Tag Archives: cunard

The majority of cruise passengers believe sailings are “ideal for people of ages”

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P&O Britannia in the Caribbean sun, photo credit Spacejunkie2

Cruise specialist Cruise.co.uk asked 850 consumers to name what they viewed as the three main misconceptions about cruising.

The most common mistaken belief identified by the survey was that cruise “is only for retired people”, with more than half (54%) of those polled believing cruise holidays are actually “ideal for people of all ages”.
  
The next misconception is cruises are “expensive”. Just under half (42%) of respondents felt there are cruise holidays to suit every budget, and compared to other types of holidays, they are “extremely” good value.

The third preventing people from booking a cruise was “seasickness”. More than a third (38%) maintain modern ships, with their advanced stabilisation, ensuring it’s “plain sailing” onboard.
 
Overall, 84% of respondents said there are still misconceptions about cruising among the general public, but 32% said there are fewer misconceptions than there were two years ago, as more people try cruising for the first time.

Tony Andrews, deputy managing director of Cruise.co.uk, said the survey “lifts the lid” on some of those “tired cliches we’ve all heard about cruise holidays”.

“There are cruises out there for all ages, from young families stepping onboard a ship for the first time to senior sailors toasting a happy retirement,” he said.

“And there’s so much more to enjoy onboard these days – from incredible spas, pools and even water parks to ice rinks, climbing walls and West End quality shows – everyone can make the most of their time onboard and explore new destinations in comfort.”

Cruise Restart: 347 Ships Sailing in May

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The global cruise industry’s restart is continuing to move forward in May, as 347 cruise ships are expected to sail, according to the May edition of the Cruise Ships in Service Report by Cruise Industry News.

That is a big gain of ships from April, when 300 ships were in service, compared to 264 in March, and just 47 ships in May 2021.

Of the 347 ships set to cruise in April, they represent some 82 cruise brands and just over 550,000 berths.

Royal Caribbean International continues to be the biggest brand in service and will have 25 ships sailing in May, including welcoming back the Ovation of the Seas in Alaska and the Rhapsody of the Seas in the Mediterranean.

Carnival Cruise Line will complete its restart with its 23-ship fleet sailing, with the Splendor relaunching operations on May 2 for her 2022 summer program in Alaska.

Norwegian Cruise Line will welcome back the Sun, sailing out of Seattle to Alaska, and the Spirit, which is starting service as well on May 7.

Other highlights include the Royal and Crown Princess relaunching revenue sailings, and the AIDAaura, which cruises from Hamburg on May 7.

P&O and Cunard to Drydock at Harland & Wolff

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Harland & Wolff has been awarded a drydock contract for two cruise ships from P&O Cruises and Cunard.

The two Carnival Corporation ships will drydock for a total of 33 days as the Aurora and Queen Victoria will both visit the Belfast facility.

They are two of a projected 24 Carnival Corporation ships to drydock in the second quarter.

The work due to being undertaken on both ships are standard drydocking operations that will give Harland & Wolff the opportunity to demonstrate to the wider cruise industry, its skills, capabilities and expertise in these types of projects, the company said, in a press release

The Queen Victory will drydock from May 2 to 19 and will be the largest cruise ship ever to have drydocked in a UK shipyard and the only Cunard ship to have ever drydocked in Belfast.

The Aurora will visit from June 9 to 23.

Harland & Wolff, group CEO John Wood, commented: “When acquiring the assets of Harland and Wolff (Belfast) in December 2019 and in a pre-pandemic period, the cruise industry was one of our key target markets.

“Our facilities are ideally placed to capitalize on these types of large projects whilst we continue servicing our smaller but regular clients. We have now secured contracts in four out of our five markets; commercial, cruise & ferry, renewables and energy – we now look forward to completing the final milestone of securing a defence contract in the near future.”

Carnival UK, vice-president maritime David Varty said: “We are delighted to be able to have these two ships at a UK shipyard with such a long heritage and reputation and we very much look forward to supporting the UK maritime industry and working closely with the Harland & Wolff team on this project.”