A "Four Queens" Cruise – Costa’s World Cruise – How Not to Charter a Ship – Ten Years of Europa

This week we find an interesting cruise that will include four Cunard Queens. An Alberta cruise ship charterer will be out approximately $15 million after cancelling a Winter Olympics charter on the Norwegian Star. Costa rejoins the ranks of those operating world cruises with its new Costa Deliziosa, delivered to-day in Venice.

This week’s special topic is ten years of excellence for Hapag-Lloyd’s Europa, top-rated ship in the world.

THIS WEEK IN CRUISING
Four Queens in One Cruise
Reader Offers Ltd, a travel agent retailer that sells exclusively through national newspapers in the UK, has put together an interesting cruise for 2011 that incorporates (but does not include) all four Queens – the new Queen Elizabeth, RMS Queen Mary 2, the original RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach and Queen Victoria. Customers will fly to New York, spend two nights in the Waldorf-Astoria, sail in the new Queen Elizabeth from New York to Los Angeles, spend a night in the original Queen Mary in Long Beach and then sail in Queen Victoria from Los Angeles to the Hawaiian Islands and Ensenada, Mexico, before returning home.
There is a little cheating in this plan, however, as RMS Queen Mary 2 is only involved as part of the first meeting of Cunard’s present three Queens, planned for New York, so, while Reader Offers say guests will "witness"  Queen Mary 2 in New York, it is unlikely they will actually get to go on board. An interesting attraction however is that Reader Offers has been able to set up a cocktail party on board the original Queen Mary in Long Beach with Commodore Ron Warwick, retired former commander of the Queens, before setting off in Queen Victoria for Hawaii and Mexico.
Queen Victoria will be based on the US West Coast in the winter of 2011, marking the first time that Cunard has based a ship there for several years. During the Second World War, Aquitania did some emergency trooping between the US West Coast and Hawaii after Pearl Harbor, and a number of Cunard ships have operated from West Coast ports to Alaska and other destinations in the past.

Costa Deliziosa’s World Cruise
In an interesting twist this week, Costa Crociere has announced that it is going back into the world cruise business, an area from which it has been absent for many years. The 2,860-berth Costa Deliziosa has been scheduled for a 99-day circumnavigation to leave Savona on December 28, 2011. This will also be a first for Savona, which has become Costa’s main Italian cruise port. Although Costa is headquartered in Genoa, it owns the cruise terminal in nearby Savona.
The world cruise will be divided into three sectors: from Savona to Los Angeles via the Caribbean and the Panama Canal; from Los Angeles to Singapore via Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia; and from Singapore to Savona via Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, the Red Sea and Egypt.
Costa Deliziosa was delivered to Costa Cruises just this morning at the Venice Passenger Terminal and will sail to Dubai, for her official naming on February 23, the first cruise ship to be christened in an Arabian city. This winter, Costa Deliziosa and her 2009-delivered sister ship Costa Luminosa will both be based on Dubai, where Costa has been making huge inroads in recent years, with 140,000 passenger movements this winter (remember that embarking is one movement and disembarking is another).
The Deliziosa and the Luminosa are Costa’s "top of the range" ships, setting them apart from the rest of the fleet, and the fact that the latest ship has been chosen to revive Costa’s world cruise programme would seem to confirm this. The new ships’ modern design and use of premium materials such as marble and granite, stucco applied by spatula using the technique known as "spatolato veneziano" and other decorative flourishes including "parchment scroll" lamé, Murano glass, refined Zebrano wood and Wenge timber, stylish polished and glazed steel, and 970 La Murrina chandeliers, confirm this as well. Costa has not made a world cruise since pre-Carnival days, when it used Danae or Daphne as its world cruisers in the late 1980s.

How Not to Charter a Cruise Ship
In a move that will very probably cost Newwest Special Projects, a division of Newwest Travel of Edmonton, Alberta, about $15 million, while costing Norwegian Cruise Line nothing, Newwest has cancelled a Winter Olympics charter on  Norwegian Star that was to have run from February 6 to March 6, including positioning cruises from Los Angeles to Vancouver before and Vancouver to Los Angeles after her planned use as an 1,100-room hotel ship in North Vancouver for the duration of the Winter Olympics.
Last Monday, just five days before the ship was due to leave Los Angeles for Vancouver, Newwest announced that it was cancelling the charter and would do all it could to rebook customers who were left without Olympic accommodations. Reportedly, room prices had dropped from $1,400 per night to $700 per night to as little as $275 a night in an attempt to book the ship, part of the cost cutting achieved by stripping out some of the cruise product such as meals and entertainment, but to no avail. As well, the ship was originally to have been berthed at a quasi-metropolitan dock at the foot of Lonsdale Street in North Vancouver but later reports put her be at the Kinder Morgan Sulphur Dock. In either case International Ship and Port Facilities Security (ISPS) would have meant an extra cost, how much depending on the facility.
It is now understood that NCL will take advantage of the cancellation of the charter to send Norwegian Star for a routine drydocking in Victoria BC from February 14 to 28, a period that has kindly been paid for by Newwest, and will give NCL the ability to sell a few more cruises later when it had been intended to drydock her.
Under the terms of a similar cruise ship charter party used by a Carnival group company, Newwest would have had to place a deposit of about 10 per cent on confirming the charter and make two stage payments of 20% each with final balance of 50% payable one month before delivery. It would also have been required to pay for all port charges and fuel, plus a service charge of about $10 dollars per passenger per day. The fact that the ship’s crew were all required to obtain Canadian visas for the intended period in Vancouver was also said to have presented an extra cost of about $200,000. Some of these latter costs may be saved but the multi-million dollar charter fee will be forfeit.
In a statement made by Newwest before the cancellation of the charter, "Our sales have not been what we had hoped for and our expenses have increased beyond what we ever expected." We suppose that $1,400 per room per night was too much to expect, even for the Olympics. As The Cruise Examiner said on January 11, "such hotel ship charters seem to be a complicated and risky business, for everyone that is except the cruise lines, for whom it seems most lucrative."

THIS WEEK’S TOPIC
Ten Years of Excellence with the Europa
For the tenth year in a row, Douglas Ward, in the 2010 edition of the "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships" has given Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ 28,890-ton 408-guest Europa top marks and awarded her the only five-stars-plus rating in the guide. And for several years now, Hapag-Lloyd has been greeting English-speaking passengers on its ships with a number of special "bilingual" cruises that are sold in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand (all the crew must speak English anyway, but menus, daily programmes, newspapers and other literature are available in English on these bilingual cruises).
But one problem the Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd is trying to confront is how to address the initial uncertainty or doubt that intending passengers may have about a product they are not familiar with. How much easier it must be to book with someone like a Regent or a Seabourn which your friends have travelled on or that is written up frequently in the English-language consumer media, with numerous press items and reviews available on line. So one might well may ask "Why should I cruise with Hapag-Lloyd?"
This article will try to address some of those points and the very first that comes to mind is quality, including some of the most exquisite service available at sea. The Europa has achieved its score of 1,851 points out of a possible 2,000 (92.6%) for a reason so let’s see why. The first thing to note is that Mr. Ward awards 472 points out of a possible 500 (95.2%) to the ship herself, her highest score in any category. Next, pretty well level pegging at 372 and 371 our of 400 (93%) come the cruise and the food. On the ship herself, Mr. Ward calls her "one of the world’s most spacious purpose-built cruise ships, an exquisite retreat," pointing out things such as the fact that all towels, and even doilies, are of cloth and paper is used nowhere, real flowers abound throughout and drinks by the pool are served in real glasses, not plastic.
He goes on to point out that in suite movies on Europa are free (while "all-inclusive" Silversea charges), the ship carries more than 5,000 different food ingredients so that menus are not repeated, afternoon tea includes a choice of 30 loose teas, not tea bags, and each passenger is assigned a free email address with their tickets (charges apply to images and attachments). Mr. Ward’s ultimate conclusion is that what wins Europa her top spot is "detail, detail, detail," or as he puts it "the little details that most other cruise lines have long left behind in the age of discounts."
While Europa does charge for wines and spirits, this is done at real duty-free prices and not as on other lines at hotel prices (where the line makes a whopping profit). Mr. Ward points out that "they are not included for the simple reason that ships that include drinks typically have a much more limited selection, including young table wines that may not be to all tastes." And the beer, soft drinks, water and juices that are stocked in your fridge, and the full bar in the higher level suites, are free. Meanwhile, shore excursions, another area now regarded by most cruise lines as a separate profit centre, with typically a 100% markup, are value for money on Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
Europa on board is a delight, lounges with tall ceilings, an elegant seven-deck high atrium, she is more grand hotel than resort, and both the main restaurant (the Europa restaurant) and show lounge (the Europa Lounge) seat the full compliment of passengers. In addition to the main restaurant there is alternate dining at no extra charge in the Oriental, with hand-made Meissen porcelain carrying a flying fish pattern from a 1904 Hapag ship, and the Venezia, with fine Rosenthal china and excellent Italian fare. At the stern, the Lido Café gives onto the open deck. And above the Lido there is the wonderful Sansibar, a bar that also opens onto the stern
In addition to the Europa, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises operates the top-rated expedition ships Hanseatic and Bremen, cruising in polar and wilderness regions, and the 420-berth Columbus, which will be sailing back into the Great Lakes again in 2011.

 

Courtesy Mark Tre’ – "The Cruise Examiner"

Two Twentieth Anniversaries – Holland America Supports Tilbury – Carnival in Europe – MSC to Southampton – Cruise Ships and Haiti

This week we cover the twentieth anniversary celebrations at Celebrity and Crystal, Holland America in Tilbury, plans for the Carnival Magic and MSC’s move from Dover to Southampton. This week our special topic is cruise ships and Haiti after the earthquake

THIS WEEK IN CRUISING
Two Twentieth Anniversaries
It is perhaps not a coincidence that both Celebrity Cruises and Crystal Cruises got their starts in 1990, at a time when people began to search for more upmarket cruise options.
Celebrity Cruises grew out of the longstanding operations of Chandris Cruises when it was awarded a new New York-Bermuda contract, part of the requirement being that Chandris bring its own image upmarket from its previous New York-based Fantasy Cruises to something more in line with Bermuda’s rather more exclusive reputation. Hence Celebrity Cruises. To open the new line, Chandris ordered two new ships, Horizon of 1990 and her sister, Zenith, of 1992, and converted a third into the more upmarket Meridian, also in 1990.
In 1997, however, partly in order to raise more capital for newbuildings, the Chandris family sold Celebrity to Royal Caribbean and a series of new ships followed, including three 1,800-berth "Century" class, four 2,400-berth "Millenium" class and now five 2,850-berth "Solstice" class ships, not to mention Azamara Club Cruises, with two ships, and Celebrity Xpeditions, with one ship in the Galapagos. In celebration of its 20th Anniversary, Celebrity has just announced that it will spend $200 million on adding "Solstice" class amenities to its "Millenium" class ships.
Among other things, a Tuscan Grill steak house will be added and new furniture, bedding, carpets and flat screen televisions installed in the existing cabins to give Celebrity a more uniform product. There will be no new lawns though.
Crystal Cruises itself was not entirely new either, stemming from the previous passenger operations of Japan’s NYK Line. Its first ship, the 940-berth Crystal Harmony, was built in Japan in 1990, a second, the 960-berth Crystal Symphony, in 1995, and a third, the 1,100-berth Crystal Serenity in 2003. Meanwhile Crystal Harmony went on to become parent company NYK’s Asuka II.
Crystal is publishing a 180-page 20th Anniversary Atlas and offering a 20th Anniversary gift selection as well as a 20th Anniversary Pinot Noir from the "C" vineyard in California and a 20th Anniversary Billecart-Salmon Champagne. But the line is best known at the moment for introducing last year’s "Freedom" campaign, whereby each couple is given a $2,000 on board credit that they can spend on what they want, be it drinks, wine, spa treatments or shore excursions, allowing it thereby to compete with all-inclusive lines such as Regent, Seabourn or Silversea.

Holland America Reviving Tilbury, and Three UK ships in 2011
After a trial UK-UK cruise on the 2,100-berth Eurodam last year and successfully selling three UK to UK Eurodam cruises from Dover this year, Holland America has announced that it will run three ships from the UK in 2011. Eurodam will be joined by the 1,400-berth Ryndam, with both ships offering cruises from Dover next year.
But the really interesting news is that the line is offering a number of cruises from Tilbury this summer with the 835-berth Prinsendam, which in 2011 will give Holland America three UK-based ships for the first time, and seven in Europe.
Prinsendam’s cruises mean a long-awaited revival for Tilbury’s underused London Cruise Terminal. Although Tilbury has been supported by Cruise & Maritime Services for many years, the port had become more or less a one-pony show and the arrival of Prinsdendam will give it a much higher profile than the usual budget ships such as Arion, Arielle, Astor and Marco Polo.
Prinsendam has scheduled four Tilbury cruises for this summer between June and September. Two will be 14-day voyages, to the Baltic and Celtic nations, respectively, one will be a 15-day European sampler and the longest will be 22 days to the Top of the World. In 2011, Prinsendam will also run four Tilburty cruises in 2011, two of which will be 14-night round-Britain cruises from and to Tilbury on July 11 and August 29.

Carnival Returns to Europe in 2011 with the Magic
Carnival Cruise Lines has been an on and off carrier in Europe, usually relying on its American passenger base rather than trying to develop a European market – and why not as it owns Costa and P&O anyway? But on delivery in 2011, the new 3,690-berth Carnival Magic will spend the summer on a series of 7-, 9- and 11-night cruises from Barcelona. While some sources have announced that Carnival would be "bringing" the Carnival Magic to Europe, this is not entirely true as she is actually being built in Europe, at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone yard east of Venice, and her maiden voyage will be a 9-night delivery cruise from Venice to Barcelona.
Carnival did have a ship in Dover in 2008 but cancelled its 2009 programme to retreat to the States during the recession. But it appears there is a certain amount of demand from Carnival customers to add Medterranean cruises to its product line.

MSC Leaves Dover for Southampton
In other news MSC Cruises has announced that it will be basing its 2,000-berth MSC Opera in Southampton for the summer of 2011. MSC’s UK managing director Giulio Libutti said: "Ex-UK cruising is becoming ever more desirable and popular and we are delighted to be working with Southampton port in 2011. Southampton port is well suited to our new planned itineraries cruising to the north of France, Spain and Portugal."
He added that Southampton has "great transport links offered by road, rail and air, which will better service our passengers. The move also allows us to better penetrate Southampton’s local markets, as well as the whole of the South West, which is saturated with established cruisers and an increasing number of first time cruisers."
While MSC is leaving Dover he didn’t mention that the new high-speed train service between London’s St Pancras Station and Dover now takes only 59 minutes using Eurostar track, compared to the 75 to 90 minutes it takes to reach Southampton from London Waterloo.  MSC Magnifica will also be showcased to the UK travel trade in Southampton this month. Although Southampton lost an NCL ship last year, it can now claim all of Cunard, P&O, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and MSC Cruises, just to name a few, as regular customers.

THIS WEEK’S TOPIC
Cruise Ships and Haiti
One of the things the Haiti earthquake did was to lead to a certain amount of embarassment at Royal Caribbean Cruises, which has been operating a private cruise port at a place it once called Labadee, Hispaniola, for some years. Identifying the port with the island of Hispaniola, on which are located both Haiti and the Dominican Republic indicated that the line had been traditionally reluctant to admit that this place is actually in Haiti.
Put it down to Haiti’s poor reputation for governance, poverty or voodoo if you like, but that is the case. Haitian-born musician Wylcef Jean pointed out just this weekend in "The Times" of London that "every year luxury cruises stop at a thriving Haitian port called Labadee. It is only years later that a lot of those tourists find out, actually, they were in Haiti."
Bert Archer, in a column in Toronto’s "Globe & Mail" last week, wrote "When news broke this week that a cruise ship sailed into Haiti for a beach-resort stop three days after last week’s cataclysm, hundreds of people expressed themselves on bulletin boards and in social media. They either were livid about the callousness of holidaymakers cavorting in sunny waters while people were dying mere kilometres away, or stubbornly held it was an irrelevant or even positive thing.
No one was debating whether people should have been cruising that week at all – or whether cruise ships should ever berth in Haiti, which has for decades been the poorest nation in the hemisphere, in perpetual need of the help that is finally flowing now.
No, the argument was over whether it was too soon or too close. Should cruise passengers, instead of drinking margaritas on their private beach at Labadee, 100 kilometres from Port au Prince, have hopped the fence that separates Royal Caribbean’s leased land from the rest of the country and helped dig people out? Or should they have stayed on board to protest, as half of them did when the first ship, the Independence of the Seas, stopped there on Jan 15."
In earlier years, both Port au Prince and Cap Haitien had featured as regular ports of call for cruise ships, and shore excursions had been offered to Henri Christophe’s Castle of Sans Souci, modelled after Versailles, or his massive Citadel, with its twenty-foot wide ramparts draped over the higher reaches of Bonnet Mountain. To reach the Citadel was an arduous climb, requiring mules and guides.
Compare that to the hedonist beach activity at Labadee, completely isolated from the country that hosts it. All Haiti sees of that is $10 as a head tax from each passenger that Royal Caribbean and its sister company Celebrity bring there.
Admittedly, Royal Caribbean has done a creditable job at Labadee. It has donated the services of John Weis, its associate vice president at Labadee to the relief effort for several months; it has donated $2 million, along with the current net revenue earned at Labadee, to relief; it has donated sun loungers, excess bedding and furniture for use as a temporary hospital in a gym in Cap Haitien; it is bringing in fresh water and emergency food supplies on each of its ships; and it continues to employ some 230 Haitians at Labadee, as well as allowing a number of vendors onto its guarded site when ships come in.
But how many tourists know that the anchor of Christopher Columbus’s Santa Maria was once kept in a government building in Port ai Prince? Who knows where it is now. How many realize that the $10 head tax is paid by 500,000 passengers a year, producing $5 million on an annual basis.
How many realize that Labadee is only six miles from the once important cruise port of Cap Haitien. Passengers do not see the real Haiti and Haiti is offered little chance to progress by the cruise industry if it does not use its main ports.
But with Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas providing a weekly call at Labadee starting in 2011, that is a potential additional $3 million in head tax revenue from Labadee that could be used to improve the country’s highways and infrastructure. Perhaps it is time that Royal Caribbean and some others gave Haiti’s other ports a second thought rather than just treating the island as a location for an anonymous beach.
(Source: By Mark Tré – Cybercruises.com)

MSC Announces Baseball Greats, Big Band Themes for 2010-2011 Caribbean Cruises

 

Celebrate the sun, sand, and surf with MSC for its 2010-11 Caribbean cruises onboard MSC Poesia to experience a line-up of popular Baseball Greats and Big Band themes departing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Baseball Greats

The Baseball Greats theme cruise includes free interactive guest/player activities. Participate in a player-hosted trivia game where passengers test their baseball knowledge, question-and-answer sessions with the players, and a guest pitching contest. Be entertained during lively story-telling sessions where they share some candid revelations about "characters" of the game. Players will also host pitching, hitting, fielding and base running clinics.

The free autograph session at the end of the cruise is an extremely popular activity among the guests onboard. The player line-up on these itineraries will be announced at a later date.

Caribbean cruises featuring the baseball theme include:

– November 14, 2010: 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise calling at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Nassau, Bahamas.

– December 5, 2010: 7-night Western Caribbean Wonders calling at Key West, Florida; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico.

– January 9, 2011: 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise

– January 23, 2011: 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise

– February 6, 2011: 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise

 

Big Band

The 16-piece Les DeMerle Big Band, with vocalist Bonnie Eisele, will be featured on two MSC Poesia sailings. Dynamic drummer Les DeMerle has toured and recorded with the Harry James Big Band and Wayne Newton; the band has also accompanied many performers such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., The Manhattan Transfer, Mel Torme and Al Jarreau.

In addition to their performances, the band will present a Big Band Jazz Concert and Les will conduct a lecture on the Big Band Era.

– October 23, 2010: 9-night Canada/New England repositioning cruise departing Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and calling at Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada; Boston, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; New York, New York; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

For more information about MSC Cruises and its selection of theme cruises, contact Michael Abel of The Cruise People on 1-800-961-5536 ext 24.

Royal Caribbean Cruises and Haiti

Image via Wikipedia

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises, one of Haiti’s largest foreign investors for almost 30 years, announced its plans to provide at least $1 million in humanitarian relief to Haiti in response to the catastrophic earthquake in Port-Au-Prince. Royal Caribbean will be partnering with charitable organizations – such as Food for the Poor, Pan American Development Foundation, and the Solano Foundation, the company’s foundation in Haiti – to provide additional assistance to the people of Haiti. Royal Caribbean will also be delivering much needed goods and supplies to Haiti via their cruise ships.

"The effect of the earthquake on Haiti has been catastrophic, leaving the country in need of not only immediate support, but assistance in their long-term recovery," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "Royal Caribbean wants to do its part to help out not only the general response, but also our hundreds of Haitian employees and their families through this disaster."

"In addition to our financial contribution, Royal Caribbean will continue to provide economic support through the continuous business we bring to Labadee,” Mr. Fain added.

Leslie Voltaire, Special Envoy of the government of Haiti to the United Nations said, "Given the terrible economic and social challenges we now face in Haiti, we welcome the continuation of the positive economic benefits that the cruise ship calls to Labadee contribute to our country."

The benefits started with Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas call to Labadee, Haiti, which included much needed supplies for the country.

The supplies were loaded on the ship during her call in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and included items such as rice, dried beans, powdered milk, water and tinned goods. In addition, 100 percent of the company’s net revenue from the destination will be contributed to the relief effort.

In the next two weeks, the following ships are scheduled to call on Labadee with additional supplies: Navigator of the Seas to-day, Monday, January 18; Liberty of the Seas on Tuesday, January 19; and Celebrity Solstice on Friday, January 22. When the supplies arrive in Labadee, they will be transported to an offsite location to be distributed by Food for the Poor, a long time partner of Royal Caribbean in Haiti.

In addition to working with Food for the Poor to distribute relief supplies, passengers sailing onboard Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises will be able to make a donation to Food for the Poor’s Haiti Relief Fund, via a charge to their onboard account. Guests who would like to contribute immediately can visit www.foodforthepoor.org/royalcaribbean to make a donation. Royal Caribbean also plans to use a portion of the $1 million donation to augment the company’s Crew Relief Fund, which can be drawn on by any of the company’s more than 200 Haitian crew members for assistance, as well as to match employee contributions to the partner organizations.

As the initial response effort gives way to the long-term recovery effort, Royal Caribbean will consider further support efforts.

QUEEN ELIZABETH Takes to The Water

Queen Victoria Arrives Early in New York – Veendam’s Retreat – Queen Elizabeth Getting Ready – Ships at the Vancouver Olympics

 

Queen Victoria Arrives Early in New York
On the final leg of her January Transatlantic voyage from Southampton, she arrived at New York early. Her original expected time of arrival had been about 18hr but she is arriving at noon instead. Those were treated to an introduction to New York by Ted Scull, writer and author of "The 100 Best Cruise Vacations," who is giving a running commentary from the bridge.
Passenger count for the Transatlantic crossing was reported to be 1,400 Brits, 220 Germans and only 97 Americans, plus others. Queen Victoria left Southampton on Monday, 4th January. She is due back at Southampton on 22nd April.
On one of her crossings, San Francisco to Sydney on 26th January, she will be followed six days later by P&O’s Arcadia, the ship that had originally been intended to be completed as Queen Victoria before there was a change of plan and the present ship was completed to a slightly longer design.

The Veendam’s Retreat
This year’s contracted New York-Hamilton Front Street ship is due to start her season of 24 Bermuda cruises on 25th April. But an interesting story has been circulating in the meantime about her new Retreat area. In an effort to pack a few more passengers on board, last spring Holland America built cabins into the area that used to house her aft swimming pool.
It then replaced the pool with a new area called The Retreat, in which passengers sit in deck chairs with a few inches of water around their feet. Well, the Veendam’s Retreat has apparently been leaking onto the outer decks and has created some problems. Not only that, some more cabins have been tacked on to the ship’s back end and she now has a ducktail and balconies that overhang her aft dining room, something that has quite ruined her appearance for some.
Holland America’s Rotterdam has been given a similar treatment, but with no ducktail, and four more of its ships are expected to receive similar modifications, including cabins that will open up directly onto the open promenade deck, between now and 2013.

Queen Elizabeth Getting Ready
Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth has transferred from her building dock to her fitting out dock in Monfalcone. From the port bow quarter she is already painted in Cunard colours but the rest of the ship is still largely in primer as her new colours are being applied. The new Cunard ocean liner was floated out 5th January, when the honourary godmother for the occasion was Dennie Farmer, whose late husband served as Chief Engineer in both the original Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth 2.
The new Queen Elizabeth, whose master, Capt Chris Well, was a former master of Queen Mary 2, sets off from Southampton on her maiden voyage on 12th October this year and her maiden world cruise will leave Southampton on 5th January 2011.

THIS WEEK’S TOPIC
Ships at the Vancouver Olympics
With the Winter Olympics in Vancouver next month, several cruise ships will be arriving in a very off-season Vancouver, whose usual cruise season lasts from about May to October. Holland America’s Statendam is at Vancouver’s Ballantyne Pier, while Mona Lisa, built in 1967 as Swedish America Line’s fabulous Kungsholm, has passed through the Panama Canal, also bound for Vancouver.
With Statendam as the first arrival, two more Carnival Corporation & PLC ships will also be coming to Vancouver. Carnival Elation is due on 28th January and  Oosterdam on the 31st. These three will be chartered to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who intend to use them to house 5,000 security officers. Separately, Norwegian Star is expected on 10th February to be used as a hotel ship by Newwest Travel & Cruises of Edmonton.
Last year, Cruise Connections Charter Management launched a law suit for unspecified damages against the RCMP in the District of Columbia. This case was launched after the RCMP reneged on an original contract with Cruise Connections of Victoria to supply two ships from Carnival and one from Holland America, as Cruise Connections claimed it had lost a $13 million profit.
Originally, the deal was to have been for two Royal Caribbean ships, but this was later changed to three. The RCMP was accused of fudging the numbers in order to break that contract so that it could take advantage of the world recession to obtain lower prices.
Things did go the RCMP’s way in June 2009 when the DC court threw the law suit out on the grounds that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. But where the RCMP had wanted to get a better price, in April it had ended up settling direct with Carnival and Holland America but for a higher price.
What they got was a new contract under which they are now paying $76 million for three ships instead of $55.4 million. Where are the savings, people have been asking, as they contemplate a bill for an additional $21.4 million, but the RCMP have said that they cannot discuss the subject.
Meanwhile,Cruise Connections also launched a $75 million lawsuit against Newwest Travel, claiming that it had breached an exclusive agreement whereby they had originally agreed to bid jointly to the RCMP, something that Newwest withdrew from after its financial backer got cold feet. Meanwhile, Cruise Connections won the RCMP bid and Newwest Travel arranged a separate charter to use  Norwegian Star as a hotel ship. Where that case has gone we don’t know.
However, recently, Newwest has had to reduce its expected prices on the Norwegian Star after bookings did not come in at the originally established tariff. The starting prices has apparently now come down somewhat from the original idea of $700 per room per night for a range of 2- to 20-night packages, including meals, airport tranfers and Olympic transfers.
Norwegian Star will remain at her berth in North Vancouver for 20 days, as well as offering positioning cruises from Los Angeles via Victoria to Vancouver on 6th February, and back from Vancouver via San Francisco to Los Angeles on 2nd March, each of four days. Her 1,150 rooms will add about 10% to Vancouver’s hotel capacity for the duration of the games.
Mona Lisa, meanwhile, will be berthed up the coast a bit at Squamish, BC, which is on the road from Vancouver to the ski hills of Whistler. She will be based there from 26th January to 23rd March to house 1,000 Olympic workers, with another 1,000 ashore in Squamish and 4,000 at Whistler.
Such hotel ship charters seem to be a complicated and risky business, for everyone that is except the cruise lines, for whom it seems most lucrative.
(Source: By Mark Tré – Cybercruises.com)

Holland America Line Highlights the Yukon in 2010 Alaska & Yukon Cruise Tours

13 CruiseTours Feature Yukon Destinations

In 2010 Holland America Line highlights the magnificent wilderness of Canada’s Yukon Territory. Of its 31 Alaska and the Yukon CruiseTours, 13 include Yukon destinations such as Whitehorse, Dawson City, Tombstone Territorial Park and Kluane National Park. New in 2010 is the “Best of the Yukon” CruiseTour, one of three adventuresome Expedition CruiseTours just introduced by Holland America Line.

“With more than 60 years’ experience in Alaska and Yukon tours, Holland America creates itineraries to highlight the best and most comprehensive Yukon experiences,” said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales, and guest programmes.

CruiseTours featuring the Yukon range from 10 to 20 days in length and depart May 9 through Aug. 28, 2010. All combine a three-, four-, or seven-day Inside Passage cruise with a land tour of top destinations in Alaska and the Yukon. Guests experience the wilderness, wildlife, native culture and history while travelling by luxury motor coach, rail and often river boat.

The new “Best of the Yukon” Expedition CruiseTour is designed to provide an in-depth Yukon experience. The itinerary is 12 days with a three-day north-bound cruise or 13 days with a south-bound sailing that includes Glacier Bay. Guests visit Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon Territory, and Dawson City, a Klondike National Historic Site where they have three nights and two full days to explore its gold rush heritage, Tombstone Territorial Park and active adventures from rafting to hiking. The tour also visits Beaver Creek in the Yukon and Tok and Skagway in Alaska. It includes a Yukon River cruise aboard Yukon Queen II, Kluane National Park sightseeing, White Pass & Yukon Route Railway with Lake Bennett excursion and the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines.

Holland America Line offers six Great Land Klondike CruiseTours ranging from 11 to 15 days that all feature Whitehorse, Dawson City and Yukon Queen II river cruise between Dawson City, Yukon and Eagle, Alaska. Four of the CruiseTours also include a scenic trip on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway via Lake Bennett between Whitehorse and Skagway. All feature an overnight in Denali National Park and the six-to-eight-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour within the park.

Four Great Land Wilderness CruiseTours ranging from 10 to 13 days offer itineraries that include Whitehorse. Here guests may enjoy a natural history presentation at the entrance to Kluane National Park or a summer sled dog demonstration by Uncommon Journeys. On two tours they can take an optional full-day excursion to Kluane, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. All Great Land Klondike and Wilderness CruiseTours are escorted by a tour director and include travel on deluxe Explorer Coaches.

Two Glacier Discovery CruiseTours offer extensive 19- or 20-day adventures that include two nights in Whitehorse and Dawson City and “Double Denali.”

CruiseTours featuring the Yukon start at US$1,249 per person, double occupancy. For more information about booking an Alaska & Yukon CruiseTour, contact Diana Lang at The Cruise People, Ltd., her number is 1-800-961-5536 Ext 24.

Ceremonies Mark the Float Out of the World’s Newest Queen

Courtesy Cunard Line

Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth Reaches Major Milestone
Special ceremonies at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard near Trieste, Italy, were held yesterday to mark the float out of Cunard’s newest liner, Queen Elizabeth. Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, was joined by 79-year-old Florence (Dennie) Farmer, who served as guest of honour at the event. Mrs. Farmer’s husband, Willie Farmer, joined Cunard in September 1938 and served as Chief Engineer on both the first Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth 2 until his retirement in October 1979. Since her husband’s passing, Mrs. Farmer has sailed with Cunard many times and her link with the two previous Queen Elizabeth ships is unparalleled. In recognition of this, Cunard has bestowed Mrs. Farmer with the honour, in Italian tradition, of being "Madrina" to the third Queen Elizabeth.

The first ceremony involved the welding of significant coins beneath the mast of Queen Elizabeth for good luck. Three coins were chosen – a half crown dated 1938 (the year the first RMS Queen Elizabeth was launched), a sovereign dated 1967 (the year RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was launched) and a sovereign dated 2010 (to acknowledge the new Queen Elizabeth being floated out in 2010).

After the coin ceremony, the focus moved to the dockside, where the liner was blessed and a bottle of Italian prossecco was smashed against the hull by the Madrina. The valves of the dry dock were then opened and the liner met the water for the first time.

"It is only a little over six months since the keel for this great ship was laid. In that short time, a solitary block at the bottom of the dry dock has, as a result of the skill and discipline of the workforce here at Fincantieri, grown into this awe-inspiring vessel," said Mr. Shanks. "Even in her present unfinished state, devoid of the carpets and curtains, furnishings and facilities, paintings and porcelain that we associate with a Cunard luxury liner, she is awesome. Of our 170 years of history, there has been an ‘Elizabeth’ in the fleet for more than 70 and this ship – the second largest Cunarder ever built -will take the name far into the 21st Century."

Queen Elizabeth will feature many unique Cunard traditions linking her with her fleetmates, RMS Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, and their predecessors. She also will feature all the modern day luxuries Cunard passengers have come to expect. Additionally, there will be features that will give the vessel her own style and personality.

The first Queen Elizabeth was one of Cunard’s greatest ships, and the new Queen Elizabeth will reflect her predecessor in interior grandeur, décor and style, but with a modern twist. From the outside, her distinctive black and red livery will hint at an experience that differentiates a Cunard vessel from a modern-day cruise ship. This will be most evident in the ship’s adherence to liner traditions, with elegant double- and triple-height public rooms on a grand scale, luxuriously endowed with rich wood panelling, intricate mosaics, hand-woven carpets, gleaming chandeliers and cool marbles. Art Deco features will pay homage to the original Queen Elizabeth and will allow the new ship to reflect a more civilized era of travel.

As successor to RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, the ship will also reflect this great liner through artwork and memorabilia, and her very own "Yacht Club." Queen Elizabeth will acknowledge the links that Cunard has enjoyed with royalty and the maritime world over the years with photography, memorabilia and exhibits.

Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden Voyage, now sold out, will depart on Tuesday 12 October 2010. This 13-night celebration will leave from the company’s home port in Southampton (UK), and will call at Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (overnight call) and Funchal.

Her inaugural season will run from October 2010 to January 2011 and include cruises to the Western and Central Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Fares for the ship’s 13-day Iberian Discovery voyage start from US$2,620 per person, based on double occupancy. Departing roundtrip from Southampton on December 1, Queen Elizabeth will visit Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, Grand Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira.

Queen Elizabeth will depart Southampton on 5 January 2011 on her 103-night epic Inaugural world cruise, which has just opened for sale. This tour will feature 35 inaugural calls, including Cunard’s first call ever at Port Denarau (Fiji). In total, Queen Elizabeth will call at 38 ports in 23 countries as she makes her way west around the globe, with transits of both the Panama and Suez Canals and calls at Los Angeles, Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Lisbon.

Queen Elizabeth will be in great company, as her fleetmates will be on hand for several Cunard Royal Rendezvous meetings during the voyage: she will sail in tandem en route to New York with Queen Victoria before all three Cunard Queens meet in New York on 13 January; she will meet RMS Queen Mary 2 in Sydney on 22 February and in Civitavecchia on 13 April; and she will meet Queen Victoria again in Aruba on 19 January.

For more information about Cunard and to book a voyage aboard Queen Elizabeth, consult The Cruise People, call toll-free 1-800-961-5536 or email The Cruise People.

Seven Seas Navigator has completed an extensive refurbishment

Image via Wikipedia

 

Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 490-passenger Seven Seas Navigator has debuted in Port Everglades fresh from a comprehensive, stem-to-stern 50-day transformation.
Considered one of the most luxurious ships afloat, the intimate, all-suite vessel sports a new décor, with rich fabrics and furnishings, much like those found in an elegant estate home.
“The makeover of Seven Seas Navigator gives the ship a stunning new look and feel,” stated Mark Conroy, the line’s president. “Along with the new Canyon Ranch SpaClub, I’m sure our loyal repeat guests will love the new dining options, including La Veranda, Prime 7 and the Patio Grill, as well as the redecorated main dining room.”

Highlights at a Glance:
Prime 7 – a new restaurant – features a palette of green and gold, with supple leather seating, granite and burnished woods. The menu features prime-aged steaks and chops as well as poultry and fresh seafood.
Compass Rose – the ship’s main dining room – has undergone an update with new window treatments, carpets and plush cranberry and camel armchairs. New signature china, silver and glassware complete the redesign.
La Veranda – with both indoor and al fresco seating – replaced Portofino’s restaurant. New furniture, carpeting and draperies create an elegant ambiance. Food stations have been redesigned and enhanced for guests to enjoy lavish breakfast and lunch buffets. In the evening diners select from a menu of regionally themed specialties.
A New Pool Grill features a hot and cold buffet, panini sandwich station and coffee and dessert area in addition to a state-of-the-art barbecue grill. The Pool Bar, at the other end of the pool deck, was expanded and enhanced with a new ice cream station, equipped with machines for milkshakes and frappes.
Star’s Lounge received a makeover. A ruby-red carpet running the length of the entryway sets the stage for this glamorous club with furnishings that exude a classic Hollywood elegance.
Galileo’s sports bold new interiors, window coverings and a new bar area. An outdoor lounge has been added with stylish sofas and chaises overlooking the sea.
Navigator Lounge features rich hues of cappuccino, camel and navy accented by apple-green. The card room and library were redecorated and all public spaces throughout the ship were refreshed.
Canyon Ranch SpaClub: The former health club and an observation lounge have been transformed into the ship’s new Canyon Ranch SpaClub. The serene wellness centre has body and skin-care, massage and thalassotherapy treatment rooms, including a couples’ suite. Added is an aerobics studio and new gymnasium with cardio and strength-training machines, both affording forward-facing, panoramic ocean views. Locker rooms, including his and hers sauna and steam rooms, have been updated as has the full-service beauty salon, which features new wood cabinetry and granite accents. A juice bar and relaxation lounge are additional SpaClub amenities.

Seven Seas Navigator will operate seven- to 11-night cruises to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America this winter, followed by a summer series of seven-night Alaska cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage. Upon completion of the Alaska season, the ship embarks on a 96-night Grand Asia Pacific cruise.

 

Celebrity Cruises Celebrates Winter Solstice Revealing Name of Fourth Ship in Solstice Class

 

The word "silhouette" conjures up images of light and shadow, and sleek profiles in the world of design and fashion, so it’s fitting that Celebrity Cruises has named the fourth ship in its stylish Solstice Class fleet Celebrity Silhouette. And what better date to announce it than on winter solstice?
Like her sister ships – Celebrity Solstice, which was named "Best Premium Ship" and "Best Rookie Ship" in Travel Weekly’s annual awards gala just last week; Celebrity Equinox, which set sail in July 2009; and Celebrity Eclipse, which will enter service in April 2010 – the 122,000-ton Celebrity Silhouette will offer the series of brand-defining, industry-first attributes that guests, travel agents and press have praised about Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox, including a half-acre Lawn Club with real grass, a glassblowing show and studio developed with The Corning Museum of Glass, unrivalled dining venues offering trendsetting cuisine and design, and widely varied entertainment. Like her sisters, the 2,850-passenger Celebrity Silhouette will have larger staterooms – 90 percent outside, and 85 percent with verandas – and spacious bathrooms, as well as several categories of accommodations, including Celebrity’s ConciergeClass and spa-inspired AquaClass cabins. "Countless guests and travel partners have asked us to reveal the ship’s name over the past few months, which is yet another indicator of the widespread interest in these stunningly designed ships," said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. "The enormous response to our unique new sweepstakes is a powerful indicator, too."
Cruise lovers interested in being among the very first to see Celebrity Silhouette while under construction in Germany actually have a chance. By entering Celebrity’s "Eclipse of a Lifetime" sweepstakes, running through January 14, 2010, 10 winners and their guests will be the first individuals outside of the line’s employees to board Celebrity Eclipse when she sets sail for the very first time; the first to have exclusive, up-close-and-personal views of the construction process of Celebrity Silhouette at Meyer Werft, one of the most modern shipyards in the world; first to be led and hosted throughout Celebrity Eclipse by Celebrity’s President and CEO Dan Hanrahan; first to nestle into the ship’s AquaClass staterooms; first to sample the ship’s innovative cuisine created by the line’s VP of Culinary Operations and Chef Jacques Van Staden, and the first to have the chance to interact with the ship’s senior officers.
To enter, visit the Celebrity web site and click the "Eclipse of a Lifetime" under the specials tab to access the entry form and sweepstakes rules. Or, click Eclipse of a Lifetime Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes runs through January 14, 2010. Winners will be announced January 28, 2010. This sweepstakes is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada. See Official Rules on the site for complete information.
Celebrity Cruises offers comfortably sophisticated, upscale holiday experiences with highly personalized service, exceptional dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Celebrity sails in Alaska, California, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Galapagos Islands, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal and South America. The line also offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Canada, Europe and South America. Noted for four of the top 10 "Top Cruise Ships in the World" in the large-ship category, as voted by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler (February 2009 readers’ poll), Celebrity’s fleet – including the new Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox – will be joined by Celebrity Eclipse in 2010, Celebrity Silhouette in 2011, and a fifth yet-to-be-named ship in 2012. For more information, call The Cruise People at 1-800-961-5536.