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upscale cruising
One line that should never be described as anything other than ‘luxury’ is Crystal Cruises, whose two ships Serenity and Symphony offer the ultimate in comforts, including a Nobu restaurant. Symphony emerged from a $20-million dry
dock spruce-up last autumn that leaves it with a new outdoor ‘fi tness garden’ spanning three aft decks, a redesigned spa and casino and technological upgrades throughout the ship. With the last of its older 212-passenger ships due to join the Windstar Cruises fl eet in May (2015), and two new 604-passenger ships on order for 2016 and 2018, Carnival Corporation’s luxury brand, Seabourn Cruises, is also gunning for growth this year. The new 40,000-ton vessels will be a size up from Seabourn’s Odyssey Class vessels, which proved to be game-changers for the brand, attracting a younger, cosmopolitan clientele who preferred their spacious layouts and laid-back elegance to the formality of the old Seabourn ships. The new-builds will be laid out like the popular Odyssey ships, but will have an extra deck and more spacious public areas. Seabourn president Richard Meadows said the new orders refl ect strong demand for Seabourn’s style of luxury cruising. “Our new ships will offer the understated
elegance Seabourn is known for and combine it with innovations and modern design features,” he said. While Regent woos luxury travellers with
ever more inclusivity, and Seabourn with the promise of spacious new ships, Silversea Cruises has led the way in appealing to their sense of adventure with three expedition cruise ships: the Silver Explorer, Silver Galapagos and Silver Discoverer (which joined its fl eet early last year). The Silversea expedition brand – which features expert lecturers from partner The Royal Geographical Society – has proved so successful that CEO Enzo Visone has hinted there may be a fourth ship within the next three years. And though Silversea has announced
no fi rm plans as yet, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China says it has agreed fi nance for three new Silversea ships to be built at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard. Meanwhile, other luxury brands have noted
Silversea’s success and started preparing expedition products of their own; Seabourn has been readying its ships to operate Polar cruises, while Ponant Cruises equipped its new fl eet of luxury ships (which expands this year with the launch of the 264-passenger Le Lyrial in May) with ice-class hulls. Crystal is introducing
a new expedition-style voyage traversing the Arctic Ocean via the legendary Northwest Passage in August 2016. Following an ice-breaker, Serenity will sail for 32 nights from the Pacifi c to the Atlantic Ocean. Andy Harmer, Director of CLIA UK & Ireland, says ever-more adventurous itineraries will be the hottest trend in the luxury cruise
“The big trend is towards more time ashore. This year will see cruise lines increasing overnight stays to allow passengers deeper connections with destinations” ANDY HARMER, DIRECTOR OF CLIA UK & IRELAND
sector as it goes into 2015 and beyond. “Luxury cruising will see more expedition- style cruises, both at sea and on rivers, which take passengers off the beaten track for hands-on experiences in unusual destinations, particularly in Asia,” he says. “The other big trend is towards more time ashore. This year will see cruise lines increasing overnight stays to offer passengers deeper connections with destinations.” This will bring more competition for Royal Caribbean’s Premium Plus- rated, ‘destination- immersive’ subsidiary Azamara Club Cruises which though it does not claim to be a luxury brand prides itself on combining
a comfortable small-ship experience with longer stays ashore and more overnight visits. With Viking River Cruises’ new Viking
Ocean brand launching its fi rst ship, Viking Star, this year and aiming to follow a similar model, Azamara must look to its laurels. It has responded by including drinks and tips, and offering a wider range of complimentary ‘Azamazing Evenings’ to its guests. The line has also introduced new ‘Insider
Access’ and ‘Nights and Cool Places’ shore excursions to emphasise its status as a cruise line which takes passengers ‘under the skin’ of the destinations they visit. The question now is whether – and when – Azamara will expand its two-ship fl eet.
Above: Ponant’s new luxury ship, Le Lyrial, offers plenty of elegant space; left: Regent Seven Seas Cruises woos upmarket cruisers; Ocean’s Red Ginger restaurant
sellingtravel.co.uk
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