by Kevin Griffin
Last week we announced the arrival of the 2014 issue of the Berltz
Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships by Douglas Ward. This week, we have a
look at how the new guide rates those ships, with the top five scores
in each category. Elsewhere, after standing by the sidelines for several
years while concentrating on its half-interest in Norwegian Cruise
Line, Genting has finally ordered a large new cruise ship for its Star
Cruises operation. And among them, NCL, AIDA and Royal Caribbean have
together revealed seven new cruise ship names.
THIS WEEK’S STORY
How Berlitz Rates The Ships For 2014
Last week we revealed that the 2014 Berlitz Guide to Cruising &
Cruise Ships had awarded Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa 2 the top rating,
the first new ship to claim the title in fourteen years. Other ships
that have held this honour have included the Royal Viking Sea (now
Albatros), Royal Viking Sun (now Prinsendam) and Sagafjord (sold for
breaking up last year). In this year’s guide, five completely new ships
area also reviewed for the first time.
It’s the first time since 1989 that two ships belonging to the same
company (Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa and Europa 2) have achieved a
5-star-plus rating – the last time, twenty-four years ago, it was Royal
Viking Line’s Royal Viking Sea and Royal Viking Sky.
Berlitz Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2014
Some interesting findings from the 2014 guide:
- eleven out of the top twelve 5/5-star-plus cruise ships are in the
small (251-750 passengers) or boutique-sized (50-250 passengers)
categories, proof that good things come in small packages.
- half of the top ten large ships (more than 1,750 passengers) belong
to Celebrity Cruises. These are of course their Solstice class vessels.
- Cunard Line’s three Queens comprise the three top-rated large ships
– Queen Mary 2 (in Grill Class), Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria.
- Seabourn dominates the combined small and boutique ships
categories, with six vessels in the top twenty, namely Seabourn Quest,
Odyssey, Sojourn, Legend, Spirit and Pride (but none scoring in the top
five in either category – see below).
- five of the top ten are Silversea vessels.
The compete rankings for the top five ships in each category (scores are out of 2,000) are:
How Berlitz Rates The Ships For 2014: the compete rankings for the top five ships in each category (scores are out of 2,000)
Only five of the twenty ships named, namely those of Cunard and
Celebrity in the large ships sector, are owned by one of the big three
cruise ship groupings. Cunard is part of Carnival Corp & plc (which
also owns upmarket boutique and small ship operator Seabourn, now run by
Holland America) while Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd owns Celebrity.
Also interesting is the fact that none of the all-inclusive Regent
Seven Seas ships appears here, although the two newest ships from its
non-all-inclusive affiliate Oceania Cruises do.
A new App version of the Guide is also now available for Apple
devices and can be used as a perfect cruise planning tool. Filter and
search options help potential cruisers choose a vessel and voyage
according to their needs. Criteria include cuisine, entertainment,
accommodation, size of ship and many others.
Expanded from 704 to 752 pages, and now in its 29th year, the 2014
Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships (£17.99 in the UK, $24.99 in
North America) as well as an eBook, will be available in November
through Amazon and reputable bookstores. The corresponding App is
available from Apple through the iTunes App store.
OTHER CRUISE NEWS
Star Orders New Ship From Meyer Werft
Genting Hong Kong has entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft
shipyard for the construction of a new 3,364-berth 1150,000-ton cruise
ship for its Star Cruises operation. Valued at €707 million euro, the
new vessel will be designed to cater for the unique demands of Asian
clientele, in particular China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Superstar Gemini (Ex Norwegian Dream, ex Dreamward)
The last ship to be added to the Star fleet was the 1,532–berth
Superstar Gemini, the former Norwegian Dream, which entered service for
Star at the end of last year, but despite a $50 million refit, this ship
is now twenty years old.
She has been based at Shanghai this summer and this week begins cruising from Sanya on Hainan Island to ports in Vietnam.
Star’s largest ship is the 1,974-berth Superstar Virgo, which entered
service in 1999, and along with sister ship Superstar Leo (now
Norwegian Spirit) was one of the ships that started the whole Freestyle
Cruising idea, with multiples choices and times for dining venues.
SuperStar Virgo in Singapore – Photo Stefano Fermi
Other Star cruise ships include the 1,529-berth Superstar Aquarius
(ex-Norwegian Wind) and 1,418-berth Superstar Libra (ex-Norwegian Sea).
Another ship, the 1,009-berth former Viking Line cruise ferry Star
Pisces, refurbished earlier this year, offers 1-night overnight dining
and gambling cruises from Hong Kong.
Although Star is currently the market leader in the Asia-Pacific
region, with five ships, it is facing tougher competition than ever
before from the likes of Royal Caribbean, Costa and Princess, who have
all established Asian subsidiaries and sent several large ships to
exploit the local market.
Seven New Names
Norwegian Escape (delivery October 2015) and Norwegian Bliss
(delivery early 2017) are the names chosen for the two new 163,000-ton
Breakaway Plus ships ordered from Meyer Werft by Norwegian Cruise Line. A
third ship, the 143,500-ton Norwegian Getaway (delivery January 2014)
is also under construction at Meyer Werft for year-round service from
Miami.
AIDA
Cruises has announced AIDAprima as the name of the first of two
125,000-ton ships now under construction at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
in Japan.
AIDA Cruises has meanwhile announced AIDAprima as the name of the
first of two 125,000-ton ships now under construction at Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries in Japan.
She will sail year-round from Hamburg on 7-night European Capitals
cruises to Southampton (for London), Le Havre (for Paris), Zeebrugge
(for Brussels) and Rotterdam (for Amsterdam and The Hague).
Her maiden voyage will be an 86-day cruise leaving Yokohama on March
22, 2015, for Hamburg, where she will arrive on June 16. This largest of
German cruise ships will attract a lot of attention at the 39 ports in
22 countries where she will call.
Meanwhile, over at Royal Caribbean International, four names have
been held aside for new ships. Royal Caribbean is building a third Oasis
class ship at STX France (delivery June 2016) and also has under
construction at Meyer Werft in Germany three ships of the Quantum class,
whose first two names have been assigned as Quantum of the Seas
(delivery late 2014) and Anthem of the Seas (delivery March 2015).
The third is to be delivered in May 2016.
Which of the new Oasis class and Quantum class ships will get these
names we don’t know, but the names are Ovation of the Seas, Passion of
the Seas, Pulse of the Seas and Vantage of the Seas. We can’t say that
we particularly like Pulse of the Seas – will Bean of the Seas be next?
(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)
