P&O’s newbuild, Azura (sister of Ventura, descendant of the Princess ‘Grand Class’) has her own web site now:
www.pocruises.com/Azura
Archive for February, 2009
P&O’s New Azura
February 27, 2009Costa signs deal with Ryanair
February 16, 2009Costa Cruises has signed a commercial partnership with Ryanair.
The Italian company (owned by American Carnival Cruises) will become the only cruise line to feature on the Ryanair website. The three-year deal will see more than 5O routes flown by the airline connecting to Costa departure points.
The agreement is designed to expand the reach of cruise-only deals, particularly to the Mediterranean. Costa’s cruises are available to book from Ryanair’s website in the UK and will be introduced to the carrier’s other sites in seven other European countries including Ireland.
Costa UK managing director Marco Rosa made it clear that the airline would not be offered preferential rates that would undercut existing agency partners.”We want to reassure agents that we won’t be trashing prices through the Ryanair website,” he said. “This is a new product. We don’t want to move the typical cruise passenger who would book through a travel agent. “This is one extra channel on top of the existing ones.”
Rosa made it clear that the line was looking for supplementary business from current Ryanair passengers who would be new to cruising. He believes the first immediate result of the tie-up would be enhanced recognition of the Costa brand in the UK.
“There are a number of passengers we are missing because we are not so strong online,” he said.”Our growth until 2O12 is huge and everyone is growing capacity so the whole point is finding new passengers.” Rosa added that the line hoped to attract younger, web savvy passengers through the Ryanair agreement.
Costa is offering €1OO on board credit for each cabin booked via the Ryanair website until March 16. The line, which carried 1.2 million passengers last year, has a target to carry 1.5 million by 2O1O – the equivalent to the total number of people from the UK taking cruise holidays. Costa is introducing five new ships by 2O12, three of which will enter service over the next 12 months.
Ryanair flights connect with Costa departure ports including Venice, Savona, Civitavecchia, Palermo, Barcelona, Marseilles and Kiel.
The line’s Europe and new markets sales director Angelo Capurro was unable to specify the number of additrional bookings Costa would achieve through the Ryanair deal. But he said: “The agreement enables us to further extend our potential customer base by reaching a type of traveller that regularly uses the web, namely professionals aged between 25 and 45.
“This strategy is very much in line with our large scale fleet expansion programme with five new ships due to enter service, three of which to be delivered over the next 12 months.”
The airline’s commercial revenue director Sinead Finn said: “Ryanair and Costa Cruises will increase the accessibility and affordability of cruise holidays and bring greater choice to those looking to beat the recession but who still want to get away for a relaxing holiday.”
by Phil Davies (Travelmole)
Malcolm Say’s: This is an interesting partnership. I’m all for spreading the word about crusing and Ryanair do offer some very cheap flights at times. There web site already has a ‘Costa’ tab at the top of the page: www.ryanair.com
I hear than Ryanair are going to abolish all check-in desks in the future, expecting all passengers to check-in online. I wonder if cruise lines will follow suit, in the future?
SS Unted States In Danger
February 15, 2009See This link: www.planphilly.com/node/8106
Come on America! You are the richest nation in the world, you can put men on the moon (repeatedly) but you can’t save an important slice of your maritime history. Considering that you are a ‘new world’ one might think that you would want to preserve all of the important historical artifacts that still remain.
It’s ironic that American paid (and is still paying) to preserve the ‘Queen Mary’, but has never appear to be interested in the SS United States. Surely the later is indicative of American engineering achievement and was an important part of US culture, unlike the Queen Mary which is more representative of British culture.
Shame on you!
Result of SS Norway (Blue Lady) Auction
February 10, 2009
Thierry Dufournaud kindly alerted me to this link:
The ship SS NORWAY-FRANCE becomes a legend – Result of the auctions – Paris, France.
SS United States to be Scrapped?
February 10, 2009Sad news from the conservancy:
Dear SS United States Conservancy Members and Supporters:
The SS United States Conservancy has learned that the SS UNITED STATES will soon be listed for sale. The SS UNITED STATES was purchased by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in 2003, and ownership of the vessel was recently transferred to a holding company controlled by NCL’s parent company, Hong Kong-based Star Cruises. In light of current economic conditions, the SS UNITED STATES is now in grave danger of being sold for scrap. The Conservancy’s press release related to the impending sale of the ship is available here.
The American-built SS UNITED STATES shattered all trans-Atlantic speed records on her maiden voyage in 1952 and remains the fastest passenger liner ever built. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places before attaining 50 years of age because of her “compelling national significance.” The SS UNITED STATES must be saved for future generations. We believe that a project to restore and revitalize the SS UNITED STATES could create thousands of jobs and help stimulate the economy in these challenging times as well as preserve one of the world’s finest engineering achievements.
While the SS United States Conservancy has been working diligently behind the scenes to secure a future home and reuse for the ship, we have been continually hindered by the fact that the vessel remains privately owned. If we are going to succeed in saving the SS UNITED STATES for future generations, we need all hands on deck. The Conservancy is launching a major public education and outreach campaign and we need your help!
Reach out to Congress! We urge all supporters to contact their members of Congress by visiting our website’s new “Take Action” page at www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org. Congress needs to act to prevent our national flagship from being sold for scrap. On our website you will find text for a letter to your Senators and Representatives which can be copied and pasted into an email or snail mail letter, as well as instructions for how to obtain contact information for your elected officials.
Reach out to the Media! Write a “letter to the editor” of your local newspaper! Post a blog entry on one of your favorite sites! Pitch a story to a media outlet! Educate the press on the historical significance of the SS UNITED STATES! Contact your local PBS affiliate and suggest that they re-broadcast the documentary film “SS UNITED STATES: Lady in Waiting.”
Reach out to Friends, Neighbors, and Colleagues! Pass on the word to everyone you know that the SS UNITED STATES is in danger of being sent to the breakers. We need to join forces with local maritime unions, port authorities, civic organizations, and other constituencies to bolster our base of support for saving the ship. Reach out to everyone you know and enlist their support!
The Conservancy will continue to recruit potential public and private sector partners to secure a dignified and sustainable future for the SS UNITED STATES. During this period of high alert, the Conservancy has launched an SOS “Blog” on our website where we will post updates about the ship’s status as they become available. Please visit our website at www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org and click on “Blog” to visit. We invite you to share your views.
Time is of the essence. Our nation’s flagship is once again facing the ignoble fate of the breakers’ torches. We must act now, we must act together, and we must save the SS UNITED STATES.
As always, thank you for your support of the SS UNITED STATES.
Board of Directors
SS United States Conservancy
www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org
Malcolm says: NCL/Star must have thrown quite a lot of money down the toilet buying, retaining and surveying Indy and the Big U.
The cynical ‘word on the street’, at the time, was that NCL simply purchased the SS United States to stop anybody else getting a big American Hull. I don’t suppose we will ever know NCL’s actual intentions. However I assume that NCLA was expected to be a real ‘cash cow’ with them having a monopoly on one week Hawaiian inter-island cruises. Therefore maybe they really did expect to need the SS United States.
Of course business climates can, and do, quickly change. I just wish Veitch had been a bit more measured (realistic) in his press releases. I feel like a child who was promised a new bike for Christmas but never got one.
QE2 Project In Trouble?
February 9, 2009
THe QE2 looking a bit like the QM2 in this rendition.
Rumour has it, that due to the global financial downturn, Dubai property developed Nakheel has postponed the conversion of the QE2, to become a hotel ship. There is an additional rumour that she may well be opened to the public as she is. Some fear that the whole project may be put on the back burner and the QE2 could end up rotting in layup like the SS United States. This is of course all speculation, at present.
Malcolm says: The ‘Hotel Ship’ idea is always fraught with problems. There are very few examples in the world of it working well. Even the ‘Queen Mary’ at long Beach has struggled to make a profit and has spiralling maintenance costs. Without redevelopment the QE2 will not be particularly attractive to guests. It was all about her on board atmosphere, the excitement of a crossing or cruise and the crew and passengers. Many of her cabins and public rooms are not that impressive, compared to the QM2’s and QV’s. I hope the QE2 does not end up layed-up, rusting away, like the SS United States.
One blog commentator said: In the USA everything has a price and nothing has a value which is why it was a tragedy that the Yanks ever got control of Cunard , and now they compound that with the sale of QE 2 before her time to a Dubai Disney Land of the most awful taste,tacky and disrespectful to the most beautiful ship in the world.Once the Arabs take out her heart(engines) they effectively kill her stone dead.That ship was built in a Scottish Yard by skilled Britons,she should have been retired there in her home,not gutted like a fish as was the Queen Mary again by the Yanks,disgusted. Tony
Credit Crunched!
February 1, 2009
I’m feeling a bit credit-crunched this year and so I don’t have a cruise booked. (My Dad always says that I have short arms and long pockets, anyway). If I do get to take a floating holiday, It will have to be a temping deal. We Brits now have plenty of ships visiting our coast each summer to choose from, not to mention all of the fly-cruise variety. However I personally think we Brits pay more for the privilege than say American do for cruising. A £100 per person, per night, for an inside cabin is often the norm for us Brits. Sub-£90 fares start to look like real bargains! It does not help me that I am often restricted to the ‘peak’ weeks.
I do quite fancy Celebrity ‘Solstice’, but being a new ship the UK fares are quite high. Believe it or not, I’ve never tried P&O, but their fares always seem rather on the steep side. I’m only really interested in Arcadia and Oriana, anyway. I’d like to try Olsen’s Balmoral too. Small ships do have their charms.
So, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for a bargain. (If any Cruise Line bosses are reading this, a ‘free’ cruise would be greatly appreciated. I promise that I’d report back in my blog.) Oh well, it was worth a try.
Malcolm
