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The m/v Minerva, former the R8 Joins Princess as Royal Princess
Princess Cruises announced today they have bought the m/v
Minerva,
formerly the Renaissance R8 and will rename her Royal Princess. The
680 passenger, 30,000-ton ship will join her sister ships
Tahitian Princess and Pacific Princess (also former
Renaissance vessels) as part of a sub-fleet of smaller
passenger ships sailing exotic itineraries for Princess.
Royal Princess begins her career April, 2007, sailing 12-day
Mediterranean, Holy Land, and Black Sea cruises. But first
she must undergo a two-week dry-dock to get her ready for
what Princess calls a "boutique" version of Personal Choice
Cruising, with 24-hour Lido café and alternative dining
venues. Like her sister ships, Royal already has over 70% of
cabins with balconies.
Princess' expansion into the smaller ship market (like
Celebrity's foray with its Xpedition line), may further blur
the distinction between premium and luxury ships. Already,
distinctions between the onboard experiences have blurred
because of premium upgrades in bedding, service, and dining. Princess
says the new ship will focus on exotic itineraries, another
niche converted by the luxury lines.
Say goodbye to Radisson Seven Seas Cruises
and hello to Regent Seven Seas Cruises
In a branding exercise designed to
enhance the general publics impression that this truly is a
"luxury" line RSSC has dumped the declining image of
Radisson in favor of the exclusive image of the Regent
brand and to further the luxury image, Regent will upgrade
suite design, decor, amenities and technology on the ships.
Carlson Co said that it is merging the cruise line with its
Regent Hotel subsidiary which it purchased in 1997. Regent
is an upper end resort chain with five hotels located
in Asia and two hotels in Europe. Currently, Regent's only
US hotel is in Beverly Hills, CA, but they plan to expand
rapidly into Florida when in spring of this year it will
open a 80-suite condo hotel on Ocean Drive & 14th St, Miami,
it will also operate a $225m project in Bal Harbor that
includes a 26 story condo and 17 story condo hotel.
Carnival Corp's Costa Cruise Line
subsidiary wins license to cruise China.
Costa cruise line is the first major cruise
line to win a license to embark passengers from Chinese
ports. Carnival, the parent company, view this as the
thin end of the wedge of what could prove to be a major
market for future cruises. Costa will place one of its
older ships - the 1969 "Allegra" which was refurbished in
1992, to test the market with 5 day cruises operating round
trip from Shanghai.
Brisbane Ship Building to build 2 Fast Cat
ferries for Cleveland Bay - Magnetic Island Route
Brisbane Ship Building has received a $6.3
million order from Sunferries of Townville, Queensland, for
two 300-passenger fast cat ferries for the Cleveland Bay to
Magnetic Island route. The new 28 knot ferries will be
slimmer, faster and longer than the present ferries, which
will be sold (apart from the reef cat) after the expected
December delivery, reducing transit time from 25 to 17
minutes.
Construction begins on the first of three ships for AIDA
Club
The keel-laying ceremony for the first of three club ships
of AIDA Cruises took place at Meyer Werft's shipyard in
Papenburg, Germany today. The first steel block for yard
number S659 was laid for AIDADIVA which is scheduled for the
spring of 2007. The 68,500 gt vessel will have a length
overall of 252 meters, a breadth of 32.2 meters, and carry
2,030 passengers in 1,015 cabins with a service speed of 22
knots. The subsequent ships will follow in the spring of
2008 and spring of 2009.
QUEEN VICTORIA is sold out for her maiden
voyage in December 2007
Cunard Line recently
announced that the QUEEN VICTORIA is sold out for her
maiden voyage in December 2007. The partially built ship,
with hull number 6127, is under construction at Fincantieri
Cantieri Navali SpA at the Marghera shipyard, near Venice,
Italy and will be floated out in January 2007. The ten-night
voyage sails from Southampton, December 11, 2007, calling at
Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Hamburg and Zeebrugge. Tickets
for the following 16-night Christmas cruise in the Canaries,
(also called a maiden voyage cruise) are being offered to
past passengers first, then to the general public on April
3, 2006. Registered in Southampton, the Cunard new
ship will be approximately 90,000 gt, with an overall length
of 964.5 feet (294 meters), and a width 106 feet (32.3
meters) and will operate world cruises, transatlantic
crossings, European voyages from Southampton, and other
cruise itineraries. Her lower berth capacity will be 2,014
passengers. Queen Victoria will be propelled by two Azipods
units and have bow thrusters for manouvering, her cruising
speed will be 18 knots, with a maximum speed of 23.7 knots.
Ports & Shore Excursion News
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Costa Cruises is
the first International cruise line offering cruises from
Dubai
Weekly sailings start in December and throughout next winter
on 1,680-passenger Costa Classica and AIDAcara from Costa's
German arm - AIDA. The seven-day itineraries include
two nights in Dubai and stopovers in the ports of Muscat
(Oman), Fujairah (United Arab Emirates), Abu Dhabi (United
Arab Emirates) and Bahrain.
Viking River Cruises will add a third
vessel to its Yangtze River fleet.
To meet the growing demand of increased China
tourism, Viking River Cruises will add a third vessel to its
Yangtze River fleet. The new Century Sun will feature
English-speaking guides and Swiss hotel management. Like her
sister ship, Viking Century Sun features an observation
lounge, restaurant, sauna, sun deck, bar, massage room and
beauty salon, plus Internet access and two elevators
enabling easy access to the ship's five decks. The ship
measures 415 ft. in length and 56 ft. in width with a
capacity of 300 passengers. All cabins are equipped with a
private balcony, telephone, hairdryer, air conditioning, and
private bathroom with shower. For 2006, Viking River Cruises
offers 4 all-inclusive itineraries in China ranging from
nine to 15 nights; each highlights China's top "must-see"
landmarks such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer
Palace, Terra Cotta Warriors, and Shanghai's Bund plus the
legendary Three Gorges and Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze.
All itineraries include 5-star hotel stays, with 3 nights in
Beijing, 1 night in Xian, and 2 nights in Shanghai; plus a
Yangtze cruise on either the new Viking Century Sun or
Viking Century Sky (built 2005) for 3, 4, 7, or 9 nights,
depending on selected itinerary. Each program includes: all
shore excursions and tours, meals, hotel stays in 5-star
properties, intra-Asia flights, and a Viking River Cruises
English-speaking escort from airport arrival to departure.
An optional 4-night Hong Kong and Guilin extension can be
added to any itinerary.
Delta Queen Steamboat Company has
announced six- and seven-night themed cruises.
Delta Queen Steamboat Company has announced
six and seven-night riverboat cruises which focus on the
Civil War. Both Delta Queen and Mississippi queen will host
renowned Civil War scholars and authors for on-board
lectures while. The music of the Civil War will be performed
at night and there will be performances of Lincoln
impersonator James Getty. Civil War Vacations will travel
itineraries along the Cumberland, Tennessee, Ohio and
Mississippi rivers, with 6- and 7-night cruises on the Delta
Queen: May 11-18, Nashville to Chattanooga; May 18-24,
Chattanooga to Memphis; May 24-30, Memphis to Nashville;
July 17-24, Nashville to Chattanooga and August 7-13,
Nashville to Cincinnati. Two cruises aboard the Mississippi
Queen: May 20-27, Memphis to Nashville, and May 27-June 3,
Nashville to Memphis.
Holland America Line’s new ms Noordam
makes her European debut with a full season of 10-day
cruises featuring the Mediterranean .
With Europe an ever popular cruise destination, Holland
America Line is adding a fifth ship, the new ms Noordam, to
sail the Mediterranean throughout the summer. The Noordam
makes her European debut starting with a 16-day Atlantic
crossing from New York to Rome followed by a full summer of
10-day cruises exploring the romantic and beautiful
Mediterranean round trip from Rome (Civitavecchia) from May
through September. The Noordam offers two itineraries
for guests to choose from: the Mediterranean Enchantment,
which features the Western Mediterranean, and the Roman
Empire, which showcases the Eastern Mediterranean and Greek
Isles. Each 10-day cruise may be combined back-to-back for a
20-day complete Mediterranean adventure.
Singapore Port Authority is predicting a
target of 1.2m passengers by 2010
Singapore Port Authority is predicting a
target of 1.2m passengers by 2010 which is why the Asia hub
port is planning a new international cruise facility close
to the Marina South Bayfront location. Plans called
for at least eight berths with expansion capacity for 12.
The earmarked location is on land reclaimed 10 years ago and
offers deep water access and berthing for any size vessel
even Genesis class. The first phase should be ready for
2010/2011.
Inside the Industry
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Cruise Line Crime
According to a report issued by The
International Council of Cruise Lines, the odds of
experiencing any crime aboard a cruise ship are remote.
ICCL's report, based on 15 cruise lines' submissions during
a three year period (2003-2005), says that there were 206
complains from passengers and crew when more than 31 million
people sailed. These include 178 complains of sexual
assault, four robberies and 24 missing persons. The report
will be presented Tuesday, March 4, 2006 before the before
the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging
Threats and International Relations in Washington, D.C.
American Cruise Lines plan to build 2 new
small ships.
American Cruise Lines is in final contract negotiations for
two 130-passenger luxury ships which would be able to
operate worldwide, the new-builds are expected to be firmly
contracted in the first week of April and are expected to
commence sailing in 2008 and 2009. The ships will
offer cabins ranging from 240 to 360 square feet with
balconies, internet connections, satellite television and
other conveniences. Public spaces will include a
single-seating dining salon, four lounges, a spa and a
theater/lecture room. American Cruise Lines said
it is also considering various itineraries that may include
the British Isles, Mediterranean, Baltic, Alaska, South
America and the Pacific with the first ship focusing on the
Canadian Maritimes, Caribbean and Central America.
American Cruise Lines operates three ships carrying no more
than 100 passengers each, with a fourth now under
construction and expected to enter service in 2007.
The potential passenger source market for
Asian cruisers could reach 8.5m by 2030.
According to Cheong Teow Cheng president of
Singapore Cruise Centre the potential passenger source
market for Asian cruisers could reach 8.5m by 2030.
These calculations, he said, are based on the estimated
number of Asians at that time who will be aged 25 years or
over with an annual income of $25,000 or above.
WWTCA's News
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Win a free deluxe
trip to the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.
Our client Grand Prix Tours is offering an
opportunity to win
an exciting trip to this years Monaco Grand Prix.
Have some fun by entering and maybe be the lucky one to be
in Monaco with all the sights, sounds and celebrities at the
2006 Grand Prix of Monaco.
Grand Prix Tours is offering a buy-in
opportunity for their annual Monaco Grand Prix package.
Looking for an incentive program with some
serious BANG for your buck? then you have just found it..
not your regular package.. this one includes one on one with
the drivers, cocktails and dinner with big names driver(s),
great viewing opportunities. Can be
purchased with a cruise pre-post or as a land package.
Available for 2006/07 & 08.
Fantastic Charter
Opportunity - 300 pax - 5 star ship for charter in May 2007
Ports are San Juan -
San Juan and with the withdrawal of RSSC from the 4-5 night
market this might be the ONLY luxury 4 night cruise
available for 2007.
Contact us for details.
Two new ship
reports - "Caribbean Princess" & the "Zuiderdam" posted to
our web-site.
Jim Huff & Betts Huff
recently sailed with a client on the
Caribbean Princess -
read his revue of the ship. Earlier, Leon Banossian
was married and enjoyed his honeymoon with some close
friends on the Zuiderdam - you can read his report.
WWTCA enhances it
website to better cover the river ship and luxury barge
offerings.
In a move to offer our
clients a better opportunity to find and locate small
charter vessels on the European rivers and canals, we have
broken down the many vessels plying the waterways into both
capacity and areas. This market is currently a small
part of WWTCA's business, but with many quality small ships
operating on the European waterways and increased interest
in the market for exclusive and unique charters for upper
end programs, specialty tours and family parties, we feel
the investment to be worthwhile. This section of our
site is an on-going work in progress but even in its early
days is a mine of information on this
market sector.
For more
information on any of OUR ASSOCIATES go to our website or,
email us.
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