LUXURY LINERS HAVE SOME CHANGES ON THE HORIZON
Summerishereandwiththe increased temperatures comes an influx of cruise news. It’s a busy time in the cruise industry, as lines announce new itineraries, tweak winter deployments and get ready for new ships of all shapes and sizes.
Kicking things off this week is something that will surely make West Coasters happy: Carnival Cruise Line (cruise.center/carnival) is returning to San Diego after a seven-year hiatus. This is terrific news for Canadians looking to head south to warmer climates, as Carnival will be repositioning the medium-sized Carnival Miracle to San Diego to operate runs to the Mexican Riviera, Hawaii and the Panama Canal. You’ll have to wait until December 2019 for Carnival Miracle to arrive in San Diego, but Carnival’s newest ship, Carnival Panorama, debuts October 2019 on the West Coast.
On the luxury front, Royal Caribbean Cruises (cruise.center/royalcaribbean) announced it has purchased a majority share of luxury cruise and expedition leader Silversea (cruise.center/ silversea). The deal won’t see any managerial changes on the Silversea end, but it will allow Silversea to access a good deal of Royal Caribbean’s capital and shipbuilding experience that should help the company expand nicely. If you’re a Silversea fan (as I am), don’t worry: no one is going to put a zip-line or a FlowRider on your ship anytime soon. Royal Caribbean management intends to keep the brand as a luxury cruise and expedition leader.
“Silversea is a crown jewel, and the acknowledged leader in luxury and expedition cruising, two key markets that are poised for growth,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises. “Uniting our two companies presents an extraordinary opportunity to expand vacation options for guests.”
On the other side of the coin, Silversea competitor Seabourn (cruise.center/seabourn) has promoted Robin West (one of the most talented Expedition leaders I’ve had the good fortune to meet) to a new role as vicepresident of expedition operations and planning with Seabourn. The line also announced a letter of intent to construct two dedicated ultra-luxury expedition vessels, slated to hit the water in 2021 and 2022. If you can’t wait until then, many of Seabourn’s other vessels feature the line’s adventurous Ventures by Seabourn programs onboard and ashore.
On the other side of the spectrum, some not-so-good-news for those (like yours truly) who were eagerly awaiting the launch of Scenic’s (cruise.center/scenic) first oceangoing expedition ship, Scenic Eclipse. Its anticipated summer debut has been pushed back to this coming January.
Glen Moroney, Scenic founder and chairman, cites construction issues within the shipyard have caused the delay. “Despite the best efforts of our Scenic Eclipse build supervision team to make up construction time, we are not prepared to compromise the quality of the vessel and potentially impact guest experiences to meet the original late August 2018 launch date,” Moroney said.
Scenic is fully refunding affected guests and offering a 25 per cent future cruise credit, as well as consideration for other reasonable associated costs incurred with changing travel plans.
One of the most high-profile luxury expedition ships to debut in the coming years, Scenic Eclipse will feature lavish interiors and accommodations, along with unique expedition enhancements that include an onboard helicopter and mini-submersible craft. Its introduction to the world, however, will have to wait a few more months.
Finally, there is some sad news this week for fans of Holland America Line’s Elegant Explorer. The line (cruise.center/holland) announced a few weeks ago that the 835-guest Prinsendam will leave the Holland America fleet on July 1, 2019. The ship — which has long been a favourite of veteran Mariners — was originally built in 1988 as Royal Viking Line’s Royal Viking Sun and entered service for Holland America in 2002. When it leaves Holland America next July, it will be transferred to German cruise brand Phoenix Reisen and renamed Amera.
There is still time to catch Prinsendam before it leaves, though. It will sail a full season of European cruises next year, and this winter you can find it in the Caribbean, where it will operate a rare (and affordable) six-day Eastern Caribbean cruise that departs on Dec. 15 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — and starts at just under a grand per person (subject to change without notice).
Happy cruising.