cruise weekly for 310512with helicopters for aerial sightseeing. quark’s expedition vessels are...
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Website: www.cruiseweekly.com.au | Phone: 1300 799 220 | Fax: 1300 799 221 | Email: [email protected] Page 1
Thursday 07 June 2012
Cunard broughttogether its threeships to host thelargest DiamondJubilee celebrationoutside of London. THE Queen Mary 2, QueenVictoria and QueenElizabeth met inSouthampton for the firsttime on Tuesday (05 Jun) ina tribute to Her Majesty TheQueen’s Diamond Jubilee. It was the first time that the Cunard fleet hasbeen seen arriving and departing together in athree-ship formation at their homeport inEngland.
Queens honour Queen’s 60-year reign
The ships approached the port soon afterdawn, sailing in single file up SouthamptonWater where they were welcomed by a flotillaof small boats. QM2 then revealed a massive“Congratulations Ma’am” banner near thefunnel (pictured above) while all three ships’whistles sounded in salute. The celebrations, believed to be the largestDiamond Jubilee event outside of London,culminated in an evening spectacular offireworks and special effects. Peter Shanks, president of Cunard Line, saidthe company wanted to mark the occasion “ina way that gives everyone, especially ourguests, a truly remarkable day that they willfeel proud to talk about for years to come”. He said Queen Elizabeth II had long beenassociated with Cunard, as the only person tohave attended the naming of all three“Elizabeths”, beginning in 1938 with theoriginal Queen Elizabeth, then in 1967 whenshe launched Queen Elizabeth 2 and 2010when she named the new Queen Elizabeth.
ALL THE CRUISE NEWS Today’s Right Royal issue of Cruise Weeklyfeatures four pages of news.
CroisiEurope in Italy too PETER Marshall of Cruise Abroad has takenexception to claims by Uniworld BoutiqueRiver Cruises that it’s the “only major rivercruise line to offer an itinerary in Italy” (CW 31May), with Marshall pointing out thatCroisiEurope has operated in Italy for 12 years. Cruise Abroad represents CroisiEurope whichoperates a fleet of 27 ships on 15 Europeanrivers including the Po River and Venice Lagoon. “There’s been a verbal battle going onbetween some competing European rivercruise companies, with all sorts of misleadingstatements being made,” he said, with CruiseAbroad already recording “quite substantialand growing” sales of Italian itineraries.
Orion Kimberley bonus ORION Expedition Cruises is offering anexclusive package for a series of Kimberleysailings departing 01, 11, 21 and 31 Aug and 10Sep 2012, including complimentary returnflights to/from Darwin and Broome from allmajor Australian capital cities. There’s a 10% saving on brochure fares fortwin share and 35% off for sole occupancy andthe deal also includes one night pre and postaccom and a complimentary Bungle Bunglessightseeing flight. More information on 1300 361 012.
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Website: www.cruiseweekly.com.au | Phone: 1300 799 220 | Fax: 1300 799 221 | Email: [email protected] Page 2
Thursday 07 June 2012
CruiseNews &Views
Spotlight on NEWMember Cruise Line -
Quark Expeditions AS announced last week, the latestcruise line to throw their support behindour thriving industry is QuarkExpeditions. As the name suggests, Quark does notoperate traditional cruise ships or luxuryliners capable of carrying manythousands of guests. Expedition cruisingis more about the itinerary or theexperience off the ship as opposed to onboard activity. The focus of Quark Expeditions is thePolar Regions (both the Arctic andAntarctic) of the world where itinerariesoperate during the spring and summer. Inthe Arctic that’s June to September, andin Antarctica, November to March. With vessels carrying fewer than 130passengers, Quark’s fleet of ships featureice-strengthened hulls for navigation inice-packed polar waters and are allequipped with Zodiacs (inflatable landingcraft) for shore transfers/landing – theheart of expedition cruising. Two ships in the Quark fleet (KapitanDranitsyn and 50 Years of Victory) areactual icebreakers – enormouslypowerful ships, carrying the highest icerating in the world and each equippedwith helicopters for aerial sightseeing. Quark’s expedition vessels are knownas “Polar Adventure Ships,” built for polarsailing and their crew boast decades ofexperience navigating icy waters. When perusing potential itineraries it iseasy to see that Quark’s ships will getyour clients to some of the most isolatedand breathtaking wilderness areas in theworld. For more details go towww.quarkexpeditions.com or contactthe ICCA and we will connect you withQuark’s Australian based representative.
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Launching a global eventyesterday, Royal Caribbean staffvisited 355 travel agents inAustralia and New Zealand todeliver three new incentives. THE world’s largest ‘travel agent appreciationday’ saw RCL’s top executives and employeesvisit more than 7,000 agencies in 25 countries. The single-day global event, which started inAuckland at 9am on Wednesday (06 Jun), wasstaged by the company to show its gratitude toits worldwide network of agents. The local office had 35 staff on the road –triple the usual size of its field sales team –from sales, marketing, revenue management,finance, reservations, customer relations, air/sea planning, operations and even humanresources. Each person visited up to 20 agents, totalling355 agents across NSW, Victoria, Queensland,SA, WA and New Zealand. Additionally, the reservations team calledother agents that could not be personallyvisited. RCL also emailed three special offers to itsentire agent database. The ‘Royal Rewards’ offered to all agents inAustralia and New Zealand included exclusiverates on three selected cruises aboardRhapsody of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas,with savings of up to $600; a ‘Royal Bingo’competition to win a cruise; and up to $100bonus commission (per cabin) for newbookings on any RCI cruise departing after 14Jun 2012. RCCL Australia’s commercial manager AdamArmstrong told CW that his team was warmlywelcomed by consultants in both countries. “It was a privilege to kick off the global blitzin our part of the world,” Armstrong said.
Royal Rewards Blitz hits local agents “Everyone has thoroughly enjoyed theopportunity to get on the road to say ‘thankyou’ and deliver the three Royal Rewards toour valued agent partners. “They are all excited about the big summercruise season ahead,” he said. Armstrong visited agents in Sydney’s PottsPoint, Rose Bay and Vaucluse, while managingdirector Gavin Smith met with agents inCammeray and Northbridge. National sales manager Peter McCormackflew to South Australia for the day to seeagents in the Adelaide area. In the US, RCL chairman Richard Fain andCEO Adam Goldstein dropped in on agents inFlorida. Other agents were visited in countriesincluding the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria,Switzerland, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, France,China, Japan, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil andCanada.
Jewel takes long way home P&O CRUISES has advised that Pacific Jewelis taking a longer route home on its currentSouth Pacific voyage due to the severeweather which has been experienced on theeast coast of NSW this week. Avoiding the weather and high seas meansthe ship’s arrival into Sydney will be delayed by24 hours to Sat morning. Passengers currently on board are beingassisted in relation to onward bookings andthose due to embark on the J218 FijiAdventure are also being contacted.
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Thursday 07 June 2012
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Email your CV to Linda Richardson at [email protected] or
send to Level 3, 290 Coventry Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205, by no later
than Friday 15 June.
CRUISE MANAGER
DISNEY Cruise Lines set a record lastweekend in New York, when the DisneyMagic arrived in the Big Apple sporting theworld’s biggest bumper sticker. The massive sticker, pictured below,measures 11 x 50 feet - bigger than a citybus - and says ‘Disney + NYC = Magic’. The stunt was to mark the beginning ofDisney’s first-ever cruise holidays basedout of Manhattan.
Athena launches 2013/14 CLASSIC International Cruises has confirmedits tenth consecutive annual season inAustralia, with the program including its firstever line voyage from England to Australia. The new 44-night cruise will depart Tilbury inthe UK on 29 Sep 2013 and voyage to Perth,providing the earliest ever start for a summerseason in Australia for the cruise line. CIC md Grant Hunter suggested thatAustralians can combine the new line voyagewith the northward sailing from Perth on 15Apr 2013 to England at the end of this comingseason, cruising on Athena via the Suez canaland spend the summer in England or Europebefore returning via South Africa. The 2013/14 debut cruise will arrive in Perthon 12 Nov 2013, and passengers who combineboth line voyages can save at least $1860, withcombo fares starting at $10,995 for both tripsincluding 84 nights on board as well as allmeals and entertainment. Hunter confirmed that the 2013/14 WAseason would include an 18-day maintenancedrydock for Athena in Asia in November 2013,with full details of the program to be releasedlater this year. Destinations on the new southbound linevoyage will include France, Spain, Portugal, StVincent, Ascension, St Helena, South Africa,Reunion Island and Mauritius. Athena carries 580 passengers and featurestraditional wooden deck chairs, a pool fitnesscentre, five bars and lounges, casino, library,cinema and two restaurants; and all 277 cabinsfeature a bath. See www.classicintcruises.com.
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Savona expansion starts COSTA Cruises has this week officially kickedoff a project to double its terminal capacity inSavona, with the creation of a new €9mpassenger facility. The building site will operate for 15 months,with the new satellite terminal expected toopen its doors for business in September 2013.
Star Clippers extends discount STAR Clippers has extended its early bookingdiscounts of up to 35% through until 31 Jul formany sailings in Costa Rica, the Caribbean,Panama Canal and for trans-Atlantic crossings. The biggest savings are for cruises betweenNov and Jan, with a typical discounted farebeing $2425 including all meals and portcharges for a seven night cruise from StMaarten or Puerto Caldera. For the 2013 European cruise season whichkicks off next Apr early booking discounts of upto 35% will apply for bookings made before 01Feb 2013 for voyages in the Mediterraneanand the Baltic. Royal Clipper and Star Clipper will operate atotal of 15 European sailings visiting theFrench and Italian Rivieras, the Greek Islands,Turkey, the Croatian coast, Morocco, Spain andPortugal, while Star Flyer will operate in theBaltic, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain andMorocco - details 1300 362 599.
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Cruise Weekly is Australia’s favourite online cruising publication.In production since 2007, Cruise Weekly is published each Tuesday,with a further travel industry update each Thursday.Cruise Weekly is free and is sent to subscribers via email as an AdobeAcrobat PDF document.Sign up for a free subscription at www.cruiseweekly.com.au.PO Box 1010, Epping, NSW 1710Phone: 1300 799 220 Fax: 1300 799 221
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Viking launches Australian contact centre
ABOVE: Viking River Cruises has officiallylaunched a new contact centre in Sydney,reflecting its ongoing strong commitment toservicing the Australian and New Zealandtravel markets. MD Teresia Fors said the establishment ofthe new operation followed the successfullaunch of Viking’s 2013 itineraries “which havebeen designed to suit the needs of thediscerning Australian and New Zealand. “The local contact centre has been created toprovide the utmost in customer service at anexciting period of growth and development forViking River Cruises,” she said. The toll-free number remains the same: 1800829 138 in Australia and 0800 447 913 in NewZealand, and the office will be open to takecalls Mon-Fri 9am-6pm AEST. Pictured above in the new contact centreare, back row from left: Paul Egan, ZvonimirKrunes, Linda Pezzano, Natalie Vincent, LaurenScarcella, and Scott Potter. Front row from left: Josipa Barisic, AlexisTerrey, a very colourful Teresia Fors, AdrianaPetkov, and Ivana Krunes.
DescaradA revamps website DESCARADA Luxury Charters has launched anew website to reflect the fabulouslyupgraded DescaradA 2. The site includes a new gallery highlightingimagery of the vessel and a promotional video,showcasing DescaradA 2 and its operations inQueensland’s Whitsundays. The 33m vessel has four ensuite cabins witha maximum capacity of 12 guests who arelooked after by a permanent crew of four withactivities such as jet-skiing, snorkelling,bushwalking and of course amazing cuisine. DescaradA is one of the many tourismoperators which feature in the newly launchedTourism Australia tablet application whichdebuted on Mon in Shanghai. The App can be downloaded from the iTunesor Android stores by searching ‘There’sNothing Like Australia’. See www.descarada.com.au.
Transit of Venus at sea PASSENGERS aboard P&O Cruises’ PacificDawn, Pacific Pearl and Pacific Jewel enjoyed afabulous view of the Transit of Venusyesterday, via specially issued solar glasses. All three ships are in the Pacific, sailing nearNew Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji, with PacificDawn Cruise Director Paul Hancox saying theastronomical phenomenon was a very specialand unique occasion. “The event was a great success and anotheronce in a lifetime memory that P&O Cruiseshas created,” he said. Cruisers also remembered Captain JamesCook who was sent to the South Seas to viewthe Transit of Venus in 1769, before extendinghis voyage to land at Botany Bay in 1770.
Oasis ‘Hairspray’ on stage ROYAL Caribbean International will partnerwith the Tony Awards to include a livebroadcast from the middle of the Caribbean,where Oasis of the Seas’ cast of the Hairspraymusical will perform a “show-stoppingnumber” in the ship’s Opal Theatre on 10 Jun.
US Queen on the way AMERICAN Cruise Lines has announced thatits brand new Queen of the Mississippipaddlewheeler has been officially certified sixweeks of schedule, and is now en route toNew Orleans where her first cruise will departearly in August. The ship carries 150 guests and will cruise asfar north as St Paul, Minnesota on theMississippi and as far east as PittsburghPennsylvania on the Ohio River.
Variety Gay Aegean Life VARIETY Cruises has announced a special‘Gay lifestyle cruise’ in the Greek Cyclades,with the one-off eight day voyage departingAthens on 24 Aug 2012 aboard the 49-passenger Panorama II sail cruiser. Fares start at $1590ppts plus $221 perperson additional in port charges, includingmeals, an English speaking cruise escort anduse of fishing equipment. For more information call Discover the WorldMarketing on 02 9959 3696.