United States Conservancy says in preliminary agreement to redevelop ship

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 15 December 2014 15 December 2014

A conservancy that aims to preserve and redevelop the 1952 built Trans-Atlantic liner United States says it has entered in preliminary agreement to redevelop the ship that last saw active service in 1969.

"We are very pleased to confirm that we have now entered into a preliminary agreement in support of the redevelopment of the SS United States. Negotiations have been underway for some time, and planning will continue with a variety of stakeholders. While further due diligence is conducted, the Conservancy will receive financial support to cover the vessel's core carrying costs for at least an additional three months," the conservancy said.

"The project remains at an early and delicate phase, but we wanted to update our supporters about this encouraging development," it said, adding that it was not in a position to disclose further details at this point.

Pandaw to offer 16 night Varanasi to Kolkata cruise in October 2015

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 15 December 2014 15 December 2014

Pandaw River Cruises, the Singapore based river cruise operator with focus on the South East Asia region, says it will offer a 16 night cruise on the Ganges and Hooghly rivers in October next year.

"There can be few rivers in the world so revered as the sacred Ganges; and perhaps few as charming as the Hooghly. Our arrangement explores both rivers journeying from the famous Ghats at Varanasi through beautiful scenery and wonderful ‘off the beaten track’ rural villages, visiting stunning palaces, stupas, gardens and ancient battlefields all the way downstream to Kolkata," the company said in a statement.

The cruise will commence on 27 October and fares start from $4,995 per person, the company said.

Sterling Cruise Lines to start year round cruises from Aruba

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 15 December 2014 15 December 2014

Sterling Cruise Lines, the new Latin America-focused operator, has just announced its plan to commence year round cruise itineraries from Aruba as of 1 May 2015. Alan Lam reports.

 

The company’s president, Joshua Schwartz, said that its business would aim at providing a premium cruise experience in the Latin America market.Sterling will source its customers primarily from such countries as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.

 

Initially the line will offer cruises of three, four and seven days. The three-day itinerary will call at Curaçao, the four-night one will call at Curaçao and Bonaire, while the seven-night cruises will call at Dominica, Barbados, Tobago and Bonaire, or Granada, Saint Lucia, Bequia and Curaçao.

 

Prices start at $395 for the three-day cruise, $495 for the four-day, and $695 for the seven-day itineraries, which be extended to a back-to-back 14-day cruise.

 

Headquartered in Miami, Sterling already has branches and call centres throughout Latin America. Its ship will be the 1992-built, 800-pax Gemini, which was renovated in 2009.

Global Maritime acquires Astor

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 15 December 2014 15 December 2014

Global Maritime Group, the Athens based majority shareholder of Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) in the UK, has acquired the1987 built cruise liner Astor of 21,000 gross tons, CMV said in a statement.

“Astor originally joined the CMV fleet in December 2013 under a bareboat charter arrangement with full ship management services provided by CMV’s majority shareholder, the Global Maritime Group who has acquired the vessel. Astor will operate under long term charter to CMV,” the company said.

The previous, German  owner of the ship became insolvent earlier this autumn

Christian Verhounig, CEO and Chairman of CMV commented, “The acquisition of the Astor is another important milestone in the strategic development of the Group’s presence in the international markets. Astor has a fine pedigree and provides an important smaller ship premium option within our cruise portfolio”.

Astor arrived in Fremantle (Perth) on Saturday 13th December following a 38 night re-positioning voyage from London Tilbury and will continue to operate a dedicated programme of ex-Fremantle cruises under the CMV brand for the Australian market during the Austral summer season. In spring 2015, Astor re-positions to Europe and will continue to operate a summer season of ex-Kiel and Bremerhaven German market sailings under the CMV group’s TransOcean brand.

Chris Coates, Commercial Director added, “Astor has added 22,000 passengers to our global carryings and since her introduction has proved a firm favourite with high levels of customer satisfaction and repeat business being achieved. Next year we have programmed a special 8 night ex-London Tilbury Round Britain cruise before Astor starts her German market season and forward booking levels are very encouraging”.