All posts by Robert De Pasquale

COVID-19 CMV

First major UK cruise liner operator, Cruise & Maritime Voyages goes under

Posted: July 31, 2022

Health & Safety, Press Release, ,

The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill, and tourism has been the worst affected of all major economic sectors.

Last week, the first major UK cruise liner operator, Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) announced they have gone into administration, with the “global pandemic of seismic proportions” being blamed for its collapse.

With 4,000 jobs at risk and cancelling all customer bookings, along with thousands of passenger refunds, CMV is the first major cruise line to go under because of the forced suspension of worldwide cruising, due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

As with most cruise lines, CMV has not been sailing since March at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and was due to resume sailing come August 25th with voyages to the Baltic, Norway, the Canary Islands, Madeira and Morocco. Founded in 2009, CMV line operated six ships in its fleet — Magellan, Marco Polo, Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Astor and Astoria: the end of an era for the world’s oldest cruise ship, built in 1948.

CMV had two additional ships coming into the fleet, both former P&O Australia ships which were due to come into service next year. (Currently, it is not clear what will happen to these vessels.) After P&O Cruises, CMV was, in terms of fleet numbers, the second largest cruise line catering for UK passengers.

But the beloved British cruise line, known for its “affordable, friendly and fuss-free sailing”, was in desperate need of additional funding – which it said it was “confident” of securing. Although unsuccessfully, administrators Duff & Phelps announced on July 20, 2022 that it has “ceased trading with immediate effect”, after failing to secure the much-needed extra funding.

In a statement, chief executive Christian Verhounig added that the company had worked “tirelessly” to secure the necessary funding but despite a positive “forward booking position”, it could “not get the financing deal over the line”.

“…Only last year CMV was celebrating a record trading year and our first decade in cruising but the CMV journey has tragically been cut short by this unprecedented global pandemic.

“We are truly sorry to our loyal and hard-working shoreside staff and seafarers, travel trade partners and suppliers who have all patiently stood by us and to our valued passengers for the disappointment and further disruption to their cruising holiday plans.

“On behalf of the CMV family, directors and shareholders, I would like to thank everyone for their great support and sincerely apologise for these circumstances which are directly related to Covid-19 and beyond our control.”

Passengers who have booked cruise packages are protected by ATBA.  “All bookings that have not taken place are cancelled,” said the administrators, Duff & Phelps Ltd, in a statement on the company’s website.

Passengers who purchased a flight-inclusive package from CMV will be ATOL protected.

Return of the Cruise,

Return of the Cruise, Still in Uncharted Waters

Posted: July 29, 2022

Australia, Countries, Health & Safety, Uncategorized, , , ,

Cruising can transport you from majestic crystal clear waters to skylines of sprawling cities. But even if you are eagerly awaiting your next cruise — sadly, you may just have to wait a little longer.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the cruise industry during the global pandemic and as Australia continues to face setbacks (erm, thanks, Melbourne), the return of international and domestic cruise dates are still in uncharted waters.

At the beginning of the outbreak, ships such as the Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess were forced into quarantine when passengers tested positive for COVID-19.

Three months into the pandemic, more than 40,000 crew workers remained stranded at sea waiting to discover when they would be able to return to their own countries.

Other ships lie empty unable to dock as a result of the restrictions, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Australia, New Zealand and Spain have all extended their cruise ship bans until later this year, while the US have placed a sailing “pause” until September 15 at the earliest.

The Trans-Tasman Bubble

It was with a glimmer of hope that the Trans-Tasman Bubble (that’s the exclusive travel “corridor” between New Zealand and Australia ) was to reopen between Australia and New Zealand as early as July 1, but as New Zealand reported additional new cases of 19 (from two travellers from the UK bringing the virus back into the country), our hopes of cruising the horizon have been set back until at least September.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says that there are no specific dates set in stone, “We haven’t put an arbitrary timeline on it because that simply comes down to a judgement that does rely on daily data,” she told the press recently.  “This will be two-way decision making with anyone with whom we’re opening our borders up with.”

With an increase of cases in Australia recently, the date could be pushed even further back. But, Ardern has confirmed the bubble is still “on the horizon” despite the spike.

Australia’s largest domestic and international airline Qantas, heightened the travel severity, when CEO Alan Joyce stated that all international flying will be suspended unless a coronavirus vaccine is released, with the exception of New Zealand and a handful of other ‘travel bubble’ destinations.

“We might get trans-Tasman (travel) before then, we may get other nations opening up with bubbles,” but he doesn’t expect Qantas’ international network to restart “in any real size (until) July next year.”

It’s a Cruise-tastrophe

While this unprecedented global health crisis inhibits our international journeys for now, there’s still optimism flowing about for domestic small-ship cruise operators in Australia, but with Australia’s 2nd-largest city back into coronavirus lock-down, businesses are once again struggling to reboot.

Although, there’s still hope lingering. Domestic cruise companies such as Murray Cruises, operating the Murray Princess down the Murray River, and Coral Expeditions, operating “small-ship expeditions to exotic and remote locations surrounding Australia”, plan to resume business this month.

P&O Australia, one of Australia’s largest cruise companies, is still on a voluntary operational pause until October.

The Plan of Action

Just when domestic small-ship cruise operators thought we’d be able to cruise the shores surrounding Australia again, the Australian Tourism Restart Task force, who met for the eighth time on July 3rd, noted their concerns for restarting domestic tourism.

There has been, understandably, a lot of uncertainty about future travel plans. The Australia’s Tourism Restart Task force have stated that international travel should go ahead as previously planned.

The Trans-Tasman bubble travel should be the first to kick off the travel band-wagon, followed by other countries that are “safe” to travel to in October. International travel to approved destinations will begin by December 15, although there is a possibility that international travel to specific destinations will not resume as far as July 2021.

However, with Melbourne in current lock down (again), Australian borders still to reopen, international travel banned, and the second wave of the pandemic and the unknown future of a vaccine — there is still a difficult task ahead for the Australia’s Tourism Restart Task force, and for the future of travel in general.

Where Do We Go from Here?

While this unprecedented global health crisis inhibits our journeys for now, we are looking ahead with great optimism.

Hang tight - we’ll be smooth sailing in no time!

 

Global Dream

This Is No Dream – Record-Breaking Roller Coaster at Sea

Posted: May 20, 2022

Countries, New Cruise Ship, Onboard Features, Press Release

Despite the cruise industry being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, Dream Cruises is moving forward testing what will become the world’s longest roller coaster at sea.

The “Spike®-Coaster” type roller coaster - called Space Cruiser by Dream Cruises - will be the main feature of the “Dream Park at the Pier”, the very first theme park at sea. No more do you need to dream of being on a gigantic roller coaster with virtual reality technology, your dream will now becoming reality as one of the most thrilling cruise ship attractions thus far is now being erected on land ahead for testing purposes.

With the intention of keeping the assemblage and contracting time for the 2500-cabin cruise ship as short as possible, the roller coaster is at present being constructed for testing in the direct locality of the MV Werften shipyards in Germany.

Aerial view of the construction of Space Cruiser

Marco Hartwig, Project Manager Maurer Rides explains why the construction on land is so important: “Among other things, the test setup will be used to test the installation methodology especially designed for ship assembly. Furthermore, the conductor rail and gear rack along the roller coaster track, which is necessary for the generation and transmission in the electric motor, can be installed on land in advance. This saves valuable time during the ship assembly. The aim is also to collect all the 93 support base points coordinates after the roller coaster has been completed and then forward them to the shipyard for preparation and positioning for the deck foundations. With the help of this elaborate procedure, we can ensure that the support base points on the deck of the ship are in the correct positions later.”

After the fitting, three Spike® vehicles will be put into operation piece by piece and the structure will be methodically tested. Before the roller coaster leaves the test site in Güstrow, Germany, the structure will be pulled to pieces and moved to the shipyard for ultimate assemblage.

“Dream Cruises is extremely excited to be working with Maurer Rides to create this spectacular new attraction at sea on board Global Dream. We are thrilled with the progress of the construction of the roller coaster and are excited to unveil this ride to our guests when our ship launches,” said Mr. Michael Goh, President of Dream Cruises.

The ride starts with an acceleration sector subsequently two closely spaced inclined 90-degree curves. The succeeding two “camelbacks” provide a mighty and spectacular launch above the railing and the heads of the passengers, with a jaw dropping speed of up to 60km/h (37 mph.) A 360-degree descending, and ascendant spiral form the end of the 303m (994 foot) long track before the vehicles reach the end point.

 

Cruise Refund

Refunds and Future Cruise Credits – Why The Long Delay?

Posted: May 19, 2022

Australia, Countries, Tips and Advice

Earlier this year, I was eager to embark on a short comedy cruise, as a disability cruise advocate it is important that I keep cruising, and lets face it who doesn’t like to get away on a cruise holiday, and leave your worries ashore.

But, low and behold, the coronavirus pandemic reaped it ugly head, and the cruise industry faced an unprecedented situation: Guests and crew members become unwell on ships across the seven seas, and as a result many were turned away from ports.

Then the dreaded phone call from my cruise consultant advising me that the cruise line as cancelled the cruise. I was then left with the decision, do I want a full refund, or do I want a Future Cruise Credit, I opted to support the cruise industry as much as I could and opted to take a 200% Future Cruise Credit to be used within 12 months, at which point is expires. I was sent an email 4 weeks later with the Future Cruise Credit.

But, you may be in the same boat, but you’re still waiting for your refund or future cruise credit, and you’re frustration is growing as each day goes by, wondering why the process of issuing a refund or future cruise credit for your cruise holiday is taking so long.

What you need to keep in mind, that this pandemic is new for everyone, and it has taken the world by surprise, and put plans we all have made on hold, whether it your dream holiday, visiting family overseas or interstate, or even tying the knot.

In a normal situation if you cancel your cruise, receiving you refund can take several days to a few weeks to process.

Cruise companies have been hit with a big blow, and the sheer enormity of the volume of cancellations is something the industry has never seen and were not prepared for.

Cruise lines have been ordered to cancel voyages well into the late 2020, and possible into 2021, your cruise is not the only one that has been effected, hundreds of thousands of others who were just as eager as you to set sail, are affected at the same time.

Cruisers Are at Their Wits End

You only need to read cruise blogs, and social media pages to now that people are not just frustrated but are upset with the delay in receiving there refund or future cruise credit.

To make matters worse, people are receiving conflicting information, speaking with call center workers that are not able to give them a firm time frame, and let us not forget the ever-changing policies that are changing daily. This has left a some in a state of uncertainty, and they have vowed to never cruise again.

What can you do to try and expediate the process?

Here are some of our tips from cruise consultants:

  1. Check your emails daily for updates from the cruise line.
  2. Review your options carefully and consider external factors
  3. Before deciding on which option, you would like, analyse your current situation.  If you opt to take the course I did and received a Future Cruise Credit, which was enticing to me, because I know I will cruise again once the pandemic is under control, but for those who are undecided, the option to get a refund, may make more sense.
  4. Do not panic, and cancel your cruise straight away, what and see if the cruise line cancels your cruise before making any moves.
  5. If you have booked with a cruise consultant, phone or email them, they are only happy to assist you with questions, or contact the cruise line directly.
  6. When you are cancelling, make sure that any other prepaid expenses such as beverage packages or excursions, have been subsequently refunded.
Frontline Workers

Frontline Workers Granted A Free Cruise Onboard Amawaterways

Posted: May 13, 2022

Countries, Press Release

You have heard about wonderful organisations showing there appreciate for all the hard work have frontline workers during the COVID-19 outbreak like food, hot soup and more.

But what about a cruise holiday?

AmaWaterways is offering medical professionals, key workers and employees of essential services free river cruises “a gesture of the company’s heartfelt appreciation for the selfless sacrifices made by so many amidst these unprecedented times”.

Eligible hopefuls will be granted a Future Cruise Certificate to be used with one paying guest in the same stateroom for any Europe or Asia sailing until 31 December 2021.

AmaWaterways offers river cruises on nearly every waterway in Europe, including the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers; France’s Bordeaux and Normandy regions; and Portugal’s Douro River Valley. AmaWaterways also offers eligible cruises along the Mekong in Southeast Asia, traveling between Siem Reap, Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

AmaWaterways executive vice president Kristin Karst said: “There are none more deserving of a river cruise holiday than today’s frontline heroes – the doctors, nurses, paramedics, police officers, firefighters and many other frontline professionals who are diligently helping others and inspiring hope during these challenging times.”

‘To express our deepest gratitude, we hope to welcome these incredibly special individuals and their loved ones on an unforgettable river cruise as soon as we resume sailing.”

AmaWaterways is also offering a book now option to those keen to rejoin with family and friends and book their 2021 voyage, with savings of up to £1,500 per stateroom, plus free pre-paid gratuities.

This offer is eligible to all itineraries in 2021

So if your one of the many frontline workers with a valid ID, simply apply for a Future Cruise Certificate by contacting their travel advisor or AmaWaterways’ directly, or visit amawaterways.co.uk/hero (at this stage the website directs you to call the reservation department.)