By Fran Golden
NEW YORK -- Cruise Holdings Ltd. said that it is combining its
three brands, Dolphin, Seawind and Premier, under one banner --
Premier Cruises.
The company, which made the announcement at news conferences
here and at the ASTA World Travel Congress in Glasgow, Scotland,
also disclosed that it had completed the acquisition of the
1,061-passenger Rotterdam from Holland America Line. The Rotterdam
will become Premier's flagship and will be renamed Rembrandt, in
recognition of its Dutch heritage, Larry Magnan, president and
chief executive officer of Cruise Holdings, said. The ship will be
added to the fleet in December. Terms were not disclosed, but
Holland America officials said the deal involved an installment
payment.
Magnan said Premier Cruises would continue to focus on offering
sailings on 800- to 1,200-passenger classic ships with "a high
degree of comfort, more personalized service and unique
itineraries." The line is completing a $22 million refurbishment
and upgrade of its five ships, the Big Red Boat, IslandBreeze,
OceanBreeze, Seawind Crown and SeaBreeze. An inaugural celebration
is being planned for Sept. 26 in Miami, where the renovated
SeaBreeze will make its debut.
The company unveiled a gold and light blue logo for Premier
Cruises and said it will paint its vessels in classic nautical
colors, dark blue and gold stripes. An exception will be the Big
Red Boat, which will be painted in a darker shade of red with a
gold stripe. The company will add the Premier Cruises name to each
ship's hull to help passengers identify the fleet.
Magnan said the name Premier Cruises resulted from months of
focus studies with agents and consumers. He said it will be
marketed extensively in a $17 million print and TV ad campaign
featuring the tag line "You've got our attention." The tag line, he
said, responds to a message that came through "loud and clear" from
agents and consumers who complained "nobody pays attention to
us."
The company said it is launching an Internet site,
http://www.premiercruises .com, which will offer deck plans,
itineraries, destination information and descriptions of activities
and shore excursions, as well as virtual tours of the SeaBreeze and
OceanBreeze. Browsers will be able to contact the line's passenger
service center by e-mail.
A Premier Cruises brochure will be distributed to agents later
this month, and the line is launching a major direct-mail
campaign.
Magnan said the Rembrandt (Rotterdam) would go into dry-dock
Oct. 1 for updating to comply with Safety of Life at Sea safety
standards. The ship will be reintroduced with a repositioning
cruise from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will run seven-day
cruises out of Rio for the winter season. The Rembrandt will be
based in Palma, Spain, for the summer, offering Mediterranean
cruises, and will embark on a mini world cruise next fall.
Magnan said Cruise Holdings will continue to seek additional
acquisitions, both in the form of classic ships and smaller cruise
lines.