IN BRIEF
ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S Mariner of the Seas will offer a short Brazil season in February 2011, featuring four round-trip sailings from Sao Paulo on a six-night itinerary. The March 5 voyage will coincide with Brazil’s Carnival celebrations, featuring a call at Rio De Janeiro and an overnight at Salvador De Bahia.
SILVERSEA CRUISES has just published its new 2011 Voyages brochure. The comprehensive 190-page booklet details nearly 200 itineraries visiting seven continents, over 80 countries, and more than 400 destinations. For a complimentary copy, visit www.
silversea.com and click on the Brochure Request link or call free on 0844 770 9030.
Cruise News
Three-sy does it! The world of cruising welcomed a trio of dramatic new ships in April and May, making for a real terrifi c treble of maritime attraction.
1An Azura Day
P&O CRUISES offi cially launched their latest superliner in April, with much fanfare as Royal Ballet School star Darcey Bussell performed the christening ceremony.
T
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE and Nickelodeon have announced itineraries for two 2011 ‘Nickelodeon All Access Cruises,’ which will be specially themed with characters and activities from the kids TV channel. The European sailing departs July 24, 2011, as part of Norwegian Epic’s 2011/12 debut season in the Mediterranean while the second will be on Norwegian Jewel, departing New York on 20 February, 2011.
PRINCESS CRUISES has placed orders for two new 3,600-passenger ships with Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard. The vessels are scheduled to enter service in spring 2013 and 2014 and, at an estimated 141,000 tons, will be the largest in the Princess fl eet.
AMA WATERWAYS will add two new ships to its river-cruise fl eet in 2011, one in Russia and one in South East Asia. The newly-refurbished MS Amakatarina will cruise 11-night ‘Russian Waterways’ itineraries between Moscow and St Petersburg, while, on the Mekong River, a brand-new 124-passenger vessel will offer 7-night voyages from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to Siem Reap, Cambodia, as part of the line’s ‘Vietnam, Cambodia & the Riches of the Mekong’ programme.
he 116,000-ton Azura is now the largest in the P&O fl eet (edging out sister ship Ventura by 3,000 tons)
and gives the Southampton-based line seven contrasting, modern vessels, four of them built in the past fi ve years. Bussell was the highlight of a lavish
ceremony in the ship’s home port, with the prima ballerina taking part in a dance routine before going for a twirl on the top deck. The ship’s giant video screen on the pool deck also showed great fi lm dance moments, and the event was fi nished off with a grand fi reworks show. The Royal Ballet star (below right insisted: “It’s a great honour to be involved. For me, this is a wonderful event because I’m able promote the best of dance within one evening. It’s wonderful P&O is carrying on that theme from the old fi lms where dance was so important.” P&O managing director Carol Marlow insisted: “Darcey embodies glamour, vitality and classical elegance, which are also refl ected in Azura. We are honoured she agreed to become Godmother. Azura has one of her three magnifi cent dance fl oors right at the heart of the ship so, with dancing a real feature, Darcey was a natural choice and very fi ttingly has given Azura the best possible start in life.” Highlights of the ship itself include the
level of sophisticated dining available on what Marlow refers to as “a designer boutique hotel at sea.” Renowned wine expert Olly Smith has supervised the bar/ restaurant The Glass House, while celebrity chef Atul Kochhar has been the man behind Sindhu, P&O’s fi rst fully- fl edged Indian-cuisine dining option. Many of the restaurants also feature more tables for two than we are used to seeing, while there are even sun-loung- ers on deck and spa treatments for couples, too.
10 WORLD OF CRUISING I Summer 2010
There are 1,557 staterooms in all, with more than 900 of them having balconies, including 18 single cabins, both inside AND outside (another rarity). Typically for a P&O vessel, each one is fully with tea and coffee-making facilities and many also have the full bath which the line knows is more popular with British cruisers. Azura will operate to northern Europe, the Canaries, Western Europe and the Mediterranean in summer and autumn before heading to the Caribbean for a winter fl y-cruise series. For more information, visit www.
pocruises.com or call 0845 678 0014.
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