UK’s Top Cruise Company SPLIT UP!

Posted on 3 December, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

CCS Logo

Carnival UK announces new sales structure to create “unrivalled” agent partnerships and deliver a “new generation” of cruisers
Carnival UK has announced changes to the structure of the agent facing sales teams for its three major brands.

From early March 2013 there will be two separate sales teams, one supporting P&O Cruises and Cunard Line and the other supporting Princess Cruises.
This change recognises the importance of each brand’s market position and product differentiation. As each brand evolves, their subsequent distribution and marketing solutions vary and this structure will enable more dedicated resource to work with our agent partners to fulfil those needs.

The Complete Cruise Solution sales team has driven significant increases in cruise business through many agents in this country over a number of years. Now is the time to underpin that solid foundation, encourage a new generation of cruisers and build on that growth to further commercial success.

The introduction of two sales teams will increase the internal resource available to maintain the current high standards of travel agent support and encourage unrivalled business partnerships. It will drive business growth and extend the marketing to the benefit of each of our three cruise lines and their agent partners.

The award winning agent extranet, www.completecruisesolution.com, will continue to provide top-quality booking and training services for all three brands, and will continue to receive significant investment.

The new Princess Cruises sales team will report into the newly created head of sales position, which will in turn report to Princess Cruises UK director, Paul Ludlow.

The sales team for P&O Cruises and Cunard will report into the newly appointed head of sales, Chris Truscott, who will join the organisation from early in the new year. Truscott will report to Carnival UK sales and customer services director, Giles Hawke.

All three brands are committed to continued commercial collaboration to provide a consistency of approach and to creating new sales organisations capable of delivering exceptional account management for mutual benefit.

Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth

Posted on 12 October, 2011 by Spacejunkie2

Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth

I know it is hard to believe but on 12th October Queen Elizabeth will be celebrating her first birthday.

Here are some fun facts that you probably didn’t know about Cunard’s latest superliner.

By her first birthday Queen Elizabeth would have visited 108 different destinations

She would have travelled approximately 123,351 nautical miles

Celebrities and speakers which have sailed onboard include; Lord Jeffery Archer, Ruth Scott, Brian Hoey & Robert Kershaw

A total of 78 guest speakers would have travelled onboard by her 1st birthday

She has constantly received over 90% in her customer service questionnaires

Queen Elizabeth met her 2 sisters for the first time in New York on 13th January 2011, there was big celebrations & fireworks and Peter Shanks (Cunard MD) rang the stock exchange bell in NYC

A special celebration was held in the Queens Room on the day of the Royal wedding, where guests could watch the event on a screen and were given cake

Maiden call to Fjords in May, the first interactive voyage and blog of an onboard experience by Cunard’s New Media Executive.

Maiden call to Travemunde in June, where an estimated 20,000 people greeted the arrival of Queen Elizabeth.

Will you be sailing on Queen Elizabeth on her 1st Birthday voyage? How would you like Cunard to Celebrate her birthday onboard?

Fire Breaks Out aboard Queen Mary 2

Posted on 8 October, 2011 by Spacejunkie2

Fire Breaks Out aboard Queen Mary 2

A small fire broke out in an engine room aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 on Wednesday.

Cruises.co.uk member SolentRichard, Lee On Solent was on board whilst the incident occured – he gave his account of what happened:

“The actual time was minutes around 8.00pm and Solent Richard plus wife were 15 minutes into the Senior Officer’s Cocktail Party in the Queens Room, usual glass of champagne in hand, when the first ‘assessment’ broadcast was made.

Within minutes there was another broadcast to summon the crew emergency teams to the scene of the incident. Most officer’s left to attend their stations but the party definitely continued and the pianist continued to play.

By 8.15 the Captain made a broadcast to say that the fire had been in the exhaust lagging of the Gas Turbine and was now safely extinguished. There was an element of the surreal as gusts at the party continued to down champagne while many crew members either busied themselves or began to muster at their ‘stations’ dressed in their life jackets. Waiting staff were soon back at full strength and the party continued till 9.00pm.

By way of a small anecdote, the Entertainment Director, Ray Rouse, joined our group prior to the end of the party with a great one liner: “ First time in 37 years I have worn a life jacket over a DJ”

The whole incident was an pertinent lesson in the calmness and confident manner that the officers and crew conducted themselves in the true traditions of British seafaring. There was never any mention of the passengers needing to return to staterooms to collect their life jackets and no mention of lifeboats.”

The fire was caused by one of the ship’s gas turbines — they augment power to the ship’s main quartet of diesel turbines, allowing the ship to travel at a higher maximum speed (some 30 knots).

Eric Flounders, UK spokesman for Cunard confirmed: “Neither passengers nor crew were adversely affected, and neither was the operation of the ship”.

Please read below the comments from one of the passengers on board the Queen Mary when the incident happend.

Deanne Rogers
Submitted on 2011/10/09 at 3:35 am

This is not what happened. What a cover up! Passengers were dining and heard the alarm, crew took off and passengers were left wondering what happened until we were told to go to our cabins that there was a fire. We were told to put on warm clothing that there was a fire on the ship on deck 13. We were also in a storm level 11, which is one under a hurricane. The other ships did not come out of the Saint Lawerence river, they took safe harbor further up. The Queen Mary went straight to the Atlantic and put their passengers in danger. Many were injured and ill from the violent waves. Wet vacs were being used in the halls of deck 12 to get water up. Showers were filling up with water. Windows were leaking all over the ship. This was a terrible experience and I will never use this line again.