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Some Picture(s) Courtesy of Their Respective Cruise
Line or Company
Sneak Peak at Silversea 2005
Silversea Cruises is in-demand. The line has just revealed its full-year
2005 global itineraries for all four of its ships in response to a
strong early demand by guests to finalize their travel plans for next
year. According to execs at Silversea, the line has been seeing “an
extraordinary increase in call volume and bookings over the past several
weeks, with many callers inquiring about next year's voyages.” So the
line has responded accepting reservations for 2005 sailings and has
published its full-year cruise schedule on its web site,
www.silversea.com
“January is shaping up to be a month that will surely
break all our previous sales records,” said
David Morris, Silversea’s Senior Vice President, North America Sales.
“I’m thrilled to see such a strong surge in bookings, plus guests who
are showing a renewed enthusiasm for making their vacation plans early.”
Here’s what’s on tap for 2005:
 | The Silver Cloud will kick of the
year with three cruises to Australia and New Zealand, ranging from
10 to 16 days, and the will head to the Far East and Africa. In the
spring, the ship will be in the Mediterranean, where it will sail a
series of eight cruises to ports in Spain, Portugal, France and
Italy before embarking on summer cruises to Northern Europe. Silver
Cloud will finish off the year with a schedule of cruises to South
America and the Amazon.
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| Silver Wind will begin the year in
South America, with a variety of itineraries ranging from seven- to
16 days, before it begins a series of cruises to Africa, with
stopovers in Walvis Bay, Cape Town and Richard's Bay. The ship will
then sail more than twenty Mediterranean sailings, ranging from five
to 15 days. In the fall, Silver Wind cruises to Egypt, the
Seychelles and South Africa.
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| Silver Shadow will spend the winter
season in the Mexican Riviera and South America before repositioning
to the Mediterranean. During spring and summer, Silver Shadow will
offer more than 25 different cruises throughout western and eastern
Mediterranean, including a special program of 14 seven-day voyages.
In autumn, Silver Shadow will sail an “exotic collection” of voyages
to the Far East and South Pacific.
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| During the winter, Silver Whisper
will sail throughout the Caribbean on nine different voyages,
ranging from five to ten days. Afterwards, it will reposition to the
Mediterranean for a series of cruises, ranging from six to ten days
throughout Spain, Italy, France and Northern Europe. The ship will
make several three-day stopovers in St. Petersburg. In the fall,
Silver Whisper will cruise the east coast of Canada and New England
as well as offer sailings in the Caribbean. |
The line will release its new printed
Voyage Planner, with complete itineraries and pricing for 2005, in
April.
Another Cruise Cancelled
Festival Cruises/First European Cruises has cancelled
another sailing of the European Vision from Santo Domingo. The February
1 cruise has been eliminated from the ship’s schedule, as the line
continues to negotiate with shipbuilder Alstom and bank Credit Agricole
regarding options for refinancing the European Vision, European Stars
and Mistral.
"We believe that
answers and future direction should be coming shortly," said Jim
Applebaum, president for First European Cruises, Festival Cruises' North
American marketing arm.
The company says it remains optimistic about reaching a
solution and is working day and night towards that goal.
Oceania’s Cruises
In addition to announcing the Insignia’s slate of
inaugural 2004-2005 season of cruises to the Panama Canal, Central
America, South America and the Regatta’s winter season of cruises to the
Caribbean, Central America, Panama Canal and Mexico, the line has
released revised itineraries for voyages to the Black Sea and Greek
Isles that bypass Istanbul and Kusadasi due to the turmoil in Turkey.
The revised itineraries retain much of the original
itineraries and now include new ports-of-call at Athens, Mykonos and
Santorini in Greece, Amalfi, Siracusa and Messina in Italy and Valletta
on the island of Malta in lieu of Istanbul and Kusadasi in Turkey.
The 120-day “Black Seas Sojurn” from Athens to Athens,
departing on September 14 will now visit Nessebur, Constanta, Odessa,
Sevestapol, Sochi, Yalta, Mykonos; the 14-day “Aegean & Adriatic
Wonders” from Venice to Athens, on August 31, September 26, and October
10 will now call at Ancona, Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Amalfi, Siracusa,
Valletta, Santorini, Rhodes and Mykonos; and the 10-day “Ancient &
Artistic Gems” sailing from Athens to Barcelona departing on October 24
will stop at Mykonos, Rhodes, Messina, Naples, Rome, Florence, Monte
Carlo, and Provence.
Talks Go On
Festival Cruises has canceled the January 26, 2004,
European Stars sailing from Genoa in addition to the January 25, 2004,
European Vision departure from Santo Domingo. The company is still in
negotiations with shipbuilder Alstom and bank Credit Agricole regarding
the monies owed for the ships mentioned above as well as the Mistral, as
reported in CruiseReports on January 20.
Star for NCL in Alaska
When Norwegian Cruise Line announced the other day that the Pride of
Aloha (currently the Norwegian Sky) will debut early to take over the
delayed Pride of America’s Hawaii routes, we wondered what ship will
operate the Norwegian Sky’s Alaska cruises this summer.
Today we found out.
One of the ships from Star Cruises’ fleet (NCL’s parent company) will
sail for the line in Alaska this summer. The 2,000-guest SuperStar Leo
will take over Norwegian Sky’s previously published seven-day itinerary
from Seattle, beginning May 15, with calls in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway
and Prince Rupert.
NCL’s “freestyle cruising” concept will apply aboard the SuperStar Leo,
as the it was the first purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ship for Star
Cruises in 1999, and is the sister-ship to the Norwegian Star. The ship
has seven restaurants including two main restaurants, three alternative
restaurants -- Maxim's (a French restaurant); Shogun (a Japanese
restaurant) and Tai Pan (a Chinese restaurant), -- the Raffles Lido Café
and the 24-hour Blue Lagoon. SuperStar Leo also boasts an expansive
children’s and teen facility, a 1,000-seat theater, a disco, a cinema,
several bars and lounges and a casino.
Since the ship has a higher percentage of balconies than the Norwegian
Sky, NCL will move booked passengers to an equivalent or superior cabin
on their chosen sailing date. In addition, all passengers currently
booked on Norwegian Sky will receive a $25 per person onboard credit
when they sail on SuperStar Leo.
No Party for Festival
Festival’s/First European Cruises’ three newest ships were
arrested this week – Mistral, European Vision, and European
Stars – due to the company’s “failure to meet its contractual
financial obligations,” according to a press release from ALSTOM,
the ships’ financial backer and parent company of shipbuilder
Chantiers de l’Atlantique, where the ships were built.
The Mistral was halted in Marseilles and the European Vision was
arrested in Barcelona, while the European Stars was taken over
in Santo Domingo.
The line reportedly owes its financers 176 million euros. ALSTOM
says that it has 100 percent interest on Mistral, 9.5 percent on
European Vision and 10.5 percent on European Stars.
According to Festival, the company has been in negotiations for
weeks with ALSTOM and Credit Agicole to resolve the situation,
but discussions were terminated abruptly two days ago. However,
the line said it hopes to reach a resolution in the next couple
of days.
Swapping
Pride
Last week Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America
partially sank in Lloyd Werft shipyard in Germany while under
construction due to stormy weather and high winds.
Initially the line wasn’t sure of the damage and if the
delivery of the ship would be delayed, but NCL has announced
that there will be “substantial delay – months rather than
weeks.”
So the line has decided to introduce the 2,000-guest Pride of
Aloha – currently sailing as the Norwegian Sky – early so that
its NCL America brand will launch on time. Originally scheduled
to debut in the fall, Pride of Aloha now will take over the
Pride of America’s published cruises of seven-day inter-island
Hawaii cruises beginning this July 4th. The ship will undergo a
multi-million dollar remodeling in May and be reflagged into the
U.S. registry to debut in June with California Coastal cruises.
“This unfortunate event has certainly challenged us and
there is a great deal to be done to ensure our passengers
receive the vacation they have planned in spite of what has
happened,” said Colin Veitch, president and CEO of NCL. “While
this is certainly a hurdle in the process, we will not be
deterred from launching our U.S. Flag operation this year and
ensuring the continued employment of the 1,000 plus U.S.
seafarers who have already been hired. Reversing the order of
the two ships allows us to do this.
Guests booked on Pride of America will be rebooked on
Pride of Aloha. Those guests booked on the Norwegian Sky’s
summer Alaska cruises will be rebooked on another ship in Alaska
as well.
The line has plans to move Pride of America passengers
to equivalent cabins and sailing dates on Pride of Aloha. If an
equivalent cabin type is not available, NCL will offer
passengers a new applicable price, a future cruise credit
certificate, and an air discount for Air/Sea guest. Guests who
choose not to transfer to Pride of Aloha will receive a full
refund.
Here’s a glimpse at the Pride of Aloha’s slated
schedule:
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May 17, 2004 -- The ship enters 21-day
drydock; |
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June 7-11, 2004 – Will sail a new
California Coastal itinerary beginning in San Francisco with calls
in Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Diego and ending in Los Angeles
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June 13-18, 2004 - Will sail Pride of
America's previously published Pacific Coastal from Los Angeles to
San Francisco with calls in San Diego, Catalina Island, Santa
Barbara and Monterey. |
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June 20-July 3, 2004 - Pride of
America's previously published12-day Escape to Hawaii sailing from
San Francisco to Honolulu with calls in Monterey, Calif.; Hilo, Kona,
overnights in Maui and Kaua`i and Honolulu |
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July 4, 2004 and beyond - Pride of Aloha
will sail seven-day inter-island cruises from Honolulu with an
overnight in Kauai`i, a call in Hilo and Kona on the Big Island of
Hawaii, and an overnight in Maui.
When the new delivery date of Pride of America is
known, NCL will announce the combined deployment of the two NCL
America ships.
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Tahitian All Around
Princess Cruises is trying to
give guests sailing on its Tahiti cruises a Tahitian experience from
beginning to end.
The line has teamed up with Air Tahiti Nui to offer
passengers sailing in French Polynesia a flexible flight schedule as
well as the airline’s Polynesian-style service and amenities. As of
May 5, 2004, all Pacific Princess passengers who purchase air
through Princess’ FlightChoice program as part of their cruise
package will be booked on Air Tahiti Nui’s new A340-300 aircraft.
The aircraft has in-seat video displays and video games. The company
also has interline luggage transfers for passengers with connecting
flights.
The 670-passenger Tahitian Princess offers round-trip,
10-day sailings from Papeete year-round. Itineraries include
Polynesia, the Marquesas, and the Cook Islands. The Pacific Princess
sails seasonally in the South Pacific Islands, including Hawaii and
Western Samoa.
QM2
Out & About
It’s official! Cunard Line’s highly anticipated 151,400-ton
Queen Mary 2 is packed
with passengers and sailing the Atlantic Ocean. With all of the
hoopla leading up to the ship’s big arrival, you’d think it was
the second coming of the
Titanic.
The 2,620-guest QM2 was
named in Southampton during a ceremony on January 8, by Her
Majesty The Queen. According to Cunard, more than 2,000 guests —
including prominent figures from politics, the services,
entertainment and the arts — attended the ceremony, which was
hosted by British broadcaster Michael Buerk.
“Queen Mary 2 is a
transatlantic liner with all the dignity and grace of the liners
of the past, but she is also a transatlantic liner of the future
with comforts and technology undreamt of when
Queen Elizabeth 2 was
launched,” announced the line’s President Pamela Conover, during
the event.
As the largest, longest (1,132 feet), tallest (236.2 feet),
widest (135 feet) and most expensive ($800 million) ocean liner
every built, the ship has 10 dining venues with popular Chef
Daniel Boulud serving as Cunard’s culinary advisor and Chef Todd
English operating a Mediterranean specialty restaurant of the
same name. The liner also has the only Canyon Ranch SpaClub at
sea and the world’s first planetarium at sea, as well as duplex
staterooms, a Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar, a two-story theater,
a casino, five indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs,
boutiques and children’s facilities complete with British
nannies.
QM2
set off on its 14-day maiden voyage from Southampton to Ft.
Lauderdale on January 12. During its inaugural year, the vessel
will sail 13 transatlantic crossings between Southampton and New
York — taking over the Queen
Elizabeth 2’s schedule.
QM2 will spend the
winter in the Caribbean, with cruises from Ft. Lauderdale to
Cartagena, Curacao, and St. Thomas, and also will visit Rio de
Janeiro during Carnival. In April, the ship will make its maiden
six-day eastbound transatlantic crossing in tandem with the
QE2, marking the first
time two “Queens” have been berthed in the port together since
March 1940.
In July and August, QM2
will take a brief break from its transatlantic schedule and sail
to the Mediterranean, with visits to Greece, Spain and Italy.
According to Cunard,
QM2
is:
~ 113 feet longer than the original
Queen Mary
~ More than twice as long as the Washington Monument is
tall (550 ft.)
~ 47 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall (984 ft.)
~ More than 3 ½ times as long as Westminster Tower (Big Ben) is
high (310 ft.)
~ Only 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building is tall
(1,248 ft.)
~ As long as 41 double-decker London buses (31 ½ ft. each)
And its whistle
can be heard within a 10-mile radius.
Titanic who?
Viking Adds More Sailings
Viking River Cruises has announced that in response to
many sold-out sailings, it has added two more sail dates to its
“Eastern European Odyssey,” a 14-night itinerary along the
Danube River from Budapest to the Black Sea and returning to
Vienna. The newly-added August 21 sailing will be a reverse
itinerary from Vienna to Budapest, while the September 4 sailing
will sail from Budapest to Vienna. Prices for both dates start
at $3,059 per person. Call your travel agent or 1-877-66VIKING
or visit
www.vikingrivercruises.com
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