these hybrid vessel would never be able to operate without some diesel generator(s) running."

Being the first LNG-powered expedition ship, NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES is on a mission to be green, also including fuel cells and battery power.

DNV GL has signed on as the class society. Ulf Henrick Wynnsdale said: "Battery power would supplement two main engines during peak periods of demand, so a third would not have to kick in. The vessel will have four main engines."

Wynnsdale said that after a thorough review process, the company will construct the vessels at MetalShips & Docks in Spain, which has specialized in both mega yachts and offshore vessels. The yard and the shipowner have been talking for a full year. Wynnsdale added that there was little capacity for cruise-ship building in Norway and the Chinese yards he held talks with would have had challenges delivering a luxury product.

Since announcing its intent to enter the business in January, there has also been a slight branding adjustment – as NORWEGIAN CRUISE COMPANY changed to  NORDIC CRUISE COMPANY and finally to NORWEGIAN YACHT VOYAGES. The startup is also promising to be the "Ultra Luxury Green Expedition Cruise Line."

Expect further branding changes before sales and marketing kick into high gear, with or without the addition of a hotel partner. Among other project partners are CMI Leisure and CMI Ship Management.

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