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Don Menzies Managing Director Travelcom |
Check out the preview version of the 2013 Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise ships, the most comprehensive annual ranking of cruise ships.
Hapag-Lloyd's Europa has retained its number-one spot for the 13th consecutive year, scoring the most points out of all 284 ships rated.
Seadream I and Seadream II were next on the list which also placed them in the top two of the boutique ships category.
Seabourn had three ships in the top ten as well as three ships in the top 10 small ship category, including Seabourn Quest and Seabourn Odyssey in second and third place after Hapag Lloyd's Europa.
Queen Mary II (Grill Class) won the most points in the large resort-style ships followed by joint runners up Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.
But it's not just cruise reviews and recommendations.
The six biggest cruise-line rip-offs are also outlined and the 15 ways in which costs are cut.
Sea Cloud's 2013 Cruise Programme
Luxury German cruise sailing line, Sea Cloud Cruises, has unveiled its 2013 sailing and river cruise programme.
The company's distinctive Sea Cloud is an 88 year-old luxury yacht which in her time has played host to politicians, diplomats, Hollywood stars and playboys.
The four-mast ship has been restored back to her former glory and features two owners' cabins and eight original cabins, each individually styled.
Sea Cloud II is a 94-passenger vessel and was built in 2001. She is a close replica of the original Sea Cloud but with a slightly more modern design, while the 88-passenger river boat River Cloud II, also built in 2001, features 44 outside cabins.
The 2013 season will see the two Sea Clouds pass through the Panama Canal, to cruise Central America, Cuba, the Lesser Antilles and the British Virgin Islands through the northern hemisphere winter, before heading to Europe at the first sign of spring and sailing through the Azores, Balearic Islands, the coasts of Spain and France and the Mediterranean.
2013 will also see Sea Cloud debut two voyages without a fixed schedule from Malta to Piraesus (departing 01 May) and from Piraeus to Venice (departing 11 July) where only the start and finish points are mapped out, with the rest determined by the wind direction, the weather and the captain !
A highlight of the 2013 River Cloud II itineraries will be the themed voyages where each trip will be accompanied by an artist, a scientist or a lecturer, with themes ranging between maritime, culinary, historical, and cultural. The
vessel will spend 2013 cruising between the Ijssel Sea in the Netherlands and the Danube delta, with highlights including a Maritime themed voyage from Amsterdam to the cities on the Ijssel Sea and small kingdoms, accompanied by the director of the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg.
Hapag-Lloyd expands its operations
Expedition and luxury cruise line, Hapag Lloyd, is expanding its operations in both sectors of the industry, reports Cruise Weekly.
The newly built Europa will be positioned in the five-star luxury sector from May 2013, while the company has also pledged to identify and evaluate growth opportunities in the expedition sector.
'With Europa II, we will put into service a ship designed to offer an international flair and address a sophisticated, Cosmopolitan target group, planning in future to increase market share in English-speaking countries such as the USA, UK and Benelux,” says Wolfgang Flagel, Managing Director of Hapag Lloyd Cruises.
The company has also just confirmed it has secured a two-year contract for the 698-passenger MS Colmbus II from Oceania Cruises. The ship boasts 11 decks with a putting green, library, jogging track, observation lounge, spa and several restaurants.
Azamara Club gets a makeover
Azamara Club Cruises is about to give a makeover to two of its ships, the Azamara Quest and the Azamara Journey.
Over the next two years, the sister ships will be fitted with new carpets and upholstery, new mattresses, new veranda furniture for suites and staterooms, new sun loungers, new pool towels, new colour palettes in their public areas, and their pools will be resurfaced.
Meanwhile their Casino bars will be expanded and enhanced with new furniture, their Spas will receive new steam rooms, and their fitness centres will score new cardio equipment.
The vessels will also receive a new caviar and champagne bar Aqualina.
Quest will go into drydock on 07 November 2012, while journey will begin her makeover on 06 January 2013.
