Welcome! As optimism abounds for the future of cruising and the cost of financing continues to be low, it’s evident from this update’s news items that new luxury ships and upgraded amenities are the focus of much of what is happening currently in the industry. Needless to say, such trends are sure to offer the consumer even more choices and opportunities for memorable vacation experiences. Hopefully inspired marketing efforts other than just the apparently inevitable “fire” sales will be able to profitably fill all (or at least most) of the added capacity, especially should an economic downturn or other international crisis serve to put a damper on demand. But as for now, the current state of affairs seemingly couldn’t be more promising for the avid cruise enthusiast!
Adventure Smith Explorations has added Tahiti sailings aboard the 24-guest luxury yacht Island Passage to its portfolio. Eight and eleven-day roundtrip cruises will be offered from May through October. Also, the company has announced that Justin Massoni has been named Director of Sales & Operations, and will oversee all aspects of customer sales/service and destination product operations from company headquarters in Tahoe City, California. Massoni has spent the past 20 years living and working in Alaska. www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/
American Queen Steamboat Company has announced that winter lay-up repairs and improvements to American Queen and American Empress will include new carpeting and upholstery in public areas and select staterooms, sanding and repainting of deck door frames and doors, replacement of wall coverings in some staterooms, painting of hotel interior and dining room, plus installation of mahogany deck rails. In other news, a special Bourbon Cruise on American Queen from St. Louis to Cincinnati, July 10-18, will feature presentations by Bill Samuels Jr., son of Maker’s Mark founder, Bill Samuels Sr., Buffalo Trace’s Don Flinn and bourbon historian Michael Veach. Other highlights of the trip will include onboard bourbon tastings and seminars, daily bourbon-enhanced menu items, bourbon themed gifts each night, a “Cooking with Bourbon” demonstration, a choice of included distillery visits (Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center, Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Willett Small Batch), lunch at the renowned Claudia Sanders Dinner House, and a performance by the Juggernaut Jug Band. Next, AQSC is offering savings of up to $3,600 per person on its full-length, 22-night American Queen “Mighty Mississippi” voyages, southbound from St. Paul to New Orleans, August 14 to September 5, and the reverse northbound itinerary, September 4 to 26. Finally, the line is offering “flat-rate fares” priced from $1,999 next Month (March) on three one-week American Queen departures: March 6 and 20 from Memphis to New Orleans, and March 13 from New Orleans to Memphis. www.aqsc.com/
Avalon Waterways’ “Priceless Views Sales Event” is offering “deals” to travelers who book a 2016 or 2017 cruise by April 5: free flights on select 2016 and 2017 Europe river cruises, and savings up to $3,000 per couple on select 2016 and 2017 Europe and Southeast Asia cruises. www.avalonwaterways.com/
Carnival Cruise Line’s 2,052-passenger Carnival Inspiration is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar makeover that is adding a wide range of new dining and bar facilities, during a dry dock in Portland, Oregon. Following the renovation, the ship will resume its year-round schedule of three and four-day Baja cruises from Long Beach, California. www.carnival.com/
Crystal Cruises’ former vice president of international sales and marketing, Phillip Ordever will now serve as vice president and managing director for its new Crystal River Cruises product line. Industry veteran Helen Beck will succeed him as the line’s new vice president of international sales and marketing. Also, the company is offering extra savings to guests who book voyages on Crystal’s river vessels by February 29 for embarkation through 2017, when combined with sailings of Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity, or luxury yacht Crystal Esprit. www.crystalcruises.com/
Cunard’s “Ultimate Upgrade” promotion is offering free upgrades and gratuities in all categories on select voyages of Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth on itineraries featuring Northern Europe, New England and Canada, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Iberia and the Canary Islands, as well as QM2 trans-Atlantic crossings. Guests in Grill Suites will also receive free drinks. Bookings must be made by February 29. The line has also announced that jazz icon Dee Dee Bridgewater will be co-headlining QM2’s third “Blue Note” jazz-themed trans-Atlantic crossing from New York to Southampton on October 25. Bridgewater is a triple Grammy Award Winner, a TONY Winner, a UN Goodwill Ambassador, producer and record label head. www.cunard.com/
Disney Cruise Line guests will be able to celebrate a “Star Wars Day at Sea” with day-long programming centered on the iconic movie series, aboard eight special sailings of Disney Fantasy this year. www.disneycruise.disney.go.com/
Emerald Waterways’ customers who book a Panorama Balcony, Grand Balcony or Owner’s One-Bedroom Suite on select European river sailings through August of this year will receive free air transportation, while guests reserving standard staterooms will be eligible for a reduced airfare of $995. Bookings must be made by February 29. The line is scheduled to debut three new ships in 2016 and 2017: Emerald Belle on the Rhine and Danube in 2016, Emerald Liberté on the Rhône and Saône in France and Emerald Radiance on the Douro in Portugal during 2017. The new “Star-Ships” will bring Emerald’s total fleet to seven. Unfortunately, we have just been informed that Emerald Belle sustained significant damage when a late night fire broke out in the Den Breejen Shipyard in the Netherlands where the vessel was under construction. Sister line Scenic also had a ship being built nearby, but it was quickly moved away so damage was contained to just some exterior paint. A new launch date for Emerald Belle, which was scheduled to enter service in April, has yet to be determined. Finally, the company is now accepting bookings for its 2017 season, offering early booking savings including 2016 fares on cruises next year, plus additional discounts of $250 per person on seven to ten-night night sailings and $500 per person on longer trips. Bookings must be made by April 30, 2016. www.emeraldwaterways.com/
Holland America Line has entered into a new partnership with Master Mixologist Dale DeGroff to bring a new menu of creative cocktails to the line’s vessels, beginning with Eurodam and expanding fleetwide by springtime. DeGroff, known as “King Cocktail,” is the author of two best-selling cocktail books and founding president of The Museum of the American Cocktail. Another new partnership will pair HAL with the Rijksmuseum, the most-visited national museum in the Netherlands. Through the collaboration, the “Rijksmuseum at Sea” will be installed on Oosterdam during its scheduled dry dock in April and then move fleetwide over the next several years. Furthermore, a third partnership with microgreen specialist Koppert Cress will result in fresh ingredients being grown in the Culinary Arts Center onboard the line’s new Koningsdam, which will enable guests to indulge in a farm-to-table-style menu for dinner. In other news, Eurodam was the first HAL ship to undergo extensive enhancements to its suites as part of a $300 million brand enhancement initiative announced in November. Other new features offered on the vessel include chamber music performances on the Lincoln Center Stage, in partnership with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Billboard Onboard, in partnership with Billboard, showcasing “50 years of chart-topping hits;” and the Gallery Bar in the former Northern Lights venue. Last but surely not least, HAL has announced a new brand campaign featuring a refreshed logo, new advertising campaign and new tag line that invites guests to “Savor the Journey.” www.hollandamerica.com/
Hurtigruten has announced a new “Cultural Contrasts: Through the North Atlantic to Africa” expedition-style sailing, offering a nine or 11-day journey between Bergen and Morocco, beginning September 16 or 18 aboard Midnatsol, and priced from $2,556 per person, double occupancy. www.hurtigruten.com/
Norwegian Cruise Line has embarked on a new global brand campaign, “Feel Free,” designed to convey the company’s philosophy of what a vacation should be, free from rigid schedules with the ability for guests to tailor their vacations to fit personal tastes and desires.. The integrated campaign is inclusive of national television spots, online video, digital units and social media. Furthermore, “Feel Free,” will be showcased through the “Norwegian Edge,” a major new two-year, $400 million program designed “to introduce a new standard of excellence that encompasses the entire guest experience, from ship hardware to culinary enhancements and exclusive private destination developments.” Details are far too extensive to be enumerated here, but they include revitalization and transformation of nine Norwegian ships, further enhancement of up to 28 dining options per vessel, and expanded plans for the line’s privately-owned destinations, headed by the development of a resort-style experience at Harvest Caye, Belize. Altogether, “The Norwegian Edge” is a pretty ambitious list of projects to be tackled during a relatively brief period of time. Finally, the line has announced its summer, 2017, deployment for Europe, featuring five ships and new itineraries including cruises to the Baltic Capitals on Norwegian Getaway from Copenhagen and a complete season from Hamburg on Norwegian Jade, with embarkation for those cruises also available in the UK and Amsterdam. In addition to European products, Norwegian also announced details on Norwegian Escape’s 2017 summer cruises to the Caribbean from Miami. Incidentally, Norwegian Jade, a vessel on which I reported favorably recently, is scheduled to emerge as essentially a new ship under the “Norwegian Edge” project, on May 14, 2017. www.ncl.com/
Oceania Cruises’ new Sirena will feature custom-designed Italian mattresses when the ship is launched this April. The “Ultra Tranquility Bed” will reportedly offer superior air suspension capabilities and a new spring structure with 3,000 coil springs, four times as many coils as the average American mattress. www.oceaniacruises.com/
Paul Gauguin Cruises has announced new 16 and 17-night Fiji and Bali itineraries and a collaborative program with the Wildlife Conservation Society for 2017. The 16-night Fiji to Bali voyage will depart April 29, 2017, from Lautoka, Fiji, and visit Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; Samarai Island, Papua New Guinea; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Merauke, Indonesia; Dili, Timor-Leste; Komodo Island, Indonesia; Lembar, Lombok Island, Indonesia; and Benoa, Bali, Indonesia. The 17-day reverse itinerary departs June 7, 2017. The line is also celebrating Valentine’s Day by offering a special gift package to guests on 2016 and 2017 sailings of Paul Gauguin who book by February 14. The package, valued at $250, includes a $200 per-stateroom credit at the ship’s Deep Nature Spa by Algotherm, a box of chocolates, and a bottle of sparkling wine. As is the case with all of the vessel’s sailings through 2017, guests also receive 50% off standard, all-inclusive cruise fares and included roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles. www.pgcruises.com/
Princess Cruises has unveiled a big new project entitled “The Come Back New Promise,” a $450 million, multi-year product innovation and ship renovation campaign designed to further enhance the line’s onboard guest experience. And on January 27, Princess celebrated the grand opening of “SHARE by Curtis Stone,” the award-winning chef’s first restaurant at sea aboard Ruby Princess. www.princesscruises.com/
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has unveiled “Gourmet Explorer Tours,” a collection of culinary-inspired shore excursions for the line’s inaugural Mediterranean season, as part of its “Regent Choice Shore Excursion” program. RSSC has also announced plans for an extensive, two-year, $125 million fleet-wide refurbishment program. The investment includes significant renovations of most public spaces and a complete redesign of all categories of suites. Seven Seas Navigator will be the first to receive the upgrades, followed by Seven Seas Voyager in late 2016, and Seven Seas Mariner in the spring of 2017. www.rssc.com/
Scenic has entered into a new partnership with luxury tour operator Classic Vacations. Classic will be showcasing Scenic’s offerings on the Rhine, Danube, Main and Moselle. Scenic is also now offering free international roundtrip flights, 2-for-1 business class flights and $495 fares on roundtrip flights from 20 major gateways in the U.S., on select sailings and accommodation categories on 12 itineraries throughout 2016. In other news, the company has announced the launch of its first “Discovery Yacht,” Scenic Eclipse. The vessel will embark on her maiden voyage on August 31, 2018, sailing from Istanbul to Venice, followed by voyages to the Americas, Antarctica, Europe and the Mediterranean, plus the Arctic and Norwegian Fjords. The luxury, all-inclusive “mega yacht” will carry 228 guests in 114 veranda suites ranging from 344 to 2,500 square feet. Scenic Eclipse has been designed by a collaboration of naval architects including Foreship in Finland, and is being built by the Uljanik Group in Croatia. Scenic also holds an option for a second ship to be delivered in June, 2019. www.scenicusa.com/
Seabourn is promoting a “Signature Savings Event,” offering savings and added amenities on a selection of voyages throughout 2016 and 2017. Being featured are reduced deposits, free veranda suite upgrades, up to 15% savings on combination voyages, shipboard credits of $1,000 for penthouse and premium suites, and $200 per suite shipboard credit on select Europe sailings. www.seabourn.com
SeaDream Yacht Club has opened bookings on all 2017 sailings. www.seadream.com/
Silversea Cruises has scheduled “Wellness Expedition Voyages” aboard Silver Discoverer that have been designed to provide guests with the opportunity to improve their well-being while journeying to off-the-beaten-path destinations in Southeast Asia, Australia, Oceania, Africa, and the Indian Ocean. The line has partnered with Technogym, a leading company in the field of wellness and fitness, to create a comprehensive program that includes stretching, yoga, and Pilates classes held on board and ashore, fitness classes conducted in the ship’s swimming pool, one complimentary spa massage treatment, daily lectures and cooking demonstrations on the benefits of healthy and balanced nutrition, plus gym sessions led by personal trainers using Technogym fitness equipment. www.silverseacruises.com/
Tauck will reconfigure more than half of its European river cruising fleet over the next two years. The company’s five Jewel Class riverboats will be enhanced with larger cabins, reducing overall passenger capacity, and each ship will also have its second onboard dining venue upgraded. Tauck’s 110-meter Jewel Class ships include Swiss Emerald, Swiss Sapphire, Swiss Jewel, Esprit and Treasures. The company’s European riverboat fleet also includes four 135-meter Inspiration Class ships; the new Grace and Joy launching later this year, as well as Inspire and Savor. www.tauck.com/
Un-Cruise Adventures has announced 2016 savings on small ship adventure cruises and land tours in Alaska. Travelers can save $400 per couple on select weeklong cruises and $250 per couple on a connecting Denali and Knik River tour. Travel must be booked by March 1. Featured are departures on the 74-guest Wilderness Explorer and 84-guest Safari Endeavour from April 16 through September 18. The company is currently celebrating 20 years of small ship adventure cruising in Alaska, coastal Washington, the Columbia and Snake Rivers; Hawaii, British Columbia and Mexico, plus in 2016, the Galápagos, Costa Rica and Panama. The Seattle-based firm began business as American Safari Cruises in 1996, before changing its name to Un-Cruise Adventures in 2013. www.un-cruise.com/
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is including complimentary economy airfare on select 2016 itineraries and departures, when bookings are made by February 29. Furthermore, guests who pay in full can save from $250 to $750 each, and those who make a deposit by the end of the month can save from $150 to $400 per person. www.uniworld.com/
Viking Cruises is offering deeply discounted fares from $2,999 on 15-day, springtime “”Passage through Western Europe” voyages from Barcelona to Bergen, departing April 17 aboard Viking Star, and April 24 aboard Viking Sea. www.vikingcruises.com/
Viking River Cruises is promoting “2 for 1” cruise pricing and “up to 2 for 1” air on select 2016 departures of its 13-day “Waterways of the Tsars” program between Moscow and St. Petersburg. For bookings made by February 29, Viking is also offering a new single traveler supplement of only 25% on three of its European river cruise itineraries featuring the Rhine, the Danube, and the waterways of Holland and Belgium, plus air priced from $195 per person. And for 2017, the line is offering group savings of $125 per person, plus amenities such as welcome bottles of sparkling wine and a cocktail party for larger groups. One complimentary tour conductor fare will be provided for every nine paid guests, except for Portugal and Southeast Asia cruises, which are one per 15 paid guests. There are also no non-commissionable fees for bookings handled by travel professionals. www.vikingrivercruises.com/
