The Cruise Examiner for 31st October 2011 – British Tipping and Cruising – Other Cruise News: Seattle Has A Bumper Year – Crystal’s 7-Night Round Trip From Montreal Revives an Old Format

THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com
by Kevin Griffin

The Cruise Examiner for 31st October 2011

This week, we have a look at tipping as it affects the UK cruise market as well as others, seeing what various cruise lines recommend. While we all know the Brits hate tipping, we have a look at the different amounts recommended by different lines, as well as the fact that some don’t ask for gratuities at all. Seattle, once home to a cruise line whose motto was “Tipping Not Required,” had a bumper year in 2011 and now that this year’s Alaska cruise season is over we look at the  final results there. Finally, Crystal Cruises will be trying a lot of new itineraries in 2012 and one in particular, a 7-day round trip itinerary from Montreal with the Crystal Symphony, seems to be the first cruise of this type to be offered in almost twenty years.

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The Cruise Examiner for 24th October 2011 – Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth Leaves UK Registry Today – Other Cruise News: Celebrity Adds A Second UK Ship – Bermuda Seeks Smaller Ship for 2013

THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com
by Kevin Griffin

The Cruise Examiner for 24th October 2011

Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth, registration transferred from Southampton to Hamilton, Bermuda, Monday 24th October 2011

Today sees the first Cunard Queen ever to be registered outside the UK while still under Cunard ownership, when the year-old Queen Elizabeth is re-flagged in Bermuda. Last week, after a month of public speculation, Cunard Line announced that it would transfer all three of its Queens to Bermudian flag. That the first ship would be transferred as early as today was unexpected. The Queen Elizabeth,  in Amsterdam today, will be followed by the Queen Victoria on Thursday in Piraeus, and the Queen Mary 2 in five weeks time in Hamburg. Behind it all, many suspect that the official reason for this, being able to offer weddings at sea, is just a cover to help Cunard avoid the mess that is the UK’s new Equality Act, at least as far as shipping is concerned. This act came into effect on August 1 and will adversely affect the competitiveness of UK shipping throughout the world. Meanwhile, Celebrity Cruises will bring a second ship to Southampton when it bases the Celebrity Constellation there next autumn for a series of eight cruises ranging from a 2-night cruise to Amsterdam to a 15-night Transatlantic crossing to Miami. And with word that Holland America’s Veendam may not be back in 2013, Bermuda is looking for another ship to call at Hamilton.

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Corinthian II Will Perform Four 2011-12 High Season Antarctica Voyages for Travel Dynamics International

We are delighted to advise that Travel Dynamics International will operate four, 10-night Antarctica programs between December 2012 and February 2013.

In an era of mega cruise ships carrying thousands, the Corinthian II is a delightful alternative. More like a private yacht than a cruise ship, the Corinthian II accommodates only 114 guests in 57 suites. The Corinthian II’s limited guest capacity, fine facilities, and distinctive style of operation attract like-minded travelers who return again and again to enjoy custom-crafted itineraries and a style of cruising that is rarely found today. More than just a cruise, each voyage provides a comprehensive experience that reveals the singular aspects of the destinations. On board, a sense of community and a spirit of camaraderie prevail.

All of Corinthian II’s suites provide views of the sea and land. Several have a private balcony. There are expansive open deck areas and attractive facilities, including an exercise area, library (with Internet access), beauty salon, two lounges, a sun deck with Jacuzzi, and an outdoor cafe.Aspacious restaurant accommodates all guests in an open, unassigned seating. The cuisine is outstanding, and the overall service is efficient and friendly while unobtrusive. An elevator serves all decks. A resident physician attends a well-equipped infirmary. Served by 70 seasoned officers and crew, Corinthian II complies with the latest international safety regulations and is outfitted with the most current navigational technology. Corinthian II is ice-strengthened for voyages into Antarctic waters and is equipped with a fleet of Zodiac inflatable craft for forays ashore.

The following four programs will take place during the peak of the Antarctic season:

Dec 30, 2012- Jan 12, 2013 (hotel) : Dec 31, embark: Jan 1 / disembark: Jan 11)
Jan 09, 2013- Jan 22, 2013 (hotel) : Jan 10, embark: Jan 11/disembark: Jan 21)
Jan 19, 2013- Feb 01, 2013 (hotel) : Jan 20, embark: Jan 21/disembark: Jan 31)
Jan 29, 2013 – Feb 11, 2013 (hotel) : Jan 30, embark: Jan 31/disembark: Feb 10)

The Corinthian II offers the very best in Antarctic expedition voyages.

For further details please call The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.

The Cruise Examiner for 17th October 2011 – Singapore Aims To Be Cruise Hub of Asia – Other Cruise News: 2010 Winners and Losers Among Cruise Ports – Princess Daphne Chartered to Ambiente – Canadian Pacific’s Keewatin To Return to Canada

THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com
by Kevin Griffin

The Cruise Examiner for 17th October 2011

November 16 sees Singapore hosting the first Cruise Shipping Asia conference so we have a look at plans there for the opening of a second cruise terminal and projections that will see cruise passenger numbers at Singapore rise to 1.5 million by 2015. From May 2012, Royal Caribbean International will base their Voyager of the Seas there. Elsewhere, we look at the winner and loser cruise ports of 2010 (2011 will of course be different). And Classic International’s Princess Daphne returns to the German market on a three-year charter to the new Berlin-based Ambiente Cruises.

Meanwhile, as Canadian Pacific’s last remaining passenger ship, the Keewatin, is about to be returned to Canada, here are some of the contributions Canadian Pacific has made to cruising over the years. In 1931, it created the first dual-purpose North Atlantic liner and world cruise ship, with the 42,348–ton Empress of Britain, a concept that is followed today by Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2. In 1964, it gave Princess Cruises its name when that company chartered CP’s Alaska cruise ship Princess Patricia to cruise to Mexico.  In 1972, it gave Carnival Cruise Lines its funnel design and logo, which were adapted from CP Ships’ Empress of Canada by changing the colours and making a circle out of a triangle. That ship, which was renamed Mardi Gras,  had been retired in 1971 as CP’s last North Atlantic liner, and every Carnival ship built since has  had an Empress Deck.

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Never a Better Way to Sail the Upper Amazon, from Barbados to Peru

Join all The Cruise People clients who have enjoyed the trip either up or down the upper Amazon as far as Iquitos, Peru, and this time on a very classy vessel, one the top-rated SeaDream luxury yachts. This is the way to do it as well, 2o days up from Barbados or 2o days down to Barbados. Great all-inclusive yachting value from $15,499 per person plus $1,250 dues and taxes.

Each voyage gives you the chance to swim across the Equator, see the “Wedding Of The Rivers” and sail not just as far as Manaus, the biggest city on the river, but many miles further upstream to Iquitos in Peru, somewhere that very few passenger ships ever sail!

Book now for 2013, or try your luck for 2012 – there are still a handful of suites left if you’re lucky.

For further details please call Gay Scruton at The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.

Last Minute Cargo-Passenger Availability From Amsterdam to the Great Lakes – Updated (Two Sailings) – From £999

Due to two sailings in close proximity to one another, the  Polish Steamship Company vessel m.v. Isa is able to offer last-minute Transatlantic passenger berths for next week. Departing Amsterdam’s North Sea port of IJmuiden on or about October 23, the Isa is bound for Cleveland, Ohio, and Burns Harbor, Indiana. the Isa will now be followed within the week by the new ship Wicko, making her maiden voyage into the Great Lakes.

Space remains available on both ships in double and single cabins at a fare of $1,560 (£999) per person to Cleveland (about 13 days) and $1,790 (£1,175) per person to Burns Harbor (about 17 days, near Chicago), plus port taxes of $120 (£79.50)  per person.

Passengers who are not US or Canadian citizens require a full US visa (an ESTA visa waiver form is not sufficient as cargo ships are not included in this scheme). Medical certificate required for passengers age 65 and over, maximum age 79. For further details please click here.

This service offers two sailings a month during the St Lawrence Seaway navigation season (April through November departures)  and bookings are also welcome from travel agents.

For further details please call Miri Lopusna at passenger agents The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.

Three New 7-Night Mediterranean Cruises on board Silver Cloud in April/May 2012 – from just £2,299 per person all-inclusive

Silversea has just launched three new itineraries on board the Silver Cloud in the Mediterranean for April 2012.  Please see full itineraries below.

Providing exceptional value for money, they include free economy flights from the UK and $500 per suite on board credit ($250 for single occupancy).

Or double up and take advantage of additional back-to-back savings of up to 10%.

For further details call Gay Scruton at The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.

The Cruise Examiner for 10th October 2011 – Icebreaker News – Other Cruise News: Norwegian Breakaway Year-Round From New York – Carnival Europe, Australasia and Asia Account for 40% of Revenue

THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com
by Kevin Griffin

The Cruise Examiner for 10th October 2011

Kapitan Dranitsyn to return to Arctic service with TUI's Quark Expeditions

With the public having expected no longer to be able to book passage on a conventional icebreaker once Quark Expeditions’ Kapitan Khlebnikov finishes her final passenger season in January 2012, come two pieces of potentially good news  for icebreaker aficionados. While Toronto-based Quark Expeditions has announced that it will reintroduce the Kapitan Dranitsyn to its fleet in July of 2012, there are reports that G Expeditions, as Gap Expeditions has recently restyled itself, also based in Toronto, may be having a look at the troubled icebreaker Polar Star. The latter has been stranded at a shipyard in the Canary Islands since her previous operators, Polar Star Expeditions, found themselves unable to pay the bill after she suffered damage in the Antarctic in January.

NCL’s Norwegian Breakaway before application of her hull art by New York artist Peter Max.

Meanwhile, over at the mainstream lines, Norwegian Cruise Line has announced that its new 144,017-ton 4,000-passenger Norwegian Breakaway, now under construction at Meyer Werft in Germany, will be based year-round in New York from May 2013. As the largest cruise ship to be based there year-round, her first program will be 7-day summer cruises to Bermuda, making her the  largest regular trader there as well.

And as the cruise world continues to grow outside of its long-established North American base, 40% of Carnival Corp & PLC’s third quarter 2011 revenue is reported to have come from Europe, Australasia and Asia.

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Cargo-Passenger Service Resumed Between Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand: Good News for Those Wanting to Sail via Suez

NSB’s 53,700 deadweight ton German-flag container ship NYK Galaxy has now entered service between Hong Kong and Brisbane, Auckland, Lyttelton, Napier and Tauranga, with a return by way of Tokyo, Kobe, Pusan and Shanghai to Hong Kong. For those travelling from Europe it is now possible to travel to Australia with a change of ship at Hong Kong, and the voyage can also be taken from Australia as a 32-day round trip freighter cruise.

The NYK Galaxy can carry a maximum of seven passengers in an Owners cabin, two Double cabins and a single cabin for sole travellers. Fares are €85 per day for the single cabin, €85 per person per day for the doubles and €95 per person per day for the Owners cabin, while sole occupany of a double is €110 per day and the Owners €110 per day. Port charges are extra at €85 and deviation insurance is €105 for voyages up to 15 days and €160 for longer trips. The vessel is equipped with an indoor pool and fitness room as well as lounge and video/tv room. Meals are taken with the officers.

For those who want to travel all the way by sea by way of the Suez Canal, as well as those who like to travel overland to or from Hong Kong,  there is once more a sea connection between Hong Kong and New Zealand that has been missing for some time. And for those who like to travel either way by sea, a change of ships can now be arranged at Hong Kong that will give them a through service to or from Europe.

NSB, or Niederelbe Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Buxtehude, offers cargo-passenger voyages on a fleet of forty container ships on routes worldwide. In addition to cargo ship services, NYK Line, charterers of the NYK Galaxy, offers cruises worldwide on Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony and its own Asuka II, formerly Crystal Harmony.

For further details please call Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.

Crystal Cruises Goes All-Inclusive – And: Save up to £2,523 Per Couple on Selected 2012 Sailings

Crystal Cruises Goes All-Inclusive: In the spring of 2012, holidays on the award-winning Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity will become All-Inclusive and in addition to the already-included complimentary amenities, from enlightening enrichment speakers and fitness classes to pampering pillow menus and specialty restaurant dining featuring the cuisine of Nobu Matsuhisa and Piero Selvaggio, we will also include complimentary fine wines and premium spirits throughout the ship, open bar service in all lounges, and prepaid gratuities for housekeeping, bar and dining staff.

 Make a 2012 booking with Crystal Cruises by 31 October 2011 and you can enjoy additional Book Now Savings– as much as £2,523 per couple in fare reductions – on selected sailings.

Cruise	UK Departure	Nights	Itinerary	Fares from (per person)
2207	18 March 2012	11	From Miami to Lisbon	£1,862
2209	8 April 2012	7	From Barcelona to Rome	£1,766
2309	24 May 2012	12	From Dover to Rome	£3,005
2311	12 June 2012	7	From Athens to Venice	£2,313
2316	6 August 2012	7	From Rome to Venice	£2,519

For more information or to make a booking, please contact Gay Scruton at The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.

Fares are per person based on double occupancy in the accommodation grade shown and includes return economy flights from London, port taxes and overseas transfers. Fares are only valid until 31 October 2011 – after this date they may change. Crystal Cruises will become all inclusive from the first Trans-Atlantic crossing on each ship – Cruise 2207 on Crystal Symphony and Cruise 2308 on Crystal Serenity. All offers, fares and itineraries are subject to change and availability and can be withdrawn at any time

M.V. Explorer Offers 105-day January 19th World Cruise From Nassau

In early 2012, the Explorer will be calling at sixteen different ports in eleven different countries on her next World Cruise, which leaves Nassau on Thursday, January 19th.

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The 24,318-ton m.v. Explorer was built in 2002 for Royal Olympic Cruises and today sails for Semester at Sea. Sponsored by the University of Virginia, she is managed by V.Ships of Monaco. A product of the famous Blohm & Voss shipyards in Germany, she is diesel-engined and capable of speeds of up to 28 knots.

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As well as university students and an 8,000-book library, the Explorer carries about 200 passengers on her World Cruises at very competitive rates, which will be announced shortly.

The Explorer departs Nassau January 19 for a 105-day Round-the-World cruise that will make calls in Havana (with Roseau, Dominica, to be substituted if travel license is not obtained), travels up the Amazon to Manaus, Brazil, and then crosses the Atlantic to Takoradi and Tema in Ghana before proceeding to Cape Town, Port, Louis, Mauritius and crossing the Indian Ocean to Cochin then cruising to Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong. The return journey will be made by way of Shanghai, Kobe and Yokohama and across the Pacific to Hilo, Hawaii, before finishing in San Diego on Wednesday, May 2.

To maximize the possibilities of getting to know places that much better, port stays will stretch from one day up to seven days (see detailed itinerary above). Partial port-to-port voyages will also be available at an all-inclusive per diem rates that will be available on request.

For further details please call The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.

The Cruise Examiner for 3rd October 2011 – AIDA Cruise Ship Order In Japan – Other Cruise News: Paul Gauguin Cruises Expands – St Kitts Sees Cruise Boom – Cruise Survey of Cruise Virgins

THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com
by Kevin Griffin

The Cruise Examiner for 3rd October 2011

Just as the order for a new 98,000-tonner for TUI Cruises, with option for a second, was confirmed last week, came criticism by European shipbuilders of the two-ship order already placed by AIDA Cruises with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in August.  Both Fincantieri and STX claim the price is below cost. Elsewhere, Paul Gauguin Cruises expands with the acquisition of Compagnie du Ponant’s 90-guest Le Levant, which it will rename Moana. Doubling the Paul Gauguin fleet and increasing the berth count by about a quarter, Moana will widen the Paul Gauguin product range,  cruising the Mediterraean and Caribbean, and in Latin American waters. Meanwhile, the Caribbean island of St Kitts is due for a cruise ship boom with eleven first-time callers this winter. And a UK cruise blogger asks how do we overcome old outmoded attitudes and get cruise virgins to book their first cruise?

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