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Trade targeted by new UK cruise venture
Monday, 16 Sep, 2009
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Details of cruises to run from seven UK ports next year have been released by new company Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
A first edition preview brochure for 2010 covers 46 departures on two ships, the Marco Polo and Ocean Countess.
Early booking saver fares start at £149 per person.
The programme covers departures from London Tilbury, Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Leith, Greenock, Liverpool and Plymouth.
The 800-passenger Marco Polo will be based out of Tilbury while the 800-passenger Ocean Countess will offer regional departures from seven ports.
Sales manager Michelle Daniels said: “We are firmly committed to increasing our level of sales through the retail travel trade and have a full promotional support package available to help travel agents develop and exploit both local, regional and national opportunities.”
Marco Polo will start its season as a child-free cruise ship on January 2, 2010 with a 30-night cruise from Tilbury to the Caribbean with fares starting at £1,499 per person.
This will be followed by an Amazon & Orinoco Discovery voyage in February and a cruise in March to Northern Norway in search of the Aurora Borealis natural light display that can only be observed close to the Polar Regions.
The rest of the year’s programme will comprise a selection of six to 15-night cruises to destinations including the British Isles, Norwegian Fjords, Spitzbergen, Baltic Capitals, Mediterranean and Canary Islands. A six-night Fjordland cruise starts at £399 per person and a 14 night Northern Lights cruise from £849 per person.
Ocean Countess enters service in April 2010 following a winter refurbishment of cabins and public rooms to provide a "value for money traditional cruising experience".
The vessel will sail to Norway, the North Cape, Iceland, the British Isles and Spain and Portugal from UK regional ports.
A two night mini-cruise to Amsterdam starts at £149 per person.
Cruise & Maritime Voyages director Chris Coates said: “Almost 2,000 booking registrations or six per cent of the 35,000 capacity programme have already been taken since going on sale at the beginning of the month and we are delighted with the initial response.
“We believe that our market responsive pricing strategy is firmly in tune with the requirements of our sector of the market and we are encouraged by the general response being experienced from the travel trade”.
by Phil Davies
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