Western Australia Committed to Growing Cruise Business

Posted on 30 October, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

“The State Government (of Western Australia) is committed to growing the cruise industry by addressing regulation and infrastructure issues,” said Tourism WA (Western Australia) Acting CEO Stephen Wood.

Among the changes for cruise operators, casino operations are permitted when ships are traveling between WA ports.

With nine ports, including Perth as a key homeport, WA is in close proximity to ships coming from Southeast Asia, offering a variety of niche destinations.

Mid-West Ports recently installed two sets of shore tension units for Geraldton, Wood said, to ensure reliable berthing. There is also funding heading to Kimberly Ports to purchase an all-tide gangway system for the Port of Broome.

In Exmouth, a steering group has been formed to enhance anchor and tender operations. Wood said Exmouth was a transformational cruise port that holds the key to growth for WA.

“Perth and the port city of Fremantle are also undergoing massive transformations, thanks to unprecedented levels of public and private investment, making both more attractive places to visit,” Wood told Cruise Industry News. “Perth has seen redevelopments on a huge scale including improvements at Perth Airport and the Elizabeth Quay waterfront precinct. Fremantle is undergoing major redevelopment, with more than $1 billion in the investment pipeline. New small bars, restaurants, cafes and retail precincts have popped up in both cities, giving cruise visitors many shore options for dining and shopping.”

Recent highlights included the Queen Mary 2 making a visit to Busselton, with a return call planned in February 2018. The Ovation of the Seas called in Fremantle last December and comes back earlier this year, with a November call on the books.

This coming season will see 44 cruise ship visits for Fremantle, a small decline as some capacity has been moved elsewhere. Cruise & Maritime Voyages is a key customer, homeporting the Astor for a fifth consecutive season.

Inaugural visits are scheduled by the Regatta, Ocean Dream, Azamara Journey, L’Austral, Seven Seas Navigator and Golden Princess.

Tourism WA is pushing its strategy to make its nine ports a key cruise destination, by developing the necessary infrastructure to serve industry capacity, according to Wood.

“Since 2012, Tourism WA has helped to deliver 30 ‘Welcoming Cruise Passengers to the West’ workshops to more than 1,000 tour guides/drivers and volunteers across the state,” he said.

In addition is a newly accredited training program for tour guides funded by Tourism WA, which will debut in Geraldton, Busselton, and Albany.

Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 hosting ‘The Greatest Showman’ premiere

Posted on 27 October, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Cunard Line will host the first debut of a major motion picture on a cruise ship when 20th Century-Fox presents the world premiere of “The Greatest Showman” on Queen Mary 2 in December.

The movie is a musical that tells the story of P.T. Barnum, the legendary circus impresario. Stars include Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, and Zac Efron. It is scheduled to hit theaters on land on Christmas Day.

Barnum sailed several times on Cunard, including an 1850 voyage from England to New York where 40,000 people were waiting to greet the ship.

Scenes from the movie were shot in the original U.S. headquarters of Cunard at 25 Broadway in lower Manhattan. Other scenes were shot in Brooklyn, Queen Mary 2’s U.S. homeport.

“We are thrilled to host the first major motion picture premiere on a Cunard ship,” said Josh Leibowitz, senior vice president, Cunard North America.

Cunard will sponsor a sweepstake in which a winner and their guest will attend the premiere.

Queen Victoria has updated look but the same grand library

Posted on 7 June, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

The Queen Victoria’s two-deck library is unified by a spiral staircase, complete with standing globe at the base. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

ABOARD THE QUEEN VICTORIA — One of the splendors of this ship is the wood-paneled two-deck library, among the best at sea.

During a recent month-long renovation in which Cunard Line made a number of changes to the ship, it could have taken the opportunity to cut back the size of the library, add a bar or rebrand it as a learning center.

Cunard did none of those things, leaving intact the 7,000-volume collection for guests to peruse.

There’s something extravagant about a two-story library on a ship. The space is unified by a spiral staircase, complete with a standing globe at the base. Upstairs is devoted to fiction, from Aaronson to Zander, while the lower level is for nonfiction.

“Cunard has a proper library,” said Svetlana Minic, one of two librarians who staff the book vault. The only library bigger than the one on Queen Victoria is the one on the larger Queen Mary 2, which has 10,000 volumes, Minic said.

The marvel of such a library is that there’s something for everybody. Not only does Queen Victoria have a fiction section, but it has a separate case for short stories only. There’s a section for young adult fiction as well as one for science fiction. The Everyman Library of classics spans authors from Jane Austin to Virginia Woolf.

The nonfiction collection is even more impressive and superbly organized. There are labeled shelves for everything from Animals, Gardening, Fitness and Science to Arts & Crafts, Food and Drink, Sport, Dance and Digital Photography.

Besides English, there are volumes in Italian, French, German, Japanese and a small number in Chinese.

Reference books include a complete set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. There are five floor-to-ceiling cases of travel books, and two of books on marine themes such as Maritime History, Merchant Shipping, Warships, Yachts and Passenger Shipping.

There are about a dozen books on Cunard Line or its individual ships. Minic said there used to be more but guests have taken them home as souvenirs, even though Queen Victoria has a bookshop stocked with new commemorative Cunard books for sale.

For guests who want to take a book home, Minic operates a paperback exchange. She said the library is very popular on world cruises. There’s often not a seat to spare on either level.

Two or three times a year, the collection is freshened with 400 new books. The next change-out is set for the start of Queen Victoria’s June 8 cruise from Southampton.

Minic said she then picks 400 older volumes to be donated at one of the ship’s ports of call.