The
Calypso Islands itinerary includes San
Juan, Antigua, Grenada, St Lucia, St
Barthelemy, Tortola and Nassau, with
departures on January 15, February 6 and
28, March 21, April 12 and May 4.
Spanish
Main and Panama Canal cruises will visit
Montego Bay in Jamaica, Cartagena in
Colombia, San Blas and Cristobal in
Panama, Puerto Limon in Costa Rica and
Key West in the US, sailing on January
26, February 17, March 10, April 1 and
23.
The
Lirica's Calypso Islands and Spanish
Main cruises are normally priced from
$3630 to $6640 but are $300 less for
earlybird bookings.
Fly/cruise
fares for Lirica's 17-night cruise from
its home port of Genoa to Fort
Lauderdale, range from $6100 for a
deluxe cabin to $9710 for a balcony
suite.
The
voyage departs Genoa on December 27 and
calls at Gibraltar, Funchal, Grenada,
Barbados, Antigua, Tortola and Nassau.
The
return voyage to Genoa will leave Fort
Lauderdale on May 15 and visit San Juan,
St Croix, St Lucia, Barbados, Funchal,
Malaga and Barcelona. Fares for this
voyage are from $5070.
* For
details, see travel agents or phone 1800
028 502.
SuperStar
homecoming voyages
THE two
SuperStar ships forced out of Asia by
the SARS outbreak will return to their
home ports next month and cruise
packages for their voyages are now
available.
Star
Cruises says that SuperStar Virgo will
depart Fremantle on July 11 and arrive
in Singapore on July 20 and SuperStar
Leo will leave Sydney on July 19 to
arrive in Hong Kong on July 31.
Virgo
will call in to Broome and Darwin and on
arrival in Singapore will embark on a
special cruise to Port Klang, Penang
Island and Phuket Island.
SuperStar
Leo will stop in Cid Harbour, Cairns and
Darwin.
Both were
deployed to Australia during the height
of the SARS situation in Asia.
Star
Cruises chief operating officer Chong
Chee Tut says the temporary deployment
was successful, with many sold-out
cruises.
He says
festivities are being planned in both
cities to celebrate the return of the
ships which Star Cruises hopes
"will provide a bright spark to
ignite the cruise tourism industry,
which has been in inertia for the past
three months".
"While
it has been a trying period, we are
confident that the cruise and tourism
industry will pick up again," he
says.
* See
travel agents for details and fares for
the relocation-cum-homecoming voyages.
Boost
for South Pacific fleet
A THIRD
ship will join the Sydney-based P&O
Cruises South Pacific holiday fleet late
next year to cope with the dramatic
increase in the Australian interest in
cruising.
The ship
will be the 47,262-ton Jubilee – now
sailing in the US-based Carnival fleet
– and her move will take the P&O
Cruises annual Australian cruise
passenger numbers from 61,000 to
150,000.
She will
be renamed and undergo a
multimillion-dollar refit before coming
here in October next year.
As the
largest cruise ship to be based in
Australia year-round, she will join the
P&O Cruises' Pacific Sky and the
premium Pacific Princess which sails a
six-month season in the South Pacific
each year.
The
1900-passenger Jubilee, together with
the 1550-passenger Pacific Sky, will
offer a range of seven-to-14-night South
Pacific cruises, sailing to destinations
in New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu, New
Zealand, Tonga and Australia year-round.
She also will have a season of cruises
from Brisbane for part of the year.
"In
1999, we carried 35,000 passengers on
South Pacific cruises," P&O
Cruises Australia managing director
Gavin Smith says.
"When
Pacific Sky was introduced in 2000, that
number grew to more than 50,000. The
debut of Pacific Princess in 2002 took
passenger numbers to 61,000 and when
Jubilee arrives that number will surge
to 150,000."
The
Swedish-built Jubilee entered service in
May, 1986, and now operates four-day and
five-day Mexico sailings from Galveston,
Texas. In September, she will begin
seven-day Caribbean cruises from San
Juan. She has eight passenger decks,
three restaurants, a health and fitness
facility and 10 bars and lounges,
including a 1000-seat multi-level
theatre. Other features include three
swimming pools (one with a water slide),
a casino, library, Internet cafe and a
children's play room. A brochure
detailing the first Australian season
will be launched in October.
* For
details of P&O Cruises itineraries
for the summer season, see travel
agents, hit the website
www.pocruises.com.au or phone 132 469.
Drawing
from huge world market
THE third
P&O Cruises Australia ship will come
from a massive world fleet. Her
introduction here follows the recent
dual company listing of P&O Princess
with Carnival Corporation.
The group
consists of 13 cruise brands in North
America, Europe and Australia,
comprising Carnival Cruise Lines,
Princess Cruises, Holland America Line,
Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises, Cunard
Line, Windstar Cruises, Seabourn Cruise
Line, Ocean Village, Swan Hellenic,
AIDA, A'ROSA and P&O Cruises
Australia. They operate 68 ships
totalling more than 105,800 lower
berths.
Carnival
Corporation & PLC also operates
riverboats on Europe's Danube River and
the leading tour companies in Alaska and
the Canadian Yukon, Holland America
Tours and Princess Tours.
* For
details of cruising and holiday touring,
see travel agents.
