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Take your grandchildren on a cruise to spectacular and remote Alaska with Oceania Cruises.
Following customer feedback, they have introduced their first-ever children’s programmes on their Alaska voyages for 2013.
Celebrity Millennium has had a US$140 million revamp with new interiors, more bars and restaurants, additional balcony cabins and AquaClass suites.
The 12-year-old 91,000 tonne vessel is the fourth and final Millennium Class ship to be upgraded to match Celebrity Cruises’ newer Solstice Class.
Celebrity claims the ship’s “major enhancement” is the introduction of the AquaClass staterooms, offering balconies, exclusive and complimentary access to the Blu speciality restaurant, complimentary access to the Persian Garden and relaxation room in the AquaSpa, and in-room add-ons such as bathrobes, slippers, toiletries, bottled water and teas.
Diners will also be well-catered for with the new additions of Qsine (where you can order your food on an iPad), the Bistro on Five creperie, and Café Bacio.
And if you’re looking for a relaxing drink with a difference, there is the ice-topped Martini Bar and Cellarmasters wine bar.
Other upgrades are the Celebrity iLounge, the eXhale bedding programme and an expanded collection of original art.
For the first time ever, in 2012/13, Celebrity Cruises will have two vessels in Australasian waters, the Millennium and the Solstice.
Two-way positioning cruises are available on the Millennium. A 19-night Trans-Pacific sailing departing on 2 November 2012 from Honolulu to Sydney and a 17-night Australia and Asia cruise departing 22 November 2012 from Sydney to Singapore.
Vegetarians and vegans will be exclusively catered for on Holland America Line’s alternative vegetarian-only menu.
Designed by award-winning Master Chef, Rudi Solamin, the 22-dish vegetarian and vegan menu offers a range of appetisers, salads, soups and main entrees. What’s more, it’s available upon request, at no extra costs for lunch and dinner in the main dining rooms, aboard all 15 ships in the fleet.
Thirty vegetarian dishes will also be on the main dining room menu and will also be featured as a second vegetarian option, in the casual Lido buffet during lunch.
Avalon Waterways is adding two new ships to its river-cruising Suite Ship fleet, Avalon Vista and Avalon Visionary.
Sister ships to Avalon Panorama (launched in 2011), the duo were christened last Friday in the Netherlands, and are set to sail the Rhine and the Danube.
Both ships, the 83-cabin Avalon Vista and the 64-cabin Avalon Visionary, feature two entire decks of all-suite accommodation, as well as wall-to-wall panoramic windows that open to create an open-air balcony.
Stewart Williams, Avalon Waterways’ managing director told Cruise Weekly the ships have been designed with Australasians in mind.
“From the décor and fittings right through to the cuisine and the espresso coffee,” he added.
The two-ship launch doesn’t stop there, with two new ships being introduced next year, Avalon Artistry II and Avalon Expression, bringing the number of ships in the fleet to five.
French Polynesian luxury sailing experts, Paul Gauguin Cruises, is adding a 45-cabin luxury cruiser, Tere Moana, to its fleet.
The 14-year-old vessel, boasting exclusively outside cabins, will be extensively re-fitted in a multi-million dollar makeover in Lisbon this October. This will involve a total redecoration, including a new colour scheme, new carpets, furniture and bedding, and new balconies to eight of its staterooms.
Fine dining can be enjoyed in the boat’s two restaurants, L’Etoile and La Veranda, its meals designed by two-star Michelin chef, Jean Pierre Vigato.
Unlike her sister-ship, the renowned five-star m/s Paul Gauguin, built specifically to sail in the beautiful waters of Tahiti, French Polynesia and the South Pacific, Tere Moana will be travelling further afield to different destinations.
A spokesman for Paul Gauguin Cruises, Oscar Abello, told Cruise Weekly the ship’s size meant it would be easy for her to call into the smaller ports, giving passengers the opportunity to visit rarely-explored areas as well as the larger, more popular destinations.
“[We are] very excited to branch out and offer a wide variety of itineraries,” he added.
Following her refit, the ship will sail out of St Martin on 29 December for her maiden seven-night Caribbean voyage and then she will sail several other seven-night Caribbean cruises as well as 13 and 14-night Panama Canal cruises.
Two 14-night Transatlantic crossings are also on offer, and seven-night sailings between Barcelona/Rome, Rome/Venice, Venice/Athens, Athens/Istanbul, ASthens/Rome, Lisbon/Barcelona, as well as several roundtrips from Rome and Istanbul.
Tere Moana offers an all-inclusive deal, whereby its upfront cost includes all meals, activities, entertainment and an open bar. However, shore excursions, boutique shopping and spa services are not included.
Oceania Cruises’ newest ship was christened in Barcelona last weekend at a gala ceremony attended by 1300 guests.
Sister-ship to Oceania’s award-winning Marina, the 1250-passenger Riviera boasts luxurious suites designed by Dakota Jackson, owners’ suites furnished by Ralph Lauren Home, a Bob Appetit Culinary Centre, and a Canyon Ranch SpaClub.
For art lovers, an extensive collection of Latin American artwork can be seen all over the ship, while keen artists can enjoy hands-on instruction at the Artist Loft.
At the ship’s christening, Oceania Cruises’ founder and chairman, Frank Del Rio, told Cruise Weekly that the new cruise ship was even better than Marina.
“I’ve repeatedly said that it was going to be hard to improve on Marina’s perfection but I didn’t say it would be impossible.
“And we have done just that – improved on perfection,” he added.
Riviera offers 20 Mediterranean sailings this year before heading to Miami on a 14-day Classic Cruise in November.
Her maiden voyage this week is from Venice to Athens and during her European season will visit ports in France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus, Montenegro and Monaco. Additional destinations include Morocco, Israel and the Canary Islands.
Riviera will return to Europe in March 2013 after its Caribbean Season, sailing from Miami to Barcelona on a two-week Enchanted Passage cruise.
South American aficionados can now visit some of their favourite cities in Brazil and Argentina, sail up the Amazon or up to Antarctica, thanks to Holland America Line (HAL).
HAL will feature 13 South American itineraries on-board three ships in the 2012-2013 spring season.
The ms Veendaam, ms Maasdaam amd ms Prinsendaam, will call at a combined 54 ports with itineraries varying from 13-to-68-days.
Veendaam will kick off her South American season in November 2012 with a series of six 13-day cruises and one 17-day cruise between Valparaiso, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
Meanwhile Maasdaam will sail a 49-day Amazon and Carnival Explorer Voyage from Port Lauderdale in Jan 2013, and Prinsendaam will host a 68-day Grand South America and Antarctica Voyage roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale which can be broken up into shorter segment cruises.
Princess Cruises has just launched its biggest and most diverse range of cruises for Australasians.
They now sail to Japan there is the return of ever- popular destinations, Hawaii, Tahiti and the South Pacific. Other highlights include a two-week round-trip cruise to New Zealand from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and cruises from Brisbane to Fiji.
The Sea Princess will undertake her maiden season in Queensland, as well as an eight-night voyage to Tasmania on Diamond Princess. Princess Cruises’ commercial director, Stan Birge, told Cruise Weekly the New Zealand cruises would feature the Sea Princess’s special onboard programme of “kiwi food, wine and cultural activities”
Passengers will be spoilt for choice in the Royal Caribbean’s 2013 season.
Brilliance of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas will set sail on 40 European Summer itineraries spanning over 41 ports. Brilliance’s 2013 European summer season will include eight round-trip destinations, sailing from Harwich, UK, and taking in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Talinn, Gothenburg and St Petersburg (overnight).
Also, an 11-night Norwegian Fjords and Iceland itinerary will be on offer, departing on 27 July. They will call in on Bergen, Geiranger, Lerwick/Shetland, Klaksvig and Reykjavik (overnight).
Another 15-night itinerary, departing Boston on 31 August, will call at Paris/Normandy, Portland, Dorset, Cork, Dublin, Klaksvig and Reykjavik. Splendour of the Seas’ summer sailings will start on 05 May and include a six-night voyage from Barcelona to Venice, as well as two Greek Island voyages calling at Dubrovnik, Corfu, Santorini, Athens and Katakolon, Greece, or Ephesus, Mykonos and Argostoli.
There will also be a combined Greek Isles and Turkey itinerary, as well as a Greek Isles and Croatia itinerary. A 15-night transatlantic sailing from Barcelona to Sao Paolo in Brazil will depart on 15 November.
Scenic River Cruises is upgrading all its river cruising vessels to match the latest luxury specifications of just-launched Scenic Crystal. The northern European river cruise boats, Scenic Sapphire, Scenic Pearl, Scenic Ruby and Scenic Diamond, will all be gutted and refitted to match Scenic Crystal’s design.
Scenic River Cruises’ Managing Director, Glen Moroney, told Cruise Weekly that they wanted passengers to enjoy their cruising experience on ships which are good, if not better than Scenic Crystal.
“[It’s] by far and away the best ship that’s operating on those rivers,” he added.
Scenic Crystal is designed in the new Space-Ship configuration and a quarter of its cabins are 10% larger than those on her sister ships. As well as New Deluxe Balcony suites, all cabins will have full walk-in showers, more storage, and additional balcony cabins that can be turned into indoor sun lounges with sliding glass windows.
Fitness enthusiasts can enjoy a gym and wellness centre twice the size of those offered on other ships. Guests can enjoy all types of culinary options, including the all-day grazing River Café, the Table la Rive degustation experience in the main dining room, and High Tea on the Terrace.
Moroney explained that they wanted to go to the next level. “Not only onboard with the ship itself but also in the services onboard and offboard,” he added.
Only last week, Scenic announced an ‘all-inclusive’ deal which included unlimited beverages (including alcohol), a personal butler service and all-day grazing service for guests regardless of their cabin types. “You could spend nothing from the time you arrive on board to the time you depart,” Moroney told Cruise Weekly.
