According to our friends at Avalon Waterways, river and small-ship cruising has dominated the market for five consecutive years, increasing more than 200 percent in both size and sales, and proving itself as the fastest-growing travel style today.
Tauck is adding a new 10-day river cruise offering on the Danube for 2014, bringing the company’s total number of itineraries on its most popular river cruise destination to seven.
The Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has earned the No. 1 spot in the “Top River Cruise Lines for Families” category in the Travel + Leisure “World’s Best Awards” for the third year in a row. I asked longtime industry colleague Catherine Prather how her family’s Uniworld cruise in Europe went last summer and received the following response:
“Oh, my goodness, I loved the trip. Our entire family had such a wonderful time. What a first-rate experience. The service, food, excursions, travel companions and accommodations were all first-rate. I wish I had the time and money to travel with them every year. We’re already talking about their new ship, the Catherine.”
Many river cruise operators are apparently taking the opposite tack from mainstream ocean-going lines, which appear to be resorting to increasingly aggressive onboard efforts to sell a wide variety of optional “extras,” by becoming even more all-inclusive. Quality companies like Uniworld, Tauck and Scenic seem to be leading the way by including full shore-excursion programs, not just wine and beer with dinner but open bar and bottled water throughout each trip, complimentary unlimited Internet access, airport transfers and all shipboard and sightseeing gratuities. It will be most interesting to see whether the more inclusive-oriented policies of the rivers will spread to the high seas or whether the obsession with selling more and more onboard “options” to enhance a basic package will continue to meet with consumer acceptance.
Cruise Briefs
Holland America Line has extended its popular “Dancing With the Stars: At Sea” program to all 15 of its ships throughout 2014. Hurtigruten is continuing its long-held policy of offering sailings to single travelers at the same per person rate as if they were traveling as a couple on departures featuring Norway’s fjord-filled west coast. The company is also opening a new Seattle-based office as it strives to increase its North American presence.
Cunard Line has scheduled two special events in 2015 to be held in celebration of the company’s 175th anniversary. First, its three “Queens” will meet for the first time on the Mersey in Liverpool on May 25; then, on July 4, Queen Mary 2 will re-create the line’s original Transatlantic Crossing on July 4, 1840, from Liverpool to Halifax and Boston.
Carnival Corporation & plc, its 10 cruise brands, the Carnival Foundation and the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat have announced that they will team up in making a pledge to donate at least $1 million to support relief efforts in communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Miami Heat owner Micky Arison is also the chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc.
Seabourn has signed a letter of intent for the construction of a new luxury vessel with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, with delivery planned for the second half of 2016. Readers of Condé Nast Traveler have also awarded Seabourn’s fleet the designation of “Best Small Ship Cruise Line” for the fourth consecutive year, and Porthole Cruise Magazine readers have named Seabourn the “Best Luxury Line” for the fifth consecutive time.
