Global Marine Travel LLC (GMT) has entered into an agreement to provide outsourced travel management services to Crystal for their passenger Air/Sea program beginning this March.
GMT, a member of the V.Group Marine Services Division, is one of the few travel agencies with full access to specially negotiated net-fare airline contracts for passengers and crew, as well as a unique range of travel technology options, according to a press release.
Crystal will also use GMT’s itinerary planning services along with air charter options as they plan their future cruise itineraries.
All parties are currently engaged in a technology development project to link Crystal’s reservation system to GMT’s comprehensive travel fulfilment platform. This will allow Crystal to package affordable airline travel with their cruise itineraries for their guests in a seamless transaction through multiple distribution channels.
Tim Davey, founder and managing director of GMT said, “GMT has provided outsourced air/sea services to cruise lines since our inception in 2001. The ability for boutique cruise lines to market airfare with their cruises from day one with little to no start-up costs or additional technology expense is a huge benefit. We’re excited to be engaged by Crystal as they continue to forge their path as a newly independent cruise line.”
“Adding this feature to allow for a smoother booking process for our guests, is something we are thrilled to have,” said Jack Anderson, president of Crystal. “We appreciate the support of the GMT team and look forward to a seamless transition and long-term partnership.”
MSC Cruises has announced that it has chartered “the industry’s largest air charter program” for summer 2021 to make more ports of embarkation easily and safely accessible from a range of European countries.
Guests will have access to a seamless journey from their homes to the ship for their holidays at sea, all under the protection of the company’s industry-leading health and safety program now extended to also cover air travel.
This opens up a wide choice of ports, ships and itineraries this summer for MSC Cruises’ guests from Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland for sailings in the West Mediterranean, East Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
“As more of our fleet continues to return to service this summer, and our returning and new guests look to plan their holidays on one of our ships across Europe, we felt we had to respond to the impact that the pandemic has had on many airlines. As many are still not yet operating with a normal flight timetable, we wanted to give our guests from across Europe the peace of mind that they can reach their embarkation port in a seamless and safe way,” said Gianni Onorato, the CEO of MSC Cruises.
MSC Cruises’ industry-leading health and safety protocol will be extended to apply to the chartered flights, which will be operated together with some of Europe’s leading airlines.
“We have utilized the experience gained since we returned to operations last August and will work with our aviation partners to apply our industry-leading health and safety protocol to the charter flights so that we extend also to that portion of the guest journey the social bubble of the ship. This is yet another example of how we are pushing boundaries and delivering another industry-first to provide our guests with the confidence and the peace of mind that they need to be able to fully enjoy their holiday with us,” Onorato added.
MSC Cruises has committed to charter flights between July and October – more than 26,000 seats – from airlines, including Iberia, Alitalia, Air France, Eurowings and Neos, to fly from convenient and accessible airports across Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Switzerland so that guests can arrive at convenient times at an airport close to their embarkation port ahead of the start of their cruise holiday.
With many airlines having to alter their flight schedules at relatively short notice as a result of changing travel restrictions MSC Cruises decided to take charge of the situation and charter aircraft to assure its guests that their air transport connections will take off as planned and their holiday plans won’t be affected. MSC Cruises this summer will operate eight ships in Europe, six of which benefit from this full and rich fly and cruise program.
MSC Virtuosa just entering the River Mersey, Liverpool taken by Dave Jones
These are:
Western Mediterranean – MSC Grandiosa and MSC Seaside
Eastern Mediterranean – MSC Splendida, MSC Orchestra and MSC Magnifica
Northern Europe – MSC Seaview
Once guests land at airports they will then travel to the port ready for embarkation using private MSC Cruises transfers that are protected with the same high standards of MSC Cruises’ industry-leading health and safety protocol onboard its fleet of ships and now onboard its chartered planes.
In a further commitment to offer stress-free holidays and ensure the well-being of its guests for summer sailings, MSC Cruises has also worked with Europe’s largest insurance provider Europe Assistance to have a COVID-19 protection plan in place, priced at Euros €25 per person to cover guests before, during and after a cruise
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