Getting ship shape to unveil new itineraries

Cruiselines by Jane Archer

Getting ship shape to unveil new itineraries

Companies prepare for launches at WTM

Royal Olympic Cruises

Royal Olympic Cruises will promote two new ships – the Olympic Voyager, launched in June and the Olympic Explorer, which starts operation in April next year.

Models of the two ships will be on the stand, along with brochure details of next year’s Mediterranean itineraries.

The two ships will be offering seven-day eastern and western Mediterranean cruises out of Piraeus, which clients can incorporate into a 14-night itinerary.

Louis Cruise Line

A new programme of three and four-day cruises from Cyprus to Israel or Egypt will be launched in time for World Travel Market, giving agents who visit the stand, opposite the Cyprus pavilion, a chance to discover what will be available for clients next year.

The itineraries are operated by three ships – Victoria, Marissa and Sapphire, which returns to the Louis Cruise fleet after a spell on charter to a French company. Louis Cruises can be found opposite the Cyprus pavilion.

Radisson Seven Seas Cruises

The cruiseline has just announced plans to open a dedicated UK reservations, administration and in-house ticketing office in Southampton.

The move should help increase Radisson’s business from the UK and there will be more details of this development on the stand, which is shared with Radisson Hotels and manned by vice-president sales and marketing Michael Baker and UK marketing manager Jo Moran.

Radisson Seven Seas will also be promoting The Mariner, its new all-balcony ship, which launches next March. A second all-balcony ship is planned for March 2003.

World’s Leading Cruise Lines

This new alliance of six cruise brands – Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Costa Cruises, Seabourne Cruise Line and Windstar – will be launching at WTM.

The alliance aims to raise the profile of the association and highlight the huge potential it opens up for agents and consumers. Heading the alliance is Carnival Corporation vice-president corporate marketing Jack Anderson who will be at WTM.

Agent Alert

&#42 Training programme

Star Clippers will be inviting agents to sign up for a new training programme, the Star Clippers Skippers Club, aimed at helping retailers increase bookings. Registered agents will get a membership card and access to four trainingmodules plus a chance to go on an educational next year.

&#42 Newsletter

There will also be a newsletter every three months with spot prizes.A dedicated section on the Web site is planned where agents can log on to get club information.

&#42 Competition

In addition, Star Clippers has decided to extend the competition launched in its Caribbean brochure. The closing date was October 31 but agents can still enter – entries must be in the box on its stand by November 16 to be in with a chance ofwinning one of the three cruises on offer.

Ship shape: Royal Olympic Cruises director of UK operations Vic Howlett with a model of the Olympic Voyager

SuperStar Virgo: to operate five night or shorter cruises out of Singapore, Hong Kong and Phuket next year

Star Cruises

The cruiseline will be on the Together in Asia stand with Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore to promote SuperStar Leo and SuperStar Virgo. Its newer, larger ships will be operating five-night or shorter cruises out of Singapore, Hong Kong and Phuket next year. The company believes this new generation of larger ships – each is 80,000 tons – appeals particularly to the European market, which likes to add a mini-cruise to a holiday in Asia, so it is keen to raise its profile among the UK trade. Both ships offer the company’s Freestyle cruising concept which allows passengers to choose where they want to eat, when and with whom.