Cruise news

WHAT DO Disney, Airbnb, FedEx, Microsoft, IBM and WhatsApp have in common? They are all highly successful firms which started up during a recession or crisis.

So perhaps the idea to launch an upscale cruise firm during the coronavirus pandemic – which has brought the global industry to its knees with 300 ships left idling at anchor or in ports and the Government currently advising against holidays at sea – is not as crazy as it sounds.

Panache Cruises has been set up by travel industry veteran and cruise entrepreneur James Cole (inset), who is promising an “unrivalled level of personal service to those wishing to cruise in luxury”.

Northwest-based Cole, who has worked with Cruise118 and Six Star Cruises, is looking to create more than 100 jobs and be the UK’s leading distributor of upmarket cruises by 2025. The firm will sell more than 7,000 itineraries with brands such as Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Seabourn, Crystal, Azamara, Celebrity, Scenic, Emerald and Hurtigruten.

Cole said: “The key question I am being asked at the moment is why launch during this pandemic, when there are no cruise ships sailing? My response is that it’s not about what’s happening today, it’s about what will be happening in three, five or 10 years from now. “I believe without hesitation that the cruise industry will not only recover from this pandemic which will take a significant amount of time, but come back bigger, stronger and better than ever before.’’ Voyages include a week in the Mediterranean in April 2021 with Azamara from £1,049 per person. panachecruises.com