AT WORLD TRAVEL
MARKET, STAR CRUISES announced it will base the Superstar
Libra, the former Norwegian Sea, in Malta for seven-day cruises
beginning June 6. Weve decided to try to attract the Asian market
to the Med, said Michael Dupont, Star Cruises director of sales and
marketing, Europe. The Malta cruises will be marketed in the U.S.
by Norwegian Cruise Lines. The Star product also is sold by some
tour operators in the U.S., including Asian Affairs and Gala Tours.
The Libra is a 713-foot, 740-cabin ship with a capacity of 1,480
passengers, currently based in India. Most of the sailings for 17
weeks from the opening day will be eight-day roundtrips from Maltas
capital, Valletta. Several other itineraries will be available,
including a 10-day Valletta-to-Rome, an eight-day roundtrip from
Rome and a 13-day Rome-to-Valletta voyage.
MEANWHILE, THE
SUPERSTAR GEMINI, the former Cunard Crown Jewel and sister
to the Fred Olsen Braemar, will be deployed in the South China Sea
cruising Indochina. The main itinerary is an eight-day cruise of
the Straits of Malacca with calls in Singapore; Kuala Lumpur and
Penang, Malaysia; and Langkawi Island, Krabi and Phuket, Thailand.
Other China Sea itineraries for the Superstar Gemini will include
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Hong Kong as well as other ports. The
Superstar Gemini is a 537-foot vessel with 400 cabins and a
passenger capacity of 800. Small-ship cruising can be a fairly
expensive proposition, said Steven Black, Vice President of
passenger services and yield management for Star
Cruises.
THE JEWEL OF THE
SEAS WONT be hitting the Bermuda/Caribbean trail in the
fall of 2006 but instead will start four seven-night Canada/New
England sailings roundtrip from Boston on Sept. 23. The
2,100-passenger ship, previously scheduled to sail 10-day
Bermuda/Caribbean trips, will be the only vessel to sail Canada/New
England trips for the line next fall. After a 12-night
transatlantic cruise from Harwich, England, beginning Sept. 11, the
ship will roundtrip from Boston, with calls to Marthas Vineyard,
Mass.; Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine; St. John, New Brunswick; and
Halifax, Nova Scotia. On Oct. 31, the Jewel will reposition from
Boston to Fort Lauderdale via a 12-night cruise and then launch a
series of Caribbean sailings.
SPEAKING OF
BERMUDA, Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Spirit will join
sister ship the Norwegian Dawn and add calls to Bermuda for the
2006 summer season from New York. The Norwegian Spirits new
eight-day itinerary will feature a daylong call in Bermuda, an
overnight in St. Thomas, U.S.Virgin Islands, and a call at Tortola
in the British Virgin Islands. This itinerary runs May 20 through
Sept. 30. Prices start at $699 per person. The itinerary will
alternate with Norwegian Spirits scheduled six-day Bahamas and
Florida itinerary from New York calling in Port Canaveral, Fla.,
and Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.
ROCKIN THE
BOAT: Royal Caribbean International kicked off what it
called an aggressive charter resale push with a two-ship,
full-charter program featuring a concert by Dave Matthews &
Friends. The charter, in partnership with Clear Channel
Entertainment, launches an effort to attract corporate meetings and
incentive business and targets affinity groups in the music,
religious and lifestyle arenas. Stacy Shaw, national charter sales
manager for Royal Caribbean, said the full ship charter, either
corporate or resale, is a great way to introduce the brand to
guests and organizations that may not have cruised with us before.
Cruisers will board the Sovereign of the Seas in Port Canaveral and
the Majesty of the Seas in Miami and sail to an undisclosed island
for a private concert on Feb. 4. Onboard concerts by other friends
and scheduled port calls at Nassau and RCIs private CocoCay island
round out the three-day trip that departs Feb. 3. Tickets, er,
reservations are on sale at www.cruise.davematthewsband.com.