Category: Deluxe Cruises News

Cunard will be taking Shakespeare and new work to the high seas in 2022, as it joins forces in a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to bring world-class theatre to its transatlantic stage.

Available exclusively on-board Queen Mary 2, guests will enjoy tailored theatrical performances by the RSC, which creates captivating theatre by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other literary legends past and present.

The performances will be available for all guests on board the flagship, including a unique blend of Shakespeare’s iconic love scenes in a brand-new piece called Boundless as the Sea, created by Owen Horsley.

Guests will also have the opportunity to see critically acclaimed new work from the RSC with Miss Littlewood: a musical by Sam Kenyon exploring the life of one of theatre’s most playful and radical figures, making its transatlantic debut.

For those interested in learning what it takes to be an RSC actor, the on-board cast will be leading a series of workshops that explore their craft.

Guests will also be able to access ‘Shakespeare Tales,’ intimate, informal events where the actors will perform their personal favourite sonnets and speeches, and answer questions from the audience.

Vice President, brand and product at Cunard, Lee Powell, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Royal Shakespeare Company on board our flagship, Queen Mary 2.

“To be able to offer our guests access to unique performances by world leaders in both contemporary theatre and Shakespeare’s finest work, is an extraordinary opportunity which I know our guests will fully immerse themselves in.”

The three-year partnership will begin on in May.

For the first time in more than 15 years SeaDream Yacht Club will offer seven-day voyages from the Port of Palm Beach to the Bahamas and Caribbean.

Two round-trips on SeaDream II are scheduled Jan. 16 and Jan. 23, with a Jan. 30 voyage that ends at San Juan. Destinations include the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos Islands.

‘The Port of Palm Beach is a great fit for SeaDream Yacht Club because of our berth availability and proximity to the Caribbean basin,’ Port Executive Director Manuel Almira said.

Three more in April 2023

SeaDream Yacht Club plans a return in April 2023 with an April 8 voyage from San Juan to Palm Beach, a round-trip April 15 and a trans-Atlantic crossing to Lisbon embarking April 22.

Progreso, Yucatan, (January 12, 2022).- The cruise activity in Yucatan continues at the beginning of this year as the presence of the luxury cruises Silver Spirit of the Silversea Cruises shipping company, Carnival Breeze of Carnival Cruise Line, and Ocean Voyager of American Queen Voyages at the Progreso port.

These vessels brought a total of 2,394 passengers and 1,749 crew members, complying with all biosafety protocols and with which the tourism sector continues to generate economic income in the entity in a safe way for everyone.

With the arrival of these ships, on Tuesday, January 11th, the International Cruise Terminal of SSA Mexico, in the Port of Altura de Progreso, registered an extraordinary event due to the coincidence of three cruise ships that occupied all the berths of the Terminal, for which an unusual picture of boats was witnessed.

Yucatán continues to receive cruise passengers from all over the world. This morning, the Technical Secretary of the Tourism Development Secretariat (Sefotur), Raúl Paz Noriega, verified the movement of three cruise ships in Yucatecan waters and welcomed the Carnival Breeze cruise ship from Cozumel that is leaving today for Galveston, Texas with 2 thousand 39 passengers and one thousand 286 crew members.

The arrival of the Silver Spirit was also witnessed, coming from Roatán, Honduras, with 323 passengers and 382 crew on board, the same that until tomorrow will leave for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Finally, the Ocean Voyager cruise ship, which arrived yesterday with 32 passengers and 81 crew members and left this morning for Cancun on its first trip to the Yucatan Peninsula.

Paz Noriega carried out the traditional exchange of plates with the captain of the Silver Spirit cruise ship of the Silversea shipping company, Sergio Topazio on the occasion of his arrival in Yucatán.

The actions in attracting more cruises to the state have focused on promoting the destination as safe for its visitors, through the correct and strict implementation of bio sanitary measures, with the endorsement of the Safe Travels Seal of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), for the control and prevention of Covid-19.

All and all cruise passengers travel with bio sanitary controls and the complete vaccination scheme or negative test for Covid-19, no more than 24 hours prior to their arrival.

Likewise, since the arrival of cruise ships in the state was reactivated, at each arrival at the port terminal, the “Friends of Health for Cruise Passengers” are in charge of directly providing tourists with information on sanitary measures and exhorting them to comply with these measures, as well as provide antibacterial gel and face masks if necessary.

For this first month, the arrival of a total of 12 cruises from American Queen Voyages, Carnival, Mystic, and Crystal Cruises is estimated, four of which are from the luxury segment, thus known for considering a smaller number of passengers, between 200 and 500 maximum, with high purchasing power.

Meanwhile, for this year there are 108 scheduled arrivals to Progreso, with which the territory is moving towards recovering its historical records for 2019, before the declaration of the pandemic, when it had 146 arrivals, 470 thousand 418 passengers, and an injection of 18.8 million US dollars.

Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings President and CEO Frank Del Rio are set to make public comments this week as both lines are facing operational challenges and cancelled sailings due to the evolving COVID-19 situation.

Royal Caribbean’s Liberty, new to the role as of Jan. 1, is set to speak on Wednesday’s Coffee Talk with Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales and trade support and service.

Thursday will see Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings host a press conference with Frank Del Rio and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Chairman of the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council.

Dr. Gottlieb will provide an update on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, along with the current and future expected impact of the Omicron variant.  The conversation will be moderated by Andrea DeMarco, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

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Although the river cruise season is widely over in central Europe a fourth wave of COVID-19 in certain regions led to the cancellation of some Christmas markets sailings.

Particularly impacted are Austria and Germany’s southern and eastern states including Bavaria and Saxony. Austria instituted a lockdown until Dec. 13, with possible extension for unvaccinated people. Bavaria canceled its Christmas markets at the last minute, and Saxony is implementing a similar strategy, while its federal state prime minister has not ruled out a full lockdown for his state.

Perspectives for Germany as a whole are uncertain though a nationwide lockdown supported by the outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel is unlikely for the time being. Despite the cancellations in Bavaria and Saxony, most other federal states are having their Christmas markets, often under tightened regulations such as mask requirements.

Slovakia began a two-week lockdown Nov. 25.

AmaWaterways working to revise itineraries

AmaWaterways said it’s working to adjust Danube itineraries so that travelers who wish to continue with their vacation plans may do so.

‘Guests who choose to travel should be prepared to be flexible and understand that ports of call and excursions have not been finalized and are subject to change as the situation in Europe continues to evolve,’ the company said in a statement. ‘Most of our ships on the Danube will be sailing between Budapest, Hungary, and Vilshofen, Germany, with extra excursions and scenic cruising in Hungary, scenic cruising through Austria’s beautiful Wachau Valley and more time in port in Germany. Regardless of itinerary modifications, we will provide transfers to the international airports associated with the original embarking and disembarking locations.’

Future cruise credits may be provided to those passengers who travel depending on the extent of the itinerary modifications. Those who aren’t comfortable traveling between now and year’s end may postpone their trips and receive a 100% FCC for the purchased price of the cruise-only portion.

A-Rosa halts Danube, continues on the Rhine but skips Dutch ports

A-Rosa canceled its Danube itineraries through Dec. 11, but hopes to restart from Dec. 15. A spokesman told Seatrade Cruise News the company is optimistic that lockdown measures in Austria and Slovakia will show a positive result.

A-Rosa Flussschiff continues operating on the Rhine, but canceled A-Rosa Flora’s calls at Dutch ports due to government restrictions such as reduced restaurant hours. A-Rosa Flora will pass the Netherlands without stopping and replace the dropped calls at Amsterdam and Rotterdam with Antwerp (overnight) and Dusseldorf.

Plantours implements 2G policy

Plantours Kreuzfahrten likewise continues its river operations but implemented a ‘2G’ policy allowing only travelers who are fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID. On Tuesday spokesman John Will said this policy, already implemented on the company’s ocean ship Hamburg, was extended to all river vessels and will remain in force throughout 2022.

Plantours has scheduled six pre-Christmas itineraries with Lady Diletta from and to Dusseldorf. All call exclusively at German ports, and Plantours expects they’ll operate as planned. Bookings are good, and only few cabins are still available. Plantours also currently intends to operate New Year’s river cruises on all five of its vessels, which are fully booked.

Uniworld drops Danube, keeps Rhine

At Uniworld a few sailings along the Danube were impacted. ‘Danube Holiday Markets,’ ‘Classic Christmas Markets’ and ‘European Holiday Markets’ itineraries scheduled to depart in the first two weeks of December were canceled and passengers have been contacted to discuss replacement travel dates and sailing options.

President and CEO Ellen Bettridge said Uniworld was working on an alternative for travelers still interested in experiencing the holiday markets this year along the Rhine.

Tauck’s Amsterdam-Brussels itinerary is on

Tauck canceled all its departures of ‘Christmas Markets Along the Danube’ and ‘Holiday Magic: Danube Family River Cruise’ as a result of the Austria lockdown and Bavaria’s cancellation of Christmas markets. Tauck’s other Christmas markets river cruise, ‘Yuletide Spirit: Amsterdam to Brussels,’ is scheduled to operate as planned.

The company added it doesn’t expect the temporary measures in Austria and Bavaria will have any impact on its spring Danube cruises.

Crystal cancels Danube, forges ahead on Rhine

Earlier this month, Crystal River Cruises canceled Crystal Ravel’s remaining four December sailings since the vessel’s Danube itinerary is comprised mainly of Austrian ports. Crystal Debussy, which operates seven- to 10-night Rhine cruises from Amsterdam and Basel, is to continue operating published itineraries through year’s end.

According to Walter Littlejohn, SVP and managing director of Crystal River Cruises, the restart that began in August has been an ‘unqualified success with strong demand and excellent guest feedback, with some of the highest guest satisfaction scores ever, and a validation of the company’s Crystal Clean+ health and safety protocols.’

Crystal also provides COVID-19 testing at embarkation before passengers board, which most lines don’t.

‘Amazing season’

‘We’ve had an amazing season and our guests and crew have been excited to be back on board enjoying some truly special moments, including special wine tastings in the Wachau Valley, stops in Vienna featuring the Crystal Signature Event at the Belvedere Palace and visits to Budapest, which have included an unforgettable nighttime sail by the beautiful Parliament building,’ Littlejohn said.

Crystal Ravel is to resume operations in March with seven-night ‘Delightful Danube’ itineraries sailing between Budapest and Vilshofen, Germany, joining Crystal Mozart’s seven-night ‘Danube Dreams & Discoveries’ itinerary round-trip Vienna.

Passengers on the canceled cruises were given the option of transferring to 2022 Christmas markets sailings aboard Crystal Ravel or Crystal Mozart on the Danube or Crystal Bach on the Rhine, with their fare protected for the equivalent category. Alternatively, they can receive a 100% future cruise credit valid toward any Crystal experience embarking by the end of 2023, or a refund.

IG RiverCruise projects strong 2022

IG RiverCruise, the Basel-based cruise line association that represents close to 360 vessels, 90% of the European market, expressed optimism for the 2022 season on high demand for river cruises next year.

Without citing figures, IG RiverCruise also said 2021 had been significantly busier than last year, particularly toward the end of the summer, though limited capacity utilization continued to affect financial results.

Call for uniform regulations

The association said one of the most significant challenges this year has been keeping track of different measures and travel restrictions along the rivers. Varied rules and regulations often resulted in confusion, not least among the authorities themselves. IG RiverCruise urged countries and federal states to more closely coordinate their measures in the interest of clarity and effectiveness.

The Queen Mary 2 ocean liner operated by Carnival-owned Cunard Line returns to service after being on hold for 20 months.

The flagship of the Cunard fleet is back in service after more than 20 months of inactivity. Queen Mary 2 set sail from her homeport of Southampton on November 28, 2021, sailing a short three-day itinerary to France, before returning on December 1. She halted operations last year on March 15, in the middle of her World Cruise.

The ocean liner will be sailing around the UK until she sets sail on a longer itinerary in mid-December, doing what she does best, crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

The Return of an Icon, Queen Mary 2

After more than 20 months of operational pause, Queen Mary 2 finally returned to sea with guests onboard on November 28. The vessel cast off her lines from the docks in Southampton early in the evening to sail on a 3-day cruise calling in the French city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin this Tuesday, November 30.

On December 13, the 345-meter long, 148,528-gross ton ocean liner will depart from Southampton sailing on the first in a series of what Cunard Line calls the ‘Grand Escape Voyages.’ It will be a welcome return to what she does best, crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Guests will have the choice of a 9-night Atlantic Crossing to New York, or a combination of the Atlantic Crossing with a Caribbean Cruise, sailing from and to Southampton. During the Atlantic crossing, guests will have six days at sea and an overnight in New York City.

The Caribbean addition adds stops in the warm Eastern Caribbean such as Tortola Island, St. Kitts Island, Barbados, Dominica, and St. Maarten before she makes her way back to New York City and the return voyage to Southampton.

 

The Second Cunard Ship to Resume Operations

So far, two out of the three Cunard ships are operational at this time. Queen Elizabeth was the first ship to resume operations back in August; she offered guests British Isles itineraries throughout the summer.

The vessel then departed on sailings along the Western European Coastline starting October 13, 2021. In June of next year, Queen Elizabeth will be repositioning to Vancouver, Canada, where she will sail a series of Alaska cruises.

The third Cunard ship, Queen Victoria, will be the last ship to resume operations when she starts sailing in April of 2022. Her first cruise is a short 5-day sailing to Amsterdam, including an overnight in the Dutch capital. After that, she will sail a series of cruises along the Western European coastline, Northern Europe, and the Western Mediterranean.

Queen Mary 2 guests will be happy to see that Cunard has not been sitting still during the twenty months the vessel has been sitting still along the English coastline. During September of last year, the ship underwent more than a month of dry dock.

During the time spent in Brest, France, several repairs were made to the thrusters and stabilizers, but she also received a fresh coat of paint, and the interiors received an update in many different areas.

Often called the most beautiful ocean liner in the world and one of the last true ocean liners, Queen Mary 2 is a record-breaking ship. She has a maximum speed of just over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), her cruising speed lies around  26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), significantly faster than a ‘normal’ cruise ship.

The vessel offers its 2,600 guests many entertainment options, including ten restaurants, twenty bars and lounges, a dance hall, and an indoor swimming pool for those cold Atlantic days.

Explora Journeys, the new luxury brand from MSC Cruises launching service in 2023, has further strengthened its commercial team through six new appointments in global and regional roles.

Michael Ungerer, CEO Explora Journeys, said: “We have assembled a fantastic, diverse team of enthusiastic, passionate and highly experienced professionals to strengthen further our commitment to the travel advisor community, our valuable partners. Explora Journeys in a short period of time has quickly been accepted into several preferred partnership programs which demonstrates clearly the confidence and trust the travel industry places in Explora Journeys and its team. These new commercial appointments, working within the global team led by Chris Austin, are further positive steps forward as we continue to build a truly defining and highly desired, luxury lifestyle brand.”

New Commercial Team Members:

Helen Beck, Head of Global Sales Excellence

Based in Explora Journeys’ Geneva headquarters, Helen is responsible for supporting the development and implementation of the brand`s processes and resources to support the commercial global field sales leaders and the Explora Journeys Experience Centre and team of Ambassadors. She previously spent five years as Vice President International Sales and Marketing with Crystal Cruises and prior to that, 16 years with Royal Caribbean Cruises Group as Regional Director, International Representatives, EMEA.

Four new Heads of Sales will support the development of and execute the commercial sales strategy for their local markets.

Saul Fonseca, Head of Sales, USA East, and The Americas

Saul previously was a key sales leader with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and throughout his 19 years of experience in the cruise industry, has also held various sales positions with Silversea Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Saul is based in Miami.

Aimee Price, Head of Sales USA West, and Canada

Aimee has 30 years of cruise line experience, most recently at Seabourn Cruises where she led the North America sales team. She joined there from Royal Caribbean International after a 28-year long career. Aimee is based in Seattle.

Priti Mehta, Head of Sales UK & Ireland (Effective 13 December 2021)

Priti has more than 30 years of sales and marketing experience in the luxury travel industry, mostly in the cruise sector. She previously was Senior Director, Sales UK & Ireland at Oceania Cruises and has also held sales positions with Silverseas and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Priti will be based in London.

Francisco Sanchez, Head of Sales (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)

Prior to joining Explora Journeys, Francisco spent 11 years with Holland America Line and Seabourn in key sales leadership roles for the DACH region and is based in Frankfurt.

Leyre Torres Campo, Business Relationships Lead, Southern Europe

Based in Nice, Leyre is Explora Journeys` Business Relationship Lead for Spain, France, and Italy and is responsible for creating brand awareness, identifying and developing key partnerships. Most recently Leyre was Business Developer Manager for Southern and Eastern Europe and the Middle East for Regent Seven Seas.

Chris Austin, Chief Sales Officer at Explora Journeys said: “I am looking forward to work alongside such a talented and highly respected commercial team who will all relish our commitment to the travel advisor community. The new team members all have long-established relationships, built on a solid foundation of trust, credibility and experience within the luxury cruise and hospitality industry.”

Princess Cruises has announced details about the naming ceremony of the Enchanted Princess, which is showcased in an original production entitled, “Our World, Enchanted,” scheduled to broadcast globally at 1:00 pm PST / 4:00 pm ET on Dec. 13, 2021, on Princess Cruises’ YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Hosted by Princess Cruises Celebrations Ambassador Jill Whelan and Enchanted Princess Cruise Director Dan Falconer, the 45-minute show introduces viewers to the features and amenities of the new ship and culminates in the official naming to welcome the ship into the Princess global fleet. It also honors three members of The Explorers Club who serve as the godmothers of the newest ship in the Princess fleet.

“This unique approach to the naming of Enchanted Princess honors our legacy of bringing people together and creating lasting memories onboard our cruises by letting us share the excitement of the ceremony with more people than ever and giving Princess fans a more intimate look at our newest MedallionClass ship,” said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president. “It also allows us to recognize the contributions our godmothers – Captain Lynn Danaher, Dr. Vicki Ferrini and Jenifer Austin – have made to ocean conservation and stewardship, as the ocean provides our livelihood and serves as the home for our more than 25,000 employees who serve millions of guests while they explore the world on a cruise vacation with us each year.”

The three godmothers of Enchanted Princess have been recognized for their achievements in expeditions, oceanography and mapping the oceans and they include:

Captain Lynn Danaher
Captain Danaher has been a United States Coast Guard Licensed Master and Dive Master since 1994. She is a founding member and president of the Pacific Islands Research Institute since 2008 and co-founder of the Friday Harbor Film Festival since 2013. She joined The Explorers Club in 2005 and has served as chair of the Pacific Northwest Chapter for two years and the Board of Directors for six years. She has completed eight Explorers Club Flag Expeditions. Captain Danaher is an officer of The Explorers Club, serving as Vice President: Mission Programming and Chair of the Headquarters Renovation Committee. She is also a licensed Contractor in the State of Hawaii.

Dr. Vicki Ferrini
After completing her PhD in Coastal Oceanography, Dr. Ferrini extended her research interests from the coast to the hidden deep-sea world. The majority of the global ocean is unmapped, unexplored and uncharacterized, and her work aims to help solve that. A Senior Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Dr. Ferrini leads several efforts focused on making sure data are preserved and can be accessed by scientists and the public alike. She is committed to building a vibrant international community of collaborators, and works with colleagues around the world to help build bridges between people and the ocean through data. Dr. Ferrini joined the Explorers Club in 2021 when she was selected as one of the Explorers Club 50 – fifty explorers changing the world.

Jenifer Austin
Jenifer Austin spent nearly 14 years at Google, where she co-led the team that launched the first virtual map of the ocean in the company’s consumer products Google Earth and Google Maps and also launched Underwater Streetview in Google Maps and Global Fishing Watch. She then started Oceanagenda.com to help bring together diverse groups to support holistic ocean conservation and stewardship. She is a scuba diver. A fellow of the Explorers Club (FN’14), she has served on the W40 Women’s Committee, speaking as a part of the Women of the Deep and hosting a panel in its finale Pathfinders Symposium. Austin is a mother of two children.

World War II Heroes to be honored Cunard Insights enrichment guests on flagship Queen Mary 2

VALENCIA, Calif., Nov. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In partnership with The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation, Cunard will again pay tribute to the heroes of World War II, featuring several esteemed veterans on the fourth such powerful enrichment program on board a Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossing. This special voyage will depart New York and sail to Southampton, England, June 5 to 12, 2022.