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It's Official: United States Lines Takes Possession of Patriot
Star Princess
Will Homeport In Los Angeles
Itinerary Alterations
United
States Lines Celebrates Keel Laying For New Ship
Infinity
To Arrive A Month Late
Berth
Announcements
Norway to Bid Farewell to NCL Fleet
Costa Orders Giants
Culinary Connections
More On Shore
For World Cruise
Redesigned
for Visitors
Clearing the
Air, Scoping the Seas
Connected Cruisers
It's Official: United States Lines Takes Possession of
Patriot
United States Lines officially took possession of
its first ship, the ms Patriot, on October 18, 2000, completing the return of this famous name to the seas. Formerly Holland America Lines' ms Nieuw Amsterdam, the Patriot will be refurbished at Cascade General Shipyard in Portland, Oregon, before launching its weekly Hawaiian Island cruises with an American crew in December.
An existing casino will be replaced with a Destination Learning Center, where passengers can explore the heritage, history, language and arts and crafts of the Hawaiian Islands and hear "talk story" from the onboard kumu (Hawaiian teacher). Other renovations will include a new 464-square-foot Presidential Suite; an upgraded Conference and Business Center complete with Internet portals; and modern family activities areas, including Kaleidoscope, a kids' club, and Graffiti's, a teen center.
American Classic Voyages Co. revived the legendary United States Lines identity for its American-flag contemporary cruise operation that is currently building two new 1,900-passenger cruise liners at the Ingalls shipyard in Louisiana. The keel-laying for the first of the sister ships, which will debut in 2003 and 2004, was held earlier this month.
Under provisions of the federal legislation that expedited the company's American-flag newbuild program, American Classic was able purchase the 1,212-passenger HAL vessel and re-flag it as a U.S. vessel. The Patriot will sail every Saturday evening from Honolulu, Oahu, starting December 9, calling at five ports on four islands during each seven-night cruise.
Star
Princess
Will Homeport In Los Angeles
Like
many stars before her, the new Star Princess will make
her home in Los Angeles. Princess Cruises has announced that the
new sister ship to the line’s Grand Princess will sail
seven-night Mexican Riviera cruises from the Port of Los Angeles
beginning in March 2002. The round-trip itinerary will include
calls at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.
Barring
new developments, the 109,000-ton Star Princess would be
the largest cruise ship yet to serve the West Coast. “There's
never been a ship or cruise product like this one sailing from
Los Angeles,” said Dean Brown, executive vice president of
sales,marketing and customer service for Princess.
Princess
will offer its trademark “Grand Class” cruises from Los
Angeles in the fall of 2001on the 77,000-ton Sea Princess.
The ship will set the stage for the Star Princess with
the same itinerary in a series of week-long round-trip cruises
departing on Saturdays between September 29 and December 22 next
year.
“Love
Boat Savers” fares for Star Princess’ inaugural
Mexico season begin at $1,039
per person, based on double occupancy. Sea Princess
sailings begin at $749. Princess will offer a variety of one- or
two-night packages in Los Angeles, for pre- or post-cruise stays
with cruises on both ships.
Itinerary Alterations
(Update)
Despite the Israeli and Palestinian agreement today to end the violence
and move toward a solution to conflicts in the Middle East, some cruise lines
have made some slight itinerary changes to avoid the area.
Costa Cruises has removed Ashdod from
CostaAllegra's October 21 departure
and CostaRomantica's
October 23 sailing. Instead, the ships will call at Antalya,
Turkey.
Orient Lines' Marco Polo will call at Alexandria, Egypt on October 23 instead of Haifa. In lieu of Ashdod, the ship will visit Heraklion, Crete on
October 26.
On October 30, Seabourn Cruise Line's Seabourn Spirit will conclude its
current cruise in Limassol as opposed to Haifa. The ship's following cruise
to Singapore will also depart from there.
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dream will now visit Mykonos, Greece on
October 18 and Larnaca, Cyprus on October 20, instead of Ashdod and Haifa.
Royal Caribbean International has modified the itinerary for its November
18 sailing of Legend of the Seas. The 17-night cruise will not make port
calls previously scheduled for November 20 and 21 in Haifa and
Ashdod, and
November 25 in Aqaba, Jordan. Instead, the ship will visit Kusadasi, Turkey,
on November 19, and Santorini, Greece, on November 20, and spend an
additional day at sea.
Renaissance Cruises is in the process of removing Israel and Yemen from
their cruise itineraries, but they haven't specified the new port calls yet.
Other cruise lines are monitoring the situation and said they will make
itinerary changes if necessary, so check back with us as we keep you posted
on the latest additions.
United
States Lines Celebrates Keel Laying For New Ship
United
States Lines celebrated a milestone in the revival of American
passenger ship building on October 10 with the keel laying for
the line’s first newbuild, a 1,900-passenger cruise ship that
will be the largest passenger vessel ever built in a U.S.
shipyard. The still-unnamed ship will be the first of two
72,000-ton liners that Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding of
Pascagoula, Mississippi, will build for the line.
The
sister ships will begin cruising among the Hawaiian Islands in
early 2003 and 2004. United States Lines will officially begin
its cruise operations in the islands in December of this year,
however, when the newly refurbished and re-flagged Patriot,
formerly the Nieuw Amsterdam, launches its inaugural
season under the United States Lines banner.
“Our
United States Lines’ ships will fly the U.S. flag, and be
crewed by Americans on vessels that are built in an American
shipyard by American men and women,” said Roderick K. McLeod,
president and chief operating officer of the line’s parent
company, American Classic Voyages Company (AMCV).
Following
maritime tradition at the ceremony, McLeod declared the keel of
the first ship as “truly and fairly laid,” and paid tribute
to the shipbuilders, singling out veteran welder Charlie
Overstreet, who welded McLeod’s initials onto the keel plaque.
“Charlie has been with Ingalls for 48 years and he worked on
the last passenger ships that were built in the United States, ss
Argentina and ss Brasil in the late 1950s,” said
McLeod.
“Charlie’s
participation today does a number of things for all of us,” he
added. “It wasn’t that long ago when the great seafaring
traditions of America were known only as a part of our past.
Today, thanks to the people of Ingalls, thanks to Charlie
and thanks to everyone involved in this project, we look at
passenger shipping in the United States as part of our future.
“We
celebrate the revitalization of commercial shipbuilding in
America with the keel laying for the first cruise ship since we
built them here at Ingalls more than 40 years ago,” said
Ingalls vice president of operations Paul Robinson.
Roderick K. McLeod, president and chief operating officer
of American Classic Voyages Co. (right), presented an official
United States Lines cap to Ingalls welder Charlie Overstreet
(left) during keel laying ceremonies on October 10, 2000, for
the first large ocean-going cruise liner to be built in America
in over 40 years. Overstreet, who has worked for the
shipyard for 48 years and welded on the last large American
cruise ships in the 1950s, stands beside the keel plate on which
he welded McLeod's initials, authenticating that the keel had
been "truly and fairly laid.”
Infinity
To Arrive A Month Late
It’s
almost to the point that an on-time arrival for a new cruise
ship is more noteworthy than a delay. Celebrity Cruises
announced this week that the introduction of Infinity,
sister ship to the Millennium has been pushed back one
month.
The
line and the shipbuilder, Chantiers de L’Atlantique, have
determined that work on the ship, including hull modifications
to correct the vibration problems discovered on Millennium,
will not be completed by the original delivery date.
“Like
our guests on Infinity’s first sailings, I am
disappointed by this delay, and I apologize for any
inconvenience this will cause them,” said Richard Sasso,
Celebrity’s president. “We and the yard build a time cushion
into all of our shipbuilding schedules, and up until today we
believed that this cushion would be sufficient.”
Plans
now call for Infinity to sail from Fort Lauderdale for
her maiden voyage – a 14-night Panama Canal transit to San
Diego, California, on March 3, 2001, exactly one month after the
original departure date. Two subsequent cruises – an 11-night
sailing to Hawaii from Ensenada, Mexico, and the 10-night return
voyage from Hawaii – also have been pushed back one month.
The
schedule reshuffling has also forced Celebrity to cancel the
14-night Panama Canal cruised slated for March 10 and March 24.
Passengers
booked on the rescheduled cruises are being offered a 50 percent
refund for rearranging their travel plans to accommodate the
changes. Those unable to sail on the new dates and people who
were booked on the cancelled March cruises will be given full
refunds on their cruise fares and a 50 percent discount on a
future Celebrity cruise.
Berth
Announcements
The names are in -- or should we say out! Princess Cruises has revealed the names of its five new ships which are scheduled to join the fleet by
2004.
The 109,000-ton Grand Princess-class Star Princess -- currently under
construction at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy -- is slated to
debut in March 2002. Two 88,000-ton vessels being built by Chantiers de
l'Atlantique in France will be named Coral Princess and Island Princess.
Coral Princess is set to arrive in October 2002 and Island Princess is
scheduled for a June 2003 entrance.
Last, but certainly not least, are Princess' two 113,000-ton ships --
Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess. Due for delivery in July 2003 and
May 2004, respectively, the ships are being constructed at Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Ltd. of Japan.
Norway to Bid Farewell to NCL Fleet
After 20 years of service for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the line
announced that its flagship Norway will leave the fleet and join the line's
parent company Star Cruises in 2001, where it will offer cruises to the
Asia-Pacific market.
Passengers who appreciate the Norway's rich history will have a several
chances to sail on the 38-year-old ocean liner a last time before she says
good-bye to NCL. Prior to her redeployment, she will offer a summer season
of seven-day, alternating eastern/western Caribbean "farewell cruises" as
NCL's flagship. The three final "farewell cruises," including 16-day
transatlantic voyage, will feature special onboard amenities and programming
designed to celebrate the ship's legendary heritage and place in maritime
history.
"The S/S Norway has served NCL well for two decades and we are pleased
that this historic liner will remain within the Group through her new deploymentn one of Star Cruises' major markets," said Mr. Colin Veitch, President and
Chief Executive Officer of NCL.
The Norway then will be dry-docked in Europe for three weeks before her
three-week cruise to a homeport in Asia-Pacific which will be announced at a
later date.
"The deployment of S/S Norway -- which has traditionally been offering
transatlantic cruises to Asia-Pacific will provide Asians with an opportunity
to cruise on a ship with a rich maritime legacy. With the S/S Norway cruising
in exotic Asian waters, her faithful followers from North America and Europe
will have the opportunity to experience Asia onboard a ship internationally
acclaimed with classical opulence," said Dato' KT Lim, Chairman of Star
Cruises.
The fleet changes don't end there. In December 2001, Star Cruises will
transfer the SuperStar Leo to the NCL fleet to be positioned in Hawaii where
it will offer seven-day year-round itineraries. The itinerary will include
the four main islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai plus a stop at Fanning
Island, an exotic Micronesian island to the south of Hawaii. SuperStar Leo's maiden voyage under the NCL
flag, and as a "Freestyle Cruising" vessel, will depart Honolulu on December
16, 2001.
Star Cruises also will reposition the SuperStar Virgo -- SuperStar Leo's
sister ship -- to Hong Kong by the end of November 2001. The ship is
presently offering Straits of Malacca and South China Sea Cruises from her
homeport in Singapore.
SuperStar Libra -- the first of the new-generation of Libra-class vessels --
will be delivered to Star Cruises in October 2001 and is scheduled to arrive in
Singapore in November 2001 to replace SuperStar Virgo.
Costa Orders Giants
After what must rank as the most momentous summer in the company's history, Costa Crociere leaped into autumn with the announcement that it will add two 105,000-ton vessels to its fleet in late 2003 and 2004. Fincantieri Cantieri Navali will build the new ships at its Sestri shipyard near the line's Genoa, Italy, headquarters.
The announcement of the new ship plans came on the heels of a very successful inaugural season for Costa's new 85,700-ton flagship, Costa Atlantica. Buoyed by the strong response to the new ship, in July Costa confirmed plans to build a sister ship to the Costa Atlantica at Finland's Kvaerner Masa yard. That ship is expected to make its debut in early 2003.
Costa also announced this year that it will stretch the Costa Classica by adding a new mid-ship section that will increase the ship's size by some 30 percent. Similar plans for the sister Costa Romantica, however, were dropped when the line shifted its newbuild program into high gear.
In the midst of all this, Carnival Corp., which owned part of Costa with Airtours, purchased the Italian cruise line outright. As part of the Carnival stable — which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Cunard, Seabourn Cruise Line, and Windstar Cruises — Costa will retain its independent management headquartered in Genoa, as well as its North American Costa Cruises operation based in South Florida.
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Culinary
Connections
Two of the top luxury cruise lines have changed culinary partners. Le Cordon Bleu, the legendary French culinary institute, will come aboard Radisson Seven Seas Cruises' new Seven Seas Mariner when the 700-passenger ship sails next March. Meanwhile, Silversea Cruises, Le Cordon Bleu's former cruise connection, has announced its own new relationship with Relais & Chateaux.
Radisson Seven Seas' exclusive arrangement will put the Le Cordon Bleu stamp on the Signatures Restaurant on the Seven Seas Mariner. Chefs trained by the culinary center will staff the 110-seat alternative dining venue, and its menu will feature signature Le Cordon Bleu classically French cuisine.
The new ship also will offer Le Cordon Bleu Classe Culinaire des Croisieres workshops on selected cruises for passengers who want to learn the chefs' secrets. Limited to just 16 guests, the courses consist of three two-hour sessions and cost $295 per person. Not to be
left out of the new arrangement, passengers on other Radisson ships will be treated to Le Cordon Bleu cooking demonstrations.
Silversea will feature several special Relais & Chateaux cruises during 2001. Each will have Relais Gourmand chefs onboard who will present cooking demonstrations and prepare special dishes from their individual hotels and restaurants during the cruise.
Chefs from Silversea and top Relais & Chateaux members will also combine their talents to create menus of signature dishes designed specifically for the cruise line.
The partnership between Silversea and Relais & Chateaux will also extend on land. Silversea plans to offer its guests special pre- and post-cruise land packages featuring selected Relais & Chateaux properties that the line's executives feel offer a logical extension of the cruise experience.
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More On Shore
For World Cruise
For most people, a world cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, and those lucky enough to be able to afford it naturally want to make the most of this unique opportunity, especially while in port.
With that in mind, Cunard has come up with no less than 174 shore experiences and overland excursions to complement next year's 104-day globe-circling voyage by the Queen Elizabeth 2. "We are offering 23 percent more tours on the world cruise this year than we did last year, and over 30 percent of this year's tours are brand new," says Larry Pimentel, Cunard president and CEO.
The packages range from simple sightseeing trips to elaborate events, and prices run the gamut from under $50 to well over $3,000 per person. Among the highlights on the menu:
• A "Royal Picnic by Classic Car" in Sydney, Australia, which includes transportation from the ship in a Rolls Royce or Bentley to an elegant outdoor luncheon at Vaucluse House.
• The "Desert Wonder & Barbecue Dinner" in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, takes guests by four-wheel-drive vehicle through the desert to a barbecue dinner under the stars.
• "Caves of Elephanta By Sedan Chair" in Bombay, India, literally carries participants to view the incredible carvings through the desert to a barbecue dinner under the stars.
• "Cambodia and the Angkor Wat” provides a rare opportunity to travel into Cambodia for a visit to Phnom Penh and on to the legendary ruins of Angkor.
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Redesigned
for Visitors
Ships and itineraries aren’t the only things that cruise lines refurbish and change to attract guests. In today’s industry, websites play a big role in a passengers quest to find a good and valuable cruise vacation. With that in mind, here are a few lines who have recently spiffed up their websites, making them more user friendly and attractive.
• Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has added new enhancements, including IPIX virtual ship tours to its site, www.ncl.com. The line also boasts three times more information on the site in each of its seven major sections. The site now offers access to NCL’s latest cruise specials, new links to shore excursions and Vacation Stretchers, extended port-of-call information, real time cruise planning guide with pricing, updated news and other company details.
For 2001, NCL plans to offer site translations into Norwegian, Spanish and Portuguese. Next year, the site will also feature an “NCL Employment” section offering shipboard and shoreside jobs and “Shop NCL,” where guests can purchase NCL merchandise online.
• Viking River Cruises, previously online at www.vikingrivers.com, has launched a new website, www.vikingrivercruises.com. The site now offers its visitors a bunch of interactive services including up-to-date itinerary and pricing information. Also available are day-by-day itineraries featuring details of shore excursions, ship deck plans, all-inclusive package highlights and destination information.
• Regal Cruises has made its website, www.regalcruises.com, more attractive and easier to use. Visitors can learn everything there is to know about the Regal Empress and the activities and amenities it offers, including spa treatment prices as well as view pictures and take virtual tours of the ship’s public rooms. They can also easily check into the ships itineraries and rates, read the dining menus, snag the latest specials and find out other basic information about the ship and its destinations.
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Clearing the Air,Scoping the Seas
Environmental concerns have sparked lines to take extraordinary steps to protect the air and water.
Princess Cruises will be shutting off its ships’ engines in Juneau and plugging into the port to get energized. The Alaska Electric Light and Power Company has agreed to supply hydroelectric power to five of Princess’s ships while they’re docked at the South Franklin Street Dock so that exhaust will not be emitted into the air during that period.
Princess’s commitment to clearing the air doesn’t stop there. In addition to investing in smaller buses, the line has changed its tour routes and relocated its motorcoach facility, which will eliminate more than 3,000 bus trips per season from Franklin Street and Calhoun Avenue.
Princess isn’t the only line trying to keep the environment fresh. Royal Caribbean International (who last year admitted to routine waste dumpings in the ocean) has teamed up with the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science to equip the line’s newest ship with an atmospheric and oceanographic laboratory.
According to Royal Caribbean, the working labs on the Explorer of the Seas will allow for scientists onboard to research, identify and track pollutants in the air and sea, measure the flow of currents to understand the balance and distribution of heat on the planet, collect data to use in ocean and hurricane models, and monitor important, but hard to measure, populations of organisms living in the sea.
Guests onboard will be able participate in hands-on educational demonstrations and interact with scientists through seminars, tours and other activities.
Holland America Line also has been doing a little testing of the water. A gray-water (water from showers and sinks) treatment plant is currently being tested aboard the Statendam. The line is aiming to find a system that will render gray water virtually free of detergents and other substances before it is discharged (legally) into the ocean. If successful, Holland America will install the unit in all of its ships.
Furthermore, the line’s five new 84,000-ton vessels, which are set for delivery between 2002 and 2005, are being designed with a gas-turbine unit which will serve as a second power source to ships’ traditional diesel-electric power plant and reduce exhaust emissions. The new ships will also feature fuel saving Azipod propulsion systems.
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Connected Cruisers
No wonder cruise lines have put Internet access on their "must have" lists for new ships. A recent survey by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) indicates that people who take cruises are much more plugged in to the World Wide Web than other vacation travelers.
According to the results of CLIA's 2000 Market Profile Study, people who have taken a cruise in the past five years are about 50 percent more likely to look for travel information on the Web than the typical vacationer. More than half the past cruisers in the survey said they had visited a travel website, compared to only about a third of all vacation travelers interviewed.
Cruisers also booked their air travel, hotels and car rentals on-line much more frequently than others. Twenty-seven percent of the past cruisers surveyed said they purchased airline tickets on the Internet; 21 percent booked hotel rooms; and 16 percent arranged for rental cars. When it comes to buying a cruise, however, only two percent of the experienced cruisers interviewed said they made their reservations through a website.
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