Alaska cruise post-tours

 

SEVEN full days exploring the amazing wilderness and national parks of Alaska are a unique highlight of the 40-night fly/cruise/tour available from leading on-line cruise operator ecruising.travel

The Kenai Fjords National Park, North America's highest peak Mt McKinley, a motorcoach tour to Talkeetna and rail journey into Denali National Park, gold panning at Fairbanks' Gold Dredge No8 and a sternwheeler riverboat trip down the Chena River are all part of the wonderful touring sector. 

The best of Alaska has never been more affordable as your tour takes you past the dazzling glaciers and stunning coastline and into the heart of Alaska with its amazing scenery  and wildlife.

Departing on May 1, 2014, the itinerary includes 27 days cruising from Fort Lauderdale to Colombia through the Panama Canal to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver before spending seven nights cruising through Alaska's amazing fjords and bays.

The entire package is priced from $8599 per person twin share and includes return air fares from Sydney, three nights pre-cruise accommodation at the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas, (plus a night helicopter flight over the Vegas Strip) and three nights at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort before beginning the cruise on board Island Princess.

The deal also includes seven nights' accommodation in Alaska, coach and rail travel with extensive guided sight-seeing, all meals and entertainment throughout the cruise and use of the ship's many facilities.

For more information on this itinerary contact ecruising.travel on 1300 369 848 or check-out www.ecruising.travel

Award of Excellence for Scenic Cruises

Scenic Cruises, the cruising division of Scenic Tours, has received an 'Award of Excellence' from renowned author Steven B. Stern after being ranked in the highest class category for river cruise ships in his book, 'Guide to European Riverboats and Hotel Barges'. Stern has sailed on over 790 cruise ships, river cruise ships and hotel barges, visiting every major port of call in the world, and personally inspecting virtually every ship currently in operation. He has evaluated every vessel based on comfort and luxury.

In the comprehensive guide, Stern has ranked 16 different river cruise companies into four categories, Deluxe, Premium, Standard and Economy. The river cruise ships have not been categorised based upon price or clientele like ocean cruising. Instead Stern says, "Some riverboats offer more than others, and therefore, I have assigned class categories to reflect which are in the best condition, are most well-appointed, and offer the most common facilities, the best dining and service, and the most comfortable accommodation. Those that are all-inclusive and include all alcoholic beverages, all tours, and other amenities will receive the highest ratings."

Scenic Cruises is proud to announce that they were one of two companies in the world and the only Australian based River Cruise line (out of 16) to have all their river cruise ships classed into the highest category (Deluxe).  Scenic Cruises Managing Director, Glen Moroney, says "This award recognises our efforts to ensure high standards and consistency of these standards right across the Scenic fleet. We want our guests to enjoy the same luxurious experience regardless of what ship they sail on."

The awards comes after the recent announcement of being named the 'Best Luxury Cruise Line' by the prestigious New York Travel Writers Society (NYTWS), the 'Best Luxury Tour Operator'  by Luxury Travel magazine's 2013 Gold List, and the 'Best River Cruise Line' by Cruise Passenger Magazine.

 

Cruise Passenger Magazine: Full steam ahead under new owners

We are delighted to announce that Big Splash Media is the new owner and publisher of Cruise Passenger Magazine - a strong brand with a proud history of partnership with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the travel industry.

We have ambitious plans to grow the business across all platforms, and we are keen to engage with you to ensure that our products serve cruise better.

Our management team includes Peter Lynch, former travel publisher at Fairfax Media and managing director at Big Splash Media, and Commercial Manager Leisa Chell, who many of you may know from her days as manager of travel at News Ltd.

Sally Macmillan, who has occupied the chair for the past four years, will remain as editor. Teresa Ooi, a senior journalist with The Australian will be managing editor and writer.

We have a great track record of successfully publishing to high net worth individuals in similar demographics. We publish in superannuation, as well as for government and associations. We understand this market and relish talking to an audience of 75,000 cruise travellers in the biggest growth sector in tourism.

“Cruise Passenger is alone in its market demographic talking solely to those who love to cruise or are about to embark on their first experience at sea,” says Peter Lynch.

“We are strong believers in the power of print and online as a combination. We will be announcing ambitious online plans shortly, so watch this space!”

Cruise has a circulation of 25,000, including 15,000 to CLIA agents in Australia and New Zealand, who hand them to clients asking about cruise.

Please contact us directly with ideas, stories and pictures for our magazine, website, Facebook Page and newsletter. We are keen to write on new products, innovations, trends and, of course, deals - so send us your best!

Our next magazine is publisher at the end of September.

Send your releases to media@cruisepassenger.com.au.

Or call Peter Lynch, Sally or Teresa on 02 9299 8699

Carnival names newbuild Carnival Vista

Dream-class cruise ship, Carnival Magic (Carnival)

Carnival Cruise Lines has announced its next Dream-class ship will be named the Carnival Vista, debuting in 2016 at 135,000 tons and being built at Fincantieri.

Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill made the announcement on July 21 on board the Carnival Sunshine in Europe.

The Carnival Dream and her sisters, Carnival Magic and Carnival Breeze, measure 130,000 gross tons (GT) and are the largest ships ever built for Carnival and for Fincantieri. The vessel's design is an evolution from the Conquest class cruise ships. The fourth ship in this class will be Costa Diadema for Carnival brand, Costa Cruises, due for launch in 2014.


The Vista will carry 4,000 passengers and will be the 25th vessel in the Carnival fleet.

The Cruise Examiner: New ships - Princess rebating commission?

Ponant and Norwegian Each Order A Ship – Other Cruise News – Princess Cruises Policy To Undermine Other Cruise Lines

July 22nd, 2013 by Kevin Griffin
Last week came the news that, on the heels of accepting its new Le Soleal, Marseilles-based Compagnie du Ponant had ordered a fourth 264-berth vessel of its Boreal class from Fincantieri, followed swiftly by the news that Norwegian Cruise Line had ordered a second 4,200-berth vessel of the “Breakaway Plus” class from Meyer Werft. The fourth Ponant sister will cruise in Alaska by summer and in Australia by winter, while the intended employment for the second Breakaway Plus ship has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, after years of efforts by Carnival and Royal Caribbean to stop rebating by travel agents, Princess Cruises has made a rather unusual announcement that it will allow agents to give away as much as 10% of the cruise fare in on board credits in order to capture more business from other lines.
THIS WEEK’S STORY
Ponant and Norwegian Each Order A Ship
Last week, French niche operator Compagnie du Ponant ordered a fifth ship for delivery in 2015. The new ship will sail in Alaska in the summer and in Australia and New Zealand during the Austral summer that coincide with the North American winter months.

L’Austral in Fincantieri’s Ancona Shipyard. The delivery ceremony

The ship will be built by Fincantieri in Italy and will join four others owned by Compagnie du Ponant. The new ship will be a sister ship of Le Boreal (2010), L’Austral (2011) and Le Soleal (2013), with a capacity for 264 passengers each.
Compagnie du Ponant’s niche combines luxury and expedition cruising. Last year it carried 20,000 passengers and had revenue of over €85 million, or about $112 million.
Norwegian Cruise Line has also announced plans for another new ship, giving it three on order. The Miami-based company has exercised an option with Meyer Werft of Germany to build a second 4,200-passenger vessel for delivery in spring 2017.
At 163,000 tons, the new ship will be a sister to the “Breakaway Plus” the line recently ordered for delivery in October 2015 and will be about 10% larger than the Norwegian Breakaway and sister ship Norwegian Getaway, under construction at the same shipyard.

Norwegian Breakaway

The new ship will cost approximately €700 million. Norwegian currently operates a fleet of twelve cruise ships.
OTHER CRUISE NEWS
Princess Cruises Policy To Undermine Other Cruise Lines
Despite Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean having made a number of efforts in recent years to get agents to hold the line on pricing and rebating, Princess Cruises has made a number of changes to its pricing and sales policies that are supposedly designed to improve partner relations.
Among the changes, agents will be able under certain circumstances to offer inboard credits of up to 10% of the fare, funded by the agency, in order to facilitate a sale.

Princess Cruises

The change to Princess’ advertised price policy amends one of its “value add” promotion options so that agents will no longer have to seek pre-approval from Princess to offer the credit, so long as it is offered on a promotion applicable to an approved fare.
According to the US edition of Travel Weekly, Brian O’Connor, vice president of North American sales for Princess, said the change isn’t intended to promote commission rebating, although that might be one result. He said Princess doesn’t condone rebating but concedes that a formal policy forbidding it is virtually unenforceable.
Being more flexible with inboard credits supposedly will make Princess more competitive, O’Connor said.
Princess is also giving its field sales managers the discretion to offer amenity points to win group business away from competitors, rather than having the decision made by yield managers at Princess headquarters, who often turned down such requests.
Also, Princess will provide itemized details about on inboard credits passengers are to receive in the shipboard folio at the start of a cruise, a change to give passengers more transparency.
This move certainly goes against the grain after many cruise lines trying to retain price integrity and restrain travel agents from rebating from their commission to buy bookings.
(Kevin Griffin is managing director of specialist cruise agency The Cruise People Ltd in London, England. For further information concerning cruises mentioned in this article readers can visit his blog)

Norwegian Cruise Line specials

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FEATURED PROMOTIONS:

Ø  Norwegian Getaway Sailings: Receive $100 onboard credit per stateroom, through July 26, 2013.

Ø  Upgrade and Go: Receive free Balcony upgrades and up to $350 OBC when you book a select cruise, through July 26, 2013.

Ø  Air Credits: Receive up to $1,000 in airfare credits on select sailings.

Ø  The Haven and Suites: Receive up to $300 onboard credit per stateroom for the Haven and Suites fleet-wide for reservations booked nine months or greater prior to sailing, through December 31, 2013.

FEATURED SAILINGS:

Ø  Norwegian Epic: $599 Best Available Inside/person: September 29, 2013; Seven-night Western Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona, Spain with ports of call including Naples, Italy; Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy; Provence (Marseille), France; Palma, Majorca, Spain

Ø  Norwegian Spirit: $779 Best Available Inside/person: August 3, 2013; 12-night Classic Mediterranean cruise from Venice, Italy with ports of call including Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Ephesus (Izmir), Turkey; Istanbul, Turkey; Mykonos, Greece; Naples, Italy; Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy; Provence (Toulon), France; Barcelona, Spain

Ø  Norwegian Breakaway: $599 Best Available Inside/person: September 15, 2013; Seven-night Bermuda cruise from New York, with port of call in Kings Wharf, Bermuda

Ø  Norwegian Sky: $199 Best Available Inside/person: July 22, 3013; Four-night Bahamas cruise from Miami with ports of call including Grand Bahama Island; Nassau, Bahamas; Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

Ø  Norwegian Sun: $249 Best Available Inside/person: July 22, 2013: Seven-night Sawyer Glacier cruise from Whittier (Southbound), with ports of call including Hubbard Glacier; Icy Strait Point; Juneau; Sawyer Glacier; Skagway; Ketchikan; Cruising the Inside Passage; Vancouver, Canada

Ø  Norwegian Jade: $599 Best Available Inside/person: December 7, 2013: 11-night Western Mediterranean cruise from Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy, with ports of call including Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Provence (Toulon), France; Barcelona, Spain; Valencia, Spain; Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy; Carthage, Tunisia; Palermo, Sicily; Naples, Italy 

ADDITIONAL HOT DEALS:

Alaska

Ø  Norwegian Sun: $249 Best Available Inside/person: July 22, 29, 2013; August 5, 12 2013; Seven-night Alaska cruise from Whittier to Vancouver, Canada

Ø  Norwegian Jewel: $499 Best Available Inside/person: July 27, 2013; August 3, 24, 2013; Seven-night Alaska cruise roundtrip from Seattle

Ø  Norwegian Pearl: $529 Best Available Inside/person: July 28, 2013; August 4, 18, 2013; Seven-night Alaska cruise roundtrip from Seattle

Bahamas & Florida

Ø  Norwegian Sky: $249 Best Available Inside/person: July 26, 2013; August 2, 9, 2013; Three-night Bahamas cruise roundtrip from Miami 

Bermuda

Ø  Norwegian Dawn: $629 Best Available Inside/person: July 26, 2013; August 2, 9, 2013; Seven-night Bermuda cruise roundtrip from Boston

Ø  Norwegian Breakaway: $599 Best Available Inside/person: July 28, 2013; August 11, 18, 2013; September 15, 22, 29, 2013; Seven-night Bermuda cruise from New York 

Caribbean

Ø  Norwegian Pearl: $329 Best Available Inside/person: November 5, 2013;  Seven-night Western Caribbean cruise roundtrip from Miami 

Europe

Ø  Norwegian Star: $799 Best Available Inside/person: August 5, 14, 2013; Nine-night Europe – Baltic cruise roundtrip from Copenhagen, Denmark 

Hawaii

Ø  Pride of America: $1,149 Best Available Inside/person: July 27, 2013; August 17, 24, 31, 2013; Seven-day Hawaii cruise roundtrip from Honolulu

The deals are available on select departures and do not include government taxes and fees.  They can be booked by contacting a travel agent or Norwegian reservations at (866) 234-0292.

Second Passenger Travels Complimentary With Cruiseco

 

For a limited time only, Cruiseco passengers making a new booking to travel onboard a Uniworld charter*, can take advantage of an unbeatable offer, with the second passenger travelling on a complimentary basis. *This offer is available exclusively on two cruises: Uniworld's Venice and Po River cruise, departing on 6 October; and Uniworld's Portugal, Spain and the Douro River Valley, departing on 20 October 2013.

Amber Wilson, Cruiseco's National Marketing Manager, explains that Uniworld's river cruises are widely regarded as one of the best ways to discover Europe.

"Uniworld's river cruises travel into the heart of European cities, giving guests easy access to the best of what Europe has to offer. They can admire the views from the luxury of their room, explore the cities and countryside, sample a variety of local wines from village vineyards and feast on traditional dishes prepared using the finest ingredients."

"For guests who have always dreamt of a European getaway, this is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a great saving before cabins sell out. This is a perfect opportunity for travellers who have always wanted to travel to Europe in style, to take advantage of great savings," says Wilson.

This seven night cruise onboard a luxury Uniworld river cruise includes: all meals onboard; fine wines, beer and soft drink with lunch and dinner; selected tours in each port; captivating local entertainment; and onboard gratuities. Book now to receive this special offer.

*The special offer applies to the below Uniworld cruises. Terms and conditions apply. This offer is subject to availability and change.

Venice and the Po River: Departs 6 October 2013

Cruise Venice and the Po River for seven nights aboard the River Countess.

First passenger from $4,075 and second passenger cruises FREE* based on per person twin share, cruise only.

Portugal, Spain and the Douro River Valley: Departs 20 October 2013

Visit Portugal, Spain and the Douro River Valley for seven nights aboard the Queen Isabel. First passenger from $4,095 and second passenger cruises FREE* based on per person twin share, cruise only.

To book whilst cabins are still available, or to find details of your local Cruiseco agent, please visit www.cruising.com.au.