cruising: new ships
FEATURE 55
Launching in November, Costa Diadema will
become the fl agship in Costa Cruises’ fl eet. The Italian line is famous for its bright design features and says it wants to create the atmosphere of ‘a buzzing seaside resort’ on the 3,724-passenger vessel that will sail in the Mediterranean. Entertainment will include a 4D cinema, grand prix simulator and a new country rock club venue. On a much smaller scale, in May Windstar
Cruises will launch Star Pride, the fi rst of three luxurious all-suite sailing yachts all purchased from Seaborn. Now completely refurbished, accommodation includes four owners’ suites, between 530 to 575 square feet, with separate living and dining areas and private forward facing verandas. The 212-passenger Star Pride will sail in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia and its sister ships launch in April and May 2015. Pearl Seas Cruises, America’s newest small ship cruise line, unveils its fi rst ship in June. Offering a ‘luxury adventure product’ and a very personal service, the line says that if passengers want a
certain food or drink it will be picked up at the next port stop. Pearl Mist will carry 210 passengers in large cabins ranging from 302 to 580 square feet, each with a private balcony. The ship will sail to destinations in America and Canada this year before moving to the Caribbean in 2015. Closer to home, there is a landmark launch in the offi ng for P&O Cruises with Britannia, the biggest ship built for the British cruise market. Carrying 3,611 passengers the 141,000-ton vessel – 25,000 tons larger than P&O’s previous largest ships Azura and Ventura – Britannia will debut in spring 2015. Its maiden season will cover the Mediterranean, Norwegian fjords, Canary Islands and Baltic Sea, plus a special round-Britain cruise, before transferring to the Caribbean. Keen to attract families, Britannia will include a dedicated teens’ pool area and there will be no seasonal price fl uctuations during peak school holiday periods. “We have set out to make Britannia the biggest and the best and we are confi dent passengers will be wowed by the experience,” said P&O’s Marketing Director Christopher Edgington.
“Britannia will introduce cutting-edge design combined with a range of innovations uniquely styled to appeal to those who may not have considered a cruise holiday before as well as our many loyal past passengers.”
www.sellinglonghaul.com
“Our belief is that the on-board experience is as much a part of their holiday as the destinations to which we travel. But while innovation is inherent in all that we do, it mustn’t be innovation for innovation’s sake”
STUART LEVEN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL, UK AND IRELAND
Where to book it COSTA CRUISES – 0800 389 0622
Costa Cruises has a seven-night voyage on Costa Diadema, sailing from Barcelona on November 10 2014 with ports of call at Palma, Naples, La Spezia, Savona and Marseille. Prices from £459pp.
costacruises.co.uk P&O CRUISES – 0843 374 0111 P&O Cruises’ 14-night maiden voyage on Britannia sets sail from Southampton on March 14 2015. Ports of call include Gibraltar, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome (tours from Civitavecchia), Corsica and Seville (tours from Cadiz). Prices from £1,149pp.
pocruises.com
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Facing page: Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess This page, clockwise from left: NCL Getaway, the Azura
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