2009 Season Itineraries Released - Uniworld, Crystal, Regent and Princess

Tis the season... for new itineraries! More 2009/2010 itineraries are being released. Up now are Uniworld, Crystal, Regent and Princess!

Citing people wanting to schedule bookings farther in advance, this week Uniworld opened their 2009 European schedule of river cruises. Their full schedule is available for booking now.

Crystal, too, has opened their entire 2009 schedule, with the exception of the 2010 World Cruise, which will come later. The 57 destination-rich itineraries call on 185 different ports with an extensive mix of cruises ranging from seven days to a 106-day World Cruise. New for 2009:

• A return to cruising the Amazon for the first time since 2006;
• Virtually all Mediterranean cruises feature overnight calls in cities including Barcelona, Istanbul, Monte Carlo, Venice and Sorrento;
• Two ships cruising Asia, including cruises in China/Japan, Southeast Asia and India with overnight stays in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Osaka, Kōbe, and Bangkok among many others;
• A choice of exotic and tropical holiday voyages in South America and Antarctica or Caribbean.

Most itineraries feature at least one overnight stay allowing for greater exploration into some of the world’s most fascinating destinations. In addition to attractions like Dubai, Athens, Stockholm, Sydney and Vancouver, there are 11 maiden calls in Kiel, Germany; Rangiroa, French Polynesia; Napier, New Zealand; Komodo, Indonesia; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Petropavlovsk, Russia; Kotor, Montenegro; Lipari, Italy; Sinop, Turkey; Patmos, Greece; and Trogir, Croatia.

Regent has opened their bookings for two sailings in Antarctica on their new Minerva (formerly Exlorer II) expedition ship, currently undergoing renovation. (Gee, there seems to be a theme here - we've recently reported on similar acquisition and renovation of an expedition ship by Silversea. I think we can conclude that expedition cruising is getting extremely popular! But back to Regent Minerva.)

Setting sail Jan. 14-25 and Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2009, both voyages begin with visits to the Falkland Islands' wildlife-rich shores and the village of Port Stanley. Minerva then cruises to the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula (with opportunities for disembarkation and exploration as weather permits), followed by a transit of the Drake Passage. Before returning to Ushuaia, Argentina, Minerva will sail along Cape Horn, at the confluence of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The 14-night cruise on Jan. 25 adds a call at South Georgia Island, which features large colonies of king penguins, fur and elephant seals.

Both itineraries include a one-night, pre-cruise stay in Santiago, Chile; roundtrip charter flights from Santiago to Ushuaia; a city tour and Patagonian lunch on embarkation day in Ushuaia; and a complimentary backpack and parka. Minerva has an ice-strengthened hull. Inside, Minerva offers all ocean-view suites and staterooms, two open-seating restaurants, a full-service health club and a salon. Designed to carry up to 394 guests in Antarctica, Regent limits the ship's capacity to just 198 guests for maximum comfort.

Finally, Princess has announced they will open bookings for their 2009 summer European program on March 14. With 6 ships (Ruby, Emerald, Crown, Grand, Royal and Tahitian Princesses), 90 voyages on 36 different itineraries, visiting 132 ports and destinations, Princess definitely has one of the most varied and comprehensive programs in Europe.

As was posted here previously, there will be two mid-summer "top of the world" itineraries between New York and London on the Tahitian Princess which offer calls in Greenland and Iceland. The Ruby Princess, also making her European debut, will operate cruises in the Mediterranean and Greek Isles. Emerald Princess takes over the Scandinavia and Russia itineraries, while Crown Princess sails in Northern Europe, British Isles and the Mediterranean. Grand Princess will offer itineraries to the Mediterranean from London (primarily marketed to residents from the UK, but a nice, different itinerary for those from North America as well), along with late season sailings to the Greek Isles and Egypt which proved extremely popular in 2007 and already for 2008. Finally, Royal Princess will focus on sailings to the Holy Land, Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Accompanying this launch announcement from Princess is a new promotion for their past passengers. Princess' Europe cruises will be the first to offer Captain's Circle Launch Savings, a new discount for past passengers. This $100-per-person discount is available to Captain's Circle members who make their Europe bookings by Sept. 30, 2008, and will remain combinable with subsequent promotions. Princess is the first line to offer such broad discounts to their past passengers, available to bookings on all their ships, in any type of cabin. Way to go, Princess!

A full list of itineraries is available at www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na935.

If you're interested in any of these itineraries, give me a call soon so we can plan your 2009 cruises!