Jenkins Spices Up P&O

Glamorous Katherine Jenkins, the classical crossover artist, will be performing as a special guest on P&O Cruises' Oriana for two short cruises later this year.

Both cruises are now on sale, and the details are as follows:

• Departing Oct 31, a four-night cruise calling at Zeebrugge (for Bruges) and Amsterdam, from £399 per person for a Vantage Fare.
• Departing Nov 27, a four-night cruise calling at Zeebrugge (for Bruges) and Amsterdam, from £399 per person for a Vantage Fare.

Oriana, which is exclusively for adults, has three pools, the Oasis Spa, gym, theatre, cinema, sports court, plus numerous restaurants and bars, including the Ocean Grill by celebrity chef Marco Pierre White.

P&O managing director Carol Marlow said: “These short breaks provide the opportunity for an indulgent weekend of fine dining, pampering in the spa, time to explore the ports, rounded off by a very special performance from the world’s most prolific classical crossover artist Katherine Jenkins.”

Since launching her career in 2003, the Welsh star has sold in excess of seven million albums, which has made her the fastest selling soprano ever. Katherine has become a premier ambassador of bringing classical music to a mainstream audience.

Vantage Fares benefits include a choice of cabin, the flexibility to make amendments to, or even change, the choice of cruise or cabin up to 90 days prior to departure, plus one of the following; on board spending money, car parking in Southampton or return coach travel to Southampton. It also features P&O's Price Promise protection, which ensures that should the price of the Vantage Fare reduce; the difference will be awarded in on board spending or a cabin upgrade.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's leading cruise-agent specialiasts.

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P&O Cruises Introduces New Loyalty Scheme

P&O Cruises is to introduce a new loyalty scheme, the P&O Cruises Peninsular Club, from April 2012 that will replace its current scheme, The Portunus Club. The new club will have six tiers and significant new benefits. The decision was taken to replace The Portunus Club having received feedback from passengers, says managing director Carol Marlow.

She explained: “Since its creation, The Portunus Club has seen both the numbers of members within the scheme, and the average number of points held per member, increase significantly. The review of the existing scheme and introduction of the P&O Cruises Peninsular Club has been shaped by our customers’ experiences and their comments, which demanded a more exclusive club, so we have kept the popular elements from The Portunus Club, and added new ideas, many of which came from our passengers.”

The previous scheme had three “tiers” - ruby, sapphire and gold categories - while the new Peninsular Club will have six distinct tiers, Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Baltic and Ligurian. The new club and tier names endorse the brand’s heritage and its world-wide footprint.

The Peninsular Steam Navigation Company was founded in 1837 from which P&O Cruises can trace its roots. The tier names come from oceans and seas of the world - all sailed countless times by P&O ships. These are arranged in order of size with the smallest in the club being Ligurian. This tier is reserved exclusively for P&O's most loyal and frequent cruisers.

The wide range of benefits of the club include an on board discount ranging from 5-0%, a complimentary celebratory drink as the ship sets sail, a pressing service and discounted laundry as well as early embarkation, an exclusive travel insurance offer, early booking offers and early cabin access.

During the next year, passengers will continue to earn 10 points for every night spent aboard any P&O ship and these will contribute towards their tier status in April 2012, when the total points will be transferred to the new Peninsular Club.

In the new scheme, the Baltic and Ligurian tiers will be exclusive to the most loyal passengers who have a total points value of more than 2,500. Entry to these tiers is not reliant only on points but also on a requirement for the passenger to have spent more than 80 nights on board any P&O ship within the three years prior to the start of their cruise.

Marlow added: “The top two tiers offer benefits only open to an exclusive group of our most loyal and regular passengers, and membership will only be granted on a cruise by cruise basis. This is a new loyalty club for a new era of cruising.”

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P&O Waive The Rules

Maritime tradition used to suggest that women were bad luck on ships; that ill fortune would catch up with any owner foolish enough to allow the fairer sex to influence the vessel’s operations.

To put that ancient adage firmly to rest, P&O Cruises have recently set sail with the ultimate female nautical totem – a woman captain. And a very modern meeting of sea-going savoir faire it is, too.

Captain Sarah Breton, the new master of P&O’s Artemis, has actually been with the venerable Steam Navigation Company for 21 years, starting as a third officer on the then-Royal Princess, and then going up through the ranks as second officer, navigator, first officer and safety officer before being promoted to Staff Captain in 2001. She has worked her way up to the supreme position after stints on a number of other Princess Cruises ships as well as Canberra and, most recently, Ocean Village.

Artemis set sail with 45-year-old Breton in charge for the first time this Monday, fittingly with P&O’s managing director Carol Marlow able to send off her fellow female high achiever in high style.

With the vessel poised for a 7-day journey from Southampton, Marlow insisted: “We are delighted that Sarah Breton has been promoted to the role of Captain on board Artemis. Sarah has worked on board P&O Cruises ships for many years and truly deserves to be Master of Artemis. We wish her every success in her new role.”

For Breton, it was most definitely a major milestone on her lifetime achievement chart. And she said: “Growing up near the water I always loved boats and the ocean, so it really does fulfil a lifelong ambition of mine to be a Captain with P&O Cruises. It is made even more special to be Captain of the first cruise ship I ever served on, after joining P&O as third officer back in 1989.”

Captain Breton lives on the Essex Coast and, when on leave, spends her time in the garden, sailing - whenever the weather permits – and watching Six Nations rugby and Formula One motor racing.

But there was no word from P&O and their 173-year history on whether they feel they are flying in the face of ancient nautical practice. Somehow, you feel it is a piece of maritime mumbo-jumbo that is now firmly consigned to Davy Jones’ Locker.

(Nautical history note – Sarah Breton is actually the second woman to be promoted to full Captain after Royal Caribbean’s Karin Stahre Janson in 2007, but the first Briton in that role)

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Previewing French Flair

It has been a busy week for the Veness Inbox. The PR releases came in thick and fast from Monday onwards, with news of Cunard about their forthcoming onboard 'Insights' lecture programme on Queen Mary 2 for 2010; Azamara Cruises and their rebrand to Azamara Club Cruises; P&O Cruises adding the small-scale Adonia to their fleet in 2011; and, my favourite, the latest information on the new ship from the chic Compagnie du Ponant company.

Going though them in order provides an interesting take on how the lines view themselves. For Cunard, it is all about providing that 'elite' touch with the kind of guest speakers who wouldn't be out of place at an Ivy League university. Human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the 'highlight' of a lecture programme that also includes author and broadcaster Bill Bryson and comedy script writers Dick Clement and Ian le Frenais.

The following day came news that the small, upscale brand in the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd stable will now be known as Azamara Club Cruises in a relaunch aimed at giving them a more distinctive style that incorporates an 'immersive' approach to their destinations, including a lot more overnight stays, 2-day excursions and late-evening departures. Their new tagline is 'You'll love where we take you' and the more luxurious approach will include more all-inclusive aspects (like wine with meals, all gratuities and free bottled waters, specislity teas and coffees) and enhanced service.

P&O are insisting that 'small is beautiful' for them in announcing the 2011 arrival of Adonia (currently the 710-passenger Royal Princess of sister line Princess Cruises). This will be easily the smallest ship to sail for the UK cruise line since the 1970s and, as an adults-only ship (no children under 17), adds to the alternative face of P&O as opposed to their growing big,-ship, family-orientated offerings.

Adonia will begin sailing out of the UK from May 2011, and managing director Carol Marlow made some interesting comments with the announcement, insisting: “The addition of Adonia will deliver an elegant and welcoming ship with real small-ship charm. She will offer a truly intimate and traditional cruise experience, yet with all the comforts you would expect from a modern vessel. With this size of ship, our passengers will be able to get to know their fellow cruisers and crew easily as they travel to some of the most intriguing destinations on the map.

“Whilst larger ships have their own appeal, with the spectrum of bars, dining and entertainment choices they can offer, others really enjoy a smaller ship, with its more intimate ambience. No other cruise line offers this breadth of choice specifically for the British cruiser.”

And then there is Compagnie du Ponant. The French line have existed quite comfortably in relative isolation since 1991 as a niche operator with two small. contrasting vessels (three since 2004), one under sail and one more traditional, if still modernly stylish. The addition five years ago of the former Song of Flower of Radisson Seven Seas moved the company a step closer to the cruise mainstream and then, in 2008, they announced a decision to add a LOT more substance to the fleet with two 10,700-ton super-yachts.

The first of these, Le Boreal, arrives in May 2010, and du Ponant have announced the captain will be their highly-respected master mariner Jean-Philippe Lemaire, one of the company's longest-standing employees. The 132-cabin vessel, which will have an ice-hardened hull for Antarctic cruising, will be his fourth ship of the line, but the first major new project under his command.

He says: "I am very proud to have the privilege to captain Le Boreal for her first sea miles. It is exciting to be involved in a project which combines 'new technologies' with respect for the great maritime tradition that has made the reputation of the company. With all the conviviality of an intimate ship and French sophistication, Le Boreal is joining a Yacht Cruises tradition.

"From the shores of the Mediter­ranean to the boundaries of the great white Antarctic continent, we will be welcoming on board inquisitive travellers, eager to distance themselves from the well-trodden maritime routes. As her Captain, the challenge will be to perpetuate the 'spirit of Le Ponant' which drives our crews and never fails to seduce our passengers.”

It is an intriguing proposition. A line which has largely eschewed the cruise mainstream but which will have to at least touch upon it to find new passengers for their French flair. But, if they are able to translate the company's existing maritime joie de vivre to the newcomer, they should be able to command a lot of respect and offer a wonderful addition to the growing trend for small, upmarket cruise operators which offer that 'something different' factor for the well-travelled. Definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming months.

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