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Queen Elizabeth will debut at ACE
NEXT YEAR’S UK Cruise Convention will feature five ship visits, including Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth, the Association of Cruise Experts has revealed. The convention will take place in Southamp-
ton between May 3 and 5 and will take the theme “cruise365” to highlight that there is a cruise holiday for everyone, on every day of the year. New for 2011 will be a dedicated day for
owners, managers and Ace Ambassadors – the highest level of training in Ace membership. Around 600 delegates are expected to attend the convention, which will include business seminars, debates, networking and a trade fair. It will also include up to five visits on ships such as P&O’s Aurora, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Balmoral, and Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, in addition to the Queen Elizabeth.
In brief
■ DFDS launches 2011 ferry and holiday guide DFDS Seaways has launched the Cruise Ferry and Holiday Guide 2011, which details its cross- ings from Newcastle to Holland, Harwich to Denmark and Copenhagen to Oslo. The brochure also features European getaways with the line’s holiday partners, which include Center Parcs Europe, Sunparks, Novasol and Octopus Travel.
■ Free helicopter expeditions Down Under Orion Expedition Cruises is offering free helicopter flight-seeing trips to King George Falls or Mitchell Falls on all 2011 Kimberley voyages in Australia booked before the end of November 2010. The cruise line will operate 13 Kimberley expeditions between Darwin and Broome next year. Guests will still receive a free flight over the Bungle Bungle ranges and free return UK flights.
■ Work to begin on new Pandaw ship Work is due to begin next month on a newbuild ship for Pandaw. The Saigon will sail on the Mekong between Saigon in Vietnam and Angkor in Cambodia and join the fleet in December 2011.
ttglive.com
For the very latest cruise news, visit
ttglive.com/cruise
18 29.10.2010
Opera’s UK sales hit the high note
Sophie Griffiths. MSC CRUISES has seen bookings in the UK and Ireland increase by 110% year-on-year for its 2011 itineraries.
The rise has been put down to the start of ex- UK sailings from Southampton on the MSC Opera to northern and western Europe. MSC said the sailings had proved to be “extremely successful”. Giulio Libutti, MSC Cruises general manager for the UK and Ireland, told TTG: “Moving the departure from Dover to Southampton and increasing the destinations we travel to from the UK, such as Spain and Belgium, has really helped sales.”
Libutti revealed that he has requested extra
capacity for the line’s ex-UK sailings. “We have asked for a bigger ship to be ex-UK for 2012 but we are waiting to see what head office says. If we are unable to do it for 2012, we will have a bigger ship departing from the UK in 2013.” It comes as MSC revealed it had signed an
agreement to deploy a vessel in Abu Dhabi on a homeport basis from October 2011. Libutti said the addition of Dubai and Abu Dhabi to MSC’s itineraries had helped attract UK passengers, and that the line was now looking to expand into other areas. “The Far East is one of the few areas we do not
MSC Opera sails into Venice from its new Southampton hub
travel to, so that could be somewhere we look at moving into in the future,” said Libutti. The cruise line said its new pricing strategy, which included early booking discounts and promotions, was also responsible for the rise. The UK is now MSC’s fastest growing market, beating both Italy and Germany. Libutti said it was on target to double the number of 2009 UK and Ireland passengers by 2011. “We are getting more recognised in the UK and
Ireland, and we are improving our penetration with consumers year-on-year,” he said. The line said it was working to develop better
relationships with agents who have “helped immensely in increasing passenger numbers”.
Hollywood shoots film on Allure
HOLLYWOOD IS set to invade Royal Caribbean’s new ship Allure when it arrives in Florida next month. Actors Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino will be shoot- ing scenes for Jack and Jill onboard the cruise line’s newest addition to the fleet, just weeks before its official launch. The film crew are also casting for
extras and asking Royal Caribbean staff to apply.
An internal memo has been sent to cruise line staff asking them to send a photograph of them-
selves to the extras casting depart- ment. It says the movie production is looking for “people between 30 and 60 years of age, of all ethnicities, plus kids between the ages of six and 14. They are also looking for couples or pairs that can share staterooms.” Filming will take place on the ship
Adam Sandler will film onboard in November
from November 12 to 23, as the final preparations are made to the ship in preparation of her launch celebrations,
which will take place from November 19. Allure is due to set sail on her maiden voyage on December 1.
sgriffiths@ttglive.com
Sophie Griffiths 020 7921 8010
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