Azores Get Wildlife Boost

The Azores islands - one of the Atlantic's unsung destination gems - are creating a real wave for themselves in 2014 by touting their great wildlife potential as a reason to visit, and that's something we are always keen to highlight here at World of Cruising.

The allure of the Azores’ whales, wild dolphins and vibrant pelagic sea creatures are helping to drive popularity for the subtropical archipelago, as the number of travellers taking trips to see the islands’ underwater wildlife with leading specialist tour operators increased by up to 200% over the last year.

 

Wildlife specialist Wildlife Worldwide (www.wildlifeworldwide.com) saw a two-fold increase in the number of their customers choosing to dive in the Azores and a 60% increase in the number of people taking underwater wildlife excursions such as swimming with the islands’

wild dolphins in 2013 compared to 2012. Leading specialist operator Sunvil (www.sunvil.co.uk) also experienced an 83% increase in bookings for whale-watching trips in the archipelago over the last 12 months compared to the previous year. 

More importantly, the islands represent a key stop-off point for transatlantic cruises, with all of Holland America, Azamara Club Cruises, Star Clippers, Celebrity, SeaDream, Silversea, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises calling in at the principal port of Ponta Delgada.

 

With 2014 marking the 30^th anniversary of the end of whaling on the islands, the Azores is a textbook example of a destination that has changed its fortunes from a tradition of whale hunting to a thriving tourism industry with whale conservation at its core.

 

The islands are a world-class scuba-diving and whale-watching destination (with 25

migratory species), and the only place in Europe where travellers can swim with wild dolphin species such as the spotted, striped and bottlenose dolphin in their natural habitat. 

Excellent local and wreck-diving sites provide access to a colourful underwater world with creatures such as manta rays, morays, stingrays, dusky groupers, comb groupers, wrasses, parrot fishes, trigger fishes, breams and damselfishes. Spring and summer are best for spotting underwater wildlife, and the magnificent Blue Whale can be seen in April on its migration route.

More info: visit www.visitazores.com.

Photos: azoresphotos.visitazores.com

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Fred. Olsen Launches ‘Captains’ Collection’

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has launched a new brochure of 73 specially-selected, ex-UK cruises for 2012/13, offering exceptional value for money – the ‘Captains’ Collection’. All the featured cruises offer additional savings and selected cruises offer both Double Savings and Free Onboard Spend for selected cabin grades, including both Boudicca and Braemar’s Christmas cruises for 2012, so there are superb deals to be had for early bookers.

The special rates are applicable on bookings made by February 29. Guests booking earlier – by January 10 – can also benefit from free coach travel or car parking, making the offer even better value for money. Fred. Olsen’s ‘No Fuel Surcharge Guarantee’ also applies on all bookings made by January 31, for departures from January 1 onwards, so value for money is guaranteed.

The ‘Captains’ Collection’ brochure includes cruises on all four Fred. Olsen ships: Balmoral, Braemar, Black Watch and Boudicca, sailing from a variety of convenient regional UK ports. Destinations include Norway, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the British Isles, Iberia, Canada and the Canary Islands. Savings can be up to £500 per booking, and discounts vary, depending on the cabin grade and duration of the cruise. On a cruise of 14 nights or more, savings range from £100 on a single cabin to £500 for a suite. 

For example, Braemar’s ‘The Azores & the Canaries’ cruise (M1208), a 14-night voyage from Dover on April 14, visits Lisbon (Portugal), Arrecife (Lanzarote), Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Santa Cruz (La Palma), Praia da Vitoria (Azores) and Ponta Delgada (Azores) before returning to Dover, now has prices from £1,229 per person, based on two adults sharing an inside twin cabin, Grade ‘I’. Prices also include all meals, onboard entertainment and port taxes, representing exceptional value for money.

For booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's top cruise agent specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

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