April 8, 2004 - Carriers switch out ships on now and future rosters, cruises waaaay down under to Antartica, engine trouble for the Norwegian Star and more in this cruise news roundup.
Cunard Strips Queen Victoria of Title, Orders New Liner in Her Place
In a bit of court intrigue (or good business sense -- take your pick), Cunard Line (800/728-6273, www.cunard.com) announced this week that the cruise ship Queen Victoria, currently under construction at Italy's Fincantieri shipyard, will be transferred to sister-line P&O Cruises. In her place, Cunard has instead ordered construction of a new liner with a greater family resemblance to QE2 and QM2.
The now-titleless Queen Victoria, by contrast, is based on the same basic chassis and design as Holland America's Vista-class ships Zuiderdam and Oosterdam, which are similar to Carnival's Spirit-class ships and Costa's CostaMediterranea and CostaAtlantica. Renamed Arcadia, the ship will be delivered to P&O in April 2005 to serve the British market.
The tremendous reception given to Queen Mary 2, which launched in January, prompted the change to Cunard's plans. "The design of the new Queen Victoria will be more consistent with the grand ocean liner style," explained Pamela Conover, Cunard's president. "We want to be sure that our new ship has all the luxurious Cunard attributes our clients expect."
The new vessel, which will carry 1,850 passengers and feature dining, entertainment, and accommodations options similar to those on QM2, is scheduled for delivery in January 2007.
Both Cunard Line and P&O are component brands of Carnival Corporation, which also controls Carnival Cruises, Costa, Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, Windstar, and several European brands.
Princess to Regain Sea, Lose Royal Princess
In related news, P&O's 77,000-ton, 1,950-passenger Adonia, which formerly sailed as Princess's Sea Princess, will be returned to the Princess fleet under her original name in May 2005. The ship will continue to operate from the UK in summer and sail 14-night Caribbean cruises in winter, marketed to both British and North American travelers.
The big news in this deal, though, is Princess's trade-off transfer of the much-loved Royal Princess to P&O, where she'll sail as the Artemis. Christened in 1984 by the late Princess Diana, the 45,000-ton, 1,200-passenger, all-outside-cabin ship is credited with launching the boom in cabin balconies, and has an appealingly open layout that's earned her an amazingly loyal repeat clientele. According to Carnival Corp., the ship will be "converted to a British-style vessel prior to entering service for P&O Cruises."
Princess Cruises: tel. 800-PRINCESS, www.princess.com
Celebrity Xpeditions Offers Details of Arctic, Antarctic Cruises
Following up on the recent introduction of its Galapagos cruises, Celebrity's new adventure-travel operation has announced details of its next offering: 12- and 13-night Xpeditions (800/437-3111, www.celebrity.com) to the Arctic and Antarctic aboard the polar class icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov.
The cruises will be offered in partnership with Quark Expeditions, which has been operating polar cruises since 1991. The 434-foot Kapitan Khlebnikov was built in Finland in 1981 and was the first ship ever to circumnavigate Antarctica with passengers, in 1996/97. She carries 112 passengers in all outside cabins.
The program gets going this summer with two 13-night High Arctic cruises departing by air from Ottawa, Canada, on August 11 and September 3 and meeting the ship in Resolute, the only settlement on Cornwallis Island and the primary crossroad for High Arctic travel. From there, the ship spends 11 nights sailing among the polar region's islands and waterways, against a backdrop of mountains, glaciers, and fjords, home to whales, polar bears, Arctic seals, and other wildlife.
At the other end of the planet, Xpeditions' 12-night Antarctica voyages sail roundtrip from Ushuaia, Argentina, on October 25 and November 5, 2004, taking guests past glaciers, icebergs, and mountains to Elephant Island (where Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance sank in 1915); past Cape Horn, where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet; and then for five full days in the Antarctic.
"We promised to go to the ends of the earth to offer our guests extraordinary experiences," said Celebrity's president and COO Jack Williams, "and that's literally where our latest Celebrity Xpeditions will take them."
That is, if they can afford it. Fares for High Arctic cruises begin at $9,000 per person, double occupancy, and include roundtrip air from Ottawa to Resolute, hotel accommodations in Ottawa, all shore excursions (including helicopter tours), open bar aboard ship, all onboard gratuities, and a complimentary parka.
In related news, Celebrity also announced the first of its Xpeditions programs designed to be tagged onto normal cruises. This summer, guest on Constellation's Northern Europe cruises can book a 16-hour Soviet-themed excursion that takes them from the docks of St. Petersburg on a one-hour flight to Moscow, where they'll go behind the scenes at the KGB museum and visit the Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, and Lenin's tomb. The per person fee is a hefty $1,300, but how often do you get to relive the Cold War? There's even a vodka toast (to capitalism's victory?) and dinner at a historic mansion before flying back to the ship. Za vashe zdorovye!
Engine Trouble Forces Norwegian Star to Stay in Hawaii, Skip Kiribati
This week, NCL (800-327-7030, www.ncl.com) announced that damage to Norwegian Star's azipod propulsion system will require that the ship stay within Hawaiian waters on all sailings from April 4 to April 25, rather than making the looooooooong trip to Fanning Island in the Kiribati Republic. That detour -- which normally takes a full day at sea going and another one coming back -- is mandated by the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886, which permits only U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S.-flagged, and U.S.-manned ships to transport passengers between two U.S. ports. All others must include at least one foreign port in their itineraries.
According to NCL, the damage to Norwegian Star's azipod means the ship can only sail at 18 knots, rather than the 25 needed to maintain the ship's Fanning itinerary. Passengers on the affected cruises will spend one extra day in Hawaii. Disappointed? Didn't think so.
To allow repairs to Star, NCL has also been forced to cancel the May 2 voyage from Honolulu to Vancouver. Guests booked on this cruise will receive a full refund, a 25 percent cruise credit certificate for the value they paid for the cruise, and applicable airline change fees. The line has established a special number for further questions: 877-501-6021.
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