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Special Features
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Inside the
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Worldwide's News
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Special Features:
The first of the races for the Louis
Vuiton Cup ended with the Defender's team Alinghi winning
the Louis Vuitton Act 11.
Racing for the America's Cup
recommencedatowards the end of May after the winter lay
over. Much work and preparation including construction
of new yacht, sails etc continued throughout the winter, but
the reason d'etre - the boat races - got off to an exciting
start with close racing though the whole series with the
defender Alinghi leading
the 'big four' at the top to win the Valencia Louis Vuitton
Act 11. On the final
points table, Alinghi was the runaway leader, with Luna
Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand finishing equal eight
points back. The Italians win the tie-break to take second
place, with the Kiwis third and BMW ORACLE Racing fourth,
just two points ahead of Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia team.
The
America's Cup races appear tp have reached a far bigger
audience than ever with a new record attendance
set at the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 11 on Sunday - 59,233
people poured into Port America's Cup, the most ever in a
single day at the host city of the 32nd America's Cup.
That pushes the total
for the 10 days of Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 10 & 11 up to
263,873.
"We
are very satisfied to see that Port America's Cup has had
such a successful acceptance amongst the visitors,
especially the people of Valencia, who have discovered this
new space for the city and have enjoyed the America's Cup
action," said Michel Bonnefous, President of the 32nd
America's Cup organisation. "The competition for the
Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 10&11 has been fantastic, with
very level racing between the teams and outstanding action.
Check out the
action
and
latest news on our web site.
Note: We still have charter opportunities for this years
races however, next summer will see the culmination and
final races for the America's Cup - this will be a BIG
sporting event to rival any major international sporting
event .. call us for charter opportunities.
Ryder Cup 2006 in Ireland - unique buy-in
opportunity Seabourn Cruise/Ryder Cup Program
This fully developed program with all the
bells & whistles including badges for each day, parties,
ground transportation, play the next Ryder Cup venue and a 4
day cruise ending in London is now available at incredibly low pricing.
Ryder Cup.
Read our
review of one of the worlds true Mega Yachts - the "Turama"
The
Turama is one of the three vessels Worldwide chartered
for the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix. one tends to think of yachts
as the sort of thing one sees running up and down the
intra-coastal or heading out of the harbor with a few
sailing friends on board... well, let me tell you this is
nothing like that - think rather of a yacht the size
of the Seabourn Legend or some of the cruise ships of a few
years ago before the monster size ships arrived on the scene
and there you have an idea of the physical size of the
Turama.
Steve Bloss
was on-board the ship in Monaco and has prepared a
review of the yacht,
images are also available for you to see for yourself
the splendor of this yacht. It must be the ultimate
corporate ego trip. Call us with any enquiries you may
have.
The SS United States to be restored?
Preservationists found reason for optimism in
April 2003, when Norwegian Cruise Line bought the vessel
along with the Independence, another historical liner. But
the two U.S.-flagged ships, built in 1951 and 1952,
respectively, have not moved far from their anchorage, nor
have they undergone any renovations since the purchase.
At the recent Pride of Hawaii inaugural, Tan Sri Lim Kok
Thay, chairman of Star Cruises (which owns NCL) said that
the company’s next project is “the restoration of the ...
United States.”
NCL Corp. CEO Colin Veitch said that while the vessels were
bought with “the ambition of having ships four and five” for
the NCL America line, restoration will depend on the
condition of the ships.
“We’ve surveyed the hull of the United States,” Veitch said.
“It’s a more solid ship [than the Independence] ... We’re
conducting an engineering study ... The rules have changed a
lot, and in the last year more rules have been promulgated.
“It looks promising. But I wouldn’t look for it tomorrow.”
The United States, one of the most famous of the classic
ocean liners, is fitted with steam turbines that would have
to be replaced with a modern propulsion system to sail
today.
“It’s like taking a Ferrari and dumping a Jetta engine in
it,” said Robert Westover, chairman of the SS United States
Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving the ship.
The stuff of legend, the United States still holds the Blue
Riband prize for the fastest westbound transatlantic
crossing. “She was the most immaculate and impeccable ship
of her time,” said maritime historian Bill Miller. “She was
the Blue Riband ship. People wanted to be on her.”
Unfortunately, Miller admitted, “Big U,” as fans call the
vessel, has “had a rough time.” The ship, which even in its
heyday never made a profit, has not sailed since 1969.
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Headlines
Wave season has been over for some time
and appears to have left cruise companies stranded on the
beach.
Caribbean business for the main stream lines
and generally slow times for the rest appears to be the
order of the day over the end on May and into June. A
number of items are causing problems for the cruise industry
at the moment the most immediate being very slow summer sale
for Caribbean cruises. This could be caused by
something as simple as peoples fears for the upcoming
hurricane season, fears that for the most part are unfounded
as the cruise lines route their ships away from any
impending storms well before any problems could arise
(after all they have many millions of dollars at stake both
in their ships and business plans), to bouts of bad news
hitting the industry over recent months.
Besides RCI's ongoing problem with a
strangely disappearing passenger of off one of their ships,
yet another young man went overboard on a Royal Caribbean
ship, apparently due to drinking too much, and in a new
wrinkle, the captain of Celebrity's
Mercury
(which was in port) was arrested in Seattle for failing a
breathalyzer test (the Coast Guard made an unannounced
inspection), the line promptly fired him.
All this has hit the cruise lines in their
wallet to a degree, with NCL posting a $28 million loss for
the first quarter and Carnival's shares falling badly even
though they continue to make record profits.. go figure.
Carnival did announce that the cost of fuel had increase
their operating cost by 48% so image what their bottom
line could have been.
Crystal Cruises does it again
You always hear about the personal touch of
Crystal crewmembers as one reason the line wins so many
prestigious awards, and the recent presentations at
Crystal's 16th Annual Sales Achievement Awards Gala held on
board the "Serenity" demonstrate why this luxury brand is
voted by readers of Travel & Leisure and Conde
Nast as the world's greatest cruise line ten years in a
row: there's an commitment to personal relationships that
is, arguably, unmatched. As a footnote - to be invited to
the Gala an agency has to have over $600,000 in sale,
attendance this year was 215 agents and guests.
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ms Noordam Rescues 22 In Aegean Sea
Off The Coast Of Greece
On Tuesday, June 6, the ms Noordam rescued 22 people from
the Aegean Sea in waters between Turkey and Greece. The
individuals, believed to be refugees from a number of
countries, had been sailing on a boat which had capsized.
Ship's officers and other crew began implementing rescue
procedures as soon as a sailor working on the aft of the
ship spotted a person floating in the water. One fast rescue
boat and two tenders were lowered and the 22 people, all
wearing life jackets, were brought aboard within two hours
and 15 minutes. One child, who had not been wearing a life
vest, was later found dead by Greek officials. Medical staff
on the Noordam treated the individuals for any injuries.
The Noordam arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey, at 9:30 a.m. local
time on June 6, approximately two hours behind schedule.
Turkish authorities immediately began processing the
refugees and later permitted them to disembark in Kusadasi
for handling in accordance with international requirements.
Guests aboard were kept updated on the rescue by
public-address announcements and notices from the captain.
"In a situation such as this we are certainly happy to have
helped so many people in dire circumstances. The crew
performed admirably," said Stein Kruse, president and CEO,
Holland America Line. “We also are very thankful and
appreciative of the Turkish authorities for allowing these
people to disembark for later repatriation. We recognize the
important commitment the leadership of Turkey has
demonstrated to cruise ship safety as well as their respect
for international law and their compassion for people who
are less fortunate."
The ms Noordam was on a scheduled 10-day cruise roundtrip
from Civitavecchia, Italy, and proceeding with 1,847
passengers and approximately 800 crew from the port of
Santorini, Greece, to Kusadasi, Turkey. The ship will leave
from Kusadasi at 8:00 p.m. local time en route to Messina,
Sicily, and will conclude the sailing on June 10 in
Civitavecchia.
Holland
America Line continues its successful on-board culinary
program through 2006 and 2007 in conjunction with Food &
Wine magazine.
The multi-year partnership provides guests on select Holland
America Line cruises an opportunity to experience
demonstrations and seminars conducted by top chefs, wine
experts and leading cookbook authors affiliated with Food
& Wine. The partnership developed in response to
consumers’ increasing interest in learning about fine wines
and international cuisine. The initiative is part of
the line’s
Culinary Arts
Center
program, which is offered on every sailing. As a part of the
line’s $225 million Signature of Excellence initiative,
Holland America Line has spent more than $13 million to
create and install the
Culinary Arts
Center
facilities. The Culinary Arts Centers are now in place on
all but one of the fleet of 13 premium cruising vessels
including the new 1,918-passenger ms Noordam; the remaining
ship ms Oosterdam will be completed in October of 2006.
Resembling the elaborate show kitchens used by celebrity
chefs on television cooking programs, each
Culinary Arts
Center
features an innovative theater-style venue. The
state-of-the-art “show kitchen at sea” has two large plasma
video screens to display overhead and close-up video views
of the food preparation, and a large cooking display counter
where guests can learn new cooking techniques and dishes.
Culinary demonstrations are filmed and aired on the
in-stateroom televisions. The
Culinary Arts
Center presented by Food &
Wine magazine brings the pages of the epicurean magazine
alive on dozens of sailings of the world’s leading premium
cruise line. The program debuted in Fall of 2005.
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Costa taps supermodel as godmother of
Costa Concordia
 Costa
Cruises named Eva Herzigova, a Czech-born supermodel,
godmother of the Costa Concordia, the newest and largest
ship in the Costa fleet.
Herzigova will christen the 112,000-ton ship on July 7 in
Rome. Costa said that the supermodel was chosen in part for
her association with the fashion industry. The
inaugural ceremony, “Made in Italy,” will be a tribute to
products made in Italy and the nation’s symbols, one of
which is fashion, “something that has always been associated
with Italian style” said Costa spokeswoman Dana Dominici.
Costa
added that Herzigova has been “featured in numerous
worldwide advertising campaigns, walked runways for some of
the most renowned fashion designers in the industry and
acted in various feature films.” In addition, Herzigova has
created her own line of swim and beachwear.
Inside the Industry
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The two major cruise line associations
CLIA & ICCL to merge .
Driven by continued growth in the industry
and cruising’s ever widening share of the leisure travel
market, the cruise industry today announced the merger of
two long-standing and respected trade organizations. New
York-based Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)
will merge with Washington, DC-based International Council
of Cruise Lines (ICCL), forming an expanded organization
representing major cruise lines and more than 17,000 travel
agents selling cruises. The merged organization will
continue to be called CLIA, and, after a transition period,
is expected to move its headquarters to Miami.
EasyGroup founder
takes on title of Sir Stelios
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of
EasyCruise, will now answer to Sir Stelios; he was among the
honorees to receive the distinction of knighthood by Great
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II recently, for his services to
entrepreneurship. In a statement, Haji-Ioannou said,
“It came as a surprise to me, and I am not sure at this
stage that I deserve an honor for services to
entrepreneurship, which is usually reserved for those with a
lifetime of business achievement. I only started EasyJet
some 11 years ago.”
Born in Greece,
Haji-Ioannou holds dual British and Greek citizenship and
was educated at the London School of Economics. He is the
founder of the EasyGroup brand, which is most famous for
bringing cheap air travel to Europe on the EasyJet airline.
He started EasyCruise in 2005 and recently expanded into
river cruising. Haji-Ioannou joins the ranks of fellow
aviation pioneers, Freddie Laker and Richard Branson as well
as entertainers such as Elton John and Judi Dench to have
been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
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New safety rules
sink old ships
The first version of the International
Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea was adopted in
1914, in response to the Titanic. Today, Solas, which is
overseen by the International Maritime Organization, covers
vessel issues from life-saving arrangements to safety
arrangements for nuclear-powered vessels. But amendments
adopted in 1992 and scheduled to become fully effective on
Oct. 1, 2010, will go a long way to hasten to a close the
seagoing life of most classic ocean liners.
For example, according to the new regulations, no
combustible materials will be allowed in the construction of
a ship. That includes wood, which has for centuries been
part of shipbuilding, for interior structures and, in some
ships, their frames.
“There used to be several ways to build a ship, and one was
using wood for stairway enclosures,” said Ted Thompson,
executive vice president of the International Council of
Cruise Lines. “The ‘92 amendment says not only can you not
do that, but you have to take out what was put in.”
The other major issue affecting old ships, Thompson said, is
that they must have an automatic sprinkler system installed,
which would be extremely expensive in ships whose plumbing
and electrical infrastructures were not designed to
accommodate them. Also, some older ships couldn’t handle the
weight of such extensive systems.
Carnival's Ecstasy
- Images from her refurbishment following completion
of her New Orleans Disaster Relief Charter
Click on link for
Image Library
Worldwide Cruise Associates news.
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Our staff had the opportunity to do the
inaugural cruise on RCI's "Freedom of the Seas" - check out
our review of the ship.
Royal Caribbean International's latest and also currently
the largest cruise ship in the world was shown to the trade
recently. Along with most of the travel people in Florida,
our staff where invited to experience this huge ship.
While we our staff have a have a mix of cruise ship
preferences it was unanimously agreed that this was
"some" ship. Of course everyone had some comments on
how to improve things, but at the same time it was agreed
that this was a money making venture for RCI. How it
will impact the market and peoples perception of some of the
competitors ships, both new and old, remains to be seen.
Read our
review here.
Steve & Diana Bloss
were in Monaco to assist in the delivery of our 3 ship
charter for the Monaco Grand Prix.
May each year sees possibly one of the most
exciting events in what is a busy season for Monte Carlo and
the Cote d'Azur. The timing of the Grand Prix almost
always coincides with that of the Cannes Film Festival as
well as other less major events going on up and down the
coast. This makes for expensive hotel space as room
are at a premium so a ship or yacht charter becomes a
viable financial alternative. Worldwide has been the
leader in ship charters for this event for a number of
years, our staff have the experience and connections to make
this a huge and successful event for your clients.
Don't leave it to the last moment, we have already signed
two repeat contracts for next year and the hardware that
works for this event is few and far between. Read Steve's
review of this
years event.
Another unique small ship was reviewed by
WWTCA this month - Le Diamant - check out why this small
ship is such a good venue for unique charter programs.
Worldwide's president recently returned from
a site inspection cruise on le Compagne des Isles du
Ponant's latest acquisition -
Le Diamant, This interest and recently complete refitted
small ship is better know to many as the old "Song of
Flower". The itinerary reflected what is best in small
ship cruising, the ability to visit small, unique and
unspoilt ports. The interesting and unusual itinerary
started in Nice, France and went through the Straits of
Gibraltar, up the Portuguese coast, across the bay of Biscay
and terminated down the river Seine at Rouen. Except
for Barcelona, Malaga and Lisbon, all the other ports of
call where "off the beaten track". One of the
highlights being a stop at a port called Leixoes where
a short shore excursion takes you up stream of the river
Douro to Oporto the home of the world renown Port Wine
Houses and a listed World Heritage site. Read the
revue on
Le Diamant.
For more
information on any of OUR ASSOCIATES go to our website or,
email us.
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