cruise weekly for tue 08 may 2012 - nz cruising record, princess 2013-14 options, scenic to refit...
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8/2/2019 Cruise Weekly for Tue 08 May 2012 - NZ cruising record, Princess 2013-14 options, Scenic to refit fleet and much …
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Tuesday 08 May 2012
TODAY’S ISSUE OF CW Today’s issue of Cruise Weekly features
five pages of all the latest cruise news.
THANK YOU to everyone who sent inquestions for our guest expert AdamArmstrong, Royal Caribbean International
Commercial Manager Australia.Be sure to keep your questions coming
For the answers to Adam’s questionstoday, click on the Facebook link at the endof each question.
Q1 from Donalyn and Gavin Hunter:We have booked a 16 day cruise with RoyalCaribbean. We live in Adelaide and rather thanfly home from Perth we requested that wecould continue cruising on the ship untilAdelaide. Both our travel agent and RoyalCaribbean said they do not allow ‘segmentcruises’. You can imagine our surprise anddisappointment as most other cruise linesallow this. Surely if the ship is not fully bookedit is better to have the cabin booked if only to
Adelaide. We are interested to know thereasoning behind this decision.Q2 from Jennifer Junk: I would like to knowwhy doesn’t Royal Caribbean keep a ship inAustralia for year round cruising. Not all of uscan cruise in just the spring / summer monthsand it would be nice to get away from the coldand travel to the top of Australia & Pacificislands where it is warmer. Now that Carnival Spirit is based in Australia all year, I thinkRoyal Caribbean should follow! Plus we needmore 3 night sampler cruises for us businesspeople where it is difficult to leave ourbusinesses for too long.
Email your questions for Adam [email protected]
New Zealand cruising hits new recordMore than 56,000 New
Zealanders took a cruise holiday
n 2011 – a huge increase of
thirty-two percent.
ACCORDING to a new report released this
morning, New Zealand experienced the
econd strongest cruise passenger growth rate
n the world last year, second only to
Australia, which was up 34% (CW , 01 May).
Launched in Auckland by the International
Cruise Council Australasia (ICCA), the 2011
New Zealand Cruise Industry Report found
hat New Zealand cruise passenger numbers
grew by 32% to 56,479.
This is more than double the number five
years ago, when only 26,510 Kiwis cruised in
2006.
River-cruising passenger numbers also grew,
by 12% to 2,651, accounting for 5% of total
New Zealand cruise market.
The report uncovered a massive rise in the
number of people cruising local waters, which
soared nearly 220%, reflecting an increase in
short break cruises from Auckland.
But the South Pacific remained the most
popular destination, attracting nearly half of
passengers.ICCA General Manager Brett Jardine said the
latest figures underlined the strength of the
New Zealand cruise market.
“While other industries have wavered in
these tough economic times, cruising has
continued to expand, with its popularity in
New Zealand growing significantly,” Jardine said.
“Every year we are seeing more cruise ships
sailing New Zealand waters, taking the profile
of cruising to new heights and prompting an
unprecedented number of Kiwis to take to the
seas for their holidays,” he added.
They are also sailing for longer, with theresearch finding a 24% rise in estimated sea
days.
In terms of market penetration, 1.3% of the
New Zealand population took a cruise in 2011.
Almost three-quarters lived on the North
Island with the 27% per cent living on the
South Island.
Jardine said the New Zealand cruise industry
was on target to reach 100,000 passengers by
2020.
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Tuesday 08 May 2012
2 0 1 3
O P E N F O
R S A
L E !
EARLYBIRD DEALS ILABLE NOW
Click here for 2013 Avalon brochure and latest earlybird specials
CruiseCalendar
Cruise Weekly’s cruise calendar detailsupcoming port calls of passenger cruiseships at various destinations in Australia.
BRISBANEPacific Jewel Tue 08 May
Pacific Dawn Sat 12 MayPacific Sun Sun 13 MaySun Princess Mon 14 May
SYDNEY
Pacific Jewel Thu 10 MayPacific Pearl Sat 12 May
BROOMEOrion Sun 13 May
Bicycles and savings SEACLOUD Cruises’ River Cloud II features a
bicycle tour option on two of its European
sailings: the seven-night Passau to Budapest
voyage (02 August), and the seven-night
Nuremberg to Basle voyage (29 September).
The cruise line is also offering a 50% discount
on cabins, as well as complimentary excursions
for kids (up to 18 years), on a selection of cruises.
Meanwhile Sea Cloud is also incentivisingguests to bring friends along, by offering a
discount of €500 per cabin for all new bookings.
As such, for each new booking of a cabin on
the same cruise guests will receive a discount
of €500 per cabin, see www.seacloud.com.
RCI’s brilliant 2013 season NEXT year Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the
Seas and Splendour of the Seas will depart on
40 European summer sailings, which spanacross 41 ports.
Sailing roundtrip from Harwich Brilliance’s
2013 European summer season will consist of
eight North and Baltic Sea sailings taking in
Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Talinn,
Gothenburg and St Petersburg (overnight); as
well as an 11-night Norwegian Fjords and
Iceland itinerary, which departs on 27 July, and
will call at Bergen, Geiranger, Lerwick/
Shetland, Klaksvik, and Reykjavik (overnight).
Brilliance is also scheduled to depart Boston
on 31 August for a 15-night itinerary calling at
Paris/Normandy, Portland, Dorset, Cork,Dublin, Klaksvik, and Reykjavik (overnight).
Meanwhile the 2013 European summer
season will begin for Splendour of the Seas
on 05 May and will include a six-night voyage
from Barcelona to Venice; as well as two Greek
Island voyages calling at Dubrovnik, Corfu,
Santorini, Athens and Katakolon, Greece, or
Ephesus, Mykonos, and Argostoli.
Splendour will also feature a Greek Isles &
Turkey itinerary with calls at Bari, Corfu,
Santorini, Ephesus and Katakolon; as well as a
Greek Isles & Croatia itinerary which replaces
Santorini and Katakolon from the Greek Islesitinerary with Bari and Mykonos; and a 15-
night transatlantic sailing from Barcelona to
Sao Paolo in Brazil on 23 November.
Fares start from $795pp for a seven-night
Greek Isles & Turkey cruise on Splendour.
Princess in San Francisco FOR the first time ever Princess Cruises is set
to place a vessel year-round in San Francisco.
Fresh from extensive renovations (the largest
drydock in Princess Cruises history), the 2,600-
guest Grand Princess will kick-off her year
round homeporting in San Fran in May 2013,
with a series of summer season Alaska cruises
which will be followed by voyages around the
Hawaiian Islands, Mexico and the California
Coast during the northern autumn 2013 tospring 2014 season.
DARWINSun Princess Tue 08 May
for two people onVoyager of the Seas’
inaugural sailing!
acebookAd_62x140_CruiseWeekly_FA2.indd 1 30/04/12 4:45 PM
Princess unveils options for 2013-14Cruising from Sydney to Tokyo is
now possible, following the
release of Princess Cruises’
biggest ever program for
Australians.PRINCESS Cruises has launched its most
diverse range of cruises for Australians,
ncluding two sailings to Japan and the return
of its popular Hawaii, Tahiti and South Pacific
tinerary.The cruise line will also offer more Pacific
sland cruises from Sydney and Brisbane, with
Sea Princess undertaking its maiden season
based in Queensland, as well as an eight-night
voyage to Tasmania on Diamond Princess.
Other highlights of the new program include
ruises from Brisbane to Fiji, priced from
$1,699 per person twin-share, and two-week
roundtrip cruises to New Zealand from
Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, priced from
$1,799 per person twin-share.
The 35-night roundtrip voyage from Sydney
to Hawaii and Tahiti, departing 9 April 2014
aboard Sea Princess, is priced from $6,249 per
person twin-share.
Fares for the 25- and 26-night cruises from
Sydney to Tokyo on Sun Princess departing
April 2013 and March 2014, start at $5,239
per person twin-share.
Princess Cruises commercial director Stan
Birge said the new program comprised almost
50 cruises on its four Australian-based ships.
“Whether Australians are travelling north,
south, east or west, there is a Princess cruise
to carry them in style and comfort,” he said.
Birge said the New Zealand cruises would
feature Princess’ special onboard program of
“Kiwi food, wine and cultural activities”, as
well as Sea Princess’ maiden season of cruising
from Brisbane.
For more information, visit
www.princess.com, call 13 24 88 or see your
travel agent.
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Last MinuteDeals
This weekly column highlights hot deals oncruises departing soon – ideal for ourspontaneous readers.
Check out this week’s cruise bargain:
9-night South Pacific cruise onboard
Pacific Pearl • From: $489
• Departs: 22 May 2012
• Visits: Port Vila (Vanuatu), Lifou (New
Caledonia), Isle of Pines (New Caledonia)
• Includes: 9-nights cruising, all onboard
meals and entertainment, the use of onboard fitness centre and gym, as well as
Pacific Cirque Circus at Sea shows
• Contact: www.ecruising.travel
Crystal Penthouse sale CRYSTAL Cruises is offering guests who book
a Penthouse on one of its Mediterranean
summer cruises US$1,000 worth of savings.
Bookings must be made by 30 June 2012 to
be eligible for the discounted rates.Penthouse savings are available on
categories PH and PS, and sale fares start from
US$6,600 for a 28 November Lisbon to
Barcelona 11-day sailing.
See your travel agent for details.
Improved communications ROYAL Caribbean Cruises has enlisted the
help of Harris CapRock Communications, to
provide communications services onboard its
fleet of 34 ships in the Royal Caribbean,
Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruisesbrands.
The hybrid satellite and terrestrial
communications platform is expected to
dramatically improve overall communications
performance onboard the ships.
Score some MSC credit MSC Cruises is offering every holidaymaker
who books a 2012 European sailing departing
in July and August, $100 onboard credit.The offer is valid for departures of seven-
nights or more, including sailings on the new
MSC Divina which launches on 26 May.
See your travel agent for details, or visit
www.msccruises.com.au.
A queen and the President IT seems excitement about a Cunard cruise is
not limited to ordinary folk, with the formerPresident of America, George Bush Sr, overheard
saying “I’ve been looking forward to this for
weeks,” before stepping onboard QM2.
Confirming his excitement, Barbara Bush said
“You’ve been talking about nothing else for
months”.
The power couple joined QM2 with their
daughter Dorothy and their granddaughter
Georgia for a seven day trans-Atlantic voyage
which departed Southampton on 27 April.
The former President and his family were
greeted by Cunard Line President Peter
Shanks, who met them after embarkation,along with David Dingle, CEO, Carnival UK;
Captain Kevin Oprey, Master of Queen Mary 2;
and John Duffy, the liner’s Hotel Manager.
George and Barbara Bush are pictured below
onboard QM2 with Captain Kevin Oprey (left).
Carnival’s Spirited bargains GUESTS who book a Carnival Spirit cruise
between 06 May and 02 June will be rewarded
with a $200 per cabin discount courtesy of
Carnival Cruise Lines.
The discount applies to all itineraries
departing between 20 October 2012 and 14
March 2013.
See your travel agent for details, or visit
www.carnival.com.au.
Athena’s maiden calls NEXT year Classic International Cruises’
Athena will make four maiden visits during her38-night Far East cruise departing from Perth
on 18 February.
Overall the vessel will call at 12 ports,
including inaugural stops at Keelung in Taiwan,
Manila in The Philippines, Busan in South
Korea and Kagoshima in Japan.
CRUISING with cats.
Vienna’s latest attraction may help some
river cruisers who are missing their feline
friends they left at home.
Called Cafe Neko, the new cat friendly
coffee house has proved popular with locals
and tourists alike, with hoards flocking tothe shop be able to sip on a warm beverage
whilst patting a free roaming cat.
The cats themselves are allowed the run
of the place, and when they tire of the
attention they can retreat to their own
space, or climb above the tables onto areas
where they can rest, away from the eager
pats of coffee lovers.
2 01 3
P re v ie w
B ro c h u re
O u t N o w
SAVE up to $900per couple on Vietnam,
Cambodia & the Mekong boutique river cruises
VIEW OFFER
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
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NurembergLebkuchen
(Gingerbread)
IngredientsFor Nuremnerg Lebkuchen (gingerbread)
•2/3 cup of honey (or molasses)
• 1 cup sugar
• 21/3 cup of butter
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
•4 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2/3 cup of chopped hazelnuts (almonds, cashewsor macadamias will also do)
• 1/3 cup chopped citron (or candied orange,
candied lemon, dried figs or dried dates)
• 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• Dash of ginger (optional)
• Grated orange/lemon peel (optional)
For Sugar Glaze• 1/2 cup of confectioner’s or powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of water
• A touch of vanilla or rum liqueur (optional)
This week’s recipe
comes fromUniworld River Cruises
Recipe ofthe Month Scenic fleet set to get the Crystal lookScenic River Cruises is spending
up big to overhaul its fleet of
Rhine, Main, Danube and
Moselle sailing vessels. ANNOUNCING the refit at an event in Sydney
last week, Scenic’s Managing Director Glen
Moroney, told Cruise Weekly that the plan is to
fully gut and refit Scenic Sapphire, Scenic Pearl,
Scenic Ruby and Scenic Diamond (the oldest of
which is four years old), to the specifications of
Scenic Crystal which launched this month, andScenic Jewel which launches next year.
Part of the reasoning behind this move is to
unify the fleet and ensure that guests have the
same level of onboard luxury across the fleet.
“We believe we can upgrade them so that
from a guest’s perspective they will be as good,
maybe even better than our Scenic Crystal ,
which is by far and away the best ship that’s
operating on those rivers,” Moroney said.
Designed in collaboration with renowned
Australian interior designer, Heather Buttrose
(also Crystal’s Godmother) Crystal features a
new Space-Ship configuration, meaning thatalmost a quarter of the cabins are 10% larger
than those onboard her sister-ships, whilst her
design also includes the Sun-Lounge concept
which converts outdoor balconies into indoor
lounges with the aid of a sliding glass window.
Other new design features include
bathrooms with a full walk in shower, more
storage space, additional balcony cabins, and a
gym and wellness centre that is twice the size
of those offered onboard other Space-Ships, as
well as a new cabin type, the 225 square-foot
Deluxe Balcony Suites.
Scenic Crystal also features more dining
opportunities, including the all-day grazing
venue River Cafe which offers breakfast,
brunch, lunch, morning and afternoon tea and
all day gelati; as well the Table La Rive
degustation experience in the main dining
room; and High Tea on the Terrace.
“We decided to take it to go to the next level
not only onboard with the ship itself but also
in the services onboard and offboard,” said
Moroney.The refit news follows hot on the heels of the
company’s decision to go all inclusive (CW 01
May) by offering a number of enhancements
across its Space-Ship fleet including unlimited
beverages, butler service and all day grazing
for all guests regardless of their cabin type.
“We are redefining the term all-inclusive
luxury”.
“If you wanted to clean your clothes yourself
and not get a haircut, you could spend nothing
from the time that you arrive onboard to the
time that you depart,” he added.
in other exciting news Moroney also provided
PreparationBoil the honey, sugar, and butter together for 5minutes. Remove from heat to cool. Beat one eggand add to water. Mix and sift flour, baking soda,salt and spices and add alternately with the liquid
ingredients to the honey mixture. Add choppednuts and citron last. Knead the dough and cool. If
the dough is allowed to ripen overnight or several
days before rolling out, the flavor and texture of the cookies are improved. Roll the dough about
1/4" thick on a floured board. You may cut doughmixture into small circles or shapes. Place on abuttered baking sheet on a tray. Bake at 350°Fdegrees for 15 - 20 minutes. Let cool for a few
minutes, then remove the cookies from the trayto cool even further. Ice with colored icing or asugar glaze while still warm. To make a sugar
glaze: dilute 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar with 1/4cup water in a small saucepan on the stove. Bring
to a boil and boil for a few minutes. You may adda touch of vanilla or rum liqueur and mix to makethe consistency of thin cream. Sift powdered
sugar over the hot sugary syrup and stir. Using apastry brush, brush cookies with the warm glaze.Let dry completely. Dry glazed cookies for a dayand then store them in an airtight container or in
the freezer.
Viking online pricing tool VIKING River Cruises has launched a new
online tool to help simplify pricing and make
decision-making easier for cruisers looking to
compare their options.
The website’s functionality allows visitors to
compare the inclusions and prices for Viking’s
most popular river cruise holidays with similar
competitor itineraries.
To use the website visitors simply need to
select the cruise of their choice, the date andthe cabin type that they would like to stay in.
After the selection has been made the
website will bring up comparison cruises and
what they include, so the user can determine
which cruise they would most prefer.
“Our research tells us that consumers find
the offers and discounts in the river cruise
holiday market too complex to grasp,” said
Teresia Fors, Viking River Cruises’ Australia and
New Zealand Managing Director.
“Occasionally, even we find it difficult to
understand and we work in the industry.
“That’s why we created a user-friendly toolto help consumers and agents research what’s
available in the market and compare the cost
and benefits of each alternative,” she added.
To see the site, visit
www.vikingrivercruises.com.au/compare.
Quark in Greenland 2013 ADVENTURE cruising specialists Quark
Expeditions has released its 2013 calendar of
sailings, which includes icebreaker adventures
to the North Pole, as well as luxury voyages to
Spitsbergen, Greenland and Iceland.
Highlights of the line-up include two North
Pole voyages departing 19 June and 30 June
2013, as well as the “Three Arctic Islands:
Iceland, Greenland, Spitsbergen” trip.
The season also includes a new voyage, the
“Greenland Explorer: Valleys and Fjords”
expedition which takes guests from Ottawa to
Reykjavik along the coast of Greenland, andincludes a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage
site, the Illusiat Ice Fjord.
For more details, or to grab a brochure, see
your local travel agent or visit
www.quarkexpeditions.com.
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Cruise Weekly is Australia’s favourite online cruising publication.
n 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 Adobe
Acrobat PDF document.Sign up for a free subscription at www.cruiseweekly.com.au .
PO Box 1010, Epping, NSW 1710
Phone: 1300 799 220 Fax: 1300 799 221
Cruise Weekly is a publication of Cruise Weekly Pty Ltd. All content fully protected by copyright. Please obtain written permission to reproduce any material. While every care has been taken in the preparation of
Cruise Weekly no liability can be accepted for errors or omi ssions. Information is published in good faith to stimulate independent investigation of the matters canvassed. Responsibility for editorial comment is taken by Bruce Piper.
Publisher/Managing Editor: Bruce Piper
Editor: Louise Goldsbury
Assistant Editor: Amanda Collins
Contributors: Roderick Eime and Chantel
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Cruise Weekly is part of the
Travel Daily Group:
Cruising for a bruising
by: Louise Goldsbury
Bridge-ducking in Holland Zip-lining Norwegian Breakaway’s Aqua Park
So you think it’s all too tame and boring onboard on a cruise ship?Here are four activities guaranteed to get your heart racing.
Croc-hunting
Most Kimberley cruises go out of their way to keep theircustomers clear of crocodiles, but Aurora Expeditions goes lookingfor them – at night. Armed with spotlights, intrepid passengers canboard the small Explorer vessel and quietly glide through the dark
waters of the outback (accompanied by a naturalist).The official purpose of this excursion is to learn about the wildreptiles’ feeding and breeding habits, but the unofficial aim is toscare the bejesus out of you.
11-day Broome-to-Broome voyages depart on 28 May and 8 June2012 aboard the newly refurbished Coral Princess. Prices start at$6,990 per person. Call 02 9252 1033 or visitwww.auroraexpeditions.com.au.
Bridge-ducking
River-cruising vessels are built to fit under low bridges, but whenthe water level is high, it can be a tight squeeze. Standing up on thetop deck can be exhilarating when departing certain ports, such asAmsterdam, where it seems like every approaching bridge will
barely miss your head.On taller ships, the wheelhouse (the captain’s navigation bridge)
has to be retracted when passing under the lowest bridges.Passengers are strongly advised not to go up and watch this
exercise, due to the risk of being sandwiched or decapitated by amassive steel structure. My favourite retractable feature is the Leopard Lounge on Uniworld’s
SS Antoinette. When compressed, it should be renamed the Flat Cat!
Zip-lining
For some reason, cruise ships visit a lot of places with zip-lines, or‘flying foxes’, as it is sometimes known in Australia. In the past year,I’ve taken up the challenge in Hoonah (Alaska), Suva (Fiji) and PuertoLimon (Costa Rica).
Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas even has one onboard, so you
can glide from one side of the world’s biggest ship to the other.There’s simply no better way to see a rainforest than soaring overtreetops at breakneck speed. It does require courage to take yourfirst step off the ledge and put your trust in a thin piece of wire. Afterthat, you just have to remember how to stop.
Water-sliding
Carnival Spirit is giving Australian cruisers their first taste of awater-park on a ship with the Green Thunder ‘thrillslide’, claimed tobe the steepest at sea. The almost-vertical drop has to beexperienced to properly understand the intensity of this ride.
In the US, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy have ‘water-coasters’,an aquatic version of the roller-coasters in the company’s famoustheme parks. Guests are propelled around and off the side of the ship,
through the forward funnel and then dropped into the onboard river.Coming soon is the biggest yet: the new Norwegian Breakaway will
have five waterslides, including side-by-side slides for racing.In addition, the top deck will feature the largest ropes course at
sea, which includes a platform that extends two metres over the sideof the ship, challenging passengers (wearing harnesses) to ‘walk theplank’. I dare you!