Tag Archives: tui uk

Marella Cruises will offer voyages to Canada

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A new 14-night East Coast Adventure sailing, departing Port Canaveral in October 2023 and calling at Newport, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Sydney, Halifax and Boston, will go on sale on 21 July, along with the line’s full winter 2023 programme. 

Speaking to TTG on Tuesday (28 June), managing director of cruise at Tui UK and Ireland Chris Hackney said the new itineraries will “bring North America to life”.

“It’s a great time of year to go to Canada, and we’re really excited to go there for the first time,” he added.

“We’re going to different parts of the US and offering a nice range of options. It brings to life the different destinations, whether it be the south, the north, it will be very appealing to customers and it will help tick off those bucket-list holidays.”

Discovery will also offer a 12-night Stateside Discovery sailing, departing Port Canaveral and calling at Miami, New Orleans, the Dominican Republic and Barbados.

Meanwhile, the line’s newest ship, Marella Voyager, will offer three Caribbean itineraries from Barbados in winter 2023, including an eight-night Paradise Islands sailing in November 2023, which calls at Tortola, Saint Maarten, Saint Kitts, Antigua and Dominica.

Elsewhere, Marella Discovery II will homeport in Singapore and offer a 14-night Eastern Experience sailing, calling at Laem Chabang, Phu My, Malacca, Langkawi and Patong Bay.

“We have operated in Asia in the past, but this time we will homeport out of Singapore, where the ship will overnight, giving customers the opportunity to experience the destination in the day and the evening,” Hackney added.

“In the past, we have received really good feedback from customers on being in a place like Singapore, where you’re centrally located in such a vibrant city, so we think it will go down really well.

“Everything is really exciting, and these new itineraries allow us to bring in some new destinations, we have a lot of customers who ask when we’re going back to Asia and it’s great to be able to bring it back for next winter for customers to see some fantastic parts of the world.”

Cruise1st attracts potential buyers as owner Royal Caribbean puts agency up for sale

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Royal Caribbean-owned cruise agency Cruise1st has been put up for sale and is understood to have attracted at least three potential trade buyers.

It is known that at least one of the cruise specialist agencies interested in buying the business has submitted an offer for Cruise1st, which is a trading division of Sunshine Cruise Holidays and employs more than 100 staff in the UK, Australia and Singapore.

In a statement, Manchester-based Cruise1st said it was “exploring the possibility” of an external sale and also strongly considering a management buyout.

Royal Caribbean declined to comment.

A source told Travel Weekly that a deal could be struck within the next couple of weeks.

Dan Townsley, chief executive of Cruise1st, said he was eager to weigh up options for the business, adding: “We’re in a position to explore our options and make the right choice for the business that will support our ambitious growth plans.”

The agency launched in 2000 and was acquired by Island Cruises three years later. Following the merger of First Choice and Tui UK, Cruise1st became wholly owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises in 2008.

In the past four years the agency’s booking numbers are claimed to have grown by 83%, and Townsley said the business had “aggressive expansion plans”.

The cruise sector has witnessed several acquisitions in recent years, including Iglu Cruise’s purchase of Planet Cruise in 2013 and dnata taking a stake in Imagine Cruising last month.

Private equity firms have also shown interest in cruise businesses, with both Cruise.co.uk and Iglu Cruise receiving backing.

The latter received further investment last week in a deal, believed to be worth £60 million, with private equity backer LDC. This prompted Iglu founder Richard Downs to say he was looking at acquisitions.

Customers threaten Island Cruises with legal action

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Customers threaten Island Cruises with legal action

By Phil Davies

Customers threaten Island Cruises with legal actionA group of 50 passengers are taking legal action after an outbreak of illness on the ship Island Escape.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has been instructed to investigate the concerns of 50 passengers who travelled on the Tui UK & Ireland ship between March and June this year.

The solicitors said many were confined to their cabins after suffering diarrhoea and sickness and there were also complaints about food, damp rooms and overflowing toilets, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.

Leeds pensioners Ralph and Patricia Hewitt said they were left traumatised when the ship listed violently to one side after leaving the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome.

The ship lurched suddenly to one side, throwing passengers – many of whom were in bars and restaurants – to the floor and causing injuries, they said.

Then the second week of their trip was ruined when they caught a sickness bug which had been rife onboard

The grandparents joined the Island Escape in May for a week’s Mediterranean cruise and then a week in a hotel in Majorca.

A spokeswoman for Island Cruises said: “We are sorry to hear of this experience on board the Island Escape. As this case is now subject to legal proceedings it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.

“The ultimate priority for Island Cruises is the health, safety and comfort of all our customers. We operate stringent health and hygiene procedures in line with industry standards.”