ACL Delays Re-Opening North Atlantic Passenger Service Until Late 2020; Remaining Capacity Is Limited So Act Now To Sail This Year!

The 12-berth Atlantic Star and  sister ships are now wait-listing passengers for 2021 crossings

On Friday 22nd May ACL parent Grimaldi Lines announced at its Naples passenger office that “it has been decided to suspend passenger service on ACL, G4  vessels until the end of 2020.”

After several weeks of valiantly trying to maintain its weekly passenger service between Hamburg, Antwerp and Liverpool and Halifax, New York and Baltimore, the complications caused by Covid-19 have finally made it impossible to continue. Many affected passengers have rebooked for 2021 while those that are still booked to travel this year are being contacted now about alternative sailings.

The five ACL ships carry 12 passengers each and offer a capacity each year of 600 passengers in each direction. Earlier this year, the line often had its ships fully booked four months in advance.

Because CMA CGM has closed passenger bookings on its own North Atlantic ships, this leaves only the four ships that serve the independent Container Line route and two chartered NSB ships operating on CMA CGM’s Victory Bridge Service  to carry passengers between north Europe and the US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.

The Independent Pursuit and fleetmates carry a few passengers on each of their 28-day round voyages.

The Hamburg-owned Independent Horizon, Independent Pursuit, Independent Spirit and Independent Vision operate an alternate weekly service. between Antwerp, Southampron, Chester PA and Wilmington NC. Each ship has a different layout and fares vary from €99 to €119 per person per day plus €335 each in dues and taxes. Non-US and Canadian citizens require a full US B1/B2 visa to enter the US on this route.

The Buxcliff carries five passengers in two double cabins and one single.

Meanwhile, NSB’s Brussels and Buxcliff operate a 49-day round voyage from Le Havre, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven to Charleston and Miami, and the Mexican ports of Veracruz and Altamira, returning to Europe via Houston and New Orleans. Each ship has three double cabins and fares vary from €98 to €117 per person per day plus €318 each in dues and taxes. As NSB is a signatory to the US Visa Waiver Scheme, it is possible to enter the USA with an ESTA on this route.

For further details or to book please call +44 (207) 723-2450 or in the US dial 1-800-516-6950, or email Miri Lopusna at PassageEnquiry@aol.com

NSB’s Conti Annapurna Allows Easy ESTA Entry To The USA From Far East Ports In China, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong

The Conti Annapurna was built in 2004 and can accommodate 10 passengers

The entry of the 101,662-ton deadweight container shp Conti Annapurna to Ocean Network Express’s EC-1 TranspacifIc East Coast service alllows holders of ESTA’s (as opposed to full B1/B2 visas) to enter the US at Savannah, Jacksonville, Charleston or Norfok on her round voyages to and from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong and Hong Kong.

The full rotation is Savannah (day 0), Jacksonville (day 2), Charleston (day 3), Norfolk (day 5), Punta Manzanillio (day 12), Balboa (day13), Tokyo (day 35), Kobe (day 36), Pusan (day39), Kaohsiung (day 42), Xiamen (day 43), Hong Kong (day 44), Yantian (day 45), Shanghai (day 48), Pusan (day 50), Tokyo (day 53) Punta Manzanillo (day 72), Savannah (day 77).

The sailing dates from Asia on the present voyage are: Hong Kong May 21, Shanghai May 25, Tokyo May 30. And from North America: Savannah June 23, Jacksonville June 25, Charleston June 27, Norfolk June 30. Thence every 77 days thereafter.

While port to port bookings are available, the fare for the full 77-day round voyages varies between €7,580 and €9,120 per person depending on the cabin booked.

For further details or to book please call +44 (207) 723-2450 or in the US dial 1-800-516-6950, or email Miri Lopusna at PassageEnquiry@aol.com

Freighter Voyages Still On Offer Despite Present Virus Outbreak

The 10-passenger CMA CGM Rhone serves the UK-Australia run via Suez

NOW: FROM THE US AND CANADA CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-516-6950

Yes, we are still in business, booking cargo ship voyages as well as ultra-luxury cruises and small ship and expedition cruises. In order to keep business going, the UK Government is helping out not only giant firms, but also small and medium size companies such as ours.

The 12-passenger Atlantic Sail connects the US & Canada with the EU and the UK

On the customers’ side, requests this week for voyages to Australia and New Zealand will mean travellers having to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival at destination. London to Sydney takes 45 days and costs €5,977.

The APL Phoenix offers two Owners Cabins on the UK-Australia run via Suez

The Cruise People has about 300 passenger-carrying cargo ships on its books. But since the full implications of the present worldwide virus outbreak became clear earlier this month, passenger service has been suspended on most of these ships for March, April and May, with June departures being uncertain.

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The ships continue to sail however, and we are accepting bookings for sailing dates well into 2021. Present bookings are subject to confirmation closer to sailing date, but once the travel bans and closed frontiers have been dismantled we will be back in business full time.

Here are some links for you (we will update the website over the duration of this crisis).

Australia:  http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/col.htm

Freighters:  http://cruisepeople.co.uk/freighters.htm

Transatlantic:  http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/transat.htm

World:  http://cruisepeople.co.uk/world.htm

For further details of booking a voyage by cargo ship please call The Cruise People on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 and ask for Miri Lopusna or e-mail PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

 

 

Polsteam Now Has Seventeen Passenger-Carrying Lakers Trading Between Europe And The Great Lakes

Polsteam’s 2011-built Lubie passing Detroit on her way inbound to Burns Harbor, Indiana

Passages aboard the modern bulk carriers of Polsteam (PZM) of Szczecin, Poland, are available from April through November on the scenic route between Amsterdam (Port of IJmuiden) and the Great Lakes. The round trip lasts 45-70 days and ships call at Cleveland, Ohio, and Burns Harbor, Indiana, and sometimes Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before proceeding to Lake Superior to load a cargo of grain for Europe. Grain loading ports are usually Thunder Bay, Ontario, or Duluth, Minnesota, but sometimes ships load at Chicago or Toledo, Ohio.

The the 35,000-ton bulk carriers Irma, Iryda, Isa, Isadora and Isolda were built in 1999-2000 and carry six 6 passengers each in an Owners, a double and two single cabins while the 30,000-ton Drawsko, Juno, Lubie, Mamry, Miedwie, Resko, Solina and Wicko and the somewhat smaller 17,080-ton San, were built in 2010-12 and carry three passengers each in a double and a single cabin, with an additional two upper berths in the double.

The ships’ Polish officers and crew are experienced in navigating the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway and passengers can choose among three basic services:

1. Round Trip Tramp Voyage boarding in either Europe or North America.
2. Europe to Great Lakes Trans-Atlantic Voyage from IJmuiden (contract service)
3. Great Lakes to Europe Trans-Atlantic Voyage (tramp, usually grain).

There are now also sailings from Alexandria, Egypt, and Casablanca, Morocco, to the Canadian ports of Hamilton and Oshawa on Lake Ontario.

The 2018-built Gardno in the Welland Canal

Three more ships, the 36,000-ton Gardno, Jamno and Narie, were added to the fleet in 2018 to bring it to seventeen St Lawrence Seaway-size ships.

Further information and fares are given here. For passenger bookings please call Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd in London on +44 (0) 20 7723 2450 or e-mail PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

Changes For The Ten Ships On CMA CGM’s “Down Under” Cargo-Passenger Trades Between Australia And Asia

In addition to the 1998 acquisition of ANL (once the Australian National Line) by CMA CGM, the parent company recently reinstated passenger service on its London to Sydney cargo route vua Suez.  And other changes have come about more recently. For example, the ten passenger-carrying ships engqged on CMA CGM’s Australia-Asia trades have in recent months undergone a number of service and schedule changes, which we will outline here.

The original AAX service previously offered weekly passenger service between Singapore and Port Kelang and the Australian ports of Fremantle, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, on a 35-night round trip. Recently, this has been switched to a 46-night voyage that also includes Bangkok (Laem Chebang), with one ship accepting passengers every 46 days. The Australian port rotation is now Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and the new AAX service is offered by the 10-passenger CMA CGM Loire (above).

Meanwhile, a new 42-day round trip called AAX2 has also been started, with half its ships, the 10-passenger CMA CGM Bellini, Puccini and Rossini, accommodating passengers.

A third 42-night service, called A3N, has been opened to connect Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with Yokohama, Osaka, Pusan (disembarkation only), the Chinese ports of Qingdao and Shanghai, and Kaohsiung in Taiwan. Three ships, the 10-berth CMA CGM Chopin and CMA CGM Mozart and the 4-berth APL Scotland, have been joined by NSB’s 6-berth San Francisco II (above) in this trade.

A fourth 48-day service, called Anzex, runs from Brisbane via the New Zealand ports of Auckland, Port Chalmers, Lyttelton, Napier and Tauranga to Hong Kong, Keelung, three ports in China and Kaohsiung. Two ships, the 5-berth CMA CGM Amber and CMA CGM Coral (below) carry on this trade. Another ship, the 6-berth Ontario II, operates betwen the same five ports in New Zealand and Port Kelang and Singapore for Southeast Asia.

For further details of how to get around Down Under by sea call please call Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd in London at +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or email PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

Direct Europe-Australia Cargo-Passenger Service Is Back With Four Ships From CMA CGM : UK / Europe / Med / Mauritius / Australia

Maximum age lmit is 76 on this route

The Cruise People Ltd

The 10-passenger CMA CGM Rhone is one of four ships that now carry travellers to and from Australia in the Nemo Line service

We are pleased to announce the return of CMA CGM to the Europe-Australia route along with the 10-passenger APL Danube and CMA CGM Rhone and two 4-passenger ships (with two Owners Cabins each), the APL Detroit and APL Phoenix. The APL Danube and CMA CGM Rhone offer five Double cabins and a swimming pool, and carry a maximum of 10 passengers. All four ships have now entered Europe-Australia route from London Gateway via Suez to Australian ports, in what is called the North Europe Mediterranean Oceania Express (Nemo) Line.

The full round voyage is 97 days and initial sailing dates are as follows:

From Sydney:  APL Danube November 19; CMA CGM Rhone December 1; APL Phoenix December 15; APL Detroit December 29. 2019.

From London:

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Zim Ontario And Zim San Francisco Renamed Ontario II And San Francisco II And Now Trading Australia-Asia

Change of routes

The Cruise People Ltd

The 6-passenger NSB sister ships San Francisco II and Ontario II have changed from the Seattle and Vancouver route to Israel via Asia to more local routes connecting Asia with Australia and New Zealand ports.

The two ships new routes each offer a six-week round voyage as follows:

   Singapore / New Zealand Ports & Brisbane

m/v ONTARIO II (1 Owners and 2 Double cabins, swimming pool, maximum 6 passengers), 63,600 tons.  Route: Singapore – Auckland – Lyttelton – Wellington – Napier – Brisbane – Port Kelang – Singapore.

   Australia / Japan / Korea / South China Ports

m/v SAN FRANCISCO II (1 Owners and 2 Double cabins, swimming pool, maximum 6 passengers), 63,600 tons.  Route: Melbourne – Sydney – Brisbane – Yokohama – Osaka – Pusan – Qingdao – Shanghai – Kaohsiung – Melbourne

Fares for a full round voyage of 41/42 days range between €4,605…

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