p20 cruise Dec11 8/12/09 13:44 Page 20
news cruise
ttglive.com
PSA predicts 6.5%
rise in UK cruisers
TTG’s Face of Travel
THE PASSENGER Shipping
Association has predicted
targets gay market
that the number of Brits
taking cruises next year will
Sara Macefield.
increase by 6.5% compared TTG FACE of Travel winner Martin Owens is
with this year’s total. behind a new website aimed at promoting
The organisation said the mainstream cruising to the gay market.
value and variety of product The Future Travel homeworker claims World
offered during the recession Pride Cruises, which he launched in June, is the
was continuing to drive growth. only UK operation putting together gay groups
PSA director Bill Gibbons said: “We predict a for general cruises.
record 1.65 million UK passengers will choose a “My aim is to put more gay people on
cruise in 2010, up 6.5% over 2009.” mainstream ships,” said Owens (pictured).
Gibbons said the choice of product was so vast “There are gay ship charters, but that means
that agents could make sales for cruises ranging having to go on a set date to a set place, yet there
from small 49-passenger Scottish Highlands trips are so many hundreds of ships and itineraries.
through to 6,000-capacity sailings such as on “I want to push people on to normal cruises so
Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas (pictured). they can go where they want and get the benefits
of being in a group.”
His first group cruise, planned for May, is
In brief
an 11-night cruise-and-stay package on Royal
Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Seas
sailing from Barcelona.
■ Marco Polo to sail Canary Islands Easter cruise Prices start at £999, including flights from
Cruise & Maritime Voyages has unveiled a new regional airports, entertainment and a two-night
Easter itinerary for its 800-passenger Marco stay in Barcelona.
Polo. The voyage, which sets sail from London Owens plans to escort the group and is arrang-
Tilbury on March 29, will take two weeks to ing special one-off extras such as a visit to the
arrive at the Canary Islands, with calls at Vigo Salvation Ibiza nightclub in Ibiza, where the ship
in Spain and Agadir in Morocco before reaching stays overnight, an exclusive show onboard the The site’s customers also get cashback of
Lanzarote and Tenerife. On the return leg there ship and a farewell party in Barcelona. around 1% of whatever they spend as they
will be calls in Madeira and Porto. He hopes to plan four cruises a year become members of the Co-operative Member-
encompassing the Mediterranean, Caribbean and ship Scheme, which rewards customers with
■ Cruise West unveils new small-ship sailings the Baltic, plus a mini-cruise. money back or discounts.
Cruise West is to offer five new voyages around Owens intends to sell general cruise holidays
the Americas in 2010. The small-ship cruise on any line to both gay and straight customers ■ Martin Owens has set up his own blog at
company’s new itineraries include St John’s to through the site, at worldpridecruises.co.uk. futuretravelcruise.blogspot.com
Halifax, Halifax to Palm Beach, Palm Beach to
Panama, Panama to Ecuador and Ecuador to
Easter Island. Each voyage includes shore
excursions at every port and one “Ultimate Costa awards champions afloat
Explorer Experience” designed to bring guests
into contact with local people. COSTA Cruises will hold its annual Champions of allows us to share all the excitement of the debut
the Sea ceremony on a new ship for the first of our new showpiece with our partners.
■ P&O: two ships earn agents £1m in a week time in February, when hundreds of agents will “It’s a tribute to those who help us every day
P&O said agents earned more than £1 million celebrate onboard Costa Deliziosa. to be the biggest and most reliable Italian
from selling cruises on its Artemis and Arcadia The annual gala, now in its 17th year, will be tourism group and Europe’s number one cruise
ships last week. About 500 passengers were held on the Italian company’s newest ship when company.
booked on Arcadia’s 2011 Grand Alaska Adventure it is launched from the shipyard in Fincantieri. “It is thanks to their contribution that Costa
cruise on its first day on sale, with more than The UK’s top agents will be joined by 1,500 Cruises is recording very positive results this year
80% taking the full 72-day complete voyage. The travel professionals from across the world on a despite the difficult economic period.”
farewell cruise on Artemis sold out in 17 minutes. five-day cruise from Venice to Savona. Agent guests will be invited to two gala
Gianni Onorato, president of Costa Cruises, dinners during the five-day sailing, with prizes
ttglive.com
For the very latest cruise news,
said: “It is the first time we will host the awarded to the line’s most successful agents of
visit ttglive.com/cruise Champions of the Sea onboard a new ship. This the year.
20 11.12.2009
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