PORT NEWS A ROYAL DEBUT
SOUTHAMPTON has been ear-marked as the home port for the debut in summer 2013 of the new Royal Princess of Princess Cruises. Preceding the inaugural programme of 12-night Grand Mediterranean cruises sailing between Barcelona and Venice, the all-new ship will sail on her maiden voyage, a seven-night Iberia cruise from Southampton to Barcelona, on June 16. Her maiden season cruises will open for sale on March 15, 2012. There will also be two three-night preview cruises sailing round-trip from Southampton on June 10 and 13, 2013, that will be available for booking at a later date. Paul Ludlow, Princess Cruises UK
director, said: “We are delighted Royal Princess will be heading off on her maiden voyage from Southampton. This really will give British passengers the chance to be among the first to see the ship, either on one of the three-night preview cruises or the seven-night maiden voyage.” Princess have also revealed more details about the ship’s atrium and its collection of dining, entertainment, shopping and guest services as the signature space will debut a number of new features, including Bellini’s Italian cocktail bar, Ocean Terrace seafood bar, a gelateria and Celebrations gift shop. A preview video with Princess Cruises
president and CEO Alan Buckelew and executive vice president Rai Caluori offering a glimpse of the new atrium that can be viewed at
www.princess.com/royalprincess.
UNIWORLD’S DOURO DELIGHT The boutique
river-cruise collection of UNIWORLD will unveil a new ship, The Queen Isabel, on the Douro River in Portugal in 2013, replacing current vessel the Douro Spirit, which was inaugurated in 2011. The new-build vessel will carry 118
passengers, a slightly smaller capacity than the Spirit but will offer more suites, comprising 18 junior suites at 215sq ft and two larger ones at 323sq ft, with the top deck featuring full balconies. Queen Isabel will also have a more classic and elegant style “to better reflect the luxurious standards of the rest of Uniworld’s fleet on other European rivers.” More info: www.u
niworldrivercruises.co.uk or call 0845 678 8311.
PORTSMOUTH GO BIG
A major construction project has just started at PORTSMOUTH INTERNATIONAL PORT to lengthen one of the berths used by ferries and cruise ships.
Berth 2 will be extended by nearly 50
metres to improve the port’s flexibility and allow for a greater number of larger ships to be docked at any one time. Until now, the largest vessel able to visit Portsmouth has been 210m long but the extension will increase this to 240m. The multi-million pound project has been approved by Portsmouth City Council, owners of the port. The investment will help secure current customers and attract additional trade, as ships continue to grow in size. In turn, this will help to protect jobs and boost the local economy. Phil Gadd, Port Manager, explained:
“We can never afford to rest on our laurels and must continue to develop our facilities. Doing nothing is not a viable option as it has became clear ferry and cruise operators are keen to bring bigger ships to Portsmouth. The newly extended berth will offer them a chance to grow their business, and help us sustain jobs in the city.” The berth will be extended by the construction of two berthing ‘dolphins,’ which are connected by walkway bridges. The ‘dolphins’ are built using seven steel piles being sunk into the seabed and placing a prefabricated structure on top of the piles to form the decking.
Azura’s new Caribbean Voyages
P&O CRUISES has announced details of 12 new cruises on board Azura for spring 2013. Priced from £999, these new itineraries provide four transatlantic cruises, seven fly-cruises and one short city break from three to 22 nights and include the likes of Barbados, Curacao, Aruba, St Lucia, Antigua and Guadeloupe.
Example itineraries are:
• A 15-night transatlantic cruise, from Southampton on January 10, calling in Ponta Delgada, St Maarten, St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados for the return flight.
• A 22-night transatlantic cruise, from Southampton on January 10, as above, and also calling at Curacao, Aruba, St Vincent, Grenada and Barbados for the return flight.
• A15-night Caribbean fly-cruise, starting from Barbados on January 24 and calling at Curacao, Aruba, St Vincent, Grenada and Barbados for the return flight.
• A 3-night city break cruise (before Caribbean cruises commence), depart- ing Southampton on January 7 and calling at Amsterdam.
P&O managing director Carol Marlow
said: “This is a collection of flexible itineraries for those who want an exotic winter holiday on one of our newest ships. The transatlantic cruises are fantastic for those who prefer a lazy start or end to their holiday and the ease of departure from or arrival into Southampton. And the fly-cruises are great for those who want immediate sunshine.” More info: 0845 3 554 444 or
www.pocruises.co.uk.
14 WORLD OF CRUISING I Spring 2012
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