Hamburg-Süd Withdraws From The US/Australian Passenger Trades; CMA CGM Offers Substitute Service Via Singapore

Another shoe dropped this Friday following the December 1 acquisition of Hamburg-Süd by AP Moller (Maersk Line), with Hamburg-Süd announcing the end of its passenger services between North America and Australasia. These services have been offered since 1971, when Hamburg-Süd division Columbus Line became one of the first container lines to carry passengers.

The Spirit of Sydney and sister ships will no longer carry passengers

Four ships, the 3,630 TEU Spirit of Auckland, Spirit of Hamburg, Spirit of Singapore and Spirit of Sydney (above), will no longer carry passengers from Philadelphia and Charleston, while the 3,675 TEU Cap Capricorn will cease carrying passengers from Los Angeles and Oakland. Existing bookings on all ships will be honoured but no new bookings will be accepted.

The 10-passenger CMA CGM Thames and fleetmates will connect with Australia via Singapore

In their stead, CMA CGM’s Columbus JAX service will now offer an indirect service from Los Angeles and Oakland via Singapore, where passengers can transfer to the AAX service to Fremantle, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The voyage from Oakland to Singapore takes 25 days via Hong Kong and Vung Tau, while transit times from Singapore are 9 days to Fremantle, 15 to Sydney, 18 to Melbourne and 21 to Adelaide. A stopover is needed in Singapore between ships.

In the reverse direction, transit times are 20 days from Sydney, 17 from Melbourne, 14 from Adelaide and 9 from Fremantle to Singapore. From Singapore it is then 27 days to Los Angeles via Jakarta, Laem Chebang and Vung Tau.

East Coast connections are also available to Singapore, with services from Halifax, New York, Norfolk, Savannah and Charleston, sailing via Port Kelang. Charleston to Singapore takes 32 days. In the opposite direction it is Singapore to Halifax, New York and the same ports via Port Kelang and Colombo. Singapore to Halifax is 25 days and Singapore to New York 28 days.

Fares for all these voyages are in the range of €100-110 per person per person per day in double occupancy and €110-120 per day for single travellers, plus a €45 management fee and €70 booking fee.

For further details on Australian voyages via CMA CGM please call Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd in London on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or e-mail PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

New Southeast Asia /Australia Cargo-Passenger Service Opened With Four Former Round The World Container Ships

CMA CGM subsidiary Australian National Line has opened a new Southeast Asia / Australia passenger service using four 5,100 TEU container ships transferred in from the Pacific Express 3 round-the-world service to join the AAX service.

The CMA CGM White Shark (above) opened the new service, with a first sailing from Singapore on April 14, followed by the CMA CGM Alcazar on April 21 and CMA CGM Blue Whale on April 29. The CMA CGM Tarpon follow,ed with her first sailing from Singapore on May 12.

The AAX service offers weekly sailings from Singapore and Port Kelang, and in the opposite direction from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle, with most being able to accept passengers for the full 35-day round voyage. One-way passages can also be booked and fast connections made at Singapore for the UK and Europe.

The Panamanian-flag CMA CGM Alcazar carries three passengers in an Owners and a Single cabin, while the British-flag trio each carry six passengers in three Double cabins. The British-flag trio have swimming pools, while the CMA CGM Alcazar offers a sauna instead.

Typical fares are Singapore-Fremantle or vice versa in 9 days for €990 (about £870) per person double or €1,080 (£950) single, Singapore to Sydney in 15 days for €1,650 pp (£1,450) double or €1,800 (£1,580) single and Sydney to Singapore in 20 days for €2,200 pp (£1,930) double or €2,400 (£2,105) single. Please call or email for fares between other piorts.

For further details on this new Australian connection by CMA CGM please call Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd in London on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or email PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

Good News For Sea Travellers Between Europe And Australia – Last Minute Voyage Possibilities On Board CMA CGM Bellini And MSC Ilona

While a regular direct service between Australia and Europe has not been available recently through either Panama or Suez, we now have good news for cargo ship passengers wanting to travel through Suez.

First, CMA CGM’s North Europe Med Oceania (NEMO) Line will soon be offering a one-ship service with the 10-passenger container ship CMA CGM Bellini (above). This ship is now en route from London and is due to sail from Sydney on or about March 20, 2016, returning from London on or about May 5, 2016. So apply now if you want space.

The CMA CGM Bellini’s route is London Tilbury – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Le Havre – Fos sur Mer – Genoa – Damietta – Suez Canal – Pointe des Galets (Réunion) –  Fremantle – Melbourne – Sydney – Adelaide – Singapore – Port Kelang – Chennai – Colombo – Cochin – Suez Canal – Damietta – Malta – Salerno – London Tilbury (91 day round trip). 

Then we have two special voyages by NSB’s 5-passenger MSC Ilona over the same period. MSC Ilona leaves London on or about February 21 for Australia. The first return voyage from Sydney is scheduled for April 4, 2016. But again, book now to obtain space.

The MSC Australia Express route is London Gateway – Antwerp – Le Havre – Fos sur Mer – La Spezia – Naples – Gioia Tauro – Suez Canal – Port Louis (Mauritius) – Pointe des Galets (Réunion) – Sydney – Melbourne – Adelaide – Fremantle – Singapore – Colombo – King Abdullah – Suez Canal – Valencia – London Gateway (91 day round trip).

For further details on any of our Australian cargo ship voyages please contact Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd in London on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or e-mail PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

Five Cunard Line and P&O Cruises Vessels Lined Up To Sail From Sydney to Southampton In Late February/Early March 2016

P&O Cruises’ m.v. Aurora in Sydney in March 2015

For those planning to sail to Australia, the annual peregrination will be casting off from Southampton and heading south in the next week or so. Those arrangements have been made and tickets issued. But for their return voyages, the same five ships from the sister fleets of Cunard Line and P&O Cruises have been lined up to sail home from Sydney to Southampton over a short period of three weeks in late February/early March:

m.v. Aurora (P&O Cruises, 1,868 berths) – February 20, 2016 (66 nights)

m.v. Queen Elizabeth (Cunard Line, 2,092 berths) – February 21, 2016 (79 nights)

m.v. Arcadia (P&O Cruises, 2,064 berths) – March 1, 2016 (66 nights)

m.v. Queen Victoria (Cunard Line, 2,014 berths) – March 8, 2016 (63 nights)

r.m.s. Queen Mary 2 (Cunard Line, 2,620 berths) – March 11, 2016 (60 nights)

Two further sailings will take place after this fleet leaves Sydney.

First, Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ 590-berth Astor departs Fremantle March 16, 2016, for Tilbury. She is already fully booked to Tilbury, although some cabins are still available between Fremantle and Cape Town.

Two months after that, for those wanting more time in Australia, Princess Cruises’ 2,016-berth Sea Princess will sail from Sydney on May 15, 2016, on her own 55-night voyage to Dover.

m.v. Queen Elizabeth (foreground) and r.m.s. Queen Mary 2 in Sydney in 2011

Note: For those of you who have been travelling between Europe and Australia on the passenger-carrying container ships of CMA CGM and NSB over the past many years, the last direct ships were withdrawn in late 2015, when they were moved to other routes.

Cargo-passenger connections are still available via Philadelphia and Charleston (full US visa required) and Port Kelang and Singapore, but in order to make things easier for through passengers and make up for the shortfall in cargo ship berths, we have decided this year to offer additional berths on direct passenger ships.

To check fares and availability for any Australia or New Zealand voyage please contact Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd in London on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or email PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

New Connection To Australia: CMA CGM Container Ship Europe To Port Kelang & P&O Cruise Ship Between Singapore And Australia

Connections to and from Port Kelang will be by 10-passenger CMA CGM mega-ships

Now that direct cargo-passenger service between Europe and Australia is so scarce, and Singapore has become a base port for P&O Cruises Australia, we will be using P&O Australia to offer connecting services between Singapore and Australian ports. Several sailings scheduled over the next couple of years will be available for connecting cargo ship travellers, as well as overlanders from Europe and elsewhere seeking to reach Australia.

P&O Australia’s Pacific Eden will perform most of the Singapore-Australia connecting voyages

Cargo ship voyages will be available from Le Havre to Port Kelang in 27 days or from Felixstowe to Port Kelang in 31 days to connect with the P&O Australia sailings from Singapore. In the reverse direction, a fast and frequent 22-day cargo-passenger service will be available from Port Kelang to Southampton. The cargo-passenger services are all offered by CMA CGM and will connect with the P&O Australia services outlined below.

In order to avail themselves of this routing, connecting passengers will have to make their own way between Port Kelang and Singapore. The two ports are about 200 miles apart and there are hourly one-hour flights between Kuala Lumpur airport (for Port Kelang) and Singapore’s Changi airport.

P&O Cruises Australia Voyages from Singapore to Australia

m.v. PACIFIC EDEN – Singapore (August 27, 2016) to Cairns (September 10, 2016)

Singapore – Fremantle – Bali – Makassar – Komodo – Makassar – Dili – Darwin – Cooktown – Cairns (14 nights).

m.v. OVATION OF THE SEAS – from Singapore (November 30, 2016) to Fremantle, Adelaide, Hobart and Sydney *

Singapore – Fremantle (6 nights) – Adelaide – Hobart – Sydney  (15 nights).

m.v. PACIFIC EDEN – Singapore (August 15, 2017) to Cairns (September 1, 2017)

Singapore – Fremantle – Bali – Makassar – Komodo – Makassar – Dili – Darwin – Cooktown – Cairns (14 nights).

m.v. PACIFIC PEARL – Singapore (August 16, 2017) to Sydney (September 2, 2017)

Singapore – Fremantle – Bali –  Komodo – Dili – Darwin – Cooktown – Cairns – Whitsunday – Brisbane – Sydney  (16 nights).

P&O Cruises Australia Voyages from Australia to Singapore 

m.v. PACIFIC EDEN – Fremantle (July 18, 2016) to Singapore (July 30, 2016)

Fremantle – Komodo – Makassar – Lombok – Bali – Probilinggo – Jakarta – Singapore (12 nights).

m.v. PACIFIC DAWN – Brisbane (February 4, 2017) to Singapore (February 18, 2017)

Brisbane – Port Douglas – Darwin – Dili – Komodo – Bali – Singapore (12 nights).

m.v. PACIFIC EDEN – Fremantle (June12, 2017) to Singapore (June 24, 2017)

Fremantle – Komodo – Makassar – Lombok – Bali – Probilinggo – Jakarta – Singapore (12 nights).

In addition to the P&O Australia sailings, we have the following special sailing from Singapore to Sydney in late 2016. This exclusive Cruiseco charter is bookable through The Cruise People Ltd:

* m.v. OVATION OF THE SEAS – from Singapore (November 30, 2016) to Fremantle, Adelaide, Hobart and Sydney

Singapore – Fremantle (6 nights) – Adelaide – Hobart – Sydney  (15 nights).

For further details of of how to book any of the above voyages please call The Cruise People Ltd in London on+44 (0)20 7723 2450 or email us at PassageEnquiry@outlook.com.

New Media: 1st Annual Cruise Examiner YouTube Survey – Carnival Splendor and Carnival Triumph – Cruise & Maritime Australia via Suez

THE CRUISE EXAMINER at Cybercruises.com

by Kevin Griffin

The Cruise Examiner for 18th February 2013

SeaDream Yacht Club win the Cruise Examiner YouTube award for 2013 with 1,014 views per berth. This week, we bring you the results of the 1st Annual Cruise Examiner YouTube Survey. With most cruise lines now having YouTube accounts, we felt it was time to compare how they are doing. The big winner is SeaDream Yacht Club, with a high score of 1,040 YouTube views for every lower berth in their two-ship fleet. Other high performers include Azamara Club Cruises, with 229 views per berth, and Cunard and Disney, with 224 and 223 views each, while at the bottom of the league is Crystal Cruises with just seven. With the arrival of the powerless Carnival Triumph at Mobile last week, we compare her situation to that of Carnival Splendor just over two years ago. We have up to date information on Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ Australian positioning voyages and look at how Facebook shares now compare with Norwegian Cruise Line shares since last week, when they were both at around $28.

THIS WEEK’S STORY                                                                        (See previous columns)