60
upscale cruising
her sister ships, Le Boreal, L’Austral and Le Soleal, the elegant vessel offers intimate cruising with just 122 staterooms and suites. Design is contemporary in shades of blue that refl ect the light of the Vegas star in the Lyra constellation from which the ship takes her name. Deck 6 is dedicated to the fi nest suites with the Owners Suite measuring 54m2. Onboard service throughout is relaxed and sophisticated with two restaurants, an inside and outside bar, a relaxation area on the pool deck, a theatre, library and spa. After a successful debut operating upmarket
river cruises along the Peruvian Amazon, boutique river cruise operator Aqua Expeditions (
aquaexpeditions.com) has launched a third vessel – the 20-cabin Aqua Mekong – to offer cruises through Vietnam and Cambodia. The new riverboat, similar in style to existing vessels Aqua Amazon and Aria Amazon, will offer three-, four and seven-night itineraries between Siem Riep and My Tho (near Saigon),via Phnom Penh.
“The term ‘luxury’ has
diminished in recent years: with so many brands now described as ‘luxury’ people are led to
believe every ship offers a voyage of hedonistic pleasure”
CECILIA ABERT, UK/EUROPE SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR, REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES
Rival Premium Plus brand Oceania Cruises
(now wholly owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings) is speeding ahead with a fourth ship – the 684-passenger Sirena – joining its existing vessels Insignia, Regatta and Nautica in 2016. Sirena – formerly Princess Cruises’ Ocean
Princess – will undergo a US$40 million refurbishment in Marseille after delivery in March 2016, and will feature Oceania signature facilities, including the speciality restaurants Toscana and Polo Grill, alongside recent fl eet innovations like baristas and the cook-to-order grill at Terrace Café, when she enters service in late April 2016. In the run-up to fl eet expansion,
Oceania is courting both new and repeat passengers with offers of free WiFi, new art audio tours highlighting the collections on board its
1,250-passenger ships Marina and Riviera, and new `Culinary Discovery’ tours of food markets, vineyards, farms and restaurants on Caribbean itineraries featuring Antigua and St Lucia. Though competition at the upper-end of the cruise market is becoming ever more ferocious, CLIA UK’s Andy Harmer says lines have good reason to stay confi dent. “It’s great to see the interest in high-end and luxury cruising continue to grow and 2015 is set to be an exciting year,” he says. “We will be holding our third Luxury
Cruise Expo alongside luxury themes at other events including the Selling Cruise Conference, Expedition Expo and the River Cruise Conference. These will all be supported by new luxury cruise CLIA Factsheets and Sales Guides for 2015.”
What’s new German luxury and expedition ship operator Hapag Lloyd – which started seriously courting British bookings with the 2013 launch of Europa 2 – has the ship offering its fi rst-ever Africa itineraries next winter, with fi ve cruises around East and South Africa in December 2015 and January 2016 to ports of call that will include Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Walvis Bay, Durban and Mauritius. HL also plans innovations this summer when Europa 2 will offer alternating Mediterranean itineraries combinable into 14-night sailings at a price reduction of £680pp. Europa 2 will also offer two- and four-night European ‘taster’ cruises next spring, and its 2015 programme as a whole emphasises variety and fl exibility; cruise durations range from two, four and six nights to 15 and 20 nights. Luxury French cruise line Ponant (
ponant.com) has launched her fi fth cruise ship, Le Lyrial. Like
sellingtravel.co.uk
Where to book it PONANT CRUISES - 0800 980 40 27
(LE LYRIAL- launching April 2015) Recife – Bridgetown (18 days / 17 nights) departing March 16 2016. From €3,860pp, cruise only.
ponant.com SILVERSEA EXPEDITIONS’ SILVER EXPLORER - 0844 251 0837 ‘In the footsteps of the explorers’, a 10-day round-trip Antarctica cruise, will depart Ushuaia, Argentina, on December 2. Priced from £6,550pp, cruise only and £9,599 pp with fl ights, it includes a night in Buenos Aires.
silversea.com WINDSTAR CRUISES’ STAR PRIDE - 1-888-733-1397 (formerly Seabourn Pride). A seven-day Istanbul round-trip, departing May 21 and September 7 2015 is from $2,499pp cruise only. It includes one of Windstar’s new-for-2015 ‘Private Event’ experiences ashore (one free per seven-night cruise)
windstarcruises.com
Above top: Oceania’s stunning pool deck; Copenhagen calls for Regent Seven Seas
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