ACL’s New Trans-Atlantic Passenger Service – Viking To Enter The Expedition Market? – Voyage of the Week: Bravo Music Cruise In May

The Cruise Examiner for 9th April 2018

ACL’s Atlantic Star and four sister ships carry twelve passengere each in a new weekly Trans-Atlantic passenger service

Last week saw the return of regular cargo-passenger service between Europe and New York, as well as Canada, with Atlantic Container Line inaugurating weekly passenger service on its new G4 roro container ships, which can carry up to twelve passengers each. From Norway, meanwhile, comes news that Viking Cruises is planning to order two “special” cruise ships from shipbuilders Vard. Finally, for this week’s voyage we look at Cruiseco’s Bravo Cruise of the Performing Arts on board Celebrity Silhouette in May.

FOR THIS WEEK’S STORY                                                                                               (See previous columns)

Atlantic Container Line’s North Atlantic Cargo-Passenger Service Opens This Week Between Hamburg, Antwerp and Liverpool and Halifax, New York and Baltimore With Return To Liverpool

The Atlantic Sail is one of five 12-passenger G4 cargo ships now carrying passengers Trans-Atlantic

The Cruise People Ltd is pleased to announce the opening this week of a new cargo-passenger service between Europe and North America with five new ACL vessels called the G4’s. Delivered over the past two years to Grimaldi Lines subsidiary ACL, these ships now offer a weekly year-round fixed day of the week passenger service between Hamburg, Antwerp and Liverpool in Europe and Halifax, New York and Baltimore in North America.

Sample transit times are 9 nights Liverpool to Halifax and 11 nights Liverpool to New York, while in the reverse New York to Liverpool is 14 nights and Halifax to Liverpool 7 nights.

To book, you will need to act quickly as sailings in some months are fully booked. Bookings are being accepted for departures from April on the following rotation:-

PORT OF CALL                    DAY
HAMBURG                               0
ANTWERP                               3
LIVERPOOL                             6
HALIFAX                                 15
NEWARK                                17
BALTIMORE                            19
PORTSMOUTH                       21
HALIFAX                                  24
LIVERPOOL                             31

Accommodations and Fares

There are three fare codes for booking this service: CU1, CU2, CUR, and a €70 per person booking fee.

CU1: departures from Hamburg/Antwerp/Liverpool to Halifax and v.v.

Outside Cabins: €937.50 per passenger, double occupancy, €1,312.50 single occupancy

Owners Cabin: €1,625 per passenger, double occupancy, €2,250 single occupancy

CU2: departures from Hamburg/Antwerp/Liverpool to New York and Baltimore only and v.v.

Outside Cabins: €1,225 per passenger, double occupancy, €1,625 single occupancy

Owners Cabin: €1,875 per passenger, double occupancy, €2,625 single occupancy

CUR: round voyages, Hamburg/Hamburg, Antwerp/Antwerp, Liverpool/Liverpool only

Outside Cabins: €2,625 per passenger, double occupancy, €3,062.50 single occupancy

Owners Cabin: €3,875 per passenger, double occupancy, €4,750 single occupancy

The five newly-built vessels operating on this Line are the Atlantic Sail, Atlantic Sea, Atlantic Sky, Atlantic Star and Atlantic Sun. All are registered in Liverpool.

Facilities on each vessel include a gym, TV, movies (DVD), laundry, books, karaoke machine, PlayStation. There is also a sauna on each vessel but not a swimming pool.

ACL is a signatory to the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) so passengers will be eligible to enter the USA on an ESTA – see notes below *

Predecessor lines of ACL included cargo liners operated by famous passenger carriers Cunard Line, French Line, Holland America Line and Swedish American Line

For further details on booking a voyage with ACL please call Miri Lopusna at The Cruise People Ltd in London on +44 (0)20 7723 2450 or e-mail PassageEnquiry@aol.com.

*****

• An ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) will allow a passenger to stay in the US for 90 days. Fingerprinting is required at the first US port of call. A full visa will allow a passenger to remain in the US until the date designated on the Visa. Again, fingerprinting is required at the first US port of call. Any individuals that are citizens of a VWP country who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country) are no longer eligible to travel to the US under VWP and other restrictions apply based on the current government. Authorization by ESTA does not determine whether a traveler is admissible to the United States. US Customs & Border Protection officers determine admissibility upon travellers’ arrival.