Here is my second update for March…
American Queen Steamboat Company is offering 30% savings, up to $4,000 per stateroom, on remaining space for its “Fourth of July Celebration,” “Kentucky Bourbon Trail” and other summertime cruises of American Queen. Also, rail and cruise travel specialist, Key Holidays, has announced a new 2015 “American Heritage Series” combining train travel by vintage Pullman Rail Journeys with a sailing of American Queen. Guests will journey overnight from Chicago to New Orleans via Pullman’s meticulously restored and refurbished rail cars, have a one-night pre-cruise hotel stay in the “Big Easy,” then board the sternwheeler for a seven-night voyage on the Mississippi. The program ends with a final two-night, post-cruise hotel stay in New Orleans or Memphis, plus a complimentary return home by guest’s choice of rail or air. www.aqsc.com/ and www.keyholidays.com/
Avalon Waterways has introduced Avalon Siem Reap, a new 36-guest “Suite Ship”on the Mekong Riverin Southeast Asia, for sailings through Vietnam and Cambodia. www.avalonwaterways.com/
Carnival Cruise Lines will expand capacity on its four and five-day short cruise program from New Orleans by 34 percent when Carnival Triumph replaces Carnival Elation on this schedule next spring. In turn, Carnival Elation will reposition to Jacksonville, Fla., for year-round four- and five-day cruises and Carnival Fascination will shift to San Juan for year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises beginning in spring, 2016. Elsewhere, Carnival Sunshine will offer a unique schedule from New York in 2016, encompassing 20 voyages of from two to 10 days, departing between June and October, 2016. The ship will also offer a series of sailings from Charleston and Norfolk during summer and fall, 2016, then return to its current homeport of Port Canaveral to offer a schedule of five to eight-day Caribbean voyages beginning in November, 2016. The line has also launched “Carnival Journeys,” a collection of nine to 15-day seagoing programs that will begin this fall and feature less traveled ports throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii and Mexico. Special shipboard experiences are being created for guests seeking a longer cruise vacation and more time to enjoy Carnival’s onboard facilities. www.carnival.com/
Celebrity Cruises is looking ahead to spring by unveiling up to $4 million dollars’ worth of savings and value for its guests. Celebrity’s “Spring into Savings” promotion is available on more than 300 sailings through April, 2016, with savings of up to $1,000 per booking. Vacationers who choose a standard veranda in Europe, or Concierge Class, AquaClass or Suite Class accommodations in Europe and other Celebrity destinations will also receive free classic beverage packages, free gratuities and up to $300 to spend on board, for a total combined value of up to $3,000. Bookings under this promotion must be made this month. www.celebritycruises.com/
Cunard has joined forces with The New York Times to offer stimulating speakers as part of its long-running “Insights” program. The offering will debut on Queen Mary 2 next January 3, and continue during all eastbound trans-Atlantic crossings in 2016. To kick-off the series, the January 3 cruise will feature such Times’ experts as former foreign correspondent and columnist Clyde Haberman, science writer John Schwartz, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston, national security reporter Michael Schmidt, and Peter Lewis, former senior writer at The New York Times and Fortune Magazine. Topics of discussion will range from national security, climate change, and the space program, to economics, tax issues, sports, technology, journalism, laws of the ancient world and more. www.cunard.com/
Holland America Line has hired Kathryn Geivett as director, social media. In this capacity Geivett’s primary responsibility will be to drive, plan and oversee the execution of strategic social media and digital initiatives for the line. In other news, HAL topped the 2014 list for the “World’s Leading Weather Observing Cruise Ship Companies” who submitted weather information to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The line’s 15 ships sent in a combined total of 22,281 observations during the year. The company was also at the top of this list in 2008 and 2006. Guests looking for a more immersive culinary cruise experience can book one of HAL’s “Sip, Savor and Sail” itineraries in the Caribbean, Europe and Alaska. On these five special voyages, guests will be introduced to local cuisines, beverages and specially developed shore excursions, while guest chefs and local vintners, mixologists and brewmasters will share their expertise during classes, demonstrations and tastings in the ships’ Culinary Arts Centers, presented by Food & Wine magazine. Elsewhere, HAL celebrated another milestone in the construction of Koningsdam, with the float-out and transfer of the ship from its dry dock to its outfitting dock at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy. Here final construction and interior furnishing will take place until the ship is delivered on March 31, 2016. And the line is set to sail 124 Alaska voyages in 2015, with Noordam repositioned for roundtrip Vancouver cruises and Statendam sailing roundtrip from Seattle on 14-day itineraries. Finally, for the fourth consecutive year, HAL, together with sister line Seabourn, was named among the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute, the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. www.hollandamerica.com/
Princess Cruises’ is offering a “Summer Super Savers” sale through April 14 that features up to 30% savings on over 100 summer cruise vacations. Included are voyages throughout Europe, including cruises to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Russia, and the British Isles, as well as Alaska Cruises and its immersive “North to Alaska” program. Furthermore, guests can reserve their cruise with a 50% reduced, refundable 10% deposit of the booking total instead of the typical 20%. Princess has also announced a first-of-its-kind cruise industry partnership with three-time Oscar winner and composer of Wicked, Pippin and Godspell, Stephen Schwartz. The line’s new relationship with this major creative talent includes a multi-year agreement to oversee the creative development of four new musicals to debut across the fleet over the next several years. During his 40-year career, Schwartz has won four Grammys, three Academy Awards for “Best Song” and “Best Score” for Pocahontas and “Best Song” for The Prince of Egypt, and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He is the only songwriter in Broadway history to ever have three shows run more than 1,900 performances. His first musical for Princess Cruises will celebrate Schwartz’s lifelong fascination with magic. Called Magic to Do, the show will include some of Schwartz’s most famous songs and a new song written exclusively for Princess. Performances are scheduled to begin aboard Crown Princess in the fall. www.princess.com/
Seabourn has opened for sale the maiden season itineraries for Seabourn Encore, the newest addition to join the luxury small ship line. Between December, 2016, and April, 2017, the ship will sail on a variety of voyages exploring the coasts of Arabia and India, the temples and tropical isles of Southeast Asia, and the natural splendors of Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly enough, just two days after bookings opened, Seabourn Encore‘s 10-day inaugural voyage had already sold out and was waitlisted. www.seabourn.com/
SeaDream Yacht Club is offering group discounts ranging from 5% to 15% on dozens of 1015 and 2016 sailings worldwide. www.seadream.com
Tauck has extended its “Take Off with Tauck” air package through March 31. The program simplifies airfares to Europe by offering a three-tiered pricing model with no taxes, hidden fees or surcharges…$1,090 for Economy Class, $1,690 for Premium Economy Class or $3,490 for Business Class airfare per person. www.tauck.com/
Tom Harper River Journeys has unveiled Birdsong, its entry into the 2016 river cruising season. Built and based in Europe, the 88-cabin Birdsong will reportedly “bring the next level of modernism to several aspects of river cruising, including an array of cabins dedicated to singles with no single supplement charge, and an oversized fitness/wellness center.” The ship’s inaugural 12-day cruise from Basel to Amsterdam is slated for March, 2016. www.tomharper.com
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is paying homage this year to the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music by providing onboard performances by the granddaughter of Maria and Baron von Trapp, the legends whose story inspired this historic musical. The line is also offering savings of up to $600 per couple on 2015 China cruises booked and deposited this month, and has waived the single supplement on a number of 2015 European itineraries and departures. www.uniworld.com/
Viking River Cruises new 2016 “Castles & Legends” cruise tour will include visits to ‘Mad’ King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle, Salzburg, where “The Sound of Music,” was filmed, Austria’s Wachau Valley wine country, and Melk’s 11th-century castle-turned-Benedictine abbey. www.vikingrivercruises.com/
