National Cruise Week!

OK, British cruising's big annual sales and marketing bonanza is about to kick off and it's time to pay attention to many of the special deals and other incentives on offer.

Just to start with, National Cruise Week runs from September 15-23 this year, and it is a feature item for all cruise agent specialists and others keen to promote the idea of holidays at sea.

Organised by the Association of Cruise Experts (ACE) and the UK's Passenger Shipping Association (PSA), it is a chance for cruising to really showcase its amazing range of choice and quality, as well as the sheer value for money that a cruise represents.

It all starts this Saturday and, for the ensuing 8 days, there will be a range of special offers, discounts and other added 'extras' for anyone booking a cruise during the week.

William Gibbons, Director of the PSA, says: “This is now the fifth National Cruise Week and it has gained a momentum all of its own. We cannot shy away from the fact the industry has faced a challenging start to the year; however cruising is still continuing to grow in popularity. This is because a cruise offers exceptional value with a huge range of accommodation and destinations from the top-end exclusive, intimate cruise to the family fun holiday, all including meals and entertainment. It is key to the continuing growth of the market that we focus on attracting new people to the cruise concept, and National Cruise Week is promoting the amazing and diverse range of experiences and incredible value that cruising offers.”

We have already highlighted the Cruise Week offers from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises on September 9 (see it on this link), but there are certainly others, and it is worth making a note of what's available for your next (or first) cruise:

Inclusive ultra-luxury cruise line Regent Seven Seas is extending its luxurious ‘gift with purchase’ guest promotion with L’Occitane, the renowned Provencal body and skincare brand offered in the line’s suite bathrooms onboard, for National Cruise Week. Guests who book a 2013 cruise with Regent between 15-23 September will receive a gorgeous ‘his and hers’ gift set from L’Occitane worth £180, including the award-winning ‘Immortelle’ Precious Cream.  

MSC Cruises is offering free onboard credit for any 2013 booking made during NCW 2012 on any ship in the fleet. The amount of credit offered depends on the cabin category booked. Passengers in a Category 1 inside cabin, for example, will receive £10 OBC per person; for a Cateogry 7 outside cabin they will receive £70, rising to £130 for a category 13 Aurea Suite. 

The PSA is also highlighting a chance to have a 'Tea-time cruise talk' with various specialists during the week, and you can find out more on this link. More special offers will be unveiled during the week itself, so be sure to check the PSA link below for all the latest details.

For more information on National Cruise Week, contact ACE on this link, or call 020 7323 7464, or the PSA on this link or 020 7436.

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Cruise Shipping Miami - Day One

I promised we would report back 'live' from the big Cruise Shipping Miami convention this week and, a little later than hoped, here is a run-down of Day One at the world's biggest passenger shipping conference.

The convention basically has two main sections, the workship-style conference sessions into various aspects of the cruise business, and the Exhibition hall, split into Cruise Suppliers and Destinations. The exhibition is not open on the first day (they were still setting up when we peeked inside), hence the opening session is all about the workshops.

But first a quick gripe. Much to our surprise there was NO WiFi available to the media today (or, possibly, for the rest of the convention). Apparently it is a cost-cutting measure on the organisers' part. So they obviously don't want us to Tweet, blog and send 'live' reports back from the conference. An odd choice when there is an official Twitter hashtag for the convention (#CSM2012). There was also nothing to eat (apart from plain croissants and muffins) anywhere in the South Beach Convention Center, hence we needed to dash out to the nearest Starbucks to grab a quick sandwich (and get online) during the lunch break. Not very impressive for a so-called 'convention' venue.

Those are obviously minor quibbles, but it does make you wonder if Miami is no longer the ideal choice for this kind of thing. We would certainly give Orlando a big advantage on this score, especially as there is no actual need to be near a port!

Anyway, we did get straight into business mode in the morning, with an excellent seminar on Global Source Market Trends. This two-hour session featured six significant industry experts, including Britain's Bill Gibbons - head of the Passenger Shipping Association - and Tim Marking, the secretary general of the European Cruise Council.

A packed audience (it was standing-room only) heard first from Marking, who offered the latest stats on European cruisers - over 6 million in 2011, up 9% on 2010, and more than double the numbers of just eight years ago. Next up was Gibbons (below), who supplied similar data from the UK market, including the fact British passenger growth has slowed but still hit a record 1.7 million.

Cruising continues to out-perform all other sectors of the UK holiday market, though, with round-Britain voyages showing special growth and the percentage of first-time cruisers up to a whopping 40%.

Brazilian Ricardo Amaral of the South American cruise commission Abremar made some fascinating observations for the potential of growth in his home area, including the likes of MSC Cruises and Costa bringing their largest ships to Brazil this winter, lengthening the season to almost 6 months (when it used to be just three) and making his country the fifth-largest source market ih the world. Clearly, there is room for more significant cruise growth here.

Then we heard from Orion Expedition Cruises (and Australia Cruise Alliance) founder and chief executive Sarina Bratton on the continued strong growth of cruising Down Under while Melvin Yu, from Singapore, spoke about the potential explosion of domestic cruising in Asia, notably in China. Amaral, Bratton and Yu all provided a particularly fresh and dynamic approach to the forum.

It provided a lot of food for thought - Brazil as a major cruise destination; huge growth in China; more opportunities in Australia and the South Pacific? - and set up an equally enthralling afternoon session looking at New Destination Development.

This provided even more evidence of the 'globalisation' of the cruise business, with Luis de Carvalho of cruise specialists Consult-DC offering an especially intriguing look at possible West and Central African destinations. This was followed by a more traditional destination, the Atlantic Alliance (a conglomeration of cruise ports from Hamburg to Lisbon), with Nadine Palatz highlighting how this region has transformed itself from a 'transit area' to a series of major cruise ports.

Nigel Lingard, formerly of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and now a specialist consultant for AD Cruising (who include Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and Hebridean Island Cruises) got out his maritime crystal ball to predict a few other intriguing destination possibilities, including Madagascar, north-east South America, Indonesia and the Phillippines, and Anthony Lau of the Hong Kong Tourist Board wrapped things up in style with a fascinating look at major developments in his region, including the fact this could become a major cruise hub to rival the likes of Miami in future.

A Q&A session followed each workshop and there was also input from Royal Caribbean's Middle East expert Helen Beck, who offered some thoughts on the growth of Dubai as a winter cruise hub.

All in all, it was a genuinely insightful and well-presented look at the possible future(s) of cruise shipping, and sets things up nicely for Day Two, which kicks off with the main highlight of the State of the Industry session featuring the likes of the CEO's of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line.

In the wake of the recent Costa Concordia tragedy, it will be fascinating to hear what the real head honchos think of things and the apparent dip in cruise bookings since January 13.

Stay tuned, folks...!

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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Falkland Islands Cruising on the Increase

By guest blogger Steve Newman.

The future’s bright for The Falkland Islands Tourist Board, which has just announced its latest tourism forecast for the 2010/11 season.

And the rise in cruise ship visits continues apace. The Falklands are anticipating a growth of 1.3% in cruise passenger arrivals for the current season (October to April), with 49,011 expected to visit. These statistics dovetail with the global upswing in cruising - 1.77 million people are expected to take a cruise next year, according to the latest figures released by the Passenger Shipping Association.

A total of 29 ships are scheduled to call at the Falkland Islands this season as an integral part of wider South America or Antarctica itineraries, comprising both expedition vessels and large cruise lines. The Falklands also welcomes four new vessels to its shores this season, including Le Boreal and Marina Svetaeva.

“Today’s cruise passengers are seeking authentic experiences in relatively undiscovered locations. The Falklands offers just this, plus wildlife in abundance and our latest tourism forecast demonstrates the increasing popularity of this destination,” commented Paul Trowell, General Manager for the Falkland Islands Tourist Board.

For more information on the Falklands, visit http://www.falklandislands.com/ or, if you want to cruise there, have a look at cruise specialists The Cruise Line Ltd.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.

Tomorrow (September 19) sees the start of the fourth annual National Cruise Week in the UK, with a series of events, exhibitions, special offers and added value incentives designed to put cruising in the 'shop window' of the travel business.

Organised jointly by the Passenger Shipping Association and the Association of Cruise Experts (the group of top UK cruise travel agents), it already has a long list of deals aimed exclusively at the upcoming week, as well as a series of showcases by individual groups and agencies designed to highlight the great value and excitement of cruising.

If you haven't yet decided on your next (or first) cruise, the next seven days are definitely the time to have a good look and give it some serious consideration.

The current list of special deals, offers and incentives can be found here:

Grab A Great Deal During National Cruise Week

And, for the full list of what events are scheduled in various parts of the country, check out this link:

National Cruise Week Events

Finally, if we can also recommend one specialist agent who usually have the best deals and some fab offers (especially for the deluxe end of the market and anythingnto do with adventure cruising), check out:

The Cruise Line Ltd

All aboard now...!

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.