Emerald Waterways to enter the ocean cruise market

Emerald Waterways to enter the ocean cruise market

 

Emerald Waterways is to enter the ocean cruise market next year with its first “superyacht”.

The 100-passenger Emerald Azzurra will operate its first sailing on July 31 from Limassol to Athens, calling at smaller ports and harbours in between.

This will be followed by a series of 26 itineraries around the Aegean, the Mediterranean and onto the Dalmation Coast and the French and Italian Rivieras.

In winter, the yacht will visit Red Sea destinations such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Jordan. It will only offer warm-water cruising and will not visit polar regions.

As well as featuring smaller ports of call that larger cruise ships cannot reach, the yacht will stop in coastal waters so guests can jump off the marina platform, to go snorkelling and paddle-boarding.

Emerald Azzurra2 Itineraries go on sale on Saturday with agents receiving brochures and ‘selling guides’ from Monday.

All agents making a booking on Emerald Azzurra in the first month will be entered into a draw to win a free cruise for two people on the first sailing. The more bookings agents make, the more entries into the ballot they will earn.

Emerald Azzurra will be the first vessel owned by the new Emerald Yacht Cruises brand, which will sit alongside Emerald Waterways under a new umbrella brand of Emerald Cruises.

Last year, sister brand Scenic launched ‘discovery yacht’ Scenic Eclipse, the line’s first ocean-going vessel dedicated to expedition cruising.

Asked if it would be the first of many, David Winterton, Emerald Cruises director of marketing and global brand curator, hinted there would be more to come, pointing to Emerald Waterways starting with just two vessels, but now boasting nine on the rivers.


Emerald Azzurra pool

The 110-metre long yacht will have 50 cabins, all but six of which will have balconies (88%). They will all be ‘staterooms or suites’, with two owners’ suites, two yacht suites and two terrace suites available.

Winterton said it would rival SeaDream Yacht Club, Windstar Cruises and Crystal Cruises’ yacht product, and offer an “intimate boutique yacht cruising experience” that the company expects to appeal to existing Emerald Waterways river cruise customers, as well as new-to-cruise clients since it is “not the bog-standard cruise offering”.

“We introduced a new ship on the Mekong – Emerald Harmony – which is attracting a younger guest, and we think Emerald Azzurra will attract even younger customers still,” he added.

Winterton also predicted many new guests will transfer from the company’s river product, looking for something new, explaining that the company had chartered a number of yachts in Croatia last year to “test the water”, and found they had sold well.

Winterton said: “We tested demand and it was strong. We did the same first on the Rhine, then built our own ship there; we chartered a vessel initially on the Mekong, and then built the Emerald Harmony for that river, and so this was a natural next step after trialling yachts on the Dalmation coast. But it was a bit crowded and we wanted to take it to the next level and into the Med and beyond.”

UK sales director Joseph Grimley added: “We have 40-50% repeat rate in the river. They buy into the brand and always want to know where they can go next. This is one of the reasons that the Emerald DNA will flow from the river product to the yachts.

“We want to be quite consistent between the two brands, so the bar and lounge will be called ‘Horizon’, as it is on our river vessels, and the restaurant will be called ‘Reflections’.

Similarly, the yacht won’t be all-inclusive. Guests will enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner, with wine, beer and soft drinks at mealtimes, and some excursions included – just as it is on the river cruise vessels. It will also be adult-only, as with Emerald Waterways, allowing children only 12 years old and above.

Agents will earn the same commission as they do selling Emerald Waterways river cruises, but Grimley pointed out that the price point on the yacht cruises was slightly higher, giving them greater earning potential.

Prices start at £2,965 per person for an eight-day French and Italian Riviera sailing, on an early-bird fare.

“This will be quite lucrative for agents, especially if they start to sell some of the longer itineraries and the higher category suites,” Grimley added, predicting about 50% of guests would come from the UK, with the rest deriving from Australia, America and Canada.

He said he plans to get as many agents out to see Emerald Azzurra during 2021 as possible.

Glen Moroney, owner and chairman of The Scenic Group said: “Emerald Waterways has been operating award-winning river cruises in Europe since 2014. The launch of Emerald Yacht Cruises and the stunning Emerald Azzurra are a logical extension of the Emerald Cruises portfolio, adding intimate yacht cruising of the Mediterranean to its Emerald Waterways river cruise offering.”

Making a run at the cost-conscious consumer

Making a run at the cost-conscious consumer

At a time when other river cruise lines are scaling back on growth, French river cruise company CroisiEurope this week announced it will launch seven new river cruise vessels this year and next.

Granted not all seven are full-size European river cruise ships — two are 22-passenger canal barges, and one is launching on the Mekong — but still, seven ships is worth noting, especially for a company many of us here in the U.S. didn’t know much, if anything, about as recently as a couple years ago.

By the time these seven vessels are launched, CroisiEurope will have 46 company-owned vessels in its fleet. In 2014, the company carried some 200,000 cruise passengers (compared to the approximately 250,000 passengers carried by Viking River Cruises), although only about 8,000 to 9,000 of those hailed from the U.S. But CroisiEurope is growing its U.S customer base, and quickly.

So, what's the deal with Croisi? Well, the company saw an opening at the lower end of the river cruise market and it is clearly going after it. For a long time, river cruising has grappled with a reputation of being a bit pricey. Travel agents would lament that while they wanted to sell more river cruises, especially since the very inclusive vacation style generally offers lofty commissions, not all of their clients could afford it.

Therein lies the opportunity for CroisiEurope, which after 40 years of building river cruise ships in Europe, is banking on its home-turf shipbuilding ties and a more pared down version of river cruising to bring lower prices to market. And while CroisiEurope’s older vessels do not compete with the sleek newbuilds being churned out by U.S.-facing river cruise lines such as Viking, AmaWaterways, Avalon, Uniworld and all the rest, the company has upped its ship design game and its newest batch of river cruise ships is focused on chicer interiors and enhanced amenities.

Another line going after this segment with arguably even chicer ships is Emerald Waterways, the lower-priced sister brand to Scenic. And it is having a good deal of success too. Having only launched in 2014, Emerald is on pace to have seven river cruise ships in Europe by 2017 (its fifth vessel, the 182-passenger Emerald Belle, was slated to launch this spring, but has been set back by a fire in the shipyard).

As river cruising piques more travelers’ interests, and the travel style opens up to a wider audience, there is clearly going to be more demand for and thus greater opportunity to provide a more accessible river cruising experience.

River cruise news to watch in 2016

KV Ganges Voyager

By Michelle Baran 

As I look ahead at what news the river cruise industry will bring in 2016, I’ve got my eye on several stories and developments.

As we kick off the year, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is launching its first-ever program on India’s Ganges River with Haimark Travel’s luxury vessel, the 56-passenger Ganges Voyager II. We’re bound to start hearing some of the initial feedback and reviews from that product launch in the coming days and weeks after completion of the first few cruises.

Michelle Baran

This spring, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the launch of CroisiEurope’s 80-passenger Elbe Princesse, a paddlewheeler the French company has custom-built for Germany’s shallow Elbe River. And of course I’ll be looking for new innovations and ideas among all the ship launches in Europe this spring. With Viking River Cruises, Amawaterways, Avalon Waterways, Tauck, Scenic and Emerald Waterways all adding inventory this year, someone is bound to surprise us with something, no?

Come summer, I’ll be looking for word on how the new Adventures by Disney river cruising product plays out after the first sailings begin in July on AmaWaterways’ AmaStella. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say one of the developments I’m most curious about is the introduction of Crystal Cruises’ first river cruise effort, the renovation and relaunch of the former Peter Deilmann Mozart, which will set sail anew on July 13.

This will be our first glance not only at Crystal’s version of river cruising but at how an ocean cruise line interprets the river cruise market. I, for one, am agog. And Crystal only has additional excitement planned for us in 2017 when it introduces us to its version of four river cruising newbuilds.

Elsewhere in the river cruising world, I’m wondering how and whether the Nile will pull out of its perpetual slump, and if the Amazon will see an uptick in interest due to the Rio Olympics. I’m also following developments in Asia, where Pandaw River Expeditions keeps surprising with new river routes and other companies keep adding capacity.

And imagine, that’s just the stuff we more or less already know about. There’s no telling what river cruising bombshells (either good or bad) are yet to be dropped on us. Take cover!

Low water levels plague Europe river cruises

With a low water level, a large stretch of the Elbe's riverbed was exposed in August near Magdeburg, Germany. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

A hot and dry summer in Europe has led to lower-than-normal water levels on portions of the Danube and Elbe rivers throughout the summer, and has forced river cruise lines to alter their itineraries during July, August and now into September.

“Water levels on the Elbe and Danube rivers are currently lower than normal and Viking has had to make adjustments to the cruise schedules of several ships sailing these rivers,” Viking River Cruises wrote on its website this week.

Five Viking cruises have been altered this week, four of which include a ship swap. Passengers will be transferred in order to avoid a low-water area of the Elbe River that ships cannot bypass.

Additionally, Viking’s Sept. 2 “Grand European Tour” from Budapest to Amsterdam, scheduled to depart on the Viking Aegir, will begin in Komarom, Hungary, on the Viking Embla. Viking will provide transfers from Budapest to Komarom.

“These are currently the only sailings we expect to be altered by the low water on the rivers,” Viking stated.

But low water levels have been a problem all summer. The low levels on the Elbe came during a year when Viking launched two new vessels on the river in eastern Germany. Other river cruise lines have avoided the Elbe in part because of the challenges presented when the water level is low.

The Danube River is one that all the major river cruise lines sail. The area on the Danube where the low waters have posed a problem is the 75-mile stretch between Regensburg and Passau in Germany.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection had to alter eight Danube River sailings in July and August, which included having guests swap ships from one side of the low waters to the other. The company canceled its Aug. 9 “European Jewels” cruise on the Maria Theresa, deciding that there wouldn’t be enough actual cruising in the trip to justify the departure.

“We sincerely appreciate the understanding and support our guests and travel industry partners have shown during this challenging time,” Uniworld wrote on its website.

Avalon Waterways wrote on its Facebook page last week that the river levels on the Danube had again begun to recede.

“Danube River waters receded over the weekend and early this week. Once again, the waters between Regensburg and Passau are beginning to delay and/or stall ship passage. We are fervently working to keep cruise itinerary disruptions to a minimum. If or when cruise itineraries are altered, however, we will provide affected travelers with alternate opportunities to see and explore the best Europe has to offer,” Avalon wrote on Facebook.

The post elicited a string of comments from passengers, some concerned about current and upcoming sailings, others with positive messages of support and kudos for how Avalon handled past sailings that were disrupted due to low water levels.

The forecast is calling for rain in the coming days, according to Rudi Schreiner, president of AmaWaterways, which has not had to alter any of its Danube itineraries yet this summer. Schreiner is hoping that some much-needed precipitation along the Danube will help bring the river’s water levels back up.

Emerald Waterways to build fifth vessel

Emerald Waterways will construct a fifth river cruise ship, the 182-passenger Emerald Belle, for 2016.

The new vessel is currently under construction in the Netherlands with an expected launch in early 2016. Its debut will come on the heels of the 2015 launch of its 182-passenger Emerald Dawn and Emerald Sun.

Emerald Waterways is one of the newer lines to have come onto the river cruise scene, having been launched by Australian company Scenic Tours as a four-star, all-inclusive river cruise operator in 2014.

Like the four ships before it, the Emerald Belle will be part of Emerald’s Star Ships class of vessels and will be built in the same configuration as its four sister vessels, although the company stated that it is still deciding on possible new innovations and enhancements. 

All of the Star Ships house 72 suites and 20 staterooms, including two cabins built for solo occupancy. Staterooms will feature a floor-to-ceiling panoramic window that with a push of a button drops down to create a French balcony. 

Emerald Belle will feature a heated swimming pool with a retractable glass roof that transforms into a movie theater in the evening; and two restaurants — Reflections, the main dining room, and The Terrace for breakfast and lunch. 

Emerald ships also feature an onboard hairdresser, massage therapy room and fitness area.

Emerald Waterways has not yet said where the Emerald Belle will sail.

The highs and lows of river water levels

By Michelle Baran

As river cruise lines glide into their busy sailing season, high water levels on the Mississippi and some lower levels on the Danube and Elbe rivers in Europe serve as a reminder that conditions on the rivers are as changeable as they are charming.

And while river cruise executives themselves often admit there isn’t anything they can do about the water levels (despite likely wishing they could!), the way river companies respond is indicative of the fact that the product is adaptable and water level issues are often somewhat solvable with a bit of innovation and operations juggling.

Recently, water levels on the Elbe River and a stretch of the Danube River between Regensburg and Passau in Germany were lower than normal, Viking Cruises informed passengers on its website. 

In response, Viking is having impacted guests begin their itineraries on a different sister ship than was originally scheduled located on the other side of the impassable lower water area. Can’t pass through? No problem. There’s an identical ship waiting on the other side.

Scenic Cruises did what many river cruise lines do in this situation: It had passengers who couldn’t continue their itinerary on one vessel swap ships with passengers on the other side of the lower water level area.

“It is not that unusual for the rivers of Europe to go through phases of low or high waters — remember last year’s historic high water levels?” noted Elliot Gillies, spokesman for Scenic Cruises and Emerald Waterways.

In order to reduce the amount of impact, Gillies noted that parent company Scenic Tours builds its Scenic Cruises and Emerald Waterways river cruise vessels with the lowest drafts possible to be able to pass through shallower waters.

But at the end of the day, the issue is in the hands of Mother Nature.

“Water levels are generally influenced by the snow pack in the mountains of Central Europe and the amount of rain during the season. As long as there is enough water in total running into the rivers, operations can be expected to run smoothly,” noted Patrick Clark, managing director of Avalon Waterways, which does not operate on the Elbe and only faced some minor itinerary adjustments due to the lower waters.

Indeed, the ebbing rivers in Europe are a small operational blip compared to last year’s flooding in Central Europe that wreaked havoc on the region and the river cruises running through it.

In the U.S., the Mississippi is once again showing its erratic side (there have been ups and downs on this river as well in the past couple of years that have caused delays and itinerary disruptions).

Heavy downpours in recent weeks in the Midwest have resulted in flooding along stretches of the Mississippi River, and forced the American Queen Steamboat Co. (AQSC) to move its American Queen paddlewheeler to the Ohio River for the remainder of July.

AQSC President and COO Ted Sykes observed that “sometimes river conditions are outside our control.”

I think it’s safe to say they’re always out of river cruise lines’ control, but their tides still flow in favor of the river cruise industry at large.

River cruise lines up the ante with cabin designs

By Michelle Baran

With such limited space on river cruise vessels, river cruise lines have to get creative in order to evolve and differentiate their cabin designs. But this season, there will be no shortage of innovative stateroom concepts as river cruise operators roll out everything from tricked out lower-deck cabins to stunning suites.

River cruise lines often put a great deal of emphasis on their upper-deck staterooms, a showcase of competing balcony concepts, creative cabin layouts and sprawling suites. But one area of the river cruise ship that often gets neglected is the lower deck.

Because the lower deck dips partially below water level, the cabins on this level can usually only accommodate smaller windows that do not open.

But with its two new Inspiration Class ships, the 130-passenger Inspire and Savor (launching in April and June, respectively), Tauck has addressed the oft-overlooked lower-deck cabins with a new lofted lower-cabin design.

On both ships, eight of the lower-deck cabins will feature a raised platform seating area with a small table and two chairs and a raised ceiling that will accommodate a much taller window, the upper portion of which can be opened for fresh air.

The Category 3 cabins will be 225 square feet each, and the larger windows will measure 8 feet by 9.5 feet.

According to Tauck, suites are often the first class of cabins to sell, and other river cruise lines have confirmed a similar selling pattern on their vessels. But the lower-deck cabins are just as critical to filling the ships and achieving strong load factors. While they might not be as alluring as the more spacious suites or as upper-deck cabins that usually feature full or French balconies, they usually represent the lowest-priced cabins and thus open up river cruising to passengers who might be more budget-oriented, are traveling alone or are traveling with family.

The loft design is the strongest (if not the only) attempt to date at making these lower-deck cabins considerably more enticing and pleasant than they have traditionally been in the past.
Both ships will be 443 feet long with 22 suites at 300 square feet each, complete with two French balconies with floor-to-ceiling windows, a pullout couch, walk-in closest and bathroom with rainfall showerhead. There will also be 32 cabins at 225 square foot each and an additional 13 cabins ranging from 150 to 190 square feet. Four of the 150-square-foot cabins are being set aside for solo travelers.

Upper-deck developments

And while Tauck has made a big push to overhaul lower-level cabin design, developments are continuing throughout the upper-level staterooms on this year's forthcoming newbuilds.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection's 159-passenger S.S. Catherine, which is being christened this week in the South of France, features a 410-square-foot Royal Suite that joins the ranks of the Viking Longships' 445-square-foot Explorer Suites as being among the few river cruise suites in Europe that top the 400-square-foot mark.

If preview photos of the S.S. Catherine are any indication, the Royal Suite (along with all of the vessel's cabins, for that matter) promises to be not only spacious but a feast for the senses, featuring Uniworld's trademark boutique hotel interiors that are designed by sister company Red Carnation Hotels. Think bold textiles, textured wallpaper and details galore.

Emerald Waterways, the river cruise line being launched by Australian parent Scenic Tours as a four-star alternative to the company's existing river cruise line, Scenic Cruises, will officially come to life next month when its two debut vessels, the 182-passenger Emerald Star and Emerald Sky, set sail.
The vessels' 180-square-foot Panorama Balcony Suite concept will feature an indoor balcony design, similar to a concept introduced by Uniworld several years ago, which involves a retractable window that with the touch of a button enables passengers to convert the room into an open-air balcony. The idea is to maximize limited cabin square footage.

Lastly, while it isn't launching in 2014, Haimark Ltd.'s 24-passenger Mekong Princess, slated to deploy in Vietnam and Cambodia in September 2015, is worth mentioning for its all-suite spa concept that will place an emphasis on luxury spa treatments, services and details throughout the vessel.

Early renderings of the suites indicate over-the-top Indochina glamour coupled with relaxing spa amenities.

Which new river vessels are you most excited about?

By Michelle Baran

It just sunk in: A ton of brand new river cruise vessels are about to launch in March and April (my Outlook calendar is blowing up). I’ve been writing about the upcoming christenings all year, but now that the  are upon us, I’m finally thinking about the actual new hardware we’re about to see and some of the developments to be on the lookout for.

Here are some points of interest:

On March 26, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection will inaugurate the 159-passenger S.S. Catherine in Lyon, France, marking Uniworld's first expansion of its European fleet since 2011, when the vessel’s sister ship the S.S. Antoinette set sail.

Uniworld has a history of going all-out on its interiors — and judging by the early photos and renderings of the Catherine, this vessel will be no exception. A Leopard Lounge with safari-themed details? A mosaic-tiled pool and spa area? Have you seen those black-and-white stateroom interiors on their website? Needless to say, the vessel promises to be a feast for the senses.

Totally switching gears, on March 31 the 220-passenger paddlewheeler American Empress (formerly the Empress of the North) will be reincarnated by the American Queen Steamboat Co., bringing back a vessel to the Pacific Northwest that was built in 2003 and that has been laid up since the end of Majestic America Line in 2008. Steamboat enthusiasts and historians will surely be curious as to how well the company pulls off its resuscitation effort.

And let’s not forget that an entirely new river cruise line is launching in April: Emerald Waterways, Scenic Tours’ four-star European river cruising project.
I’m intrigued by the heated swimming pool with retractable roof and movie theater that are slated to be features of the 182-passenger Emerald Star and the 182-passenger Emerald Sky, which will set sail on April 15. I’m envisioning Starwood’s Aloft brand in river cruising form.

Speaking of mass brands, we can’t leave out Viking’s 14-ship-strong launch taking place in France in March. Will the new batch of Longships really be identical to their sister ship predecessors? Or will there be some new little personality and amenity tweaks to the 2014 flock?

And also, I’m curious how Viking will pull off a 14-vessel simul-christening. My best guess is live broadcasts from multiple launch sites. But Viking is good at surprises. They’ve been awfully quiet about the launches, and that could mean a lot of different things. It’s a nail-biter to be sure.

A look ahead at 2014 launches and christenings

By Michelle Baran

OK, I’ll be honest: This end-of-year insight in which I summarize the christenings and launches for the following year has become an invaluable tool for me in planning my year ahead, and that’s largely why I’ve maintained this tradition over the past few years.

But my hope, of course, is that it can and does serve as a useful tool for all you travel planners out there, as well. Happy 2014!

March 17: Viking Cruises will hold a christening ceremony in Avignon, France, for the 14 Viking Longships that are launching next year. Viking has not said which or how many of the Longships will be in Avignon for the ceremony, but the three 2014 Viking Longships that are slated to sail in that region are the Viking Buri, Viking Heimdal and Viking Hermod.

March 26: Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection will inaugurate the 159-passenger S.S. Catherine in Lyon, France, marking Uniworld's first expansion of its European fleet since 2011, when the vessel’s sister ship the S.S. Antoinette set sail.

April 5: The 223-passenger American Empress (formerly the Empress of the North) will be rechristened in Portland, Ore., and will sail on the Columbia and Snake rivers, after having been refurbished by the American Queen Steamboat Co.

April 15: Emerald Waterways, the first new river cruise line to launch since Scenic Cruises came onto the scene in 2008, will kick off with the launch of two newbuilds in Europe, the 182-passenger Emerald Star and the 182-passenger Emerald Sky. Emerald Waterways is aiming to be a more value-oriented alternative to existing river cruise lines.

July: Pandaw River Expeditions is launching two new 40-passenger vessels in Myanmar, the Kindat Pandaw and the Kalaw Pandaw.

September: Haimark Ltd. is introducing the 56-passenger Irrawaddy Explorer in Myanmar; as well as the 68-passenger Mekong Navigator that will sail in Vietnam and Cambodia.

November: AmaWaterways is introducing the all-suite AmaPura on Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River.

Late 2014: Sanctuary Retreats, a division of Abercrombie & Kent, is launching the 48-passenger, all-suite Sanctuary Ananda in Myanmar.

Also in 2014:

• Tauck is launching two newbuilds in Europe, the 130-passenger Inspire and Savor, that will each have 57% more suites than the company’s existing vessels.

• AmaWaterways will introduce two more ships in Europe in 2014, the 164-passenger AmaSonata and AmaReina. The vessels will be sister ships to the 164-passenger AmaCerto, which launched in 2012.

• Avalon Waterways is introducing three new river cruise vessels in Europe in 2014 — the 128-passenger Avalon Poetry II; the 166-passenger Avalon Illumination; and the 166-passenger Avalon Impression.