Tag Archives: rhine

Uniworld to launch new Super Ship, add itineraries in 2015

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By Michelle Baran

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is introducing the 155-passenger S.S. Maria Theresa in spring 2015, a vessel that will sail the Danube River.

A sister ship to the S.S. Catherine, which launched earlier this year, and the S.S. Antoinette, the S.S. Maria Theresa will sail along Rhine, Main and Danube rivers in 2015.

It will feature a main lounge, an additional Bar du Leopard lounge, a restaurant, terrace, sun deck with chess and shuffleboard, heated swimming pool, fitness center, a spa, boutique, elevator, 24-hour specialty coffee and tea bar, free WiFi access and a cinema.

It will have 11 staterooms at 162 square feet each, 61 staterooms at 194 square feet each, 10 suites at 305 square feet and one royal suite at 410 square feet.

The main and upper deck staterooms and suites will have French balconies, and all staterooms will be outfitted with Savoir of England beds, individual thermostats, flatscreen TVs with infotainment center, and marble bathrooms with L’Occitane en Provence products and towel warmers.

All suites will include butler services and a complimentary in-suite wellness treatment for each suite guest.

The S.S. Maria Theresa will sail four Uniworld cruises in 2015: Tulips & Windmills, Danube Holiday Markets, Enchanting Christmas & New Year’s Cruise and European Jewels.

Additionally, Uniworld is introducing six new itineraries in 2015, including: the eight-day Holland & Belgium at Tulip Time; the 10-day Delightful Danube & Prague; the 10-day Eastern Europe Explorer; the 13-day Jewels of Spain, Portugal & the Douro River; and the 22-day Ultimate France.

Uniworld will offer 33 European itineraries in 2015, including 45 more departures on the Rhine and Danube rivers than in 2014 in order to meet demand on those waterways, according to Uniworld President Guy Young.

Will CroisiEurope’s pricing, diversity resonate with U.S. passengers?

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By Michelle Baran

InsightFrench river cruise line CroisiEurope is making a run at an already pretty crowded U.S. market with a simple concept: low-cost river cruises with a multicultural mix of passengers.

“The founder of the company had the philosophy to make this product available for the mass market,” said Michel Grimm, international sales director for CroisiEurope, which after 38 years in business recently unveiled a new website and call center devoted to the U.S. source market.

“Our pricing is very aggressive,” Grimm said, adding that an eight-day CroisiEurope river cruise including meals, open bar and excursions won’t run more than $2,400 per person.

“With these kinds of prices, we come with an offer that is very interesting,” he said.

For anyone who knows the river cruising market, that’s actually quite a deal.MichelleBaran
As a European river cruise operator, CroisiEurope hosts a mix of nationalities onboard, but the company’s executives said that for the right customer, that should be seen as an asset, not a drawback.

“This is not for people who want the safety of being with all other English speakers,” said John McGlade, director of CroisiEurope’s U.S. reservation center. “For people who want the international experience, it’s the perfect marriage.”

CroisiEurope, which is still run by the founder’s children, builds all its vessels in the same shipyard in Belgium. Building, owning and operating all its own vessels is how the company claims it can keep its pricing so competitive, a concept it is bringing to the canal barge market, as well.

CroisiEurope is also building up its own fleet of barge vessels that have a capacity of 24 guests, in contrast with many of the existing canal barges that can often only host six to 12 passengers onboard, rendering them an expensive vacation option.

One other differentiator? Building ships of different sizes that can navigate lesser-sailed inland waterways, including the Guadalquivir and Guadiana rivers in Spain, the Tisza River in Hungary and some of the smaller estuaries off of the Danube and Rhine rivers.

CroisiEurope is based in Strasbourg, France, and has a fleet of 30 ships, including several barges and coastal cruisers, which sail in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, Vietnam and Cambodia.

River cruise sustainability guide launched

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River cruise sustainability guide launched

A guide offering best practices to river cruise operators on how to operate with as little environmental impact as possible has been developed by the Travel Foundation.

The ‘Environmental Sustainability for River Cruising’ is designed to support the river cruise tourism industry in working towards a sustainable future by identifying ways to reduce water and energy use, and waste generation on river cruise ships.

The best practices offered in the guide come from audits done on ships in Egypt, along the Nile, and in Europe, along the Danube, Rhine, and Rhône rivers.

Twelve Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection ships were audited. The recommendations made from the findings were used to form the basis of the guide, which provides training material for the river cruise industry at large in managing their own environmental performance.

The guidance will mark a breakthrough in reducing the environmental impact of river cruising tourism worldwide, charity the Travel Foundation claims.

Uniworld president Guy Young said: “With the growth of the river cruise sector, it is essential that we all do our part to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for our waterways, which is why we are so proud to be part of such an important first-of-its-kind project in the river cruise sector.

“All river cruise companies should seek to better understand and adopt environmental performance measures in an effort to prevent serious environmental impact in the destinations where we travel and operate.

“To this end, we hope this Environmental Sustainability for River Cruising guide will provide them with best practice examples, tools, and sources of further information, as well as a self-assessment checklist in their own efforts of continuous improvements towards a more sustainable future.”

Salli Felton, acting chief executive of the Travel Foundation, added: “It’s important that the river cruising sector addresses the environmental impact of its day-to-day operation, so that it can grow sustainably.

“We’ve broken the guide down into small manageable chunks so that companies can take a step-by-step approach to minimising the negative effect they may be having on the environment.”

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises are sold through Titan Travel in the UK.