Cruise W E E K L Y Cruise Weekly today Cruise Weekly today features five pages of all the latest cruise industry news.
CLIA charity support CRUISE Lines International Association Australasia raised more than $5,000 at last weekend’s annual Cruise Industry Awards, with guests generously supporting a raffle to help fund Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships is CLIA’s global charity of choice, operating floating hospitals that cruise around the world providing free, world-class health care services to the developing world. The organisation also provides training for health professionals, with Alan Burrell, managing director of Mercy Ships Australia thanking CLIA for its support. “The work that Mercy Ships is doing is unique and our partnership is a natural fit.”
Thursday 16 Feb 2017
HLO expands cruise division HELLOWORLD has confirmed the $1 million-odd acquisition of Cruise Marketing Group and Cruise Factory Pty Ltd (CW breaking news yesterday), with HLO executive director Cinzia Burnes saying the deal reflects the “growth and unprecedented demand within the cruise sector in Australia”. The companies being bought are majority owned by Fred Sparksman and John Simos, with Peter Topping having a small minority shareholding in the Cruise Factory business which specialises in white label cruise websites for travel agents, powered by an extensive data feed of cruise lines, itineraries, ports and packages. Former owners include Geoff Hackett, now at Cruise1st, and Cruise Abroad md Peter Marshall who resigned as a director of CMG just over a month ago.
Cruise Marketing Group brands include Seven Oceans Cruising, Cruise Abroad and the Worldwide Cruise Centres network, which has about 120 member travel agencies across Australia. It’s unclear what the implication will be for these agencies, many of whom are not part of Helloworld - which in turn already operates The Cruise Team within its wholesale division. Burnes said the acquisitions would build on the existing The Cruise Team operation, and would be “beneficial additions to our wholesale division that will deliver us results in this key area”. The Travel Corporation’s Creative Cruising is expected to make the most of the move, with industry pundits expecting a strong marketing push for the brand, led by Peter Forsyth, as Australia’s only independent cruise wholesaler.
TUI sells Le Boat EUROPEAN travel giant Tui AG overnight announced the sale of its Travelopia division to private equity firm KKR, with the deal encompassing a host of brands including Le Boat, Sunsail, The Moorings, Zegrahm and Quark Expeditions. UK-based Travelopia had operated under standalone management as “the world’s largest collection of specialist travel brands,” with annual revenue of £1.17 billion and pretax earnings of £50 million. However as a separate division of TUI there had been some uncertainty about its future. The private equity buyout was welcomed by chief executive officer Will Waggott. “This is going to be really good for everyone in the business to have a new owner who will focus on what makes these businesses good and invest in what they need to grow,” he said.
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W E E K L Y
Thursday 16 Feb 2017
Carnival Cuba thumbs up
Uniworld on the high seas
UNIWORLD Boutique River Cruises isn’t normally seen on the ocean, but yesterday The Travel Corporation made an exception as the brand participated in the annual TTC Sailing Regatta on Sydney Harbour. TTC ceo John Veitch was on board the Uniworld yacht, along with md Fiona Dalton and key industry partners. Despite their best efforts - and perhaps reflecting Uniworld’s reputation for serene, relaxed river sailing - the team came in last in the regatta, with the coveted Travel Corporation Cup taken out by Adventure World.
Menzler moves up AFTER seven years in the role, Rod Menzler has been promoted from gm land and cruise contracting to head of tourism and global partnerships at Flight Centre Travel Group. In his new role, he will look to develop mutually beneficial relationships with tourism bodies and external partners.
AIDA christening AIDA Cruises’ twelfth member of the fleet, AIDAperla will be christened on 30 Jun in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Bookings for the christening cruise, which will sail 24 Jun-01 Jul, are now open. Departing from Palma de Mallorca, the vessel will stop by Rome, Florence and Barcelona.
Avalon promo videos AVALON ambassador Deborah Hutton stars in 10 new videos promoting Avalon Waterways’ selling points. The clips are up to 60 seconds in length and agents are encouraged to make use of them on social media channels, websites, presentations and in digital newsletters. Globus national marketing manager Chris Fundell said the videos are “a wonderful illustration of our product and we hope they’ll be a useful tool for our industry partners”. To see the vids, CLICK HERE.
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CARNIVAL Cruise Line (CCL) has joined the Cuba line-up, revealing this week that it has received approval to begin sailing to the island nation in Jun. Cuba now appears on 12 fourand five-day Carnival Paradise sailings from Tampa. Four-day cruises in 2017 will include a daytime and overnight visit to Havana, departing 29 Jun, 13 Jul, 24 Aug, 07 & 21 Sep and 05 & 19 Oct as well as 03 May. Five-day voyages will sail on 14 & 28 Aug, 25 Sep and 09 Oct and include a daytime and overnight visit to Havana as well as a stop in either Cozumel or Key West. Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said Cuba was an island jewel, unique from anywhere else in the Caribbean. “The opportunity to visit Havana, combined with the fun, relaxed ambiance and wide variety of amenities and features offered on Carnival Paradise, will make for a truly one-of-a-kind holiday experience,” she said. Bookings are open for Carnival’s sailings that include a visit to Havana in 2017. MEANWHILE, Oceania Cruises
has opened bookings for an additional series of sailings to Cuba in Nov and Dec. Departing from Miami, the itineraries range from six to 13 days in length and include the line’s first calls to Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Late last year Oceania announced two sailings to Cuba in Mar (CW 13 Dec). Oceania Cruises’ chief executive officer, Bob Binder said inaugural voyages to the island had been “a sell-out success”.
Majesty delayed dep ROYAL Caribbean International’s Majesty of the Seas delayed its 14 Feb departure by a day after a US Coast Guard inspection came across some technical concerns. The issues included some outdoor lifejackets “showing their age”, RCI said in a statement. Replacement life jackets arrived early yesterday morning and the cruise line said it expected to address the other issues shortly. The vessel is scheduled for a four-night sailing, calling into CocoCay and Nassau, Bahamas.
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Crystal ribbon cutting
cruise W E E K L Y
Thursday 16 Feb 2017
Silversea’s new cmo
Kimberley info events
BARBARA Muckermann has returned to Silversea in the role of chief marketing officer. Muckermann was most recently ceo of Yonderbound, an online travel company she founded in 2012 and previously spent nearly four years at Silversea as senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales, Europe. Based in the Monaco office, she will report to chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio on strategic and brand initiatives, while also reporting to ceo Roberto Martinoli on operational matters.
AGENTS and trade partners are invited to a series of information evenings with Aurora Expeditions next month. The company’s Kimberley expedition leader Mike Cusack will cover the company’s Kimberley small ship voyages. A session will be held in Sydney on 27 Feb; Brisbane on 08 Mar and Melbourne on 16 Mar. The Kimberley Information Evenings are free, but spaces are limited, and registration is required - to RSVP for an event, CLICK HERE.
Europa 2 vego menus THE vegetarian and vegan options on board Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa 2 have been expanded due to high demand. Developed by former ceo of the Michelin-starred Margaux restaurant in Berlin, chef Michael Hoffmann, the vegetarian options are available across the vessel’s seven restaurants.
CRYSTAL Cruises’ new dedicated corporate office in Sydney held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Fri, attended by the Crystal chairman, ceo and president, Edie Rodriguez. Speaking to Cruise Weekly earlier that day, Karen Christensen, senior vice pres/managing director, Australia and New Zealand said the local HQ was going well since opening on 03 Jan. “It’s a quiet month during Jan but we’ve had regular bookings every day, which is fantastic,” she said. Christensen is overseeing 11 staff and told CW there were long-term growth plans. “We’re built to take 25 and set up to take 25 staff and that is the plan,” she said. The team is catering for the entire luxury Crystal portfolio and the team is focussing on boosting sales, passenger numbers and repeat passengers. Speaking on board Crystal Symphony, Christensen noted the
ship was in the region for a “much longer season than many other companies during the summer”. “I think that says a lot about the commitment of Crystal to Australia and New Zealand and I think that’s fantastic,” she added. In 2018 both of Crystal Cruises ocean vessels, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony will meet in Sydney Harbour on 17 Feb. Rodriguez and Christensen are pictured above officially opening the Sydney outpost.
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cruise W E E K L Y
Thursday 16 Feb 2017
HAL supports a good cause
Sun Princess gastro
Journey Cairns debut
PRINCESS Cruises delayed embarkation onto Sun Princess in Brisbane today to allow for a deep clean following an outbreak of norovirus on its most recent cruise to New Zealand. In a statement to CW, the cruise line said “On any given day during the cruise 12 to 15 of the 2,000 guests were in self isolation,” noting “At no stage during the cruise was there a large number of guests ill at any one time.” Metro North Hospital and Health Service told CW they were aware of a total of 176 people being ill at various times during the 14-night cruise and on board testing found norovirus to be the cause of the illness.
AZAMARA Journey sailed into Cairns for the first time on Tue morning as part of her maiden Australian sailing - an 18-night Singapore to Sydney voyage. The vessel will make her Sydney debut on 19 Feb, docking overnight before heading on a New Zealand itinerary. It’s not the last time Cairns will see the vessel, with a return planned on 28 Mar, at the end of Journey’s maiden season. Journey is pictured in Cairns.
TTW restructure
HOLLAND America Line hosted 120 guests, including the Dutch Ambassador in Auckland on ms Noordam for a lunch on Tue. Raising funds for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation and held in conjunction with the Dutch Business Association, the event managed to generate an
impressive NZ$8,475 (AU$7,938) for the charity. Pictured celebrating the successful event are: Marcel Roos, president Dutch Business Association; Evangelia Henderson ceo New Zealand Breast Cancer Association and Rob Zaagman, Dutch Ambassador.
TRAVEL the World (TTW) are promoting two long-standing team members to new senior roles in preparation for the departure of Deb Corbett in midMar (CW Tue). Juliana Higgins will step into the role of Sydney-based national marketing and product manager and Sharon Hando to Gold Coastbased national sales manager. Sussanah Teng, will also become Sydney-based national marketing and product executive, in a support role to Higgins.
Genting 17/18 on sale GENTING Dream’s 2017/18 Singapore deployment opened for sale today, including itineraries to Surabaya and North Bali in Indonesia. The cruise line is running dream deals offering up to 50% off across all categories and suite guests will receive bonus F&B credits, free wi-fi and 24 hour butler service. CLICK HERE for more.
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Thursday 16 Feb 2017
HAL correction OPRAH Winfrey will be on board one HAL sailing in Jun, not four, as reported in CW on Tue. She will join the inaugural O, The Oprah Magazine Share the Adventure Cruise to Alaska. Winfrey will also not be on an additional four O, The Oprah Magazine Adventure of Your Life sailings through to Oct 2018 which will feature O Magazineinspired activities.
QM2 stops by Busselton
MD, CLIA Australasia
The CLIAs
PORTHOLE DREAM Cruises has taken a somewhat unconventional approach to celebrating International Women’s Day. The cruise line is giving away a handcrafted cheongsam (dress) to one passenger on every cruise in Mar who can “fit into the ideal measurements as envisioned by the Master Tailor Mr. Leung Ching Wah”. International Women’s Day’s 2017 campaign is “#BeBoldForChange” and the purpose of the day is “to help forge a better working world a more gender inclusive world”. Dream Cruises will also hold a series of beauty-based events throughout the month, including the first Cheongsam Catwalk at Sea, professional hair and makeup workshops, skincare talks & dance parties. Following Shanghai-inspired classes, passengers can be professionally photographed “to immortalise your glamorous transformation”.
ACA Update
THE city of Busselton in WA put on a host of activities to welcome Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 for the first time on Mon. Live entertainment, gourmet local produce and wine tastings and businesses put out the ‘welcome mat’ by decorating windows in tribute of the ship’s 2,351 passengers’ arrival. The visitors experienced the revamped Busselton foreshore visitor centre, which is equipped with large interactive touchscreens and virtual reality content to showcase nearby experiences and attractions. Margaret River Busselton
Viking Europe sale VIKING River Cruises are offering a cruise plus airfare package on select 15-day Grand European Tour departures throughout 2018, priced from $5,995 per person twin share. The cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam visits nine UNESCO world heritage sites and features 12 guided tours. Available until sold out, to book call 1300 845 464.
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Tourism Association chief exec officer Pip Close said the new “visitor centre is the culmination of over 12 months’ work”. “The tech on offer will have a long-term effect on our ability to encourage visitors to experience a diverse range of MRBTA member product, stay longer in the region and ultimately increase the amount they spend here.” QM2 made the visit as part of its 135-night New York to New York global voyage.
CCC seniors deals CAPTAIN Cook Cruises is celebrating the NSW Seniors festivals with a range of specials available for guests presenting a valid Australian seniors card. From 03 Mar to 12 Mar, guests can enjoy discounts on the Seniors Festival Seafood Buffet Lunch Cruise and the Seniors Festival Harbour Story Premium cruise including refreshments, wine and coffee. Cruises depart from Circular Quay, Sydney. See www.captaincook.com.au.
The 16th annual CLIA Cruise Industry Awards were held last Sat evening in Sydney and what a great night it was. The Awards night brings together the industry’s brightest stars from across Australia and New Zealand in a fantastic celebration that recognises their outstanding achievements. Each year, the event continues to grow in stature in line with the impressive expansion of the industry, cementing “The CLIAs” as the cruise industry’s night of nights. This year saw a total of 19 awards handed out across nine categories with the top Australian award once again going to Western Australia’s Bicton Travel. In addition, Bicton founder Carole Smethurst was inducted into the CLIA Hall of Fame. Pukekohe Travel won the New Zealand Gold Agency of the Year award for the second time in three years, while manager Gail Littin also claimed the mantle of Cruise Consultant of the Year - the first time a New Zealand agency and one of its team has taken home both top awards. Saturday’s sell-out gala event featured an exclusive preview of award-winning musical The Bodyguard with Paulini performing some of Whitney Houston’s best known songs, ahead of the Australian premier later this year. Special thanks must go to all our Cruise Line and Executive Partner sponsors, and to all the winners and finalists we extend our congratulations.
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