United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Carnival hikes UK cruise capacity
A new ship originally designated for Cunard is to be delivered to sister line P&O cruises instead as part of a fresh assault on the UK cruise market by parent company Carnival. The £225 million Queen Victoria, due for delivery to Cunard next April, will instead be re-named Arcadia and join P&O in time for summer 2005. The 1,968-bed vessel is claimed to be the largest cruise ship ever built exclusively for the British market. Cunard will receive a new Queen Victoria, capable of accommodating 1,850 passengers, in January 2007 at the cost of £260 million. P&O is also swapping vessels with US line Princess Cruises, which is to sail from the UK for the first time next summer. Princess is taking P&O’s 1,950-passenger Adonia and re-naming it Sea Princess. The ship will run itineraries specifically tailored to meet the preferences of British passengers, sailing from the UK in summer and operating 14-night Caribbean cruises in the winter. In return, P&O will receive 1,200-bed Royal Princess in May 2005. To be renamed Artemis, the ship will bring the P&O fleet up to five vessels. More than 860 of its 984 cabins will have a sea view, with 677 of these having private balconies, more than any other UK-based ship, according to P&O. P&O’s capacity will rise by eight per cent as a net effect of the ship transfers, with almost 40 per cent of the fleet’s cabins offering balconies. Princess will see capacity growth of 16 per cent in 2005, with the average age of the fleet reduced by four years. The percentage of the fleet’s total number of cabins with balconies will rise to 54 per cent. P&O Princess Cruises International chief executive Peter Ratcliffe said: “The tremendous success of the Queen Mary 2, and the potential to grow and offer further choice for UK cruise passengers, prompted these changes. “We will now have brands and ships that cater to all the differing needs of the growing and diversifying UK passenger base.” Report by Phil Davies
Related News Stories: Cunard - TravelMole JetBlue expands Caribbean network with St. Vincent and the ... Pleasant Holidays, Journese add Guatemala vacation packages Partner News - TravelMole G Adventures - TravelMole Intrepid Travel - TravelMole Jamaica - TravelMole Ponant adds new roadshow dates in Australia
Phil Davies
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence
Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy
Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
BA pilot dies during layover
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Boy falls to death on cruise ship
Protestors now targeting Amsterdam cruise calls