PICTURE: ISTOCK
CRUISE NEWS
With no fl ights to pay for, cruises from the UK are a perfect option for clients on a budget. Many
cruiselines have recognised this and 22 ships are now home-ported in the UK. Jane Archer reports
Ex-UK is hassle free
Cruising from the UK is set to
take off more this year as consumers
look for ways to cut
costs during the recession.
Ex-UK cruising has been
growing consistently for the
past fi ve years, increasing by
44% between 2004 and 2007,
to a total 444,000 passengers,
according to the Passenger
Shipping Association. Figures
for last year are expected soon.
Princess Cruises head of
brand marketing Pieter van
der Schee said clients like the
fact that there are no fl ight
hassles if they cruise from the
UK, that they get to visit seven
ports in the Mediterranean
and spend a few days at sea,
but said the recession has added
a fi nancial enticement.
“People are looking at costs
and ex-UK cruises offer great
value because there are no
fl ights to pay for.”
He added: “Passengers pay
for their holiday up front in
pounds, and the cost covers all
their accommodation, meals
and entertainment. It’s like
having a holiday at home, but
they still get to go abroad.”
Last week the TWcruise supplement
had a section on cruising
from the UK in recognition
of the importance of this sector.
As passenger numbers have
increased, so has the number
of cruiselines basing ships in
UK ports. TWcruise listed 12
cruiselines with 22 ships
home-ported in the UK and
noted more to come.
Celebrity Cruises is offering
sailings from Southampton for
After one day in India, two
questions spring to mind. Did
we really need to teach the
Indians to do everything in
triplicate and why aren’t the
roads a sea of dead bodies?
This latter question was all
the more signifi cant as at the
time, Kumar, my tuk-tuk
www.travelweekly.co.uk
Southampton port: Rzymowska says people are looking to cruise closer to home
the UK market for the fi rst
time next year on new ship
Celebrity Eclipse. The cruiseline
is also offering an inaugural
voyage from Southampton
to the Norwegian fjords on
Celebrity Equinox in July.
Next year P&O Cruises and
Cunard will also each have a
new ship, Azura and Queen
Elizabeth, sailing from
Southampton.
Van der Schee said while
keen prices are a key selling
point, agents should also push
the benefi ts of cruising
from the UK. “There are still a
lot of people who have never
cruised before who need to
be sold the benefi ts.”
driver, was zig-zagging his
way through the traffi c,
taking on motorbikes,
coaches, vans, people, in fact,
anything that came in his
way. ‘Parp-parp’ went his
little horn and he just kept
on driving, smiling and
repeating: “No problem”.
“Ex-UK cruises
off er great value…
as there are no
fl ights to pay for”
He said Princess has about
40% more capacity to sell this
summer because it has switched
the 1,950-passenger Sea Princess
for the 2,600-passenger
Grand Princess but sales are on
target with about the same sold
as this time last year.
Association of Cruise Experts
business development
director Andy Harmer said
2009 looks set to be a great
year for cruising from the
Sponsored by
There are no such things as
white lines and the word stop
just doesn’t exist (there are
road signs but no one bothers
to read them). If Kumar is
joining a busy road, he just
drives out and relies on
everyone else missing him,
which thankfully they did the
UK as people look to cut
spending.
He said: “We’ve got a great
spread of ships sailing from the
UK and offering easy access to
all the popular destinations. As
there are no fl ights, price-wise
it makes sense for people
trying to make savings.”
Harmer said many agents
are pushing ex-UK minicruises
to new-to-cruise clients,
as it’s a low-cost holiday
and helps to get them interested
in cruising. “That benefi ts
the whole industry,” he added.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
offers cruises from seven UK
ports and said passenger
numbers are up on last year.
Chennai tour put
me in a spin
Jane Archer observes the cruise sector in her blog
at www.travelweekly.co.uk/cruiselines
morning as he took me on
a great three-hour tour
of Chennai’s highlights. These
included Kapaleeswarar
Temple, St Thomas’s Basilica
and Marina Beach, a huge
stretch of white sand that
was baking hot and deserted
at noon – temperatures today
General sales manager Lol
Nichols said “The price difference
between our ex-UK
departures and fl ycruises is
not so great, but we promote
the hassle-free factor of
cruising from the UK.”
Braemar, which was to operate
a fl ycruise programme from
Civitavecchia, Italy this year, is
now instead sailing from Dover.
Nichols said: “We changed
it because of the cost to us of
getting passengers to the ship,
but there is also a strong demand
for cruises from the UK.”
Royal Caribbean Cruises
associate vice-president and
general manager UK and
Ireland Jo Rzymowska said:
“People are more cost-conscious
and are looking to stay
closer to home. Cruising from
the UK is very attractive, but
there is not such a big price differentiation
with Europe and
there are still people who want
to get straight to the sun.”
CRUISE SHOW
The UK’s fi rst
show dedicated
to cruising is
being held at
London’s ExCeL
on March 21-22.
There will be a
chance to visit cruiselines’
stands and presentations.
Jane Archer will be there
off ering expert cruise advice.
See cruisingshow.com.
were around 35C. Apparently
it comes alive in the evening,
when the sun goes down.
Sadly I won’t get a chance
to see that, as it was time for
the transfer to Silversea ship
Silver Wind. This will be
home for the next 10 nights
as we cruise to Mumbai.
March 6 2009 | Travel Weekly | 12
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