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Island Cruises triples Med coverage for ’06
Island Cruises is tripling Mediterranean fly-cruise itineraries as its fleet is doubled for next summer with the addition of a second ship.
The Celebrity Cruises vessel Horizon is being renamed Island Star and after a $22 million refit will be deployed alongside 1,740-passenger Island Escape offering cruises from Palma, Majorca in summer 2006.
Five of the eight itineraries to be operated by 1,875-passenger Island Star are new for next summer including two 14-night voyages and three seven-night sailings.
The line is also providing the option to combine two seven-night itineraries into a 14-night cruise. Overall, Island Cruises will be running nine itineraries with the two ships compared with the three being offered this year on Island Escape.
Prices start at £599 for seven nights on Island Star in October, 2006.
Island Cruises managing director Patrick Ryan said that Island Escape would be positioned as the “entry level” ship targeting first-time cruisers, while repeat passengers would be encouraged to sail on Island Star.
Island, the joint cruise venture between First Choice and Royal Caribbean International, is to invite 1,200 agents to a preview cruise on Island Star between Lisbon and Palma on March 23 next year.
The vessel makes its debut on a two-week Venetian Adventure trip departing Palma on March 25, calling at Nice, Civitavecchia for Rome, Naples, Dubrovnik an overnight in Venice, Split and Messina. This cruise is repeated on November 4.
The other two-week option sees the ship conduct an Ancient Odyssey voyage to the eastern Mediterranean, taking in ports of call such as Athens, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Santorini and Crete and Malta.
The new seven-night itineraries on Island Star cover the Mediterranean islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and Menorca; Italy and the French Riviera and the western Med and Atlantic, calling at Cadiz, Gibraltar, Malaga, Alicante and Ibiza.
Island Star is to operate winter cruises in Brazil from December 4 before making its cruise debut for UK passengers next March.
Report by Phil Davies
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