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Tuesday 08 January 2013

TODAY’S ISSUE OF CW 

Themed for Un-CruisersUN-CRUISE Adventures has added themes to

ten of its 2013 sailings in the Hawaiian Islands

and Mexico’s Sea of Cortés.Theme cruises in Hawaii onboard Safari 

Explorer include Photography and Whales (05

Jan), Kids in Nature (09 Mar), and Photography

(06 Apr); whilst theme cruises in Sea of Cortes

onboard Safari Endeavour include Marine

Biology (12 Jan and 30 Mar), Photography (16

Feb and 16 Mar), and Kids in Nature (09 and

23 Mar).

See www.innerseadiscoveries.com .

New year, new ships: 24 in 2013Five ocean liners, 18 river

vessels and a luxury expedition

yacht are set to debut this year.

TRAVELLERS can look forward to many

exciting developments in cruising over the next

12 months, with two-dozen ship launches and

unique onboard features.

Most of the newbuilds are coming to

Europe's rivers, and 10 are from the sameompany: Viking River Cruises.

Viking's latest river vessels will be identical,

each carrying 190 passengers along the Rhine,

Main and Danube, with the first three to be

hristened in March.

The earliest to debut on the ocean, in April,

s NCL's Norwegian Breakaway .

Based in New York, the 4,000-passenger

megaliner will raise the bar for entertainment

with the Broadway show ‘Rock of Ages’.

Higher levels of accommodation will include

access to The Haven featuring a private pool,

hot tub, fitness area and ‘courtyard valet’.One of the most innovative debuts is

Princess Cruises' 3,600-passenger Royal 

Princess, which has a glass-bottomed walkway

and bar extending from the top deck over the

ide of the ship, only 40 metres above the

waves.

Sailing from June, it will also introduce the

Princess Live television studio at sea, hosting

oncerts, comedy and cookery shows, filmed in

ront of an audience and broadcast live

hroughout the ship.

MSC Cruises is introducing the 3,500-

passenger MSC Preziosa, featuring the YachtClub, a Bali-style spa, the longest single-rider

waterslide at sea, an infinity pool and adults-

only area.

The highlight of the small ships is Hapag-

Lloyd's 516-passenger, all-suite, all-balcony

Europa 2.

Positioned as the modern sister ship of the

award-winning Europa, it has eight gourmet

estaurants and all cruises will be conducted in

English.

Australia's APT and Europe's AmaWaterways

will jointly unveil AmaVida in March on

Portugal's Douro River and AmaPrima in April

on the Danube.

Avalon Waterways’ Avalon Artistry II and

 Avalon Expression are set to follow, boasting

large suites and wall-to-wall opening

panoramic windows.

Scenic Tours' seventh ‘space-ship’, Scenic

 Jewel , will operate Amsterdam to Budapest.In July, Ponant Cruises’ Le Soleal , a 264-

passenger expedition yacht, will commence

luxury expeditions to the Arctic.

The remaining newbuilds, rarely marketed in

Australia, include AIDA Cruises’ AIDAstella,

Orient-Express Hotels’ Orcaella and Vantage

Travel's River Explorer and River Navigator .

New RCCL summer cruisesIN a nod to its growing popularity with

Australian holidaymakers, Royal Caribbean hasadded three new cruises to its 2013-14

Australasian summer season.

As such Voyager of the Seas will now add a

three-night Weekend Sampler ‘cruise to

nowhere’, departing Sydney on Friday 10

January 2014; as well as an 11-night South

Pacific cruise departing Sydney 13 January

2014 and calling in Fiji and New Caledonia.

Meanwhile Rhapsody of the Seas will now

offer an 11-night South Pacific sailing

departing Sydney 11 February 2014, calling at

the tropical ports of Noumea, Mare and Isle of 

Pines, New Caledonia; and Mystery Island,Luganville and Vila, Vanuatu.

To cater for the new cruises, guests

previously booked on Voyager of the Seas’ 14-

night New Zealand cruise departing 10 January

2014 and Rhapsody of the Seas’ 11-night

Queensland cruise departing 11 February 2014

have been offered alternative itineraries.

See your travel agent for more details, or

visit www.royalcaribbean.com.au.

New Year’s Eve let downA GROUP of up to 150 New Year’s Eve

revelers were left stranded on a Darling

Harbour ferry wharf and $450 out of pocket

after Eve Harbour Cruises failed to put on itspromised NYE cruise.

The voyage, onboard the company’s three

deck MV Eve, was supposed to depart Darling

Harbour at 6.30pm and provide guests with

six-hours of entertainment, plus a spectacular

vantage point for Sydney’s fireworks and

unlimited food and beverages.

Tickets for the sailing went on sale in July,

and guests had been made to pay in full for the

cruise by November.

Eve Harbour Cruises, based in the NSW

suburb of Castle Hill, under the Directorship of 

Allen Yousef, has not yet answered anyquestions as to its failure to show.

Despite not answering calls, Eve Harbour

Cruises is still offering Australia Day Cruises

and other future voyages for sale on its website.

In the wake of the furor, Fair Trading NSW

has advised consumers not to deal with Eve

Harbour Cruises.

  Welcome to the very first issue of Cruise

Weekly for 2013.

Today’s issue features four pages

packed full of cruise news and photos.

or contact your AFTA Travel Agent wendywutours.com.au

rr

Call 1300 727 998

Brochure out now!

Welcome aboard

Deluxe River Cruising& China Holidays 2013

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ZZZFUXLVHZHHNO\FRPDXTuesday 08 January 2013

CruiseCalendar

Cruise Weekly’s cruise calendar detailsupcoming port calls of passenger cruiseships at various destinations in Australia.

BRISBANECosta Romantica Thu 10 JanPacific Dawn Sat 12 JanSun Princess Sun 13 Jan

MELBOURNEVoyager of the Seas Tue 08 JanSeabourn Odyssey  Tue 08 JanDiamond Princess Wed 09 JanDawn Princess Thu 10 JanDiamond Princess Tue 15 Jan

HOBARTSilver Shadow  Tue 08 JanCrystal Symphony  Thu 10 JanVoyager of the Seas Thu 10 JanDiamond Princess Sun 13 JanCelebrity Solstice Sun 13 JanOosterdam Mon 14 Jan

Zumba onboard CelebrityZUMBA will be rolled out fleet-wide onboard

Celebrity Cruises vessels.Prior to this decision, the popular Latin

dancing classes only featured on Celebrity’s

rans-Atlantic voyages.

The Zumba classes will be available to

exercise lovers onboard from 12 January.

SYDNEYPacific Pearl  Tue 08 JanCarnival Spirit  Tue 08 JanPacific Jewel  Wed 09 JanRadiance of the Seas Wed 09 Jan

Diamond Spirit  Fri 11 JanSea Princess Sat 12 JanOosterdam Sat 12 JanCrystal Symphony  Sun 13 JanVoyager of the Seas Sun 13 JanRhapsody of the Seas Mon 14 JanCelebrity Solstice Tue 15 Jan

CAIRNSCosta NeoRomantica Sun 13 Jan

CAIRNSCosta NeoRomantica Sun 13 Jan

Concordia gone by year end?  COSTA Concordia may be gone from the

Italian coastline off the island of Giglio by the

end of the year, according to officials

overseeing the vessel’s wreck removal process.The news comes nearly 12-months after the

sinking of the vessel, with authorities

cautioning that the progress of the removal

would also depend on factors such as weather

and sea conditions.

Happy new year: drink plans are here!Celebrity Cruises and Royal

Caribbean have become the

first lines to introduce drinks

packages, including alcohol, on

Australia-based ships.  AUSTRALIANS often miss out on the benefits

offered to American and European cruise

passengers, but this season has seen one

company bring all-inclusive deals down under.

Celebrity Cruises, which operates Celebrity Solstice from Sydney, has quietly continued its

special beverage deals while based in local

waters.

At the top of the list is the premium package,

allowing access to the full range of beers,

spirits, cocktails, wines by the glass (priced up

to $12), as well as frozen drinks, soft drinks,

specialty coffees and teas, smoothies,

premium bottled water and Red Bull.

The cost is approximately AU$52 per night

(plus 15% service charge) and must be

purchased for every day of the cruise.

The classic package (AU$43 per night, plusservice charge) includes beers up to $5 per

serving, and spirits, cocktails, frozen drinks,

and wines by the glass up to $8 per serving.

Non-alcoholic plans are also offered,

including selected soft drinks, juices, coffees,

teas and bottled water, priced from

approximately AU$13 per night.

In December, Celebrity's sister brand, Royal

Caribbean, unveiled two new alcohol packages

to be sold across its entire fleet, including the

Sydney-based Radiance of the Seas, Rhapsody 

of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.

While this perk is already available on 13Royal Caribbean ships around the world, a

company spokesperson told Cruise Weekly it

would be rolled out in Australia by “early 2013”.

The packages will only be sold on sailings of 

seven nights or longer and passengers must

make the purchase on the first day of the cruise.

If a guest buys a package, it must also be

purchased by each adult passenger staying in

the same cabin.

Previously, only wine packages were sold to

Australians on Radiance and Rhapsody .

Meanwhile, Carnival Cruise Lines, which is

trialling an all-you-can-drink program on

several of its ships, has confirmed that it will

not be offered on Carnival Spirit .

“At this point, Carnival Cruise Lines has no

plans to expand our alcoholic drinks package

to our Australia-based ship, Carnival Spirit ,”

said Jennifer Vandekreeke, Director, Carnival

Cruise Lines Australia.

“However, our 'bottomless bubbles' non-

alcoholic drinks package has been available

since we started sailing from Sydney Harbour

in October.”

P&O and Princess also do not offer drinks

packages in Australia.

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Tuesday 08 January 2013

Just one click away fromkeeping up to date with allthe breaking news as itcomes to hand...

Follow us on:

New master at the helm  EXCLUSIVE luxury cruise company, SeaDream

Yacht Club, has welcomed new leadership in

Pamela Conover, who has taken over as its new

Chief Executive Office.

Already an industry veteran, past positions

for Conover have included President and CEO

of Seabourn Cruise Line (during the

introduction of the Odyssey class ships), and

President of Cunard Line (during theintroduction of Queen Mary 2).

“I am very excited to take on the CEO role at

SeaDream Yacht Club which delivers award

winning experiences aboard its two, 56

stateroom mega-yachts SeaDream I and II”,

said Conover.

Meanwhile, discussing the appointment, Atle

Brynestad, Chairman and owner of SeaDream

Yacht Club said “ I welcome Pam to take my

role as the CEO of 

SeaDream, so I can spend

more time towards the

long term planning forSeaDream and also more

time to my other

businesses”.

Conover is pictured to

the right .

ONE boating experience you may be glad

you did not participate in.

The annual Collingwood Raft Race kicked

of in NZ this week, seeing competitors

coated in a mix of rotten eggs, squid and

whey, as well as flour, as they battled it out

to claim the coveted Bright Shield.This year 18 rafts entered the comp, with

designs incorporating bathtubs, pallets,

buoys, and for one inventive team, a spa.

As tradition dictates, once competitors

neared the finish line, they became prey to

locals standing on a near-by bridge armed

with foul smelling concoctions to dump on

the intrepid rafters.

The race was won by team Strange One.

Team members

from Dairy for Life

are pictured right 

getting into thespirit of the race.

Third Oasis is on the horizonA NEW contract has been inked between STX

France and Royal Caribbean for the creation of a third Oasis ship.

Under the contract terms, the vessel will be

delivered mid 2016.

The contract also features an added option

for a fourth ship due in mid 2018.

The third Oasis ship will measure 361 metres

long and 66 metres wide, and will weigh in at

225,282 gross registered tons with capacity for

a whopping 5,400 guests.

“The Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas

have fundamentally transformed the cruise

experience for our guests,” said Richard Fain,

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RoyalCaribbean Cruises.

“These ships have consistently generated

outstanding guest satisfaction ratings and

continue to produce superior financial results.

“We are thrilled to be adding a sister to this

extraordinary class of vessels at a compelling

price.

“Being back building in France just adds to

the pleasure,” he added.

  MEANWHILE giant STX Finland has got the

new year off to an unfortunate start,

announcing it has to reduce costs by 30%,

meaning hundreds of jobs at its Turku andRauma yards may be slashed.

The cuts are due to the company’s current

financial situation which it had hoped to

salvage by securing the lucrative one billion

Euro deal to build the third Oasis Class ship.

Gemini 

resurfaces in AsiaTHE 50,764-ton SuperStar Gemini emerged

from her refurbishment cocoon last week,

setting sail from Singapore to Penang where

she will homeport between January and

March, before commencing her seven-month

seasonal deployment from April in Shanghai,

calling at popular destinations in North.

The refurbishment included the installation

of upgraded navigational and safety systems;

as well as a restyling and refresh of cabins,

restaurants, entertainment and recreational

facilities, and a new hull artwork, depicting the

Gemini constellation twins.

SuperStar Gemini 

Tere Moana christenedTERE Moana, the newest ship for Paul

Gauguin Cruises, has been welcomed to the

world at a lavish ceremony held dockside on

28 December in Marigot, St. Martin.

The new vessel measures 330 feet long, 46

eet wide and has a draft of 11.5 feet, with

oom for 90 guests and a staff of 60.

In terms of accommodations, Moana’s 45

oceanview staterooms feature king-size beds

with fine linens and feather-down duvets; a

latscreen TV; DVD/CD player; iPod docking

tation; in-stateroom refrigerator replenished

daily with soft drinks, beer, and bottled water;

obes and slippers; spacious closets; and a

bathroom with sumptuous bath products.

Eight of the staterooms also feature balconies.

The vessel also offers two elegant dining

venues, and guests can expect to enjoy live

piano music in Le Salon, spa services at Deep

Nature Spa by Algotherm, and a fitness center.

The ship’s outdoor decks feature a swimming

pool, hot tub, chaise lounges, and Balinese

beds, and in select ports, kayaking and

paddleboarding are available from the ship’s

watersports marina.

New Florida cruise facilitiesCRUISERS stopping off in Florida at Port

Everglades in Fort Lauderdale will now be able

o enjoy the benefits of four fully renovated,

expanded and modernised cruise terminals.

Cruise Terminals 2, 19, 21 and 26 are part of 

a $54 million renovation project which has

een the facilities transformed into modern,

guest-friendly cruise terminals, capable of 

processing both debarking and embarking

ruise passengers simultaneously.

The work is the result of an agreement

between the Carnival Corporation and the

Broward County Board of County Commissionersthe governing body for Port Everglades).

Conditions stipulated in the agreement (one

of the largest in Carnival's history) call for a

minimum of 25.5 million cruise guests from

multiple Carnival Corporation brands to sail to

and from Port Everglades over the initial 15-

year term, which will potentially produce

almost half-a-billion dollars in Port revenue.

Tere Moana

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Cruise Weekly is Australia’s favourite online cruising publication.

In production since 2007, Cruise Weekly is published each Tuesday,

with a further travel industry update each Thursday.

Cruise Weekly  is free and is sent to subscribers via email as an Adobe

Acrobat PDF document.Sign up for a free subscription at www.cruiseweekly.com.au .

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Tuesday 08 January 2013

Early Season Antarcticaby: Louise Goldsbury 

  One Ocean Expeditions' Akademik Ioffe departed for Antarctica on the

first day of the 2012/13 cruise season, 08 November.

For some, this time of year is too early or too cold, but there are many

surprising advantages.

Most obviously, November presents the best opportunity to see

Antarctica in its most undisturbed form, when the snow is pure white

(not dirtied by penguin poo and muddy footprints) and fewer ships are

in the area.

It's also the start of the mating period for penguins, allowingvoyeuristic visitors the chance to observe their fascinating courtship

rituals and nest-building antics.

On the downside, there may be less wildlife, but you can get lucky.

And we got incredibly lucky.

At our first destination, Yankee Harbour, our onboard naturalist, the

unflappably enthusiastic Brian Keating, warned that we might not see

any penguins yet, but moments later, he was beside himself with

excitement.

We just happened to arrive at the same time as thousands of Gentoo

penguins, who had spent several months at sea.

An estimated 2,000 of them, coming ashore in a clumsy, slippery show,

to find the perfect nesting spots for the breeding season.

They leapt out of the water onto icebergs (or often, completely missedand tried, tried, tried again, much to our amusement).

Unperturbed by the sight of 50 humans, they then waddled, en masse,

across the pristine island.

I lay down near their path and watched the parade for three delightful

hours.

Most continued on their mission, but some walked straight towards

me or stopped nearby to join me for a rest.

It's no exaggeration to say this was the most incredible and endearing

scene I had ever witnessed.

On another day, we visited a penguin rookery where the mating had

begun.

Passengers were charmed by the way these animals bowed to each

other, asking permission, and when a couple bonded, they would

point their beaks to the sky, flap their wings and let out the “ecstasy call”.

Kayaking and skiing

Early season is certainly colder than February, but it's the best time foradventure activities.

Yes, there is much to be said for kayaking in summer to see whales;

however, my most memorable moment was paddling through the icy

water.

Snow was piled high on our kayak, the floating slush was three inches

thick, and I giggled at the sensation of paddling through a frozen

daiquiri.

Only six couples ventured out on this chilly morning. The silvery

lighting was surreal, the silence was eerie; it truly felt like another

planet, removed from 'the real world'.

One Ocean Expeditions offers kayaking and skiing on the first voyage

of each season (for an extra charge), which is highly recommend for

anyone seeking a more active experience of this intriguing continent.Camping on the ice is also a possibility (subject to weather), with all

gear provided.

Unlike other cruise lines, One Ocean does not charge extra for

overnight camping or the waterproof clothing and boots provided for

daily shore excursions.

November pricing is also much cheaper. In 2013-14, fares start at

US$6,590 (triple share); US$8,990 (twin share).

For bookings, contact Active Travel on 1300 783 188.

Exploring Dorian Bay Penguin parade Kayaking through ice