news cruise
In brief
■ Louis Cruise Lines says small is beautiful
Louis Cruise Lines is highlighting its small ships and high staff to passenger ratio to agents. Peter Adamou, UK and Ireland manager for Louis, claimed no other line operating in the Mediterranean had such small ships and the average crew to passenger ratio was 2.8. Its new 2010 10-day eastern Med voyage through the Corinth Canal in Greece is almost sold out.
■ Swan Hellenic returns to Lesbos and Melos
Swan Hellenic has launched its 2011 summer brochure featuring new lesser-known destina- tions as well as established favourites. Minerva will call at Crotone in southern Italy, as well as Rovinj and Pula on the Istrian Peninsula. It will also return to the monasteries of Meteora, as well as the Greek islands of Lesbos and Melos.
■ World Cup games to be shown onboard
Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International have obtained rights to air all games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa on every ship while at sea in inter- national waters. Onboard programmes will include tournaments and World Cup-themed activities, workshops, food and drinks.
■ Disney Dream introduces gourmet dining
Disney Cruise Line is to debut its premier dining restaurant on Disney Dream, which is due to launch in 2011. The adult-only Remy restaurant, named after the main character in the Disney film, Ratatouille, will offer French-inspired gourmet cuisine by two award-winning chefs.
■ All Lesiure Group to base fleet in Portsmouth
All Leisure Group is basing all three of its ships in Portsmouth next year as it increases the number of “no fly” cruises in summer 2011. Swan Hellenic’s Minerva, Voyages of Discovery’s My Discovery and Hebridean Island Cruises Hebridean Princess will operate from Portsmouth’s new passenger terminal which is due to open in spring 2011. My Discovery will return to Harwich later in the year.
■ Fred Olsen highlights Dover departures
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has launched a brochure featuring the Balmoral and Braemar’s Dover departures. The ships’ 16 sailings, which range in length from seven nights to 21 nights, will include the Arctic, the Norwegian fjords, Canary Islands and the Adriatic.
ttglive.com
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24
16.04.2010
ttglive.com
New passenger terminal sets Oman on course for huge sales
Sophie Griffiths.
CRUISE LINES are predicting strong growth for Oman following the unveiling of its first passenger terminal in its capital Muscat in February. About 18 cruise lines now include the sultanate on their itineraries, including Cunard, Holland America, P&O and Royal Caribbean. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines will also return to Oman in 2011 when the Balmoral calls in during the last sector of a world cruise in April following a visit to Dubai. Costa Cruises has seen a 40% rise in the num- ber of its guests visiting the capital since 2006, bringing an estimated ¤5 million to the city. Crys- tal Cruises has doubled the number of calls it will make to Oman this year compared with 2009. Nigel Lingard, marketing director at Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said the country had grown in popularity with the cruise industry due to its close proximity to Dubai. “One feeds the other,”
Tui brings online cruises into shops
TUI TRAVEL has launched its online cruise sales arm in its high street retail stores. The company’s CruiseDeals brand is reversing
the trend towards web bookings by migrating its online and call centre base to its shops. Specialist cruise lounges will be positioned in Thomson and First Choice stores, as well as the newly rebranded Holiday Superstores, across the country. Karen Doyle, general manager of Tui Cruise Distribution, said the move was part of a five-
he said, “It’s a spin-off place for people to visit from the UAE.” June Field, Oman ministry of tourism public
relations director, said the country had been ploughing money into developing tourism over the past five years, and the past two years had seen a “flurry of interest from the cruise lines”. Most ships call in at Oman but Phil Nuttall,
director of cruise agency Save’n’Sail, said he believed it had the potential to become a home port in its own right. “For the last couple of years Oman has been
increasingly on our radar,” he said. “It’s a fast growing destination for cruise lines. If it was to develop another larger cruise terminal, it is likely that cruise lines would want to start from Muscat, as they do in Dubai.” The Queen Mary 2 was the first liner to visit
Muscat’s £4.5 million passenger terminal, which includes a shopping arcade and duty free area.
year plan to grow the firm’s cruise business. Putting CruiseDeals on the high street would help the brand grow, she said. “We have strong ambitions to double our
share of the cruise market, both in selling our own cruises as well as other lines,” she said. “With the cruise lounges, we’re able to provide multi-channels for customers to book their cruise deals.” The Holiday Superstores will be designed as
centres of excellence for cruise bookings, with DVDs from all cruise lines operating in the British market available for viewing. The lounges were first piloted in four stores in December. Around 40 superstores will have a cruise lounge by the end of the summer.
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