CRUISE NEWS
IN BRIEF
NCL DITCHES FUEL
SURCHARGES
Norwegian Cruise Line is the
latest cruiseline to scrap fuel
surcharges for bookings
made after November 10 for
sailings departing after
January 1 2010. For customers
already booked, or planning
to book before November 10,
the company will refund
supplements with onboard
credit. This will be decided
on a quarterly basis and will
be dependent on the price of
a barrel of oil remaining
below $65.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN
CRUISE REVISIONS
Royal Caribbean International
is cancelling Radiance
of the Seas’ South America
cruises planned from
November 2009 to March
2010. It is replacing them
with an extended season of
Mexican Riviera itineraries
out of San Diego from
September 2009 to May 2010.
NEW BLUE WATER
CRUISE WEBSITES
Online cruise and boating
specialist Blue Water
Holidays has launched two
websites: luxurycruises
online.co.uk and latecruises.
co.uk. The fi rst features 10
cruiselines with detailed
itineraries and a search
facility, while the latter has
off ers updated daily and a
search facility.
COSMOS ADDS TWO
CHRISTMAS CRUISES
Cosmos Tourama has added
two luxury Christmas
market cruises to its winter
programme. The six-night
Christmas on the Danube
and 10-night Festive France
itineraries are operated
by Avalon Tranquility
and Avalon Scenery
respectively. The Danube
trip leads in at £1,015 per
person and the latter is
£1,099 per person.
20 | Travel Weekly | November 7 2008
Financially secure, mature customer base will help sector withstand credit crunch
River cruising will
ride out downturn
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@rbi.co.uk
Agents selling river cruises
maintain the sector could hold
up better than ocean cruises in
2009, but fear later sales and
knock-down prices.
This week, agents on a
Peter Deilmann River and
Ocean Cruises educational in
Germany and Austria said the
sector’s mature and mainly retired
client base could help
it withstand the impact of the
economic downturn.
Most admitted sales declined
at the start of October
because of worries about the
UK banking industry but said
they had now picked up.
GoCruise franchisee James
Hill said: “The type of clients
that go on river cruising are
less affected than the family
market who choose ocean
cruising.
“At the beginning of October
clients panicked, but now
they feel more secure. Overall,
I think UK demand for river
cruising will hold steady
next year.”
Ian Hopley, managing
director of Travelux in Tenterden,
Kent, added: “We have
noticed an upsurge in enquiries
for river cruises but I am
struggling to convert them all
and have asked more cruiselines
for their brochures. In the
last month we have also seen a
drop-off in ocean cruise sales.”
He attributed the increase
in demand to clients returning
to book quality product in
Europe and the fact that
most river cruises don’t require
customers to take longhaul
fl ights.
Hill: ‘Market will hold steady’
Hopley: ‘Upsurge in enquiries’
“At the beginning
of October clients
panicked, but
now they feel
more secure”
But Cruise Network travel
consultant John Pengelly
warned older clients may put
off booking river cruises to
help out younger members of
their families. He feared
discounting could creep into
the river cruise sector.
He said it would depend on
whether ‘baby boomers’ spent
their holiday funds on helping
out their families as the credit
crunch starts to take effect.
“I think there will be
more discounting in the river
cruise market,” said Pengelly.
Hill said river cruise operators
were likely to introduce
more booking incentives to
boost sales next year.
Meanwhile, Scott Anderson
of Whitestar Cruises, said
bookings were already coming
in later. “Traditionally people
booked six months in advance
and now it’s three months. I
think that will carry on next
year,” he said.
Leading Cruise Agents
chairwoman Clare Dudley said
the association was negotiating
more exclusive river cruise
product for members to counter
any negative impact on the
sector next year.
For daily news go to
www.travelweekly.co.uk
Regent to drop Paul Gauguin in 2010
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is
dropping the 332-guest cruise
ship Paul Gaugin from its fl eet
in January 2010 when its management
agreement with the
vessel’s owner, Paul Gauguin
Shipping, comes to an end.
According to RSSC, it has
decided to focus on its core
offering – all-suite ships,
which will undergo a £40
million refurbishment project
starting in December this year.
Commenting on the decision,
Regent UK managing
director Graham Sadler said:
“We look forward to celebrating
one last year on Paul
Gauguin in 2009, bringing
an ever increasing number
TRAVEL WEEKLY
CRUISE NEWS
If you want more on cruise
go to Travel Weekly’s
specialist online service
www.search2cruise.com.
It’s packed with must-have
information and allows you
to search by cruiseline, area
or ship name. In addition,
Travel Weekly’s Cruise Club,
comprising six specialist
travel agents, helps to guide
our cruise coverage.
Stay up to date with
cruise industry news with
Travel Weekly’s Cruise Lines
blog at www.travelweekly.
co.uk/cruiselines.
Watch this space for
further cruise content
developments.
of British guests to Tahiti.”
Cosmetic and physical
upgrades, including 26 private
balconies, are scheduled for
the ship during its 12-day dry
dock in January 2009. The
company will be featuring a
range of special offers on
selected sailings to Tahiti during
Regent’s Farewell Season.
www.travelweekly.co.uk
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