Seven new ships for 2011

Although the number of ocean-going ships set to come out of the shipyards next year is down on 2010 – the first sign that the recent building boom is ending – the talk in cruising is still of growth.

Association of Cruise Experts director Flo Powell says: “In tough economic times, people want to know what they are spending, which means cruising’s all-inclusive value proposition becomes even better.

“There will be fewer launches in 2011 but this year’s ship launches, new onboard activities and new destinations will have a snowball effect on next year’s bookings. The Passenger Shipping Association forecasts 6% growth to 1.75 million passengers.”

Next year’s eight new ocean-going ships include AIDAsol, which operates exclusively for the German-speaking market, leaving seven new ships for UK agents to sell.

On the rivers, Viking River Cruises is bringing out two vessels, to sail on the Danube and Yangtze; AMA Waterways is launching vessels on the Mekong and in Europe; Uniworld has new river cruise boats on the Rhine and Douro; and Avalon Waterways and Scenic Tours are each launching one new vessel in Europe.

In addition, the 700-passenger Royal Princess will be leaving the Princess Cruises’ fleet to join P&O Cruises after a gala renaming ceremony in Southampton in May.

Here’s a rundown of the seven new ships set to launch next year in the UK market in order of appearance


Oceania Cruises
Marina
Sets sail: January 22, 2011


Key selling points: The 1,258-passenger Marina is twice the size of the line’s three existing ships, which has made space for two more restaurants – Jacques for French cuisine, and Red Ginger for Asian. There’s a culinary studio for cookery lessons and La Reserve for wine-tastings.

Find it: Marina’s maiden voyage is a 13-day cruise from Barcelona to Miami. The ship cruises the US West Coast and Caribbean until March, then returns to the Mediterranean for the summer.

Sample price: From £2,633 cruise-only for a 10-day cruise from Barcelona to Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. oceaniacruises.co.uk

Disney Cruise Line
Disney Dream
Sets sail: January 26, 2011

Key selling points: The AquaDuck, the first ‘water coaster’ at sea travels 765ft around the ship and has a four-deck drop; virtual portholes that give passengers in inside cabins a sea view; and the Enchanted Garden dining room, which changes from day to night as you eat.

Find it: Disney Dream will be sailing three, four and five-night Bahamian cruises year-round from Port Canaveral, calling at Nassau and Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island.

Sample price: From £463 cruise-only for a four-night Bahamian cruise on April 10, 2011. disneycruiseline.co.uk

Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Magic
Sets sail: May 1, 2011

Key selling points: Carnival’s first pub at sea, the RedFrog, which has its own signature beer, ThirstyFrog Red. There’s a new Italian restaurant, Cucina del Capitano, a ropes course with nets suspended 150ft above the sea, the drainpipe and twister water slides, and an outdoor weight-lifting area.

Find it: Carnival Magic is cruising the Mediterranean from Barcelona until November, when it relocates to Galveston, Texas, where it will be based year-round.

Sample price: From £899 for a seven-night cruise from Barcelona including flights and transfers. carnivalcruise.co.uk

Compagnie du Ponant
L’Austral
Sets sail: April 27, 2011

Key selling points: More yacht than ship, it will have a chic grey and white hull and shades of brown inside. Cabins have open-plan bathrooms (with sliding doors if passengers want privacy) and several have interconnecting doors, so they can be put together to create a suite.

Find it: L’Austral will be based in the Mediterranean until October, when it relocates to Ushuaia, Argentina for cruises to Antarctica.

Sample price: From £1,655 cruise-only for a seven-night Adriatic cruise round trip from Venice on May 31, 2011. ponant.com

Yachts of Seabourn
Seabourn Quest
Sets sail: June 9, 2011

Key selling points: This is the third and last new 450-passenger ship being built by Seabourn, a sister to Odyssey and Sojourn, so it’s more of the same, rather than anything new. There’s Restaurant 2 for a taster menu, a stylish spa, balcony suites and caviar in the surf on calm days in the Caribbean.

Find it: Seabourn Quest will be based in the Mediterranean next summer, relocating to Fort Lauderdale in November. A 109-day maiden world cruise starts on January 5, 2012.

Sample price: From £5,449 for a 14-day cruise from Barcelona to Piraeus, the port for Athens, on June 20, 2011, including flights and transfers. seabourn.com

Costa Cruises
Costa Favolosa
Sets sail: July 4, 2011

Key selling points: Favolosa is Italian for fairytale so Costa is promising decor resembling a modern-day enchanted castle. There will be Costa favourites including a Grand Prix driving simulator, 4D cinema and a large Samsara spa, plus a new Aqua Park.

Find it: Costa Favolosa (pictured top) will be based in Venice for the summer, sailing seven-day cruises to the Greek islands, Turkey and Croatia.

Sample price: From £769 for a seven-night Ancient Treasures cruise from Venice in July 2011 including flights and transfers. costacruises.co.uk

Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Silhouette
Sets sail: July 23, 2011

Key selling points: Silhouette is Celebrity’s fourth Solstice-class ship and will feature the same real grass lawn as its sister ships; a glassblowing workshop; Qsine for traditional dishes served in quirky ways; and Blu for healthy cuisine.

Find it: Celebrity Silhouette will be based in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, for summer, sailing 12-night cruises to Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Greece. For winter 2011-12, it will be sailing Caribbean cruises from New Jersey.

Sample price: From £2,100 for a 12-night Holy Land cruise from Civitavecchia on August 10, 2011, including flights and transfers. celebritycruises.co.uk

My next trip

Due to our 'Longship' status with Fred. Olsen Cruises for selling so many cruises, I have been invited on board M.S. Balmoral this Friday for a 2 night cruise to Antwerp from Dover. I have been allocated a K Grade outside single cabin and I will post the photo's on here shortly. With only one business session it looks like a fun trip.

Cruiseline Tipping Policies

A Quick Guide to Tipping

Cruiselines Where Gratuities are not Included in Cruise Cost
P&O Cruises sticks with the cash and envelope system for passengers on fixed dining, but clients on Ventura or Oceana, who have opted for Freedom dining, will be changed £1.60 a day for the waiters. Envelopes will be provided for the stewards. Tipping is optional.

Princess Cruises adds $10 per person per day to the bill for all passengers. This can be removed on request.

Norwegian Cruise Line adds $10 per person per day service charge for adults, $5 for under-12s, which is mandatory. NCL also adds a mandatory 18% gratuity to all spa treatments.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines recommends £2 a day each for the cabin steward and restaurant waiter. Envelopes are supplied at reception.

Crystal Cruises includes gratuities for British passengers who have bought a flycruise package.

Cruiselines Where Gratuities are Included in Cruise Cost
Ocean Village
Island Cruises
Thomson Cruises
Silversea
SeaDream Yacht Club
Yachts of Seabourn
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Hebridean International Cruises

TAKE A CRUISE AND COME BACK LOOKING TEN YEARS YOUNGER

NCL Freestyle Cruising has taken holiday rejuvenation to the next level as it becomes the the first cruise line to offer BOTOX® Cosmetic, Restylane® and Perlane® facial aesthetic treatments on board in its Mandara operated spas, in partnership with global provider of spa services Steiner Transocean, LLC (“Steiner”).

The treatments, which are part of Mandara’s medi-spa programme, are currently available on select NCL ships, including Norwegian Gem - currently based in Barcelona - Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Spirit, with plans to launch fleet-wide this autumn.

Guests simply book in for a 30 minute consultation period with a medically-licensed doctor, and an individual treatment plan is created to tackle those areas showing the telling signs of aging.
All facial aesthetic treatments are under the careful supervision of Steiner’s Medical Director, Dr. Brad Herman, a Miami-based, board-certified plastic surgeon and his team of medically-licensed doctors who have been trained specifically in the administration of these treatments.
“Our spas are the best at sea and we are always looking for new ways to enhance the guest experience,” says Stephen Park, general manager, NCL UK.

“NCL has always been the most innovative cruise line, and being the first to offer these popular medi-spa treatments is a further example of our product development and offering.
“We are excited to be able to offer Botox treatments for those passengers sailing on Norwegian Gem on her popular Western Mediterranean itineraries out of Barcelona and look forward announcing that not only do we have the youngest fleet at sea – but we also have the youngest looking passengers!”

Leonard Fluxman, president and chief executive officer of Steiner Leisure, says, “We believe this expansion of our medi-spa services provides yet another opportunity to perpetuate our philosophy of imparting inner and outer beauty for our guests. As beauty and wellness needs continue to evolve, we always strive to present our guests with a premium selection of treatments that suit their individual lifestyle and preferences.”

BOTOX® Cosmetic is a simple, non-surgical treatment that can safely and effectively soften lines and reduce wrinkles. BOTOX® Cosmetic has been used therapeutically for over 18 years, and according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, has been the number one non-surgical cosmetic procedure in the US since its FDA approval for cosmetic use in 2002.
Guests who want to reduce lines from the nose to the corners of the mouth can opt for the number one selling dermal filler in the United States: Restylane® or its sister product Perlane®. Restylane® and Perlane® treatments can provide volume and fullness to the skin with instantaneous and long-lasting results.

These medi-spa treatments supplement NCL’s wide-range of skin, body, massage, and hair and nail care already available on board. Other treatments available at sea include GoSmile Tooth Whitening, Microdermabrasion and Ionithermie Cellulite Reduction Program, a body contouring treatment instantly improving the look of cellulite.

Expanded Cruise Programme for 2009 from P&O Cruises

P&O Cruises, newly published, 2009 brochure features holidays to 182 destinations in 60 countries. It has also had a full redesign in response to customer research and is now destination led as opposed to ship led, therefore making it easier for customers to use when looking for a cruise holiday.

P&O Cruises managing director, Nigel Esdale, said: “Cruise holidays paid for in sterling have always offered excellent value for money but, with the current exchange rate, cruises are now one of the most cost effective ways to visit Europe. Real savings can be made by families, and couples, as all the little extras, which turn out to be not so little, in hotels and resorts, like entertainment, supervised children's clubs and night nursery are all included in the cost of a cruise.“Our 2009 programme is our biggest yet, with the first full year of operation for Ventura. We have more ships, more ports and an even greater breadth of appeal.”

The fleet of six ships will be sailing to all of the classic cruise ports across the Mediterranean, Baltic, Norwegian fjords, Canary Islands and the Caribbean, as well as calls into the USA, Mexico and South America.

New ports of call include Antwerp in Belgium, the island of Hvar in Croatia and La Spezia in Italy. Ventura, the largest and newest superliner built exclusively for the British market, will sail her first full year programme, with 19 departures from Southampton and 10 fly-cruise holidays from Barbados within the 2009 brochure.

Early booking incentives are available for bookings made before 31 August 2008, including up to 45 per cent Pricebreakers discount.

Costa weighs up new Destinations

Further destinations are under consideration by Costa Cruises as the company seeks to build on its success in developing new markets. Details are due to emerge in September as the Italian line plans for deployment of an expanded fleet for 2O1O. Costa has been instrumental in introducing mass appeal cruises to regions such as Dubai, the Indian Ocean and Asia. UK managing director Marco Rosa declined to disclose new locations under consideration but confirmed: "We are looking to some new destinations and should know by September."

Costa plans a double naming ceremony of the 3,78O-passenger Costa Pacifica and the 2,826-passenger Costa Luminosa in Genoa on June 5 next year.The larger ship will then enter service in the western Mediterranean while Luminosa will sail to its summer homeport of Amsterdam where it will offer voyages to the North Cape. The line plans to add five new ships by 2012, bringing the fleet size up to 17 vessels

MSC SPLENDIDA’S FLOATING OUT CEREMONY

A momentous floating out ceremony took place on 20 July at the Aker Yards in St. Nazaire, France. Accompanied by a fleet of eight tugboats in line with tradition, MSC Splendida, the newest addition to the MSC Cruises fleet, was floated out. At the end of the floating out ceremony (which lasted about 1 hour), this giant of the sea reached the dock approximately half a mile away, where she will remain until her construction has been completed.

MSC Splendida and sister ship MSC Fantasia are the two largest ships to be built by a European ship owner. Both will be 133,500 tonnes, six times as tall as the Tower of Pisa and equivalent to a 23 floor building. Each will have 1.637 cabins able to accommodate 3,274 passengers (on double basis) and 27,000 square metres of public areas including a theatre with seating for 1,649 plus the wellbeing centre - AUREA SPA, measuring 1,615 square metres. Additionally these ships will have four restaurants and two buffet areas, four pools, 12 hydro massage pools, Sports Bar, Jazz Bar, shops, casino, disco, FORMULA 1 simulator, 4D interactive cinema, Squash Court and a Children and Teenager’s Area of 400 square metres with a pool, waterslide and dedicated disco.

These two ships will herald a new era for cruises by introducing MSC Yacht Club, a VIP area with 99 elegant suites, dedicated butlers and communal spaces furnished to the highest standards. Whilst the countdown to MSC Fantasia’s launch has already started (christening in Naples, December 18th, 2008), MSC Splendida will be christened in Barcelona during the summer of 2009.