FIRST CHOICE’s upmarket Sovereign brand has added nine ships to its 2000 Cruise and Stay brochure, bringing the total number of vessels featured to 17.
Three of the additions, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Dream and Holland America Line’s Westerdam and Zaandam, will carry out itineraries in the Caribbean, an area which has proved popular among Sovereign customers this year. Other new vessels include Celebrity Cruise Line’s ship Galaxy, which will carry out cruises in Alaska; Orient Line’s Crown Odyssey, based in the Mediterranean; and StarCruises’ two ships, Superstar Gemini and Superstar Europe, which operate Far Eastern itineraries.
Also new is the deluxe river boat, Road to Mandalay, operated by Orient Express, and Swan Hellenic’s ship, Minerva.
The five-star Road to Mandalay will sail along the Ayeyarwady River into Burma, while Minerva will operate a range of cruises from long ocean crossings to short island hops.
All Minerva’s cruises are accompanied by speakers who are experts in the region the ship is sailing in, and six of the Minerva itineraries are combined with a land stay.
Scandinavia is featured by Sovereign for the first time for 2000, with a choice of two itineraries on Orient Line’s Marco Polo.
The brochure also contains an expanded programme of the 30-year-old QE2, which will operate three sailings between Southampton and Cape Town. Brochure prices lead in at £835 for a seven-day Greek Islands cruise.