Coming up next month (November 30th to December 2nd) is the EIBTM Show, the venue of which has moved from Geneva to Barcelona.  Steve & Diana Bloss from our Florida office as well as Martin Dock our UK associate will be manning our booth (L265) and will have Mike Beale of Viking River Cruises, Maggie Mantia and Blanca-Stella of RSSC as well as Tanya Barnet of Seabourn Cruises and Stuart Gardner of Gardner & Associates (your man in Florida) in attendance at the booth to answer any questions you might have. We hope to see you there.

Hotels verses Cruise Ships.

It has been a tough period for many of our travel buyers who have been trying to purchase hotel space for their 2005 programs.  Industry figures show that just over a quarter of them had managed to finalize their hotel deals, another 50% or so were still haggling and about 5 percent stated they had not even started the process.  As many of you have noticed I am sure, hotel rates are going up - and up as much as 5% in many cases.  Add to that the fact that many of you are also having a problem getting the amenities as well as the rates you want.  All this sound dismal, but there is a rosy side to the picture, companies are traveling more which is good for our business but, as hotel volume continue to rise so surely there will be added pressure to increase prices and at the same time, charge for what used to be "free" amenities.

Cruising continues to be a very viable option... yes, cruise prices have gone up.. but from a ridiculously low level to about where they belong in the scheme of things.  There are some real give away dates if your clients are able to use them.  We see numbers as far out as 2006 on quality ships for less than $80 a day, and this is ALL inclusive of food, entertainment and amenities.  Many of the major cruise lines are actively pursuing the corporate traveler.  Meeting rooms are often available with the very latest high-tech equipment, many ships have break-out rooms and some even have the ability to offer private closed circuit TV channels so your meeting or, the Chairman's speech can be beamed in via satellite to enhance the impact of the meeting.

It would be a great idea to pitch a cruise option  along with the "usual" hotel program.. your clients have almost certainly cruised and enjoyed it at some time or another, they could be halfway sold on the idea and receptive to take a look at the cruise option.

Cruise Line News:

• Crystal Launches Its Own Wine Label
  Following in the footsteps of a number of celebrity big names, Greg Norman, Ernie Ells and Francis Ford Coppola, Crystal Cruises announced this week that it has launched its own wine label. C Wines, which will debut aboard Crystal Harmony, Symphony and Serenity this month, features two each (one reserve, one premium) of three different varietals -- merlot, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. Laying the groundwork for this new endeavor was a team of Crystal's food and beverage executives, who conducted extensive research and field tests. The project is managed by the Monterey Wine Company, which gained experience making and managing vineyards for well-known vintners like Caymus, Domaine Chandon, Joseph Phelps and Kendall-Jackson. The grapes come from famed winegrowing areas like Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Arroyo Seco and the Santa Lucia highlands. The winemaking effort was overseen by Crystal sommeliers.  All told, in this first venture into winemaking the company plans to deliver 54,500 bottles to its three ships. Onboard, C Wines will be available by the glass and by the bottle.

• Actress Isabella Rossellini Joins Silversea
  Aiming to further distinguish itself in cruising's top-shelf niche, the Italian owned line - Silversea Cruises, recently announced that it would incorporate the indefinable elegance of Italian high style into its onboard ambiance. The key cornerstone in this effort is a partnership with actress Isabella Rossellini, who will be considered Silversea's pitch person. Rossellini was on hand for the announcement, made onboard Silver Whisper.  Rossellini will appear as the line's "ambassador" in print ads (shot by noted Italian photographer Fabrizio Ferri who also works for Vogue and Vanity Fair) they will create a photographic journal of her travel, giving expression to the unique sensations and emotions associated with the line's award-winning concept of ultra-luxury cruising.  Elettra Wiedemann, her daughter, a prominent and rising model in her own right, will occasionally join her on her cruise.

• The first trip for Rossellini and her family is expected to be a Chilean fjords cruise on Silver Wind at Christmas time. It's planned that she will sail on six additional cruises throughout 2005.  In what appeared to be a surprise from Silversea to its new "ambassador," it was announced at the luncheon that the line would create, on each of its four ships, a Rossellini suite incorporating her tastes. At this point, the startled actress couldn't say what that would entail.  Silversea is also threading the upscale Italian ambiance (think fashionable Milan) in other ways. Acqua di Parma products will replace Bulgari in cabins, and each ship will be outfitted with a Loro Piana cashmere shop. Worldwide, whilst applauding the originality of the concept wonders if too much Italian emphasis might be detrimental to their US sales.  WWTCA already has problems selling the Italian lines of Costa and MSC even with their new ships, the excess of Italian / European influence is not every American's taste.

• Holland America unveils the first ship in its fleet, the Ryndam  which has been fitted with all elements of their "Signature of Excellence". The 1994-built ship has just finished a three-week facelift in the dry-dock in Victoria, British Columbia.  New features include a new Culinary Arts Center, Exploration Café, and the new teen deck area (Oasis). Holland America President & COO Stein Kruse counters, "Right now in the cruise industry, the Signature of Excellence model screams premium leadership and sets the standard other companies will try to emulate."

• The competition between the premium cruise lines continues to heat up as the lines battle to distinguish their products from each other - "branding" being the key word - Conde Nast Traveler reported its readers have voted Holland's primary competitor outside of the Carnival Corp. family, Celebrity Cruises, as the top-rated premium line.  In various interviews, Celebrity President/COO Jack Williams is emphasizing, "Celebrity is indisputably the top premium cruise line in the business." Celebrity recently announced that beginning in 2005, the number of Celebrity "ConciergeClass" staterooms per ship will more than double, from 100 to 228 staterooms on the Constellation, Infinity, Millennium, and Summit. Formerly classified as categories 1A and 1B, "premium ocean-view with veranda" staterooms, each "Concierge Class" stateroom is 191 square feet with a 41-square-foot veranda. Worldwide is hoping to arrange site inspections to review these new modifications to both sets of ships so we can keep our clients up to date on the product enhancements.

America's Cup
Probably the worlds most expensive and competitive race in the world of sail boat racing is gearing up for an exciting summers racing which will culminate in the grand finale - The America's Cup races in 2007.  This event has an unusual appeal to patriotic audiences from all the competing countries as well as enthusiasts worldwide.  We at Worldwide Cruise Associates feel this is a truly unique opportunity for both corporate groups and companies doing business in the luxury sector on a worldwide basis.  Do not hesitate to talk it up as we are already quoting business for the event.  As an indication, here are some of the events which are taking place.

Valencia, Spain, 17th October - Team Alinghi became the third team to win one of the three 2004 Louis Vuitton Acts on Sunday, as a pair of top-three performances secured them the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 3 regatta on the last day of racing. BMW ORACLE Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand were the two race winners on Sunday, putting the Kiwis in second place for Act 3, with BMW ORACLE Racing third overall. Those results give the 2004 ACC Season Champion title to Emirates Team New Zealand, a remarkable recovery from their America’s Cup loss in 2003.  Team Alinghi was crowned the winner of Act 3 in front of an enormous crowd lining the waterfront at the Darsena Interior. Fireworks exploded overhead as the team was presented with their trophy and congratulated by the other race crews, along with a flotilla of spectator boats.

Results to date:

ACT 1 - BMW ORACLE Racing was the winner of the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act 1 in September.
ACT 2 - Emirates Team New Zealand was the winner of ACT 2

ACT 3 - Team Alinghi was the winner of the ACT3 in Valencia.

The Emirates Team New Zealand were crowned the ACC Champions 2004 as the team that had the best cumulative classification over the three Louis Vuitton Acts this year, using a low point scoring system.

Racing for the 32nd America’s Cup - Valencia will continue in 2005 and 2006, with several more Acts in various locations, including Valencia, the Host City of the 32nd America’s Cup. Dates of interest during the lead up and contender trials are;

• June 18 to 28, 2005 Valencia

• August 25 to Sept Kiel

• Sept 29 to Oct 10 Trappani (Sicily)

• In 2007, a fleet race event will precede the Louis Vuitton Cup, whose winner will then race the Defender, Team Alinghi, in the America’s Cup Match in Valencia

Featured small cruise Line - SeaDream Yacht Club

The company which came together through the aspiration of two well known cruise personalities.  The major shareholder and financier behind the project is Norwegian entrepreneur Atle Brynestad who founded Seabourn Cruise Line and Larry Pimentel, who was President of Seabourn under Brynestad and later President and CEO of the merged companies Cunard-Seabourn. They then hand picked a small but experienced team of industry professionals, ships officers and staff to assist in running the day to day operation of the cruise line.

SeaDream Yacht Club is a small 2 ship line that operates the twin, ultra-luxury mega yachts SeaDream I and  II.  The two ships have always had a reputation for being an up-market, top end cruise experience, having previously been Cunards' Sea Goddess's.

The decision to call the company SeaDream Yacht Club originated from the Company Chairman who made the point that they did not want to be just another cruise line, they wanted to offer a better and more exclusive cruise experience, one that was more akin to a private yacht cruise than the normal cruise lines style of cruise.  So the decision was made to position the company as a yacht company to provide a true yachting style experience. The name SeaDream was chosen to express the type of unstructured, more personal style of cruising that could be related to the ultimate cruise experience - a sea dream if you will.

Both SeaDream yachts are registered in the Bahamas. The gross tonnage of each is 4260, their overall length is 344 feet. with a beam is 47 feet and capable of cruising at a speed of 17 knots. Their guest capacity is 110 served by an international crew of 90. Both yachts are stabilized and fully air-conditioned with individual stateroom thermostats and they comply with SOLAS 2005 First Safety Standards.

Almost as soon as the ships were delivered to the new cruise line, plans were put in hand to upgrade the accommodations and in particular the upper deck entertainment and sun bathing areas.  The work entailed changing the external profile of the ships to some degree, but they remain recognizable and the work has  improved the facilities of the two ships.

SeaDream aim to deliver an on-board experience  as fine, or finer than that found on elegant yachts anywhere in the world. Specifically, SeaDream I and SeaDream II are mega yachts with only up to 55 guest accommodations. Fifty-four of these are designated Yacht Club Staterooms of 195 square feet of which sixteen are capable of being convertible to eight Commodore Club (double) Staterooms of 390 square feet, there is also an Owner's Suite of 450 square feet. 

The SeaDream Yachts' try hard to differentiate themselves from the pack with their excellent dining experiences. Guests are able to dine both indoors and outdoors – both in high style and in a casual ambience. The Main Dining Salon is a spectacular and elegant indoor space, large enough to accommodate all guests. The menu is eclectic, a combination of classics and unusual international offerings. The Maitre'd seats guests in small or larger groups and, if a couple wishes to focus only on each other at a table for two, that's fine too. Guests also dine in the dramatic Topside Restaurant, open to mild sea breezes but shaded from the sun. Again, if a couple wishes to dine privately, there are a number of small alcoves where they may do so. There is also 24-hour room service that features light, healthy offerings. In the afternoon tea is served in the Library where guests may enjoy a variety of tea sandwiches, scones, cookies and the like. Finally, a wide selection of Canapés and Caviar are served in the Main Lounge, and fresh-cut sandwiches may be found at the Top of the Yacht Bar and by the swimming pool. Guests who crave Caviar will find it available at all times.

So where do the SeaDream Yachts sail?  In summer months SeaDream I and II sail to small, seldom-visited yachting ports along the Mediterranean Coast, into the Greek islands and to some classic cities in those areas. Similarly, in the winter months the twin yachts sail in the Caribbean and to small yachting ports primarily in the U.S.Virgin Islands with embarkations in St. Thomas, Barbados and San Juan. SeaDream Yacht Club have recently introduce a series of seven-day, Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and Belize sailings, with three unique itineraries. They are: The Yachtsman’s Mayan Riviera, The Yucatan Explorer and The Mexico-Belize Eco-Adventure. These deployments are usually seven-day sailings with some four and five day sailings that appeal to the charter market. For the most part the two yachts sail on the same itineraries at the same time, with perhaps only the order of ports being changed. This is because one or the other of the ships are frequently chartered so they move previously booked guests on the alternative yacht during the same time period. In the Mediterranean the yachts home port in Monte Carlo and Nice. In the Americas they home port in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

To further add to the "yachting style of cruising" the ships Captains have the authority to make changes in the itineraries and schedules to please the guests. SeaDream yachts overnight at many ports of call as well, such as  Gustavia, one of the most popular ports in the Caribbean on the French island of St. Barts.  In the Mediterranean they overnight at the port of St. Tropez on the French Riviera. The object being to allow guests to fully enjoy these ports where the action doesn't get started until late in the evening without the concern of having to rush back to the ship just as the action starts to get going.

Worldwide has over the years placed very many charters on these two fine ships as well as a number of top-end groups.  Should you have any clients who have a budget which would run to this kind of top end program do not hesitate to call your contact at Worldwide.  Our team are always happy to discuss any ideas you may have or to suggest unique ways to put a package together on the SeaDream Yachts.

Opt- out

Another issue we are concerned about are the new rules covering such things as unsolicited emails and faxes.  Whilst we are making every effort to comply with the new rules as they appear, it is never the less easy to run foul of something one is not aware of.  Currently we give our clients the option to "Opt-out"  of receiving our news letter but, this is a blanket opt-out which also has the effect of removing your name from our mailing list for such things as complimentary ship cruises (site inspections) and resort inspections as well as other complimentary offers we are able to make to our clients from time to time.  We have given this a lot of thought but the difficulty of managing multi-lists to cover everyone's requirement is more than we feel we can manage successfully at this time.
 

With this in mind, we have decided to make a start on "Opting - OUT", we realize that not everyone reads every issue of our newsletter so many people might miss this announcement (we always receive a good number of "out-of-office reminders" back from our clients - so we know you're all hard working folk... ).  therefore we respectfully request that you take just a second or two to complete the "Opt-Out" form if you wish to be removed from WWTCA news lists.