Category Archives: Oceania

Cruise lines have begun to get rid of their COVID-19 vaccine requirement that they have mandated over the past 15 months since cruises have restarted.

MSC Cruises As of September 1, 2022, MSC Cruises no longer requires U.S. citizens to be vaccinated. MSC currently offers cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas from Florida. View Best Prices on MSC

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line was the first major cruise line to announce the elimination of a COVID-19 vaccine requirement. This new policy goes into effect today, September 3, 2022. View Best Prices on NCL

Royal Caribbean Starting on September 5, 2022, guests who are not vaccinated will be able to sail on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, the worlds largest cruise line. View Best Prices on Royal Caribbean

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Carnival Cruise Line For cruises that depart on or after September 6, 2022, Carnival Cruise Line will allow all guests to once again sail on their Fun Ships. View Best Prices on Carnival

Princess Cruises Effective for cruises that depart from the U.S., United Kingdom, and Europe on or after September 6, 2022, vaccination will no longer be required. View Best Prices on Princess

Celebrity Cruises Starting on Monday, September 5, 2022, all guests will be able to sail on Celebrity cruise ships, even if not vaccinated. View Best Prices on Celebrity

Holland America Line Starting on September 6, 2022, travelers can cruise on Holland America cruise ships regardless of vaccination status. View Best Prices on Holland America

Margaritaville at Sea The cruise line that offers two night cruises to the Bahamas will eliminate the vaccine requirement on September 5, 2022.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises Starting today, September 3, 2022, Regent has opened up their sailings to everyone. View Best Prices on Regent

Oceania Cruises Starting today, September 3, 2022, Oceania has opened up their sailings to everyone. View Best Prices on Oceania

Virgin Voyages Virgin Voyages, the adults only cruise line sailing from Miami, allows 10% of their guests to sail unvaccinated. View Best Prices on Virgin

Azamara Azamara will remove their vaccine requirement on December 1, 2022. View Best Prices on Azamara

SeaDream Yacht Club SeaDream has eliminated the vaccine requirement on all sailings effective August 30, 2022.

Seabourn Starting with sailings that depart on or after September 6, 2022, guests will no longer be required to be vaccinated.

To see the complete health protocols for each cruise line, visit the cruise lines website or contact your local travel professional.

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Cruise Lines That Don't Require a COVID-19 Vaccination - Cruise Fever

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When the CDC ended its COVID-19 cruise ship program in July, many cruise lines changed their health and safety protocols. Major companies like Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line (who own several brands) rolled back their COVID-19 rules and removed testing requirements for vaccinated passengers on some voyages. Tests are still required in certain cases, though, depending on the policies of the ports to be visited. (The United States no longer requires a negative COVID test before reentering the country.)

On Oceania Cruises, the line we were sailing, vaccinated travelers 12 and older do not need to test to embark. Unvaccinated travelers, however, must present a negative, medically administered COVID-19 test that is not more than 72 hours old at the time of boarding.

We were sailing aboard Oceanias Marina, traveling from Trieste, Italy, to Rome. Our ports of call would include Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia, along with Kotor, Montenegro, Corfu, Greece, Messina (Sicily), and Sorrento/Capri, Italy. A new port every day, yay! We get excited about waking up someplace new and heading out to explore. This cruise line is known for that type of itinerary (many ports, few sea days) and its culinary program. Plus, Oceania was recently named one of Travel+ Leisures top cruise lines, praising the UK-trained master butlers. (Not all categories of cabins have butler service.)

So far, so good. But we soon discovered that our Venetian Vignettes-themed cruise wasnt actually boarding in Venice, or even stopping by for a quick Ciao! Cruise ships this size are no longer calling at the port, so our ship would sail from Trieste instead. No Piazza San Marco! No Palazzo Ducale! Bummer.

We arrived a day early for our cruise, a recommended strategy these days when flight delays and cancellations are common. Even though we were haggard from our red-eye flight, we managed to drag ourselves around Trieste and get acquainted. It turned out to be one of our favorite ports. Set on the cuff of Italys boot to the northeast, Trieste is situated between Slovenia and the Adriatic Sea. Once a Habsburg city under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the city has an intriguing history and has been officially part of Italy only since 1954. Some Triestines are pushing for independence. The Piazza Unit dItalia was a perfect place to people-watch amid splendid neoclassical buildings, and we found a good spot for dinner near Triestes Instagram-worthy Canal Grande.

The following day, we walked over to our ship at the assigned time. Boarding typically a crowd-fest is now staggered, so there were no long lines. We showed our vaccination certificates (boosters arent currently required, but are strongly recommended since many ports require them). The ships crew is fully vaccinated, which is commonplace these days. Our bags were quickly whisked to our rooms, so we freshened up and, in true cruise mode, made a beeline for the food.

Who was that masked man?

Wed forgotten the true bounty of a cruise ship buffet: so many stations laden with tasty-looking edibles! On Oceania ships, all provisions are fresh, and everything is made from scratch. But there was no helping yourself to a taste of this or a bite of that, DIY-style; servers are lined up behind the buffet stations to handle the task. Its probably good, hygienically speaking, that there arent 400 different paws handling the calamari tongs, but this hybrid buffet takes getting used to. (Some cruise lines are returning to self-service buffets, Gray Faust said, so your experience may be different than ours.)

During those (rare) moments when we werent eating or drinking, our masks were on. Annoying, yes, but everyone seemed to be onboard (pun intended) with the concept. Some ports, like Italy, require masking for guests traveling there; for other destinations, masking is recommended but not required. Oceania recommends guests travel with several medical-grade masks, a.k.a. FFP2 masks, or KN-95 masks.

The muster drill, when passengers and crew gather for a safety briefing, has gone virtual. As mentioned, the ship can accommodate 1,238 passengers, but Oceania reduced capacity this summer and fall to give passengers more space. That meant no waiting in lines, plenty of pool chairs, and lots of staff attention (two crew members for every three guests, they say). For those who enjoy boisterous holiday-making in crowded clubs, this wasnt that. But every night there was a musical show, or a comedian, a hip magician (not an oxymoron, apparently), and, one night, a show featuring the comedian and the magician. For those still uneasy about hanging with others, Oceania offers 24-hour in-room dining. (We never had the Souffle of the Day but its available.) Theres also a new private dining experience, Prive, where guests can choose among dishes offered at Marinas specialty restaurants, along with a special degustation menu and a wine pairing menu.

Our favorite of the ships specialty restaurants was Toscana, where our low-carb resolutions disappeared as quickly as the fresh bucatini. Every bit of pasta and every smear of sauce was delicious. Oceania does its provisioning locally, and the supply chain was happily intact here.

The best meal we ate was probably the one we made ourselves at the Culinary Center, with a small group of committed (and spaced-apart) foodies. OK, granted, the recipes were created by acclaimed French chef Jacques Ppin, the cruise lines executive culinary director, so we could hardly go wrong. Our Steak Diane was fabulous, our pot d crme sublime. We even got to toss salad with our hands. Chef Jacques wasnt there to correct our mistakes; our instructor was Chef Leah Caplan, an early leader in the slow food movement and fun fact the culinary mastermind behind DiGiorno Pizza. She was so good, we booked a second event with her, a shopping and cooking excursion.

Yep, we did a lot of eating, but it was balanced with sightseeing: strolling museums and ancient walled cities in Croatia, crater-hopping Sicilys Mount Etna, and breezing up (and down) a famous chairlift in Capri, channeling Jackie O in white jeans (accessorized with masks instead of silk scarves, sigh). Since most of our excursions took place outdoors, we doffed the face coverings frequently, though. We brought our vaccination cards with us (along with our cruise cards) in case anyone asked to look at them. Nobody did. At the end of the day, we were greeted by our butler, Himanshu Dwivedi, who seemed delighted to see us each day and delivered tasty nibbles that we devoured (pre-gaming, but with food) before dinner.

Dressing up for dinner and a show is so festive! Exploring unfamiliar ports? As wonderful as ever. Who cares if we had to wear masks on the buses when we were discovering cool towns like Split and Dubrovnik? So, yes, its a different thing to cruise right now. And even that may change, as COVIDs never-ending variants come and go and ports refine or change their protocols. But the good parts of cruising happily remain.

For information: http://www.oceaniacruises.com. Oceanias six ships carry from 684 to 1,238 passengers. Prices begin at $1,599 per guest for a similar seven-day cruise to Italy and Greece aboard Marina in 2023. A new ship, the 1,200-passenger Vista, will set sail beginning next April.

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Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at bairwright@gmail.com

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Buh bye, buffets? Heres what its like to cruise now - The Boston Globe

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - A total of 80 bishops recently appointed in areas of Africa, Asia, America and Oceania that come under the first department of the Dicastery of Missions will take part in the study seminar that the Dicastery of Evangelization is organizing for them. The seminar will open on Monday, September 5th, at the Pontifical College of St. Paul the Apostle, with a Mass presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, and on Saturday, September 17th, with a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and an audience with Pope Francis. The custom of seminaries, established in 1994, aims to offer all bishops who have recently been appointed to govern the parishes of the mission areas, at the beginning of their mandate, a period of reflection, of deepening their knowledge of life and the episcopal ministry, of dialogue and prayer. The speakers are leading personalities from the church world. The program includes three lectures a day, followed by discussions and group work. The day begins with a joint service and the prayer of Lauds and ends with the prayer of Vespers.During the seminar, the participants deal with eight basic topics, each of which is deepened in various lectures. The first theme is "The relationship between the diocesan Bishop and the Dicastery for Evangelization". The two days of study will open with the lectures of Archbishops Protase Rugambwa ("The Service of the Dicastery to the New Particular Churches") and Giampietro Dal Toso ("The Pontifical Mission Societies: Structures, Competences and Activities").The second theme, "The Roman Curia", will be presented on Wednesday September 7thby Msgr. Marco Mellino, who will speak on reform of the Roman Curia, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher on the Holy See and relations with States , with references to relations with local governments.Two study days on September 8th and 9th will be dedicated to evangelization and will deal with the proclamation of the faith, the use of the media, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, educational institutions, the ministry of charity and the college of bishops. Among others, Msgr. Rino Fisichella, Msgr. Angelo Vincenzo Zani as well as Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer will give lectures.The theme of the Liturgy (Il munus sanctificandi del Vescovo) will be expounded by Card. Arthur Roche on September 10th, while on Sunday September 11th at Castel Gandolfo the bishops will experience a day of spiritual retreat preached by Card. Raniero Cantalamessa.Several reports will deal with the theme of the Clergy, on 12 and 13, with contributions from Card. Lazzaro You Heung-Sik, Bishop Vincenzo Viva, Bishop Charles Jude Scicluna, Father Armando Nugnes and Father Hans Zollner.Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca and Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta will address the theme of diocesan structures on September 14th. The last two themes of the Seminar, Consecrated Life and the Laity, will be presented on September 15 and 16 by Msgr. Jos Rodriguez Carballo and Sister Genowefa Kudlik, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Mrs. Linda Ghisoni and Mrs. Gabriella Gambino. Card. Richard Kuuia Baawobr, Bishop of Wa. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 2/9/2022)

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VATICAN - Seminar of formation for 80 new Bishops of the territories of first evangelization - Agenzia Fides

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ISACA will host its ISACA Conference Oceania 2022 virtual event, 8-9 September. To make the event as widely accessible as possible, ISACA is offering this as a free event to its more than 5,700 members in Oceania. Nonmembers can register for US$199 or become an ISACA member to access the event free of charge. The ISACA Conference, hosted in six regions in 2022Latin America, North America, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Europefeatures sessions related to digital trust: IT audit, risk, governance, information and cyber security, capability and maturity, privacy, and emerging technologies.

Hosted over two half-days, ISACA Conference Oceania 2022 will allow for digital trust professionals to network, earn up to 9.5 continuing professional education (CPE) credits and learn from a diverse group of expert speakers.

Sessions will focus on emerging trends in cybersecurity, threat modelling, the NSW AI Assurance Framework, cloud risk management, artificial intelligence, zero trust security, ransomware, digital trust, agile continual service improvement, cyber governance, privacy regulations, risk management, and more.

Karen Heslop, Vice President of Content Development at ISACA, and Shannon Donahue, Senior Vice President of Publishing at ISACA, will provide the opening general session presentation for ISACA Conference Oceania, Why Digital Trust is Crucial to You and Your Enterprise. Heslop and Donahue will explore the digital trust ecosystem and why we need to think about digital trust in everything we do.

Shola Richards, CEO and Founder of Go Together Global, will provide the closing keynote, The Courage to Go Together: Three Questions to Change How You Work, Live and Lead. Richards will provide the audience with actionable strategies to transform their work culture, amplify team civility, and inspire themselves and others to consistently bring their best to their work.

Other speakers include:

To learn more and register for the event, visit https://store.isaca.org/s/community-event?id=a334w000004fD8RAAU. Registration closes Friday, 2 September at 5:00pm US Central Time.

To access ISACAs digital trust resources, including an online course, ebooks, videos and more, visit https://www.isaca.org/digital-trust.

About ISACA

ISACA (www.isaca.org) is a global community advancing individuals and organizations in their pursuit of digital trust. For more than 50 years, ISACA has equipped individuals and enterprises with the knowledge, credentials, education, training and community to progress their careers, transform their organizations, and build a more trusted and ethical digital world. ISACA is a global professional association and learning organization that leverages the expertise of its more than 165,000 members who work in digital trust fields such as information security, governance, assurance, risk, privacy and quality. It has a presence in 188 countries, including 225 chapters worldwide. Through its foundation One In Tech, ISACA supports IT education and career pathways for underresourced and underrepresented populations.

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ISACA Conference Oceania Spotlights Digital Trust, Emerging Tech and Regional Trends - Business Wire

VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff

Karen Hardy, left, Ella Birkett and Alexis O'Doherty recently competed in the Artistic Roller Skating Champs and have all qualified for the Oceania championships in Whanganui next month, along with three other skaters from Hwera.

Alexis ODoherty began artistic roller skating after watching her mum compete now shes made her way to the world stage.

The 14-year-old is a member of the New Plymouth Artistic Roller-Skating Club and recently won her first title at the national championships in Blenheim.

It was pretty good and I cried.

Now she is one of six from Taranaki heading to the Oceania Artistic Skating Championships in Whanganui next month.

READ MORE:* Skate NZ pulls pin on world championships* Manawat skaters show their wares on international stage* Tokoroa skater rolls in success

But she wasnt a natural skater said her mum Michelle ODoherty, who was a competitive skater her entire life.

She was determined not to skate.

She would come to competitions with me and one day after nationals she came to me and said oh mum maybe I will skate.

VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff

Alexis O'Doherty didnt want to be a skater but after watching her mum compete she has been committed to the sport ever since.

So she started learning at four years old and now spends six days a week training at the East End skating rink.

Only, shes never too far from her mum who is also her skating coach.

Michelle is a part of the New Zealand skating committee and also coaches 18 students in Taranaki.

Part of that bunch is 53-year-old Karen Hardy, who has also qualified for the Oceania champs.

Hardy has been skating since she was nine months old, as her dad owned a skating rink in her homeland of South Africa and held her up as she shuffled along.

I skated up until I was 14, and then I stopped for 37 years.

Hardy got back in the rink after she met Michelle, who convinced her to put the skates back on.

She has since been successful in the skating world and also walked away with a national title at the competition in Blenheim.

VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff

Ella Birkett came second at the national champs, which saw her qualify for the Oceania champs.

Another of Michelles skaters, Ella Birkett, 15, also competed in the national competition and walked away with a silver medal, earning a spot in the Oceania champs too.

Ella and Alexis grew up together and have competed against each other since they were young.

Ella and Alexis are at the same grade, so they are competitors, but they are also great friends, Michelle said.

Alexis, Ella and Hardy are all now fundraising for the Oceania champs next month, where they will be joined by Ayla Bond, Elizabeth Cudby, and Chrissy Southey, all of Hwera.

Its the first time Taranaki has had this many skaters at that competition.

Weve only ever had two from the Taranaki region, so we have done really well.

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Taranaki roller skaters making their way to Oceania Championship - Stuff

Black Ferns players celebrate during their match against Australia last weekend. Photo / Photosport

Progress rarely runs in a straight line. It happens in fits and bursts with long periods of stagnation followed by flurries of activity. Such is the case in women's rugby; 31 years after the New Zealand team fundraised their way to the first World Cup, we are now only a month or so away from hosting our own.

We have had an increase in the number of contracts, the introduction of the Super Rugby Aupiki competition and fully televised Farah Palmer Cup. But if we think that is enough movement for now, we will be left behind as rival nations continue to march forward.

The rapid rate of change is most evident when we look across at our Pacific neighbours. In 2018, Tonga had banned schoolgirls from playing rugby and then just last month their women's side finished third in the Oceania Championship. Fiji has created both a 15s and sevens programme which has seen them qualify for the World Cup for the first time, the Drua win the Australian Super W and the Fijiana take bronze at the Olympics and then silver at the Commonwealth Games.

Manusina Samoa ran Fiji right to the wire at the Oceania champs, intent on securing their place in the new WXV competition next year after Covid spoiled their chances at World Cup qualification.

The sleeping giant of women's rugby has awoken from her slumber and what these sides do next will have a huge impact on New Zealand's fortunes.

The most logical step will be for the formation of a women's Moana Pasifika side - pooling the talent of Samoa, Tonga and any Fijians not yet in the national programme, to further strengthen the pathway for international players. The formation of this side, and the decision of what league they will end up playing in, will be the queenmaker of the domestic leagues here in the Southern Hemisphere.

The natural home is Super Rugby Aupiki. They can play alongside their brothers and base themselves out of Mount Smart. A number of the prospective players are already based here in Aotearoa so they will be kept close to their family and wider support network. Another team would add another round and offer more legitimacy to this truncated league.

This would also have positive effects on the feeder competition, the Farah Palmer Cup. Players not having to relocate across the ditch, means they will happily slot back into their provincial sides and lift the quality of performance. We have already seen glimpses of this potential in the Manusina representatives' impact on the Tasman side this season, giving them their first ever back-to-back wins.

However, at the announcement for the introduction of this new tournament, New Zealand Rugby was emphatic about not making any changes to Aupiki in the first two seasons. And so the door is open for Australia to poach this side to bolster their own Super Rugby competition.

This should be ringing alarm bells at New Zealand Rugby. If we lose this potential franchise to our Australian counterparts, we will be left knocking on the door to get an invite in future seasons. The potential of having both the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika on the books for Super W would position this competition as the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the English Premier 15s. This domestic league is so strong, they hold a large part of the rosters for USA, Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Having this calibre of talent playing across the 10 clubs has a profound impact on the standard of English rugby, which is why they are now entering the World Cup as firm favourites. And this relationship is reciprocal, with international players' skills improving with regular high-quality game time.

Ultimately, I would love to see the establishment of a stronger Irish, American, Welsh and Scottish league but in the meantime, the pooling of this talent provides the bridging step on the pathway to professionalism.

The results post-Covid lockdown shows New Zealand can't beat the best by simply playing each other. They need talented opposition, ideally in their own backyard, if they are to thrive. So New Zealand Rugby, do not fight progress. Lay down the mat and invite our Pasifika sisters in.

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Alice Soper: How the Black Ferns could be overtaken by rival nations - New Zealand Herald

Papua New Guinea have won the OFC Womens Nations Cup 2022 for the first time after beating host nation Fiji 2-1 in the final in front of a boisterous crowd at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

The game began at a frenetic pace, both sides showcasing their exciting attacking play with Cema Nasau and Trina Davis coming close for Fiji while Lucy Maino headed wide for PNG.

But it was Papua New Guinea who struck first, with the in-form Gunemba providing the clinical touch once again. Padios lobbed pass unleashed Marie Kaipo down the wing, who laid the ball on a plate for Gunemba to smash home the opening goal of the final.

Kaipo then headed wide before PNG took control in the Fijian capital. Padios dangerous free-kick eluded Fiji goalkeeper Seruwaia Vasuitoga, who was clearly struggling with an injury at the time, sneaking over the line at the near-post for 2-0.

Fijis substitute goalkeeper Selai Tikoisuva was then called into action by the impressive Kaipo before Fiji forced their way back into the game just before the break.

As she has done so often throughout this tournament, midfield maestro Nasau provided the catalyst for Fiji. A well-placed dead ball delivery from Davis found Nasau at the back post, who nodded her header goal-bound to reduce PNGs advantage despite defender Margret Josephs best efforts to clear.

A new name has not been etched into the winners column of the OFC Womens Nations Cup since 1994 and Fiji were not going to let this opportunity slip away without resistance.

Nasaus drive and run rocketed over the crossbar, PNG goalkeeper Faith Kasiray tipped over in quick succession from Vanisha Kumar and Koleta Likuculacula and captain Sofi Diyalowai headed wide from a corner In an early second-half onslaught from the Kulas.

Gunemba then tried her best to go clear of the tournament goalscorer charts but saw her long-range attempt sail wide before Likuculaculas close-range effort was well stopped by Kasiray.

The PNG keeper was then left scrambling after failing to handle Nasaus driven effort but no Fiji players reacted in time to punish her as PNG rode out the storm.

With both sets of fans loud in voice Fiji pushed for a leveller but Nicola Demaines side remained dangerous, with Mainos header hitting the woodwork.

It proved not to be costly as Papua New Guinea held on to ensure they were crowned champions of Oceania for the first time and also secure their place in next Februarys FIFA Womens World Cup Play-Off Tournament in New Zealand.

Post-match thoughts:

Papua New Guinea head coach Nicola Demaine:

Weve got seven mothers on the team and these ladies have been together for two and a half months and made massive sacrifices. This is all on them what they have achieved so far so we can watch and see what they can achieve at the next stage.

They are amazing women warriors who have earned the right to take this trophy home today and to represent Oceania at the next stage.

Fiji head coach Lisa Cole:

I am definitely proud of the effort they put in today. That was a great game to watch. Both sides were running hard to try and create a goal. Papua New Guinea has got dynamic forwards. It was a great match and unfortunately we ended up on the losing side of it.

Papua New Guinea 2 (Meagen GUNEMBA 17, Ramona PADIO 27)

Fiji 1 (Cema NASAU 42)

Full-time: 2-1

Source : OFC Media

Next :Papua New Guinea crowned champions of Oceania after 2-1 win over Fiji

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Papua New Guinea crowned champions of Oceania after 2-1 win over Fiji - Papua New Guinea Today

James Rodriguez has been named President and CEO of Atlas Ocean Voyages, effective August 1.

Bringing more than 20 years of proven success in the industry, he joins the company at a pivotal time of brand development and growth.

With the successful launch of the World Navigator and the upcoming November launch of the brands second vessel, the World Traveller, James extensive experience in the areas of sales, marketing, operations, human resources and guest experience will be essential in propelling the brand forward in the areas of innovation, trade partnerships and guest acquisition.

James entrepreneurial experience in helping build and market successful brands will be a key advantage as we continue to introduce our new brand to the North American market, said Mrio Ferreira, Chairman of Mystic Invest Holdings, parent company of Atlas Ocean Voyages. James has an unwavering passion for the cruise industry and a reputation for being a champion of travel advisors. We are confident that, under James leadership, Atlas Ocean Voyages will be the best small luxury expeditions cruise line in short order.

Rodriguez pointed to the Mystic-owned brands key differentiators as its strong points: small 200-guest ships that can offer unique itineraries with a strong educational component onboard and expedition team.

Our core guest is that port collector who loves adventure travel and the type that puts a pin in the map to see where they have gone and havent done, he told Cruise Industry News. The product has been created for those want an all-inclusive casual-elegant experience that is not stuffy."

Rodriguez said absorbing more capacity was in his wheelhouse, having been at Oceania at its start up coming out of 9/11, and also being there with new ships joining the fleet coming out of the recession.

The number one priority is that the ships deliver on the brand promise for each and every sailing and that will cultivate a loyal following, he explained.

Over-delivering on the product will create brand ambassadors who will spread the word about Atlas, he continued.

Building strong partnerships with the trade is also absolutely essentially to absorbing new capacity, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez began his cruise industry career with Crystal Cruises and subsequently joined Oceania Cruises in 2003 as a key founding team member. At Oceania, he served as Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing and helped build the brand in the areas of omni-channel marketing, sales, corporate communications, loyalty programs, guest services, new product development, sustainability initiatives and corporate philanthropy.

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James Rodriguez Named President and CEO of Atlas Ocean Voyages - Cruise Industry News

When kids do household chores, this clearly helps out the family. But it benefits them, too. Research shows it boosts feelings of autonomy and is linked to greater life satisfaction and sociability. Now a new paper in Australian Occupational Therapy suggests that doing chores may even improve working memory and the ability to ignore distractions or temptations to focus on a task (known as inhibition).

These two so-called executive functions are very important for success in life. So if doing chores does indeed develop them, this could represent a strikingly simple way to help kids to help themselves, while also assisting the rest of the household.

Deanna L. Tepper at La Trobe University, Australia, and colleagues recruited just over 200 parents and guardians of children aged 5-13 years for their online study. Almost three quarters of participants lived in Australia, with the rest from other countries in Oceania, Europe, Asia and North America.

As well as providing demographic information, the participants completed two main questionnaires. In the first, they rated the childs executive functions (their ability to plan and regulate themselves, for example), resulting in overall scores for working memory and inhibition).

In the second, they indicated whether the child did various household chores, such as helping to prepare meals, sorting laundry, unloading the dishwasher and organising their own belongings for school. If the family had a pet, they completed a further survey, in which they reported on the childs participation in various pet-related chores, such as feeding and grooming.

The results showed a statistical link between doing more chores (though not those related to pet care), and better scores on working memory and inhibition.

Our findings likely reflect that most chores require individuals to self-regulate, maintain attention, plan and switch between tasks, thereby supporting the development of executive function, the team writes.

What might explain the absence of a link between pet care, specifically, and executive abilities? The researchers suggest that its because pet care is relatively simple so if putting out food for a dog or grooming it, say, doesnt really challenge a childs executive abilities, it doesnt train them.

However, there are a number of weaknesses in this study, and so reasons to be very cautious about inferring that greater engagement in chores actually boosts executive abilities.

Our findings likely reflect that most chores require individuals to self-regulate, maintain attention, plan and switch between tasks, thereby supporting the development of executive function.

To begin with, though the team in fact gathered self-report data on socioeconomic status, they didnt control for this in their analysis (though they did control for age, gender, and disability). Lower SES has been linked to poorer executive function in children. So if higher SES caregivers expect their kids to do more chores, this could have influenced the link.

Another reason for caution is that earlier work has found only low-to-moderate links between results from the executive abilities questionnaire used in this study and actual objective lab measures of executive abilities. In other words, the parents ratings of the childrens working memory, self-control and so on cant be expected to be especially accurate.

Most importantly of all, though, a link between doing chores and better executive abilities, if it does exist, could easily run the other way around: it could be that parents are more likely to get kids who are already good at organising themselves, and so on, to do chores. Because, lets face it, if a kid needs supervision, lots of reminders and encouragement to complete a chore, it could be a lot quicker just to do it yourself, especially if youre in a rush and every family knows exactly what thats like.

I can think of a lot of reasons why getting kids to learn to look after themselves and others is a very good thing for them, as well as the rest of the family. But the evidence just isnt there at least not yet to say that boosting executive abilities is one of the benefits of childhood chores.

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Doing more chores linked to better executive functioning in kids but direction of effect is unclear - The British Psychological Society - The British...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "LNG Regasification Terminals Capacity and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) Forecast by Region, Countries and Companies including details of New Build and Expansion (Announcements and Cancellations) Projects, 2022-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global LNG regasification capacity is expected to grow by 35% over the next four years, potentially increasing from 53.9 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in 2022 to 72.6 tcf in 2026.

Among regions, Asia continues to lead globally among the regions, in terms of new build and expansion regasification capacity growth, contributing around 75% of the total growth by 2026.

The region is expected to add a capacity of 17.7 tcf during 2022 to 2026. Among countries, China leads globally with 6.0 tcf of new build and expansion regasification capacity additions by 2026. India and the Philippines follow with 3.7 tcf and 1.8 tcf, respectively.

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Key Topics Covered:

1. List of Tables & Figures

2. Global LNG Regasification Industry Outlook to 2026

2.1 Key Highlights

3. Key Projects Announcements and Cancellations

3.1 Key Project Announcements

3.2 Project Cancelations

3.3 Stalled Projects

4. Global LNG Regasification Capacity and Capex Outlook

4.1 Global LNG Regasification Capacity by Region

4.2 Global New Build and Expansion Regasification Capacity Outlook by Key Countries

4.3 Global New Build and Expansion Regasification Capex Outlook by Region

4.4 Global New Build and Expansion Regasification Capex Outlook by Key Countries

4.5 Global New Build and Expansion Regasification Capex Outlook by Key Companies

5. Regional Capex Outlook by Country and Company

5.1 Africa - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.2 Africa - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.3 Asia - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.4 Asia - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.5 Caribbean - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.6 Caribbean - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.7 Central America - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.8 Central America - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.9 Europe - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.10 Europe - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.11 FSU - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.12 FSU - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.13 North America - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.14 North America - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.15 Oceania - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.16 Oceania - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

5.17 South America - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Countries

5.18 South America - New Build and Expansion Capex Outlook of Regasification Terminals by Key Companies

6. Global New Build and Expansion LNG Regasification Terminals

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Global LNG Regasification Terminals Capacity and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) Forecast Report 2022-2026: New Build and Expansion (Announcements and...