Ocean Liner Days: The Real Thing

When RMS Queen Mary 2 recently sailed from Southampton, she left behind some who had tried to book her but could not get space. Despite the fact that she has about 1,000 more berths to fill than the old Queen Elizabeth 2 and despite a world recession, QM2 often sails full these days.
Cunard is not alone in being a company that has ocean liner roots that it still honours to-day.
Others have also found a new seasonal niche in moving their ships between cruising grounds (positioning voyages) and it is now not rare to find these voyages sold out, sometimes well in advance.
Surprisingly, a lot of tradition survives in this 21st Century market of 5,000-passenger ships. So let’s look at some of the opportunities available to-day to and from North America, Australasia, South America and Asia.

The North Atlantic
Cunard Line has the longest North Atlantic liner tradition on Earth, dating back to the first scheduled sailing of its Britannia from Liverpool on July 4, 1840. The last century saw many famous Cunard ships ploughing the Atlantic waves – among them two Mauretanias, Aquitania, two Caronias and three Queens, which will soon be six when the second Queen Elizabeth delivers next year. And in its traditional way, it like to call its ships, ocean liners.
To-day, Cunard maintains the last regular ocean liner link between Europe and North America with RMS Queen Mary 2‘s dozen scheduled voyages for each of 2009 and 2010, plus the occasional voyage by Queen Victoria and in 2011 by Queen Elizabeth as well, usually in connection with the January departures of their world cruises.
For several years now, since it started to add larger ships to its fleet, Fred. Olsen has been offering special voyages around Africa and around South America, as well as world cruises that can be booked by sector. This autumn, however, sees two special North Atlantic sailings to Canada. Balmoral will leave Dover on September 26 for a 13-night passage to Montreal via the Azores, Corner Brook, Gaspe and Quebec and after two weeks cruising the east coast, she will leave Halifax on October 23 for a 12-night sail back to Dover by way of Sydney, Charlottetown, St Pierre, St John’s and Cobh.
Two more Canadian sailings are being offered by Costa and Peter Deilmann. Costa Atlantica will leave Savona on September 16 for Quebec City, a 17-night voyage via Barcelona, Lisbon, the Azores, New York, Boston and Charlottetown. And Deilmann’s classic Deutschland leaves Hamburg September 22 for a 12-night sailing to Montreal by way of Falmouth, Ireland, Newfoundland, St Pierre and the Saguenay Fjord.
Other than RMS Queen Mary 2, which offers a full Transatlantic schedule, other operators tend to offer very seasonal fare, that is, from America to Europe in spring and back from Europe to America and the Caribbean by autumn. This year, there will be three sailings from Europe to New York or Boston in August, two of these by old-time liner operator Holland America Line; six in September to New York, Boston or Fort Lauderdale, two of which will be offered by Princess Cruises; seven in October, two of which again are by Holland America; a dozen sailings in November, two each by Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and one by Holland America; and three stragglers in December by Azamara, Fred. Olsen and MSC.
One crossing that has attracted much repeat business each autumn is Oceania Cruises, with its smaller 684-berth ships, but the biggest ship crossing will be Royal Caribbean’s 3,600-berth Independence of the Seas, a 13-night crossing leaving Southampton on November 23 for Fort Lauderdale. One line that we have mentioned, Holland America Line, founded in 1872, was among the original North Atlantic operators and even tried to take ownership of the words "ocean liner" for a while until they wisely allowed Cunard to take the role of operating the real ocean liners within the Carnival group.
Other than the US sailings, several ships also terminate in Caribbean ports. And the same fleet will all be headed back to Europe next spring, with the exception of new ships such as  Carnival Dream and Celebrity Equinox, which will be making delivery voyages to their new cruising grounds after a few introductory cruises in Europe.
For people who need more flexibility, there are also year round cargo ship voyages that carry a few passengers. One of these, on the Independent Container Line route between Antwerp, Liverpool and Philadelphia, even offers weekly sailings. And although they only carry passengers between April and November, year-round sailings are still available to and from the Mediterranean.

Europe To the West Coast
An interesting departure for North America’s west coast is Cunard Line’s departure of  Queen Victoria, which leaves Southampton on January 4, 2010, for San Francisco by way of New York, Fort Lauderdale and Acapulco, to arrive 24 nights later. Yet another ship, Arcadia, that was originally intended to have been completed as Queen Victoria too, but then switched to P&O, leaves Southampton on January 10, to arrive in San Francisco 22 nights later, sailing by way of Madeira, Barbados and Acapulco.

Australia and New Zealand
P&O, which actually got its start a couple of years before Cunard, eventually developed into a line best known for its services to and from Australia and New Zealand and India and the Far East. People who remember names such as Orion, Oronsay, Viceroy of India, Arcadia and Canberra can still to-day book liner voyages with P&O by booking a particular sector of its annual world cruises.
Aurora leaves Southampton, for example, on January 5, 2010, offering a 55-night voyage through Suez to Brisbane, 57 nights to Sydney, 60 nights to Melbourne or 66 nights to Fremantle, while Arcadia leaves Southampton on January 10 and offers a 38-night voyage via the Panama to Auckland, 45 nights to Sydney or 47 nights to Brisbane.
On the way back to Southampton,  Arcadia leaves Auckland on February 15 (59 nights), Sydney on February 22 (52 nights) and Brisbane on February 24 (50 nights), returning via Suez. The Aurora, meanwhile, leaves Brisbane on February 26 (52 nights), Sydney on February 28 (50 nights), Melbourne on March 3 (47 nights) and Fremantle on March 9 (41 nights), returning to Southampton via the Cape of Good Hope.
Returning from Sydney, Queen Victoria sails on February 18 for a grand 63-night voyage back to Southampton. The same voyage is available from Auckland in 70 days, while Fremantle to Southampton takes 55 days via Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.
For Canadians and Americans too, there are opportunities. The same Queen Victoria that arrives in San Francisco on January 26 offers a 25-night sailing to Sydney via Honolulu, Fiji and New Zealand. And Arcadia that arrives in San Francisco on February 1 offers a 16-night sailing to Auckland, New Zealand via Honolulu and Christmas Island, or a 22-night sailing that finishes in Sydney.
Another regular operator to and from Australia is Classic International, first with Funchal, but now with Athena, offering an annual autumn departure from Athens for Fremantle and a March return voyage that can be booked as liner voyages. This year Athena leaves Athens’ port of Piraeus on November 14 for a 34-night voyage to Fremantle through Turkey, Cyprus and Suez via Colombo and Singapore. After a season of Australia-based cruises, she will then leave Fremantle on March 14 for a reverse voyage that finishes 35 nights later in Nice. Fares compare very well with P&O and Cunard.
A longer passage, offered by Cunard Line, is RMS Queen Mary 2, leaving Southampton on January 11 for a 57-night voyage to Sydney via the Med, Suez, Singapore, Hong Kong, three ports in Japan and two in New Zealand. Equally, Southampton to Auckland is 53 nights. Coming the other way, Queen Mary 2 leaves Auckland March 2 for a 51-night passage back to Southampton by way of the Far East, Indian Ocean and Cape of Good Hope, and leaves Sydney on March 6 for a 47-night trip back to the UK.
Queen Victoria will be sailing the other way, leaving Southampton on January 4 for a 47-night voyage to Australia via New York, San Francisco, Honolulu and New Zealand, or a 55-night passage to Fremantle. Those wishing to disembark in Auckland may also do so after 40 nights. And North Americans may sail from San Francisco, which she leaves on January 26, for Sydney in 40 nights.

South America
Certain South American countries boast a large Italian population that can be traced back to the era of ocean liners, especially SpA "Italia," as it was known, and then Costa. Italian liner companies always considered their South American connections to be almost as important as their North American ones and this holds true right up until to-day. Every year, Costa and MSC Cruises send several ships to Brazil and Argentina for the winter (nine this year) and in the process offer a seasonal liner service, out from Europe in the autumn and back in the spring.
MSC will offer half a dozen outbound South American sailings this autumn, with two returning to the UK in the spring. First, on October 5, 2009, MSC Lirica leaves Genoa for Santos, Brazil, via Madeira, the Canaries and ports in Brazil, a voyage of 18 nights. On March 12, 2010, she will return from Santos via a similar route, returning to Genoa on March 29. MSC Melody, meanwhile, leaves Genoa for Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, on October 23 (a short 14-night voyage) and returns from Bahia on March 13, 2010, another quick 14-night trip back to Genoa.
And on November 2, MSC Musica leaves Venice for Santos via Madeira and ports in Brazil, another 18-night voyage. On March 17, 2010, she will return from Santos via a similar route, arriving at Venice on April 4. MSC Armonia, leaves Venice for Buenos Aires on November 15 (21 nights) and leaves Buenos Aires for Venice on April 29, 2010 (also 21 nights). These are the four sailings that will return to Italy next spring, but two more MSC ships will also leave Italy, but return to Dover next spring.

South America to UK Sailings
New this year, two MSC ships will return from Brazil to the UK next spring. On October 26, 2009, MSC Opera leaves Venice for a 17-night voyage to Rio de Janeiro via the Canaries and ports in Brazil. And on May 3 2010, she returns from Santos via a similar route, but this time in 18 nights to Dover, thus offering British passengers a direct sailing from South America. And on December 1, 2009, MSC Orchestra leaves Genoa for Santos via Madeira, the Canaries and Brazilian ports, a voyage of 17 nights. On April 20, 2010, she will return from Santos via a similar route, also to Dover, offering British passengers a second direct sailing from South America, this one in 16 nights. Return dates in April and May will also allow more flexibility to those planning to travel from Brazil to the UK next spring.
Where MSC have half a dozen ships headed for South America, Costa will be sending three. Costa Magica will make an 18-night crossing from Savona to Santos on November 18 and Costa Concordia will perform a similar voyage just four days later, on November 22. Then Costa Victoria will depart Savona on December 3 for a 19-night voyage to Buenos Aires, her base for the winter. And like the MSC ships, all three will return to Italy next spring.
Royal Caribbean, meanwhile, will be sending Splendour of the Seas and Vision of the Seas to Brazil, both from Lisbon, while Oceania will offer Insignia from Barcelona, for three more South America sailings this autumn, producing a total of a dozen crossings this autumn.
For those who don’t live like lemmings, however, and can’t cope with such seasonality, Grimaldi Lines offer a sailing every 10 days between Tilbury and Buenos Aires in 12-passenger cargo ships that also call in Brazil. This has been so successful that passenger accommodation on their Buenos Aires ships is now sold out many months ahead of sailing.

Far East and India
Viceroy of India, we mentioned, was a well-known P&O ship, but outbound Britons can now join P&O’s Aurora at Southampton on January 5 for a 21-night voyage to Mumbai, or 27 nights to Singapore or 35 nights to Hong Kong. They could also catch Cunard’s QM2 on January 11 for a 27-night voyage to Singapore or 34 nights to Hong Kong. And for those who wish to leave earlier, Voyages of Discovery offers a November 28 sailing from Barcelona to Mumbai (24 days), Singapore (39 days) or Hong Kong (65 days) in  Discovery.
For Canadians and Americans, the February 1 departure of Arcadia from San Francisco offers a 38-night sailing to Hong Kong with stops in Sydney, Cairns and Kota Kinabalu, shades of both the old Matson and American President Lines.
For those wishing to sail back to the UK from the Far East, Cunard’s Queen Victoria leaves Hong Kong on March 9 for a 44-night passage to Southampton, or Singapore on March 23 for a 30-night voyage. Also from Hong Kong, on March 12, Britons can catch Arcadia home to Southampton in 34 nights via Bangkok, Singapore, Mumbai and Athens. The same voyage also offers a 20-night opportunity from Mumbai to Southampton, leaving on March 29. Equally, Aurora offers a March 17 sailing from Singapore to Southampton, taking 33 nights by way of the Indian Ocean and Cape of Good Hope.

South Africa
There was a time when voyages to and from South Africa were more common, but for the moment, there are only a few opportunities. MSC offers one Durban sailing this autumn. On November 24, 2009, MSC Sinfonia leaves Leghorn for Durban via Naples, Suez, the Seychelles and Madagascar, a voyage of 20 nights. She then returns on April 1, 2010, from Durban, on a 21-night passage back Leghorn via Mauritius, the Seychelles, Suez and Naples again, one of the few liner offerings to South Africa these days other than a twice-monthly cargo-passenger service between Antwerp and Cape Town and two UK sailings a year by the mail ship RMS St Helena.
Although South African opportunities have been less frequent recently, the activities of pirates off Somalia have convinced some operators to avoid the Suez Canal on some future voyages, and we are likely to see more such opportunities in 2011. One such opportunity is now being offered in P&O’s Aurora on April 4, 2010, when she leaves Cape Town for Southampton on what will be a 15-night voyage via Walvis Bay, St Helena and Madeira.
So not every ship in the cruise world goes round and round the same five or six ports every seven days. Lots sail the world and if you pay attention there are plenty of opportunities to be had to cross the ocean like our ancestors and parents did, enjoying the voyage for what it is with many days at sea rather than the mad whirlwind of a port a day. It does take a little more planning now; you can’t call your travel agent and say "book me on the next boat to Sydney, Lou," as the opportunities come and go. But it’s worth the extra work if you can do it.
(Source: By Mark Tré – Cybercruises.com)

Cut and Splice: Stretching Cruise Ships

With the retirement of its smallest and oldest ship this October one cruise line will now have a fleet made up entirely of lengthened vessels. Another stretched ship will start a career of year-round Mediterranean cruising in December and yet another is to become the largest ship in the fleet of the UK’s largest tour operator cruise line next April.
This week we look at a procedure for enlarging a ship’s capacity that first came into use in 1871.
The Allan Line
While many think that the idea of stretching a ship by adding a new midbody to increase her capacity is a recent phenomenon, the practice actually became popular in 1871 when engineering changes brought about a change from simple to compound steam engines. In order to install these larger engines and not lose capacity, it was found that by lengthening a ship she could accommodate the new engines.
Probably the biggest believer in this process was the Allan Line, whose head office was in Glasgow, that great hub of engineering. The Allan Line, later absorbed by Canadian Pacific, stretched half a dozen of its trans-Atlantic liners between1871 and 1874, usually by about 40 feet. The result was longer ships with more powerful engines and, as a bonus, some additional passenger capacity.
These days, however, engineering reasons are not usually part of the equation, although occasionally a lengthened ship will experience a slight gain in speed because of her new configuration. The prime incentive today is capacity and the opportunity to earn more revenues with the same ship and engines. Adding a new midsection can easily add another third to the original capacity and therefore earning power of a modern cruise ship.

Fred. Olsen Cruises
When Fred. Olsen retires its Black Prince this October, it will leave the line with a fleet of four cruise ships, all of which have been lengthened (two by Fred. Olsen itself). It will thus become only the second cruise line in the world able to make such a claim. The first was Royal Viking Line before the delivery of  Royal Viking Sun, and ironically two of Fred. Olsen’s ships are from the Royal Viking fleet. For some reason, it has been mainly Norwegians that have gone into ship lengthening, and usually in German shipyards.
While Black Watch and Boudicca were part of a trio that had already been lengthened by Royal Viking Line, it was Fred Olsen themselves that decided to stretch Balmoral and Braemar. Interestingly, both ships at one time featured in the fleet of Norwegian Cruise Line,  Balmoral as Norwegian Crown and Braemar as Norwegian Dynasty before going to affiliate Star Cruises. The third of the lengthened Royal Viking trio is now trading with Phoenix Reisen as its second Albatros.
Directly on delivery from Norwegian Cruise Line in November 2007, Fred. Olsen sent its new flagship. Balmoral, to the Blohm & Voss repair yards in Hamburg, to emerge in January 2008 with a new 98-foot midsection featuring a new pool area and 175 new cabins and suites. Now at 43,537 gross tons, her lower berth count has risen by more than a third, from 990 to 1,340, to give her a passenger space ratio of 32.5 tons per guest.
Braemar was sent to Blohm & Voss five months later, in May 2008, receiving a new 102-foot midsection that increased her passenger capacity from 727 to 968 berths, or by a third. Along with new cabins came a new dining facility, new pool area, a pool bar and a new observatory area forward. Braemar returned to cruising from Southampton that July, giving Fred Olsen two new stretched ships in the same year.

Louis Cruise Lines
Another ex-Norwegian ship, although originally operated by Greek owners Majesty Cruise Lines, is Louis Majesty, which is now finishing her last season of Bermuda sailings as  Norwegian Majesty. When she delivers this December she will go straight into service for Louis Cruise Lines under her new name.
Louis Majesty was one of three ships to be stretched by Norwegian Cruise Line in a late 1990s update of its fleet, when she was lengthened by 111 feet in 1999 at Lloyd Werft. On December 2,  Louis Majesty will replace Coral sailing out of Genoa and Marseilles on Mediterranean and Canary Islands cruises and will be the first large Louis ship to cruise year-round in the Med.
Louis has another stretched ship in its fleet in Aquamarine, which at the time of her 1980 lengthening in Finland, where she was built, was sailing for Royal Caribbean as Nordic Prince. Now based in Piraeus, she operates in the 3- and 4-night Greek Islands circuit together with fleetmate Aegean Pearl.
The sister ship of Aquamarine, Festival, is now cruising the eastern Mediterranean for Caspi Cruises of Israel. Owned by the Clipper Group of Denmark, she is available for sale or charter from this November. She was lengthened in 1978 when was Royal Caribbean’s Song of Norway. The last ship in this original Royal Caribbean trio,  Sun Viking, was never lengthened.

Norwegian Cruise Line
The other two NCL ships that were lengthened were the French-built Norwegian Dream and Norwegian Wind, which were both stretched 130 feet in 1998, also by Lloyd Werft. Louis had originally contracted to purchase Norwegian Dream but that particular deal feel through and the ship was laid up in Freeport in the Bahamas last November. More recent reports have seen her leaving Piraeus Roads for Kalamata, but there are no reports yet of a subsequent sale.
Her sister ship Norwegian Wind has meanwhile found her way to Star Cruises, where as  Superstar Aquarius she operates daily gambling cruises from Hong Kong.

 Thomson Dream
As Costa Cruises takes on more newbuildings with more verandahs, news has now broken that Costa Europa will be going on ten-year charter to Thomson Cruises. To be renamed Thomson Dream, at 53,872 tons she will become its largest ship and also the roomiest, with a passenger space ratio of more than 36 gross tons per passenger. This compares to just 26 for  Thomson Destiny, an ex-Royal Caribbean ship, and 27 for the Thomson Celebration and Thomson Spirit, ex-Holland America ships.
The ship was lengthened in 1989 as Holland America Line’s Westerdam, when she returned to her builders Meyer Werft at Papenburg to receive a new 130-foot midbody that included additional restaurant space and 195 new cabins. Unfortunately, this was also when the once Home Line’s Homeric lost her two beautiful forward-facing lounges to a new American-style show lounge, while more lounge space was added amidships.
Thomson Dream will be based in Palma de Mallorca starting in April 2010, sailing on 7-night Mediterranean cruises to Civitavecchia (for Rome), Leghorn (for Florence), Barcelona and Tunis. Palma is connected to 22 airports in the UK so Thomson Dream is sure to be a popular ship, especially with the impending demise of Ocean Village. Thomson will have the option of purchasing the ship any time after the first five years.

Enchantment of the Seas
The third Royal Caribbean ship to be lengthened, after Nordic Prince and Song of Norway, was  Enchantment of the Seas. Sent back to her original Finnish builders, Kvaerner Masa Yards, in 2005, she received a new 73-foot 2,500-ton midbody that added 151 cabins to her capacity and brought her overall length to 990 feet, making her longer than the QE2.
At the time Royal Caribbean chairman and ceo Richard Fain was quoted as saying “The refurbishment of Enchantment makes tremendous sense from both an economic and a strategic standpoint. We add substantial revenue without adding commensurate costs, while significantly improving the overall guest experience.”
Unaccountably, but perhaps because Royal Caribbean was also involved in substantial newbuilding programmes, none of the other six ships of her class has ever been lengthened, leaving her as by far the largest cruise ship to have been lengthened to date.

One That Got Away
One ship that was intended to be lengthened but never was caused the bankruptcy of a famous shipyard when Cammell Laird were forced to call in the receivers in April 2001. Almost as if in fear of her operation Costa Cruises’ Costa Classica turned around en route to the shipyard and headed back fro Genoa. The problem was that Costa did not have the confidence that the British yard would be able to deliver the lengthened ship on time.
The newly-built midship section eventually had to be scrapped as it was of no use at all to anyone else. While the name lived on in its Gibraltar facility, it was once again revived on Merseyside last November.

(Source: By Mark Tré – Cybercruises.com)

Below are the particulars of cruise ships that have been lengthened, shown in order of size as they exist today.

Princess Promotions as of 23 Aug 09

These promotions are for the Toronto area.

Contact The Cruise People on 1-800-268-6523 for specials in your area

SOUTH AMERICA

Star Princess – January 5 – S. Amer. Horn 12 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,380 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 18
RDB

Star Princess – March 16 – GIG/FLL 18 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,840 Inside Standard
RDB

Star Princess – March 2 – S. Amer. Horn 14 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,874 Inside Standard
RDB

Star Princess – January 17 – South America/Antarctica 16 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $2,299 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 2
RDB

Star Princess – March 2 – S. Amer. Horn 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $2,582 Inside Standard
RDA

Royal Princess – January 2 – S. Amer. Amazon 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $2,989 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 16; February 27; March 13
RDB

Star Princess – March 2 – S. Amer. Horn 32 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $3,713 Inside Standard
RDB

Star Princess – March 2 – S. Amer. Horn 32 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $4,015 Inside Standard
RDA

Royal Princess – February 27 – S. Amer. Amazon 28 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $5,749 Outside Standard
RDB

SOUTH AMERICA CRUISETOURS

Star Princess – February 24 – 20 Nts Machu Picchu Explorer Day #GB4 – “Best Available”
From: $4,944 Inside Standard
RT1

EUROPE

Ocean Princess – October 20 – Mediterranean Collection 7 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,210 Outside Standard
RGA

Ruby Princess – April 19 – Trans-Atlantic 16 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,315 Inside Standard
RGA

Ocean Princess – August 14 – Baltic 7 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,320 Inside Standard
RGA

Star Princess – May 22 – Baltic 10 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,420 Inside Standard – $2,025 Outside Standard
Other dates*: May 12; June 1 & 21
RGA

Ocean Princess – August 7 – British Isles 7 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,430 Outside Standard
RGA

Ocean Princess – September 1 – Greek Isles 7 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,430 Outside Standard
Other dates*: September 8
RGA

Ocean Princess – July 31 – North Cape 7 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,430 Outside Standard
RGA

Star Princess – November 22 – Eastern Med 12 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,475 Inside Standard
RGA

Ruby Princess – May 5 – Western Med 12 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,805 Inside Standard
RGA

Star Princess – November 10 – Mosaic 12 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,135 Outside Standard
RGA

Star Princess – June 11 – Baltic 10 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,190 Outside Standard
RGA

Ruby Princess – June 22 – Greek Isles 12 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,190 Inside Standard
RGA

Ocean Princess – August 21 – Med/Atlantic 11 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,740 Outside Standard
RGA

Ruby Princess – April 19 – Trans-Atlantic 28 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,899 Inside Standard
Other dates*: April 24
RGA

Star Princess – September 9 – Med/Atlantic 14 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $3,015 Outside Standard
RGA

Ocean Princess – August 21 – Greek Isles 18 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $3,729 Inside Standard
RGA

Ocean Princess – June 7 – North Cape 18 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $5,050 Inside Standard – $5,215 Outside Standard
RGA

Ocean Princess – June 25 – Iceland 18 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $5,215 Outside Standard
Other dates*: July 13
RGA

EUROPE CRUISETOURS

Star Princess – August 12 – 18 Nights Oberammergau Day #04B – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $5,797 Inside Standard
RT1

Star Princess – August 2 – 18 Nights Oberammergau Day #04A – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $5,852 Inside Standard
RT1

ALASKA

Island Princess – May 17 – Gulf 7 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $549 Inside Standard
Other dates*: May 15, 22, 24, 29 & 31; June 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26 & 28; July 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 & 31; August 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28 & 30; September 4, 6, 11 & 13
RGA

Sapphire Princess – May 16 – Inside Passage 7 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $715 Inside Standard
Other dates*: May 15, 22 & 29; June 5, 12, 19 & 26; July 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31; August 7, 14, 21 & 28; September 4, 11 & 18
RGA

Sea Princess – May 22 – Inside Passage 10 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,210 Inside Standard – $2,200 Outside Standard
Other dates*: June 1, 11 & 21; July 1, 11, 21 & 31; August 10, 20 & 30; September 9 & 19
RGA

Royal Princess – May 24 – Connoisseur 14 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,200 Inside Standard – $2,640 Outside Standard
Other dates*: June 7 & 21; July 5 & 19; August 2, 16 & 30
RGA

CARIBBEAN

Sea Princess – May 1 – Southern Classic 6 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $517 Inside Standard – $770 Outside Standard
RDA

Caribbean Princess – January 31 – Southern 7 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $574 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 3, 10, 17 & 24; February 7, 14, 21 & 28; March 7, 14, 21 & 28; April 4, 11, 18 & 25
RDC

Crown Princess – January 30 – Western 7 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $574 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 2, 9, 16 & 23; February 6, 13, 20 & 27; March 6, 13, 20 & 27; April 3, 10, 17 & 24
RDC

Emerald Princess – January 3 – Eastern 7 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $632 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 10, 17, 24 & 31; February 7, 14, 21 & 28; March 7, 14, 21 & 28; April 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 & 25; May 2
RDC

Royal Princess – April 24 – Eastern 6 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $689 Inside Standard – $977 Outside Standard
RDB

Grand Princess – January 4 – Southern Classic 11 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,035 Inside Standard
RGC

Caribbean Princess – January 3 – Southern Logical 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,092 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 10, 17, 24 & 31; February 7, 14, 21 & 28; March 7, 14, 21 & 28; April 4, 11 & 18
RDC

Ruby Princess – January 29 – Eastern Voyager 10 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,149 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 9; February 18; March 10 & 30
RDB

Ruby Princess – April 9 – Southern Medley 10 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,149 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 19; February 8 & 28; March 20
RDB

Grand Princess – January 15 – Collection 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,379 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 29; February 12 & 26; March 12 & 26
RDC

Grand Princess – January 29 – Collection 14 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,380 Inside Standard
RDC

Sea Princess – April 3 – Southern Adventurer 14 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,495 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 9; February 6; March 6
RDC

Sea Princess – April 3 – Southern Adventurer 14 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,495 Inside Standard
RGC

Sea Princess – February 20 – Eastern Islander 14 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,495 Inside Standard
Other dates*: March 20; April 17
RDC

Sea Princess – February 20 – Eastern Islander 14 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,495 Inside Standard
Other dates*: April 17
RGC

Royal Princess – April 10 – Calypso 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,512 Inside Standard – $2,184 Outside Standard
Other dates*: March 27
RDC

Sea Princess – January 23 – Eastern Islander 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,609 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 20; March 20; April 17
RDB

Sea Princess – April 3 – Southern Adventurer 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,667 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 9; February 6; March 6
RDB

HAWAII

Golden Princess – January 3 – Hawaii/Roundtrip 14 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,379 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 17 & 31; March 14; April 11 & 25
RDC

Golden Princess – January 3 – Hawaii/Roundtrip 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,379 Inside Standard – $2,300 Outside Standard
Other dates*: January 17 & 31; February 14 & 28; March 14 & 28; April 11 & 25
RGC

MEXICO

Sapphire Princess – January 2 – Mexico 7 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $574 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 9, 16, 23 & 30; February 6, 13, 20 & 27; March 6, 13, 20 & 27; April 3, 10, 17 & 24; May 1
RDC

Sapphire Princess – February 13 – Mexico 7 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $747 Inside Standard
RDC

ORIENT/ASIA/AFRICA

Diamond Princess – April 30 – Alaska/Far East 16 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,495 Inside Standard
RDC

Diamond Princess – March 13 – Southeast Asia 16 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,955 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 3 & 19; February 4; March 29
RDC

Diamond Princess – March 13 – Southeast Asia 16 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,955 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 3; March 29; April 14
RGC

Diamond Princess – February 21 – Orient/Asia/Australia 20 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,955 Inside Standard
RDE

Diamond Princess – March 13 – Southeast Asia 16 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $2,295 Inside Standard
Other dates*: March 29
RDB

Diamond Princess – April 30 – Alaska/Far East 23 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $2,300 Inside Standard
RDB

Diamond Princess – April 30 – Alaska/Far East 23 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,357 Inside Standard
RGB

Diamond Princess – March 29 – Southeast Asia 16 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $2,985 Outside Fully Obstructed – $2,985 Inside Standard
RDA

Diamond Princess – February 21 – Orient/Asia/Australia 36 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $4,250 Inside Standard
RDB

Diamond Princess – February 21 – Orient/Asia/Australia 36 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $4,250 Inside Standard
RGB

Ocean Princess – March 6 – Orient/China 14 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $4,301 Mini-suite
RDA

Diamond Princess – April 14 – Alaska/Far East 32 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $4,480 Inside Standard
RDC

Diamond Princess – April 14 – Alaska/Far East 32 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $4,480 Inside Standard
RGB

Diamond Princess – April 14 – Alaska/Far East 32 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $5,452 Inside Standard
RDB

Diamond Princess – February 21 – Orient/Asia/Australia 36 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $5,509 Inside Standard
RDA

Sun Princess – March 3 – Orient/Asia/Australia 42 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $8,050 Outside Standard
RGA

ORIENT/ASIA/AFRICA CRUISETOURS

Diamond Princess – April 25 – 28 Nights Best Of China Day #AB3 – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $5,037 Inside Standard
RT2

SOUTH PACIFIC

Diamond Princess – January 28 – Aus/N. Zealand 12 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,265 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 4 & 16; February 9
RDF

Diamond Princess – January 16 – Aus/N. Zealand 12 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,265 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 28; February 9
RGB

Diamond Princess – February 9 – Aus/N. Zealand 12 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,610 Inside Standard – $1,724 Outside Fully Obstructed
RGB

Dawn Princess – January 24 – New Zealand 13 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,720 Inside Standard – $2,295 Outside Standard
Other dates*: January 23; February 5, 6, 18 & 19
RDB

Diamond Princess – January 16 – Aus/N. Zealand 12 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $2,065 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 9
RDB

PANAMA CANAL

Island Princess – January 19 – FLL/FLL 10 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,264 Inside Standard – $1,379 Outside Fully Obstructed
Other dates*: January 29; February 8; March 30; April 9 & 19
RDC

Island Princess – January 19 – FLL/FLL 10 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,264 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 29; February 8; March 30; April 9 & 19
RGC

Island Princess – January 9 – ACA/FLL 10 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,264 Inside Standard – $1,379 Outside Fully Obstructed
Other dates*: February 18 & 28; March 10 & 20
RDC

Island Princess – January 9 – ACA/FLL 10 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $1,264 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 18 & 28; March 10 & 20
RGC

Island Princess – January 19 – FLL/FLL 10 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,609 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 29; February 8; March 30; April 9 & 19
RGB

Island Princess – January 19 – FLL/FLL 10 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $1,609 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 29; February 8; March 30; April 9 & 19
RDB

Island Princess – January 9 – ACA/FLL 10 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,609 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 18 & 28; March 10 & 20
RGB

Island Princess – January 9 – ACA/FLL 10 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $1,609 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 18 & 28; March 10 & 20
RDB

Sea Princess – May 7 – FLL/SFO 15 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,610 Inside Standard – $1,725 Outside Fully Obstructed
RDC

Sea Princess – May 7 – FLL/SFO 15 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,610 Inside Standard
RGC

Coral Princess – January 6 – LAX/FLL 15 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,839 Inside Standard
Other dates*: February 5; March 7; April 6
RGC

Coral Princess – January 6 – LAX/FLL 15 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $1,839 Inside Standard
Other dates*: March 7; April 6
RDC

Coral Princess – February 5 – LAX/FLL 15 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,954 Inside Standard – $2,185 Outside Fully Obstructed
RDC

Coral Princess – April 21 – FLL/LAX 15 Day – “$$ Off Escape Fares”
From: $1,954 Inside Standard – $2,185 Outside Fully Obstructed
Other dates*: January 21
RDC

Coral Princess – February 20 – FLL/LAX 15 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $1,954 Inside Standard
Other dates*: January 21; March 22; April 21 & 29
RGC

Coral Princess – February 20 – FLL/LAX 15 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $1,954 Inside Standard
Other dates*: March 22; April 21 & 29
RDC

Island Princess – April 29 – FLL/YVR 18 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,184 Inside Standard
RGC

Island Princess – April 29 – FLL/YVR 18 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $2,184 Inside Standard
RDC

Coral Princess – April 21 – FLL/YVR 19 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $2,323 Inside Standard
RDD

Island Princess – April 29 – FLL/YVR 18 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $2,759 Inside Standard
RGB

Royal Princess – April 30 – FLL/SEA 20 Day – “Guaranteed”
From: $2,874 Inside Standard – $3,220 Outside Standard
RGC

Royal Princess – April 30 – FLL/SEA 20 Day – “Free Upgrade!”
From: $2,874 Inside Standard – $3,220 Outside Standard
RDC

Coral Princess – April 21 – FLL/YVR 19 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $2,988 Inside Standard
RDA

Royal Princess – April 30 – FLL/SEA 20 Day – “Balcony Bonanza!”
From: $3,449 Inside Standard – $3,450 Outside Standard
RGB

*Calculation is the same, but fares may be higher and ship may be different. All fares are non-air unless otherwise stated. All promotions are capacity controlled and based on space availability. Fares quoted in Canadian dollars.

RESERVATIONS: 1-800-268-6523

The Birth of Two New Cruise Lines

In the crucible of the present recession, one expects cruise lines to get into trouble, and a few have. Hebridean has gone into receivership and joined stable mates Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery in the portfolio of All Leisure.
The river operations of Majestic America and Peter Deilmann have either gone or are being wound down. And Windstar’s parent Ambassadors International has announced that it will need more cash in order to stay in business. While Carnival and NCL are making a profit Royal Caribbean is losing money.
The last thing we might expect right now is the announcement of two new cruise lines in one week. But that is precisely what has just happened. And both lines, each of which is branded with the name “voyages,” has some rather interesting background.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Last Thursday, Cruise & Maritime Services of Dartford, Kent, announced that in 2010 it would be starting a new two-ship cruise operation under the brand and trading name of Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
Cruise & Maritime has been around for some time and has a lot of experience in the small traditional ship and regional UK markets, as well as in operating cruise ships from Tilbury. Headed by former CTC Cruises executives Richard Bastow and Chris Coates, Cruise & Maritime has worked over the past several years with various European operators, including Classic International Cruises of Lisbon, Louis Cruise Lines of Nicosia and Transocean Tours of Bremen, in building a following in the UK market.
The new line’s first ship, the 820-berth Marco Polo, it has been marketing for the past two summers under the brand of Transocean Tours. Marco Polo was purchased by the Greek-based Global Maritime Group in 2007 and chartered to Transocean to replace the Louis Cruise Lines’ Arielle, which is now operating from Piraeus as the Aquamarine. Both ships had been used in Transocean’s programme of Tilbury cruises and marketed by Cruise & Maritime. Cruise & Maritime have a lot of experience with Tilbury, which was the UK base port for the Russian and Ukrainian-owned ships operated by CTC.
Marco Polo‘s first Cruise & Maritime departure will take place on January 2, 2010, at the start of a five-year charter. She will now operate from the UK year-round. Ironically, Marco Polo was well-known to Coates and Bastow as Alexandr Pushkin, when she operated in the Tilbury-Montreal Transatlantic trade of the then-Leningrad-based Baltic Shipping Company, which was marketed in the UK by CTC Cruises.
The line’s second ship is the 800-berth Ocean Countess, a ship that was familiar to Brits and North Americans for many years as  Cunard Countess. Unlike Marco Polo, which will concentrate on Tilbury,  Ocean Countess will operate from UK regional ports, including Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Greenock, Liverpool and Plymouth. Starting on April 18, 2010, these regional cruises come at a good time as although Fred. Olsen will be continuing its regional cruises with Boudicca, Thomson Cruises will not have any UK departures in 2010 and Page & Moy, although it also has programmes with Costa and Louis, will no longer be operating Ocean Majesty.
Cruise & Maritime will charter Ocean Countess from Majestic International (who also control Ocean Majesty on an initial two-year charter, and Cruise & Maritime has appointed Global Maritime to supply hotel, marine and entertainment management programmes so there will be consistency of product between the two ships.
Cruise & Maritime also have a lot of experience with the rather segmented UK regional and small ship market, where various tour operators commit to one or two voyages each and the ship passes from operator to operator over the summer, each with its own loyal clientele and database. This kind of operation is unheard of in North America but has had a place in Europe for years. Just as in smaller markets such as Sweden, Belgium and Ireland, where there is not enough business to support their own cruise lines, the same is true in this segment of the UK market. In the past, Cruise & Maritime have been quite adept at marketing such programmes.
Cruise & Maritime will initially offer these 27,000 berths on the UK market but the programme will be opened up to passengers from North America, Australasia and South Africa as well, and representation arrangements are now being put in place for these markets. The overall target market will be those that prefer smaller, more traditional ships. Cruise & Maritime director Chris Coates was quoted as saying:
“We all collectively believe that despite the significant increase in the larger resort style vessels, the reducing number of smaller, traditional and lower capacity vessels generally operated by the independent and privately owned shipping companies, still have a huge following on the British market.
“We believe this potentially enables us to deliver a more personal and friendly standard of service and our vessels can also visit more remote ports of call and places not always accessible to the larger resort ships.”
One interesting aspect of this news is that Transocean Tours will now be left with just one ship, Astor, instead of the three it had operated at one stage. As well as  Marco Polo, Astoria, which once operated for Transocean, has been purchased by Saga as its Saga Pearl II.

Voyages to Antiquity
On the very next day to the Cruise & Maritime news it was announced that another new cruise line, to be called Voyages to Antiquity, is being launched by Gerry Herrod. Voyages to Antiquity has acquired the 560-berth Aegean I, to be renamed Aegean Odyssey. She will sail the Mediterranean on two-week cruises from May to November.
Gerry Herrod is the serial cruise entrepreneur who started up and then sold Ocean Cruise Line (and its subsidiary Pearl Cruises) in 1990 to Paquet Cruises, Orient Lines in 1998 to Norwegian Cruise Line, and Discovery Cruises in 2005 to All Leisure, who operate it as Voyages of Discovery and have since acquired Swan Hellenic and Hebridean Island Cruises. With Voyages to Antiquity, Herrod is involved in his fourth cruise line start-up.
This new line’s ship, Aegean Odyssey, is already known to many as she operated for a little while as  Aegean I for Renaissance Cruises and has also been active in the short cruise market out of Piraeus. Ironically, however, one of the ships involved in the new Cruise & Maritime venture, Marco Polo, is also a Gerry Herrod project as it was he who converted and renamed her for his Orient Lines in 1993.
Herrod is recrafting the Aegean I into the 382-passenger Aegean Odyssey at a shipyard in Greece. The upper level accommodation will be enlarged and forty-two balcony suites will be added, while the ship will also have sixteen single cabins. Dining will be open-sitting in the main restaurant and alternative dining will be available at the Terrace Cafe and Tapas on the Terrace. The ship is due to enter service in April 2010.
She will operate a series of two-week Mediterranean itineraries put together by historian John Julius Norwich, author of “The Middle Sea,” who will also be among the on board guest lecturers, and her crew will also include a number of young historians.
Half the passengers are expected to come from the UK, where Voyages of Antiquity has opened as office in Oxford under David Yellow, formerly of Ocean Cruise Lines, Orient Lines and Voyages of Discovery, and half from North America, where the line is opening an office in Fort Lauderdale, headed by Mitchell Schlesinger and Andre Corman, both of whom once worked for Orient Lines.
Cruise fares will include a choice of excursions in every port, Mediterranean wines with dinner, and gratuities for cabin stewards and dining room staff. According to Herrod, the ship will be ideal for “those who dislike travelling around with hordes of people” and is aimed at a more upmarket and sophisticated audience, including former followers of Orient Lines. Daily fares will apparently range between $295 and $425 per day.

Also-Rans and Winners
The big loser here seems to be Wayne Heller, of Orlando-based Cruises Only, who bought the Orient Lines name from Star Cruises last August intending to utilize former Maxim Gorkiy as Marco Polo II, but then in November postponed the start-up because of the recession. Maxim Gorkiy has since gone to the scrap yard and not only has a new line come along to solicit the Orient Lines market in Voyages of Antiquity, but a revived Swan Hellenic is now on the scene as well.
Another operator, Martin Randall Travel of London, chartered Hapag-Lloyd’s Columbus for three Mediterranean cultural cruises in 2008 and will take her again between September 20 and November 5 for four more cultural cruises. But in announcing that they would not operate any such cruises in 2010, Martin Randall Travel said “While we are making many changes to the established model of ‘discovery’ cruising in matters of detail and emphasis, we cannot claim that the project is particularly innovatory.”
Elsewhere, the Paquet cruise brand is to be revived in France by Jean-Maurice Ravon through his company TMR. TMR will charter the 820-berth Costa Allegra. As Costa control the Paquet brand they seem to have come to an agreement with Ravon to market the ship under the revived brand name in an attempt to test the French market against Royal Caribbean’s Croisières de France and its 800-berth Bleu de France.
But two new brands in a small market may help it grow. Although France has a long maritime history, its inhabitants seem to be among the most reluctant to embrace cruising.
Clearly, the winners in these developments are those that like smaller and more traditional ships. While Cruise & Maritime Voyages will be going after a more unpretentious market than Voyages of Antiquity, they will all win by being able to travel on ships that carry only hundreds of passengers and can offer a more personal service than the big new floating resorts that now carry thousands.

(Source: By Mark Tré – Cybercruises.com)

Things That Can Hurt Cruising

We all know that bad press can hurt cruising, things like crime on board, norovirus and the odd soul lost overboard. The press has a way of reporting that is sometimes sensationalist, sometimes more honest, but with the odd public relations exception, it is something that the cruise lines have learned to live with.
There is something far more serious, however, that could force ships to leave markets and adversely affect local economies and that is misguided government intervention.
The Alaska state $50 head tax has already proven that such interventions can force ships out of a trade by driving up costs. But what might have an even greater impact is something that most have never heard about before. It’s called an ECA.

The Alaska State Head Tax
Traditionally, various Caribbean islands have tried to generate more income for their economies by instituting new head taxes. In such a disparate geographical area, however, these attempts are usually fruitless. Cruise lines simply start calling at the island next door that is more interested in the business and less willing to tax their clients. These taxes were usually in the order of $5 or $10 a head.
In The State of Alaska, however, under Governor Sarah Palin, imposed a massive $50 head tax, the result of which was not immediate. Since that time, however, we have had announcements from all of Carnival, Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean that they would be withdrawing ships from the Alaska trade in 2010, and possibly more in 2011. On top of this, Cruise West and Norwegian Cruise Line have cut their Alaska sailings quite substantially (Cruise Examiner, April 6/09).
At a July 24 summit of the First Things First Alaska Foundation (FTFAF) held in Juneau, a recommendation was made to withdraw the $50 head tax and some Alaska ports are talking about reducing their fees in order to protect the business. According to PeggyAnn McConnochie, executive director of FTFAF, Juneau could be seeing a loss of $25 million worth of business in 2010.
Another recommendation was not only to spend more on an Alaska state marketing campaign but also to work on educating the public about the tax initiative and its effects on the community. A further summit is planned for Anchorage next week.
Newly-appointed Alaska Governor Scott Parnell has said he will not rescind the tax as it was passed by Alaska voters and meanwhile, as business drains away, Alaska ports, hotels, tour companies, vendors, retailers and residents at large will all suffer from the head tax’s affect on business in 2010.
One good thing for Alaska, however, is that they have somehow managed to be exempted from a new North American ECA, which was approved by the IMO last month and will cover the coasts of the United States and Canada, but not Mexico, Alaska or the Canadian Arctic, to a distance of 200 miles offshore. What is an ECA? Read on!

A Big Issue – the North American ECA
On the other side of the Continent, at the 11th Annual Canada/New England Cruise Symposium held June 16-18 in Saguenay, Quebec, another potential threat to cruising was unmasked by Richard Pruitt, director of environmental programmes for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. When he asked his audience at a panel on partnership between cruise lines and destinations how many had heard of the new North American Emission Control Area (ECA), only two people put up their hands.
The US Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with its Canadian counterpart, has applied to the International Marine Organization (IMO) to designate the coastline of the US and Canada as an ECA. Since the Saguenay meeting, Cruise the Saint Lawrence executive director Réné Trépanier has been quoted as describing this initiative as a “worrying issue.”
While the Canadian government, the province of Quebec and local interests are investing $156 million to develop cruise business in the St Lawrence, the emergence of a new ECA could also cause ships to withdraw from the area or stay away if it means higher operating costs.
So just how much more are these operating costs? While the EPA has estimated increased fuel costs at $7 per person per day, Michael Crye, executive vice president of the Cruise Lines International Association, has disputed this, saying it could be more like $15 a head.
The cost of the lighter distillate fuels is double the cost of the bunker fuel that is used by the cruise lines now and Crye says that a simplistic EPA analysis has ignored the effect of supply and demand increasing the cost of the lighter fuels as demand increases, and questions whether there is even an adequate supply in the area. But the important thing is that at these levels the extra cost on a typical 7-day cruise could be anything from $49 to $105, which is double the level of the Alaska tax. At it’s worst it could stop a lot of Canada/New England cruises.

Some Background
Regulated by the International Maritime Organization and known as the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL in short), Annex VI adopted in October 2008 introduced restrictions on emissions, particularly the sulphur content of fuel burnt by ships trading in designated Sulphur Emission Control Areas (ECA’s), with the global sulphur cap reduced initially to 3.5% (from 4.5%), effective from January 1, 2012; then progressively to 0.5 %, effective from January 1, 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018.
However, the limits applicable in ECA’s will be reduced from 1.5 % now to 1% on July 1, 2010, and further reduced to 0.1 % from January 1, 2015. Progressive reductions in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from marine engines were also agreed.
Annex VI allows for Emission Control Areas to be designated for SOx and particulate matter, or NOx, or all three types of emissions from ships, subject to a proposal from Parties to the Annex, which will be considered by the IMO, if supported by a demonstrated need to prevent, reduce and control one or all three of those emissions from ships.
In the case of the EPA, the argument is that “the ECA would be expected to save as many as 8,300 lives and provide relief from respiratory symptoms for over 3 million people each year,” but it made no comparison to how many are already affected by simple highway pollution. In America alone, while 41,000 lives are lost every year in traffic accidents and 13,000 are saved by seatbelts, 70,000 lives a year are reported to be lost because of pollution and 10,000 to guns.
While these regulations come into effect on July 1, 2010, quite independently of MARPOL, there was a unilateral imposition on January 1, 2007, of a tax by Norway on Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, a subject that itself has been complicated by divisions between domestic trading ships and foreign-going ones in near waters and so on.
One spokesmen for cruising, Carnival UK chief executive and European Cruise Council chairman David Dingle, has been outspoken about green critics of the maritime industries in the past, particularly about costs.
Philip Naylor, general manager, fleet operations for Carnival UK, in an address to the Cruise Europe AGM in Bornholm, Denmark, in May 2007, made an interesting presentation, in part of which he said, “a number of detailed and comprehensive emission studies have demonstrated quite conclusively that NOx emissions from ships in port do not make any significant contribution to the deterioration of air quality in the locality and that much more positive results would be achieved through improved road traffic management and through preventing road vehicles from keeping their engines running whilst waiting in port areas.
Because the debate has not been particularly well informed the interrelated complexity of these issues has not been fully grasped.”
In a considered argument in the Spring 2009 issue of “Dream: World Cruise Destinations,” Dingle added, “The applications on the emissions of SOx and NOx must also be debated vigorously. Through new IMO rules, it will be necessary to burn increasingly more expensive fuel in Emission Control Areas. If these control areas are to be extended further, the impact must be considered very carefully as the economic outcome could be very severe for the communities in affected regions.”

Complicated But Worth Debating
The issue of emission controls is complicated, but the subject of ECA’s and their effects on the cruise industry and on destinations is going to be one for much debate. The outcomes of some of these actions do not seem to have been properly thought through, and in the end, more thought must be given to the effects these intiatives have on local economies.
At the moment, as Richard Pruitt was reported to have said, there seems to be a disconnect between different departments of government.

With kind permission of  By Mark Tré – Cybercruises.com

 

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