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Jewel River Cruise Line to Postpone Debut of the New Brand |
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Jewel River Cruise Line, the company launched last
November by former Silversea President and CEO Albert Peter and
former Celebrity Cruises executive Jacques Wulffaert, on Friday said
it would postpone the debut of its luxury brand, Jewel River
Cruises, and consolidate the company. In a statement, Jewel River said launching the first boutique-luxury ship in the river cruise industry had become increasingly challenging given the current worldwide economic climate and uncertainties in the international financial markets. Jewel River Cruise Line’s two other brands -- the premium Emerald River Journeys and the contemporary Aqua River Journeys -- will continue to operate. These ships are currently chartered to European tour operators through 2009. Jewel River’s Fort Lauderdale office will be scaled back and operations will move to the European headquarters in Wollerau, Switzerland. President and COO Wulffaert will remain in Florida. Founder and Chairman Albert Peter will continue to move between the two offices. Wulffaert will concentrate on liaising between the charter operators and tour operators, as Peter continues to meet with financial institutions. “We still believe that a boutique-luxury brand in the river cruise industry is a sound and viable proposition,” said Wulffaert. “The river cruise market has been experiencing a boom and there is currently no true luxury brand in the market. We expect that when the economy stabilizes and credit becomes more readily available, we will be well positioned to be a dominant player.” Jewel River had planned to offer the first ultra-luxury river cruise product in Europe. Its first ship, Jewel Imperial Blue, was expected to operate 10-day vacations on the Seine River in France to and from Paris. The ship was purchased from an individual owner and was set to undergo a $3.5 million transformation. The vessel was going to be converted to an all-suite vessel that accommodated 90 guests in 45 suites, but that conversion never took place. Under the original plan, the ultra-luxury venture was to be financed by its two other divisions, which were set to provide equity and cash flow, according to Peter, who had partnered with river cruise veteran Ulrich Baur and Swiss financier Eberhard Henter-Besting to form his company. The Jewel brand was going to be sold only to Americans exclusively through travel agents. Silversea veteran Jim Burnside had been named chief information officer and vice president-revenue management, reservations and IT. Terri Haas, vice president-sales, had joined the company from Costa Cruise Line. Both Burnside and Haas have left the company. |
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Cunard's QE2 Bids Farewell to America |
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On Thursday, October 16, Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2
(QE2) will bid farewell to America during a celebratory call
befitting of the company's longest-serving ocean liner. The historic
occasion will mark the iconic ship's 706th and final call to New
York. Escorted by FDNY fireboats and flotilla of pleasure craft, the
beloved QE2 will depart the Westside Terminal at 5 p.m. to meet her
sister ship, Queen Mary 2, for a Cunard Royal Rendezvous at the
Statue of Liberty as both renowned ocean liners embark on a tandem
voyage to Southampton, England - marking QE2's 806th and final
Transatlantic Crossing. Recognized as the most famous ship in the world and for 35 years, flagship of the Cunard fleet, QE2 was named by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1967. During nearly four decades at sea, she has logged 5.9 million nautical miles (equivalent to traveling to the moon and back 13 times), carried more than 2.5 million passengers and has sailed 25 World Cruises. With a top speed of 32.5 knots, QE2 is the fastest passenger ship in the world. As a true ocean liner she can sail backwards faster than most cruise ships sail forward. Her service, however, has not only been one of romanticized ports and luxury ocean travel. In 1982, she was requisitioned by the British government for military service in the Falkland Islands and thus joined the ranks of such great Cunarders as Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth who were also called upon to serve in times of conflict. "It is most fitting that QE2's farewell to America be celebrated in New York, the city Cunard has called our North America homeport since 1847. She will always be remembered as the best loved ship in the world and we are delighted that she will be cherished by future generations of travelers at her new home in Dubai," said Carol Marlow, president of Cunard Line. "Her mantle as flagship of the British merchant fleet has proudly been bestowed upon Queen Mary 2, a ship recognized as the grandest ocean liner ever built and surely destined to continue Cunard's legacy," Marlow added. During her arrival in the early morning of October 16, QE2 will fly a traditional Paying-Off Pennant, a maritime flag signifying the ship's length of service to the fleet. The pennant will be presented as a commemorative gift to a local dignitary during a reception onboard the ship. Thousands of well-wishers are expected to gather at ideal New York harbor viewing locations including: * Battery Park: On the southern shoreline of Manhattan, * Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park: Overlooking the Hudson River with great views of the Statue of Liberty. Getting there: Just south of the Museum of Jewish Heritage. By subway: 4 or 5 to Bowling Green, or N or R to Whitehall. * The Esplanade: Running the entire length of Battery Park City, along the Hudson River from Stuyvesant High School on the north end all the way south to Battery Park. * Hudson River Park: 550 acre park extends for five miles along the Manhattan shoreline from Battery Place to West 59th Street. To celebrate this historic occasion, a pipe and drum corps will perform in Battery Park as a fitting salute and final "Bon Voyage" to Queen Elizabeth 2. QE2 completes service to Cunard in November after sailing a final voyage to Dubai where she will be refurbished and become a luxury hotel, entertainment destination and maritime museum. |
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UK Cruise Industry Expecting Further Long-term Growth |
| The U.K. cruise industry is predicting further long-term growth, according to the latest figures released at the Association of British Travel Agents travel convention in Gran Canaria last week. William Gibbons of the Passenger Shipping Association confirmed that 1.5 million British holidaymakers are expected to take a cruise this year and predicted a further 2 to 3 percent growth for 2009. “We’re still a relatively young and expanding industry with plenty of opportunity to grow as new ships come into service,” Gibbons said. “With the present difficult economic climate, cruising is better placed than many other sectors as the inclusive nature of a cruise holiday makes it easy to budget for while continuing to offer exceptional value for money. Fourteen ship launches are planned for 2009, and we are anticipating the number of British cruise passengers to exceed 1.6 million cruise passengers in 2010.” |
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All brands of Carnival Corps. will drop Fuel Supplement |
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Carnival Family will eliminate their existing fuel
supplements for all new bookings on 2010 departures, effective Oct.
31. At that same time, a price increase on 2010 sailings will become
effective. Additionally, the company has established specific
guidelines under which the current fuel supplement may be reimbursed
to consumers for 2008 and 2009 voyages. The six brands are Carnival
Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line,
Princess Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. Bill Harber, director of marketing for Carnival Corp., said the company was implementing these initiatives due to the recent trends in declining fuel prices in an effort to migrate away from charging a separate fuel supplement. “If fuel prices stabilize below $70 a barrel, we will be able to effectively eliminate a separate fuel supplement,” he said. However, he cautioned that there is still a risk that fuel prices could move higher, “which would require us to maintain or reinstate a fuel supplement but the company is hopeful that the goal of eliminating the fuel supplement can be achieved.” Harber added that “these industry-leading initiatives demonstrate our commitment to our guests and travel agents to make our brands the most attractive cruise vacations available.” The fuel supplement for five of the six Carnival Corp. brands is currently $9 per person, per day, for the first and second guest (not to exceed $126 per person per voyage) and $4 per person, per day for third, fourth and fifth guests (not to exceed $56 per person per voyage). Seabourn’s fuel supplement is $15 per person, per day, for the first and second guest (not to exceed $210 per person per voyage) and $4 per person, per day, for third and fourth guests (not to exceed $56 per person per voyage). |
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RSSC will no longer operate the Paul Gauguin |
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Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) is expected to
formally announce this week that it will no longer operate the Paul
Gauguin in Tahiti after the 2009 schedule.
The 330-passenger luxury ship, which RSSC has operated since its launch in 1998, was sold in 2004 to Grand Circle Corp. Boston-based Grand Circle markets directly to consumers and does not pay travel agent commissions. Since Grand Circle acquired the vessel, consumers have been able to book it both through Grand Circle or RSSC. Paul Gauguin Shipping Ltd., the Grand Circle subsidiary that owns the luxury ship, recently announced that it hired former RSSC Vice President Roy Grimsland as executive vice president of sales. Grimsland has for years worked closely with travel agents at RSSC, West Paces Hotel Group, Royal Cruise Line, Costa and Norwegian Cruise Line. When Grand Circle acquired the Paul Gauguin, it announced that it would market, operate and staff the ship as it started operating in South America, the Mediterranean, the Baltic and Antarctica. Those plans obviously did not come to pass, and Grand Circle extended its management agreement with RSSC several times, the latest in October 2007 to continue through January 2010. |
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Love is in the air with Australia’s new ‘love boat’ |
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Carnival Australia will hold wedding vow renewal
ceremonies in Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney to welcome Princess
Cruises’ second resident ship, the 77,000gt Dawn Princess.
When she arrives in Sydney on October 26, Dawn
Princess will make a 28-night ‘Romance Tour of Australia,’ calling
at Brisbane, the Whitsundays, Cairns, Darwin, Broome, Exmouth,
Fremantle, Bunbury, Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, Burnie and Hobart. |