Uniworld affirms commitment to Paris with new river ship

Actress Joan Collins, godmother of the S.S. Joie de Vivre, christening the ship on Monday. At left is Uniworld CEO Ellen Bettridge. Photo Credit: Michelle Baran

PARIS -- Actress Joan Collins christened Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection's new river cruise ship, the S.S. Joie de Vivre, here on Monday, signaling the company's confidence in the enduring allure of Paris.

"Like so many places in the world, [Paris has] had problems in the last couple of years, and like everything else in life and history, that too shall come to pass," Stanley Tollman, founder and chairman of The Travel Corporation, Uniworld's parent company, said during the christening ceremony to the backdrop of one of Paris' most iconic landmarks, the Eiffel Tower.

"Paris is coming back. It's coming back strongly, " he said, adding that the Joie de Vivre is nearly 90% booked for 2017, indicating that the $26 million investment The Travel Corporation made in the Joie de Vivre is paying off, despite some initial hesitation about whether to go forward with the launch following the November 2015 attacks in Paris,

Dressed head-to-toe in white, Collins on Monday morning officially named the ship, which set sail on its maiden voyage along France's Seine River toward Normandy shortly after the ceremony.

The 128-passenger Joie de Vivre is the latest of Uniworld's Super Ship class of vessels and is a floating ode to Parisian aesthetic and charm, including an impressive collection of unabashedly French artwork throughout the vessel. The entire ship combines rich wood finishings with intricate upholstery, resulting in vintage-looking details that are at once both classic and clean.

The Joie de Vivre houses several new spaces and features for Uniworld, namely a greater variety of onboard dining experiences, including Le Bistrot, an endearing eatery with red banquette seats situated adjacent to the lounge that serves traditional bistro fare throughout the day.

At the aft of the vessel is Club L'Esprit, a pool and juice bar by day that transforms into Claude's, a lively supper club and live music venue by night with a dance floor atop a retractable pool cover. Here, a covered patio also allows guests to sip their beverages and nosh on small bites either al fresco, weather permitting, or enclosed behind a glass roof and windows. Claude's will be open about three nights on any given one-week sailing, and will become a small cinema that will show movieson two nights of each sailing.

Passengers on the Joie de Vivre will also be able to reserve a seven-course wine-pairing dinner at La Cave du Vin, a 12-person venue on the lowest deck of the ship where a cooking demonstration will be followed by a menu that incorporates the resulting dishes. While all the other dining experiences are included, this one costs an additional 92 euros per person.

The Joie de Vivre also has a fitness and a spa room, two 24-hour tea and coffee stations and a guest laundry room.

There are five categories of staterooms, ranging from 162-square-foot lower-deck cabins to 410-square-foot suites. Most staterooms range from 180 square feet to 260 square feet. All suites and staterooms on the upper two decks have wall-to-wall retractable windows that drop down with the flip of a switch, converting into French balconies. Some suites can accommodate up to three people and there are adjoining staterooms available, too. There are USB ports in the cabins and the lounge and free WiFi is available to guests onboard.

The christening was attended by numerous Travel Corporation executives, including Uniworld CEO Ellen Bettridge; Beatrice Tollman, president and founder of Red Carnation Hotels, Uniworld's sister company; Brett Tollman, The Travel Corporation's chief executive; and Gavin Tollman, CEO of Trafalgar, The Travel Corporation's guided vacation brand.

Crystal Cruises redeploys new river vessels away from France

Crystal Cruises redeploys new river vessels away from France

The new river cruise arm of Crystal Cruises is delaying plans to deploy two new vessels on rivers in France.

Instead Crystal River Cruises is to increase its presence on the Danube, Main and Rhine, deploying four of its planned new build ‘river yachts’ in the region in 2017 and 2018.

The shift in focus means redesigning and enlarging the company’s two Paris-class river vessels - Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel - as Rhine-class boats, and redeploying them east in 2018.

Previously, Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel were to travel along the Seine, Rhone and Dordogne rivers in France from June and August 2017 respectively.

No mention was made of recent terrorist incidents in France and the extension of the country’s state of emergency for six months following the deadly truck attack in Nice earlier in July.

The luxury line, which draws a large proportion of passengers from the US, said the change away from France was based on passenger feedback “lauding the itineraries planned in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Amsterdam and Holland”.

As a result, “the company has elected to delay its entrance into the French river cruise market, choosing instead to prioritise its offerings in the German/Austrian region in order to meet travellers’ demand for those experiences”.

Chief executive and president Edie Rodriguez said: “Unlike an ocean-going ship that can accommodate a change in itinerary with short notice, a river ship operates within more confined parameters and is unable to re-route easily.

“We are listening carefully to what travellers are telling us and have concluded that the best way to anticipate, meet and surpass their expectations is by making this move earlier rather than later.”

The line is offering a series of compensation packages to people who have booked 2017 voyages on Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel including on board credits and future cruise credits worth up to $1,000.

No details were given of how many bookings the line has received for the sailings in France.

The new design places the vessels as part of the line’s 106-passenger Rhine-class series currently comprising Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler, which are due to enter service June 18 and August 29, 2017 respectively.

Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel are now due for maiden voyages in April 2018 and May 2018 respectively with detailed itineraries to be announced shortly, the company said.

They will be increased in size from 110 metres to 135 metres, the maximum size permissible on the Rhine, Main and Danube. The increased length allows for the addition of a swimming pool with a sliding glass roof and more large suites.

The move follows the recent launch of the line’s first luxury river cruiser, Crystal Mozart.

Doing some water-level damage control

By Michelle Baran 

Any river cruise enthusiasts who saw the images of France’s Seine River creeping towards the tops of Paris’ elegant bridges last week probably had the same thought I did — this can’t be good for the river cruise business.

River cruise lines admit that the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris dealt a pretty harsh blow to their 2016 France bookings and that the March attacks in Brussels didn’t help either. But slowly, sales were coming back. 

And then the rains came, pushing the Seine so high last week that iconic institutions such as the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay museums in Paris temporarily closed.

Obviously, no river cruise vessels were able to sail under those Paris bridges for a time. 

But as it turns out, the flooding was relatively short-lived and the water levels are receding. The Louvre reopened on Wednesday, and the river cruise lines reported minimal disruptions and anticipated that sailings would return to normal in line with the receding water levels.

What was likely more disruptive were the images of the floodwaters in Paris, which isn’t the kind of marketing the river cruise industry — especially in France where bookings are still fragile — needs right now. 

But river cruise lines have been learning how to cope. Over the past several years they have taken a fair amount of flak for a lack of transparency and clear communication about water level issues, and they are working on being much more open about exactly how high and low waters are impacting their sailings.

Viking, for example, now how has a dedicated page on its website where travel agents and passengers can see all updates on disruptions, no matter how big or small. Because the Viking fleet is so large and its operations so vast, this page can actually serve as a comprehensive resource for anyone with concerns about water levels that wants to check up on a river they plan to sail.

A river cruise tour guide has also put together a website documenting water levels in Europe throughout the season. Though by no means a comprehensive or official source, this is another good place for concerned passengers and travel sellers to check.

But ultimately, river cruise lines themselves should be and increasingly are the go-to source for questions about high and low waters and specific changes to itineraries, as each line has different contingency plans in place. The good news is that while water levels will always be a nagging problem on rivers, at least river cruise lines are learning how to do more and better damage control, which will ultimately mean smoother sailing through the issue than in the past.

River cruise lines report few disruptions due to Seine flooding

River Seine flooded.

River cruise lines said that only a small number of their departures have been impacted by the severe flooding of France's Seine River. 

Due to heavier than usual rainfall, the Seine overflowed last week, forcing the Louvre in Paris to close for several days -- the iconic art museum reopened on Wednesday.

The high waters have impacted at least three Viking river cruises: the June 8 Paris & the Heart of Normandy sailing aboard the Viking Rinda; the June 10 Paris & the Heart of Normandy sailing aboard the Viking Kadlin; and the June 12 Paris & the Heart of Normandy sailing aboard the Viking Rolf.

Viking said in a statement on its website that the potential effects on these cruises could entail changes in embarkation and/or disembarkation ports, abbreviated sailing portions and certain destinations being visited by motorcoach.

According to AmaWaterways co-founder and president Rudi Schreiner, the biggest issue for river cruise vessels has been the inability to get into and out of Paris to dock. Many Seine river itineraries have instead been docking in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a little more than 20 miles upriver from Paris and river cruise lines were then bussing passengers into the French capital for sightseeing.  

AmaWaterways has had two cruises impacted by the high waters and has given those passengers a future cruise credit to compensate for the inconvenience.

Patrick Clark, managing director of Avalon Waterways said that while the rains in France have created higher-than-normal waters on its rivers, the company has not had any cancellations due to the rain. "All cruises have operated but we have had to make some alternate disembarkation and embarkation arrangements where conditions necessitate for a handful of cruises."

Added Clark, "Water levels are receding and expected to continue to improve and normalize this week. The Louvre is open, as is Giverny [the location of French artist Claude Monet's famous gardens]."

Why Paris is of concern to the river cruise industry, too

It just so happens that France has been on the rise in the river cruising world. The Seine River and cruises on the Rhone and Saone rivers in the south of France have been gaining popularity in recent years, and last year Bordeaux became a new river cruise region that lines have since jumped on with new capacity. 

So, in the wake of the deadly terror attacks in Paris earlier this month, river cruise lines also have a lot to potentially lose if travelers become nervous about upcoming sailings in France — or in the rest of Europe for that matter.

Michelle Baran

Having been on an AmaWaterways river cruise on the Rhine River in Strasbourg at the time of the attacks, I spoke with Ama’s executive vice president and co-owner Kristin Karst in their immediate aftermath.

The company had a river vessel sailing the Seine back towards Paris several days after the attacks and decided to disembark passengers in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a bit further up the Seine from Paris, given the uncertainty in the capital as events unfolded there. Karst noted that AmaWaterways offers a two-night post-river cruise program in Paris, and gave the guests the option to continue with their plans or fly home.

“We had one very large group [and] they wanted to continue and do the two nights in Paris,” said Karst.

AmaWaterways had two more Rhone cruises this month, on Nov. 19 and Nov. 26, and did have some cancellations on those cruises, for which the line offered a 100% future cruise credit. While the news is concerning, Karst noted that an agent had emailed the company several days after the attacks to open up a group booking request for a cruise in Bordeaux, which she found hopeful.

The Paris attacks come at the tail end of what was a challenging 2015 for travel in Europe between the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris at the start of the year, and the migrant crisis that remained in the media spotlight throughout the summer. River cruise lines had the added challenge of low water levels, a nagging problem in Europe since July.

After several years of boom times for the river cruise industry, there is now a large amount of inventory sailing through Europe, and a lot of hype and investment on the line. Like other sectors of the travel industry, the river cruise segment is likely watching closely and hoping this all blows over before the selling season gets under way after the start of the new year. Either way, they’re probably well aware that the Paris attacks will pose some challenges, however short or long-lived.

Celebrity Cruises packages combine ocean and river voyages

By Tom Stieghorst

Celebrity Cruises said it will offer 11 itineraries next year that combine an ocean cruise with a river cruise in Europe.

The fully commissionable packages range from 16 to 24 nights and will be available on four well-known rivers: the Danube, Rhine, Rhone and Seine. Celebrity's river cruise partner is Amras Cruises.

“By introducing these river-and-ocean cruise packages, travellers can immerse themselves in Europe more so than ever before, with the ease of choosing a vacation package exclusively created by Celebrity,” said the cruise line's president, Michael Bayley.

The deluxe packages will be sold with airfare, pre-cruise hotel stays, transfers and a beverage package, making them similar to a luxury cruise in concept. 

France's enduring allure

By Michelle Baran

For more than 20 years, France has consistently been the most visited country on Earth. And while few would deny its allures -- the beauty of Paris, the charms of Provence, the country's well-respected wines and legendary cuisine -- it is perhaps less evident why it has stayed so far out ahead of the pack for so long in a world that is now arguably full of equally wonderful travel destinations.

"In the [1920s] and '40s, we were lucky to have people who had a strong interest in the country," recalled Anne-Laure Tuncer, director of Atout France USA, the country's tourism development agency.

Tuncer said the fact that foreign writers and celebrities often visited France back then, returning with stories of their travels, helped plant the seed for the country's future tourism prospects long before destination marketing organizations such as Atout France were created to generate demand.

Indeed, France's ability to cultivate and attract artists, writers and cultural influencers from around the world clearly helped it achieve prominence in the hearts and minds of potential travelers the world over. And it happened without the country even really trying. (For more images from France, click here or on any of the photos.)

"It wasn't a master plan at the beginning," Tuncer acknowledged. "Culturally, there was just a strong influence, like in literature and the arts."

It wouldn't be until the 1950s that France really started to think about tourism and address its potential directly, she said.

But since then, so has every other country. Increasingly accessible air travel has given birth to a highly profitable global travel industry, revenues from which have grown to significantly contribute to destination countries' GDP. Competition for those coveted tourist dollars is fierce, and destinations have created and improved sophisticated marketing machines to capture greater market share.

So much of what France touts -- gastronomy, history and culture, to name just a few of its traditional high points -- can now be found in plenty of other countries around the globe, and those places are letting the world know about it. Yet France remains on top in terms of visitor numbers -- and by a lot, begging the question: Is what France has still that much more enticing than what other countries can offer travelers?

Howard Lewis of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Protravel International, has been selling France for more than 40 years and sees no end in sight to its popularity.

"The city of Paris has always been the romantic destination in people's minds for hundreds of years," Lewis said. "Paris and the south of France will always have a draw on the dreams of travelers worldwide. It has had that pull for hundreds of years, and I don't see that abating."

In 2012 (the most recent year for which numbers are available), France welcomed 83 million international travelers, followed by the U.S., with 67 million; China and Spain, with 57.7 million each; Italy, with 46.4 million; and Turkey, with 35.7 million.

Even in 2008 through 2010, when many countries saw their tourism numbers drop, France suffered a decrease in tourists, but it still remained out in front.

According to Tuncer, at the current average global tourism growth rate of 5% year over year, France could be on track to welcome more than 100 million tourists annually by 2020.

France's early success as a tourism destination makes sense. But that it has managed to maintain this much staying power, when such a wealth of additional and competitive travel options have come on the scene, has been impressive.

The challenge of staying on top

The French tourism industry is keenly aware of the challenges that lie ahead if their country is going to maintain its spot at the apex of the global travel market.

Tourism constitutes 7.2% of France's GDP, and that is revenue the country doesn't want to lose.

Significantly, while it is the most-visited country in the world, France doesn't make the most money from tourism. The U.S. pulled in $140 billion in international tourism receipts in 2013, followed by Spain, with $60 billion. France's take totaled $56 billion.

Thus, the first challenge is to get travelers to stay longer and see, do and spend more while they're in the country.

Lewis said that travelers almost always want to visit "Paris and the south of France, No. 1. But I try to always, with some success, have them stretch their wings and hit other fantastic places all throughout France."

Still, he noted, it isn't always easy to get Americans to go beyond Paris and the country's other traditional highlights. "Sometimes it's a tough sell," Lewis said. "But if they are open and trust me and themselves, then I can create some wonderful experiences."

France is also battling some perception issues -- most acutely, the long-held stereotype that the French are rude. So several years ago, the country's tourism ministry tackled the problem head-on by introducing a new approach to tourism, with an emphasis on acting more welcoming.

Along those lines, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau last summer printed 30,000 pamphlets and distributed them to Parisians who work in restaurants, cafes, hotels and museums as well as to taxi drivers.

The pamphlets offered up some useful vocabulary terms such as "good morning" and "thank you" in several languages, along with some research and data about foreign travelers.

The campaign, titled "Do you speak touriste?" also addressed the fact that tourists from different destinations often seek different attractions and experiences.

"Of course, not all American people behave the same way," Francois Navarro, head of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau, told Travel Weekly at the time the campaign launched. But he said data showed that, on average, Americans stay 6.7 days in Paris, spending about $190 per day.

"All this kind of information we wanted to give to our professionals," he said. "There is a huge competition between cities in the world. We know the [perceived] difference between two cities ... will be about how you welcome your visitors."

Another challenge is that France is perceived as being expensive.

"Paris hotels are getting to be quite expensive," said Yolande Kamins, owner of Enchanted France. "Of course, the exchange rate of the dollar vs. euros is not often favorable."

Being thought of as costly, combined with an image of a country steeped in history, has another potential drawback. It can make France a more difficult sell for younger, more budget-oriented travelers.

"The perception is that we're more expensive than Italy, and that's not true," Tuncer said. "The offering is so big, and it's good for any budget. We are trying to tell people there's an offer for everyone."

She added that another challenge is the perception that France is predictable. For that reason, Atout France wants to get the word out about events like Nuit Blanche (White Night) in Paris, a free dusk-to-dawn arts and culture event that takes place every October. The organization also wants to promote music festivals and contemporary art exhibits that could appeal to the next generation of travelers.

Normandy, river cruises and beyond

During the global recession and in its immediate aftermath, France saw its tourism numbers slump. But just as it came back after 9/11, France again this year is seeing a resurgence of interest in visiting the country.

That has been in no small part aided by the 70th anniversary last month of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Tour operators and travel sellers marketed the occasion aggressively and helped bring history buffs to the northern region of France to recall the events of World War II and pay tribute to the fallen.

In addition, France is the hot spot du jour in the booming river cruise market. Cruise companies are launching a slew of ships and introducing new routes throughout the country to seize upon growing demand.

This year, Viking Cruises and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection each introduced new itineraries in Bordeaux, bringing to three the number of distinct river cruising regions on offer throughout France. Those include the Seine River from Paris to Normandy, the Rhone and Saone rivers in Burgundy and Provence, and the Garonne and Gironde rivers in the Bordeaux region.

In 2014, Viking christened three vessels in the south of France; Uniworld launched a new vessel there, as well; Tauck repositioned its 118-passenger Swiss Sapphire to the Seine; and Scenic Cruises is launching its 128-passenger Scenic Gem on the Seine later this year.

Avalon Waterways is increasing its France capacity for 2015 by 95%; direct-to-consumer operator Grand Circle Cruise Line will put the River Cloud II in Bordeaux in March; Emerald Waterways is introducing a new ship in the south of France; and French river cruise company CroisiEurope is introducing the 96-passenger paddlewheeler, Loire Princess, on the Loire River next April.

"We are very excited about the growth opportunity in France," Richard Marnell, Viking's senior vice president of marketing, said earlier this year. "Because of strong demand already this season, we have decided to increase capacity on those two itineraries [Bordeaux and South of France] in 2015. We will add a second ship, Viking Rinda, in Bordeaux and a fourth ship on Portraits of Southern France: Viking Delling, which will be new for 2015.

"We also continue to see strong demand for our other itineraries in France and are nearly sold out for the entire summer season," Marnell added.

While Paris remains, and will probably always remain, the main draw for those visiting France, the country is working overtime to diversify its tourism product and introduce travelers to a much larger range of destinations.

For example, wine touring is luring oenophiles to France's legendary wine-making regions. Some 24 million people visit the country's wine regions each year, according to the French government.

Pascale Bernasse, president of French Wine Explorers, said, "We specialize in wine touring, so Bordeaux is a popular destination, and one of the most lovely cities outside of Paris. We also provide touring in other wine regions, such as Burgundy, the Loire Valley, Provence, Champagne, Lyon and even the French Riviera."

Bernasse and other France travel sellers noted that Languedoc in the south of France is an up-and-coming region to watch.

"There is so much to see and do in the region, prices are very reasonable, and crowds are less than in Provence," Bernasse said.

The expansion of product into lesser-known regions of France, such as Languedoc, will also help France stay fresh and relevant in the minds of travelers, especially a new generation of travelers that seems determined to get off the beaten path.

Forever No. 1?

To reach its goal of welcoming 100 million international travelers by 2020, France will have to maintain its infrastructure, continue to build hotel capacity and develop additional niche and smaller destination markets.

Roadblocks like the recent spate of air traffic controller strikes won't help in that goal. Nor will a tourist tax that was recently proposed by Parliament that would increase hotel taxes to as much as $11 per night, up from $2 currently.

But Atout France is analyzing market conditions in order to better place tourism investment that will see returns, while constantly improving the country's marketing message. 

Despite all those efforts, when asked if it would be possible for another country to nab the top spot from France, Tuncer cautioned, "People are focusing on tourism so much right now, it might happen, of course. Right now, the U.S. is giving us a good run for our money. We are not ruling that out. Governments realize how important [tourism] is for the economy." 

What was once a given, a sort of unintentional gift handed down by talented artists, architects and writers of centuries past, will be something France will have to work harder and harder to maintain going forward. 

Being at the top has its advantages and disadvantages, said Michael Gehrisch, president and CEO of the Destination Marketing Association International. While emerging destinations have fresh appeal, he said, mature destinations like France have to constantly reinvent themselves to stay ahead of the game. 

"Each destination is unique with regard to where they are in the destination life-cycle," Gehrisch said. "Some destinations are just being developed, and a focus on product development and awareness building are the keys." 

For a mature destination like France, he added, "The question is: How do you keep your brand fresh and attract new visitors while at the same time encouraging repeat visitation? The biggest problem is perceived predictability." 

To combat that notion, France needs to sharpen its focus on niche experiences in lesser-known regions of the country, Gehrisch said. 

Still, no matter how hard it tries, it could be just a matter of time before France is unseated. The United Nations World Tourism Organization predicts stronger tourist-arrival growth in emerging international destination in Asia and Africa than in Europe and the Americas. 

But if that happens, count on France not going down without a fight. 

"France has become synonymous with romance, world-class cuisine and history and culture with travelers around the world," Gehrisch said. "But to say this happens by chance would be an insult to the work of organizations like the France Tourism Development Agency. The government has made tourism investment a priority, and the country has one of the world's most robust transportation infrastructures because of this."