PRICE $8.25 (INCL GST) AUGUST 2012 ISSUE 78 15TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION ESTABLISHED 1998 1 MONTH 2012 Featuring a comprehensive coverage of Global Cruising for Cruise Passengers, the Trade and the Industry www.cruisingnews.com Editor’s Say THIS ISSUE Firstly, positive news regarding the use of the Garden Island naval base in Sydney! Front Cover Images from Viking Our report on page 5, “A move in the right River Cruises, P&O direction,” tells of the guarantee announced UK and Silversea by Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard that Cruise Ships at the Olympic Games – The three cruise ship visits will be accommodated German ship MS Deutschland docked at the this coming cruise season and another three West India Docks (Canary Wharf) in London to the following season at Garden Island whilst act as a floating luxury hotel to accommodate a long term solution is being worked on for the official partners of the German Olympic HIGHLIGHTS Sydney. However I hear that the Navy has Team. Prior to the Games Silversea’s Silver New Safety Policy ............................... P 4 stated that when their new Landing Helicopter Cloud sailed up the River Thames into the Sydney – The Right Direction. ......... P 5 Docks vessels commence arriving in early 2014 heart of London. Coming Soon Voyager of the Seas .. P20 berthing space at Garden Island will be at a On Board MSC Divina ...................... P 6 premium. As I have said many times long term On Ruby Princess ............................... P28 solutions must be decided soon. Infrastructure Cruising Marseille to Venice ............. P 45-47 doesn’t happen overnight. Farewell Oceanic ................................ P 56-57 On Tuesday 3 Visiting Marseille ................................. P 48-49 July 2012 at Princes Pier - Port Melbourne ........ P 54-55 S o u t h a m p t o n 3 P&O Cruises celebrated their 175th Anniversary with all seven of its cruise ships arriving, docking and departing on the same day. It was Landmark Visit to Noumea - P&O Cruises a great day despite marked its 1500th visit to Noumea recently the rain. Photo shows Darcey Bussell, the with a Pacific Island-style celebration for godmother to Azura, joined by David Dingle Pacific Dawn and her passengers. Ann Sherry, (CEO of Carnival UK) and Carol Marlow CEO of Carnival Australia, which operates New Look Crystal Symphony P24 (Managing Director of P&O Cruises). Report P&O Cruises, said it was a significant event is on page 18. for the cruise line which had been visiting 2012 AUGUST Congratulations Noumea for 50 years. “Our ships have been to Carnival’s Ann cruising the South Pacific for 80 years and Sherry - Carnival the start of calls at Noumea in 1962 created Australia staff a key port which enabled us to expand our recently celebrated itineraries in the region,” Ms Sherry said. The Ann Sherry’s fifth cruise line is expected to make 86 calls to anniversary at the helm Noumea this year. of Australia’s leading Photo (L-R) Director of Tourism Office of Noumea cruise company with Emmanuelle Baudin, Director New Caledonia A Dream “SeaDream” Cruise P50-52 a surprise afternoon Tourism Jean-Michel Foutrein, Captain of Pacific tea for their CEO. Ms Dawn Salvatore Lupo, Kenua Agency Manager Sherry’s five years at Carnival Australia have Elodie Jaunay and Pacific Dawn Hotel Director been marked by consistent double digit annual Simon Troman cut a ribbon to celebrate P&O growth of the cruise industry as Australians Cruises’ 1500th visit to Noumea. have embraced cruise holidays in record First National Cruise Week - The numbers. Speaking at the staff-organised International Cruise Council Australasia has surprise celebration, Ms Sherry said: “Watch announced the region’s first National Cruise this space because the ride has only just begun. Week. Billed as “Australia’s largest cruise We have pulled together through tough times promotion”, the inaugural National Cruise and through great times and we have got Week will run from 3 to 9 September 2012, tonnes more to come.” and feature a range of great value cruise Farewell Pacific Sun P63 New Landing Structure – A new landing deals. The Cruise Council has launched the structure at local initiative following the ongoing success Plus the latest news and Penneshaw of similar promotions in the UK and US. information on Global (South Australia) ICCA General Manager Brett Jardine said Passenger Cruising will support a National Cruise Week would be the largest surge in cruise consumer promotion ever undertaken by the Proudly Published in Australia by ship visits to local cruise industry, with 28 ICCA member Kangaroo cruise lines and more than 1000 member Island. Nine travel agents taking part across Australia and cruise ship visits New Zealand. For more information visit to Kangaroo Island have been confirmed www.nationalcruiseweek.com.au between 2012 and 2014. The first ship to use the new tender landing structure will be in November this year when Holland America Line’s Volendam arrives. Three other ships – the Happy Cruising! ABN 71 083 652 019 Seven Seas Voyager, Athena and Amsterdam – Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. Every will bring up to 4270 passengers and crew to John Treacy effort is made to ensure the information published is correct Penneshaw during the 2012/13 cruise season. ISSN 1447 - 2112 Two New Safety Exclusive Onboard Policies Photo Exhibit On behalf of the global cruise industry, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the European Cruise Council (ECC) have announced that the cruise industry has adopted two new safety policies. These policies, which address issues related to the recording of passenger nationality and the common elements of musters and emergency instructions, result from the Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review launched in January 2012. The Nationality of Passengers policy was developed in response to the request of governments at the May meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee meeting. This policy prescribes that the nationality of each passenger onboard is to be recorded and made readily available to search and rescue personnel as appropriate. Under the Common Elements of Musters and Emergency Instructions policy, member cruise lines have specified 12 common elements that will be communicated to passengers in musters and emergency instructions. Among those common elements are a description of key safety systems and features and an explanation of emergency routing systems and recognizing emergency exits. Both policies exceed current international regulatory requirements. “Our industry continues to actively identify a range of measures that will Princess Cruises has unveiled a special exhibit aboard its seven Alaska improve the safety of passengers and crew, which is the top priority of the ships that takes passengers back in time to the early days of cruising cruise industry,” said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA. “Ongoing in Alaska. Developed in partnership with Princess and the Alaska State innovation in safety has been a hallmark of our industry for decades and we Museum, the show, entitled “Then & Now: 100 Years of Cruising Alaska’s are fully committed to continuous improvement in shipboard operations Waters,” gives cruisers a glimpse of Alaska and the Inside Passage as it and safety. We are taking a holistic look at safety as has been evidenced by was a century ago, as experienced by early steamship “excursionists.” the breadth and scope of the numerous policies that have been developed Displayed in the atriums of Princess ships during the port of call in Juneau, and adopted as part of the Review since its launch earlier this year.” the exhibit features a selection of 30 historical photographs and artifacts 4 The Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review receives advice and largely from the collections of the Alaska State Library and Alaska State input from a panel of outside maritime and safety experts. These Museum, both in Juneau. The images, taken in the early 20th century in individuals are evaluating suggested policy improvements as part of Vancouver, Victoria, Ketchikan, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway and the Inside the cruise industry’s continuous efforts to review and improve safety Passage are paired with premier historical artifacts from the museum’s measures by developing comprehensive best practices for industry-wide collection. Most of the places in the photos are still traveler destinations implementation and, ultimately, formal submission to the International today, so cruisers can learn the history of places they’ll visit during their Maritime Organization, as appropriate. Each of these policies will be vacation, and see how these places have changed over the past century. reported to the IMO for consideration at its next session in November. “Although certainly Alaska has changed since these photos were taken, the essence of the state passengers visit today has its roots in the past century,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruise’s executive vice president. “This is a fascinating opportunity to learn a bit about those who made Alaska journeys before them.” Alaska tourism had its beginnings in the late 1870s, not long after the United States purchased Russia’s claim to Alaska Watch out for the in 1867. “The steamships of the era were tiny compared to the cruise AUGUST 2012 AUGUST ships of today,” said Steve Henrikson, senior curator of collections for the Alaska State Museum, “and carried cargo and passengers, visitors as well mischievous Penguins as locals.” Steamship accommodations were cramped and visitors were When Voyager of the Seas reaches treated to, for better or worse, a “real Alaskan experience,” which could our shores this summer, it’s full include visits to Native villages, big game hunts, wading through muddy steam ahead with the mischievous streets, and frequent groundings. The early tourists didn’t just learn Penguins from Madagascar.