Hays Travel has acquired Cruise.co.uk's parent, Victoria Travel Group Limited

Hays has hailed the deal, which includes Victoria’s Seascanner brand and its German division, Kreuzfahrtberater.de, its largest since acquiring Thomas Cook in 2019.

 

Victoria Travel Group Chief Executive Chris Gardner will continue to lead the business, alongside UK Managing Director Tony Andrews, Group Chief Financial Officer Carl Tromans, and German Managing Director Tom Reiter.

 

Existing majority shareholder Bridgepoint will now exit the Victoria Travel Group business, which reported a total transactional value of £252 million in its most recent financial year and said reflected its strong market presence and customer loyalty in the UK and Germany.

 

This is Hays Travel’s first online travel agency acquisition and a significant milestone for the north east headquartered company, which has been serving customers since 1980.

 

The move significantly expands Hays Travel’s footprint in the global cruise market and supports the UK’s largest independent travel agent’s strategic growth ambitions in the fast-growing cruise sector, both in the UK and internationally.

Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel, said: “We have been hugely impressed by the strength of the Victoria Travel Group. 

 

"Their innovative approach to online cruise retailing and the calibre of their management team make Victoria Travel a compelling addition to our business, which aligns with our cruise strategy and growth ambitions.
 
“We are delighted to welcome Chris, Carl, Tony and Tom to our Hays Travel group; they share our values and are all exceptional at what they do. 

 

"We look forward to working alongside them, exploring opportunities and learning from each other as we seek to continuously improve the choice, experience and value we offer our customers.”

Meanwhile, Gardner added: “We’re delighted to be joining the Hays Travel family. Their values, customer-first approach, and long-term vision align with ours. 

"This partnership opens up exciting opportunities to grow our brands and deliver even more value to cruise customers in the UK and internationally.”

 

Jonathon Woodall-Johnston, chief operating officer of Hays Travel, and Jo Rzymowska, a respected cruise industry leader and non-executive director of Hays Travel, will join the Victoria Travel Group board.

NCL EXTENDS CRUISE CANCELLATIONS ACROSS ITS FLEET

Norwegian Cruise Line has extended the suspension of all its proposed sailings until the end of November.

All Voyages for Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises with embarkation dates from 1 November until 30 November 2020 are cancelled.

 

Guests with bookings are being told to contact their travel agent or NCL direct.

 

NCL said: “The Company will continue to work in tandem with global government and public health authorities and its Healthy Sail Panel expert advisors to take all necessary measures to protect its guests, crew and the communities visited.”

 

NCL operates 28 ships with 59,000 berths and plans to add nine additional vessels by 2027.

MSC adopts new rebating and cancellation policies

MSC Divina at her home port, Miami.

MSC Cruises has instituted new rebating and cancellation policies that take effect May 1.
No travel agencies can advertise, market or sell a cruise or cruise package at a price below MSC's published or contracted pricing.

Agencies may continue to offer such as onboard spending credits and prepaid gratuities. The value-add cannot be cash, a gift card or other items that reduce the base price of a cruise.

Agencies that violate MSC's rebating policies will be "subject to written warning, a reduction in the co-op support provided by MSC Cruises and other actions such as, but not limited to, a reduction in the base commission paid on all future cruises booked by that agency," MSC said.
For all new bookings made beginning May 1 for all sailings departing in April 2017 and forward, MSC has adjusted its cancellation policy.

MSC Seaside

For cruises less than 15 nights, guests lose their nonrefundable deposit if they cancel between 89 and 61 days before departure; lose half the fare if they cancel 60 to 46 days out; lose 75% of the fare if they cancel 45 to 16 days out; and lose 100% of the fare if they cancel with 15 days or fewer before departure.

For cruises more than 15 nights, they lose their nonrefundable deposit if they cancel between 109 and 61 days before departure, half the fare for 60 to 46 days, 75% of the fare from 45 to 31 days, and 100% if they cancel 30 days out or fewer.  

Also, MSC Cruises said it will continue transfer a direct booking to a travel agent upon request of the customer when the appropriate forms are submitted by the customer to MSC Cruises. Bookings may only be transferred to an agent up until 60 days from creation if the request is made outside of final payment period and the booking is not paid in full. 

Anthem of the Seas christened in England

Anthem of the Seas godmother Emma Wilby performed with the Only Boys Aloud choir.

British travel agent Emma Wilby on Monday named Royal Caribbean International’s newest ship, the 4,200-passenger Anthem of the Seas, in Southampton, England.  

The naming took place in the ship’s Royal Theater, where Wilby, a 27-year-old travel agent from Sunderland, U.K., performed onstage with the Welsh choir Only Boys Aloud for more than 1,300 invited guests, dignitaries and media.

The Anthem, the second ship in Royal’s Quantum class, will sail from the U.K. on various European itineraries this summer and fall. In November, it will arrive in New York Harbor to dock at its permanent home port of Cape Liberty, N.J.

Wilby, an agent at Thomson Holidays, is a military wife and budding singer who performs in the Military Wives Choir in Kinloss, Scotland, where she is based with her husband, a Royal Engineer for the British Army. She was picked from a large group of agents who applied for the honor.

Passed Anthem of the Seas to Royal Caribbean International: Meyer Werft

Passed Anthem of the Seas to Royal Caribbean International: Meyer Werft

by ship journal

Passed second ship of the Quantum class for Royal Caribbean

Today the Meyer Werft the 168,600 GT cruise ship Anthem of the Seas in Bremerhaven delivered five days before the original date agreed at the American Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (Miami) from.

Photo: Meyer Werft

In the Anthem of the Seas is the second ship of the so-called quantum-class. With the Anthem of the Seas have the Meyer Werft and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. rebuilt a particularly environmentally friendly cruise ship. The ships of the Quantum-class are equipped with the most advanced emission control systems called Hybrid Scrubber. 

Very energy efficient technical systems, optimized hydrodynamics, heat recovery, as well as an extremely effective underwater paint, or eg an extremely energy-efficient lighting system with LED illumination lead to considerable energy savings. 

A diesel-electric pod propulsion system, complex alarm and security systems, interactive communication systems and the latest stage technology to guarantee security and entertainment on board according to the latest technical standards.

The ships of the Quantum class perform another ground-breaking innovations one at sea. Below are the skydiving simulator "Ripcord by iFly" up to 90 meters high glass view gondola "North Star" and the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea "SeaPlex" with bumper cars and roller skating. In "Two70 °" Guests will experience the Anthem of the Seas during the day a fascinating 270 degree panoramic views and breathtaking shows at night.

The cruise ship, has a total of 18 decks and a survey of 168 600 GT. With 2,090 cabins, which are the biggest and most versatile cabins on the ships owned, it can accommodate 4,180 guests at double occupancy.

After delivery to the shipping company, the Anthem of the Seas leaving presumably on 13/14. April 2015 Bremerhaven towards Southampton. The 27-year-old Emma Wilby from the UK is the godmother of the Anthem of the Seas. 

The employee of a Scottish travel agents is the newest and most modern ship cruise brand baptized on 20 April 2015, Southampton before 1,500 invited guests. Emma Wilby was chosen from numerous applicants from across the UK. The Anthem of the Seas will be on the road in their inaugural season from / to Southampton in the western Mediterranean, before transitioning to New York on October 27, 2015.

British travel agent to be Anthem godmother

Emma Wilby will christen the Royal Caribbean ship and sing for an audience of about 1,300.

Royal Caribbean International picked a 27-year-old travel agent to dedicate Anthem of the Seas in Southampton, England, later this month, underscoring the cruise line's connections to the trade and to young travel agents in particular.

Emma Wilby, an agent at Thomson Holidays, is from Sunderland, near Newcastle in the North East of England. She will christen the ship and sing for an audience of about 1,300 invited to the April 20 event.

Royal Caribbean said Wilby is a military wife and budding singer who performs in the Military Wives Choir in Kinloss, Scotland, where she is based with her husband, a Royal Engineer for the British Army.

She was picked from a large group of agents who applied for the honor, Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain said.

"We thank all travel agents, who we value and are honoring by naming a fellow travel agent as the godmother of our newest ship,” Fain said.

Anthem will sail in Europe from April through the fall before moving to its permanent home port at New Jersey’s Cape Liberty.

Tenn. agent proves timing isn’t everything

By Laura Del Rosso

Muffett Grubb is one travel agent who made lemonade from a load of lemons, as the saying goes, when the economy plummeted along with the stock market five years ago. It was 2008 when Grubb decided to follow her dream and open a Cruise Holidays franchise agency from her home in Knoxville, Tenn. The following months were a test of her commitment to the business.

“I bought my franchise two weeks before the market crashed and I looked it at this way: There was nowhere for things to go but up at that point,” she said. “I took the attitude that the slow time was a good time to get my feet wet and gradually learn the business.”
Since then, business has been all up for Grubb, who previously worked in purchasing and marketing for a national retail chain. She recently received Cruise Holiday's “Best Customer Service Award” based on an incident that took place in Alaska last summer when a cruise ship was idled by propulsion problems. Unable to leave port for four days, Grubb’s 20 clients were left with nothing to do, along with 2,000 other passengers who scrambled to book excursions.

Using industry connections and Cruise Holidays programs, Grubb booked her clients on shore excursions to make the most of their four days in Alaska. She also rebooked their future cruise, which was fully paid for by the cruise line as part of a compensation package.

It's part of the services that Grubb says she provides that she hopes set her apart from direct, online bookings. “I often have to explain to people how a travel agent works, that it doesn't cost them more money to use a travel agent. This is the value I provide. These are the things I do for my clients. Once I have a client they generally are my client forever.”

Grubb credits her success with networking. Shortly after opening the franchise, she joined a local business group in Knoxville and spread the word among a wide circle of family and friends that she was open for business. Many people already knew she loved to plan travel, long before she opened the agency.

“I used to plan trips for friends or friends of friends just because I had a passion for it. A few times I planned cruises and just put the word out and got as many as 16 people signed up for a cruise. That's when I started thinking of making it a second career.”

Grubb looked at different types of business models for her travel agency and settled on Cruise Holidays because it matched her cruise expertise. Also, she said, the franchise system offers the technology and back-office systems that enable her to concentrate on sales and not administration. Now her business has grown to the point that she is considering expanding and hiring staff. And office space may also be in the picture at some point.

“The beauty of starting a home-based agency is that there was a low initial outlay because I'm not paying rent. It afforded me time to build my business. Now I'm at the point that I realize I can't do it all myself.”

In the last couple of years, Grubb has evolved her social media marketing and has gained new customers, mostly on Facebook. However, she doesn't promote herself with a “hard sell,” she says.

“I do a lot on Facebook, but it's mainly posting about my trips and sharing what my clients have done on their trips. It's not an aggressive marketing technique but a casual way of saying ‘here's where I've gone’ to generate a conversation. Then people will call and tell me they saw I went somewhere that interests them, and I've got a sale.”