UnCruise Adventures begins operations in Alaska tomorrow

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 31 July 2020 31 July 2020

Following an unprecedented cessation to travel, leading small boat operator, UnCruise Adventures will be the only small boat setting sail in Southeast Alaska this summer. The company’s CEO Dan Blanchard will welcome aboard excited guests and ensure the brand’s signature components of safety and experiential travel are in place for the August 1st departure out of Juneau.

The company credits its travel relaunch to pivoting quickly as a small business along with establishing crucial conversations with government officials and leading the Small Boat Operators Coalition. The groundwork that has been set for months with their dedicated team has stepped-up streamlined safety training and protocols for the Wilderness Adventurer to depart tomorrow. The U.S. small business is committed to the evolution of travel and continues to decipher and define small boat trends.

“Travelers want to have a positive impact upon communities and the environment now more than ever,” states Captain Dan Blanchard, UnCruise Adventures CEO. “We left the term of tourists behind long ago. Tourism isn’t about a one-way channel. A balance is needed and that is what Untourism is. Our guests are adventurers not tourists.” he continues. “Coming up on our 25th year we are mindful of where we go from here, and our roots are in a people-to-nature connection. That is the future of travel.”

The UnCruise Adventures brand is upending trends as local travel slowly reopens. When talking about restarting travel Blanchard says “Protection and stimulus for small businesses and those in travel should be a significant priority. This is a meaningful and challenging time. One that requires us to be diversified, humble, and nimble in our choices.”

UnCruise Adventures first departure sets sail from Juneau, August 1st with 37 passengers and 30 crew. They’ve included additional physical distancing, added daily activity rosters, thorough testing, and extensive health and safety protocols. The Alaskan season has five 7-night Glacier Bay Adventure departures scheduled with a strong occupancy. They are providing an industry-leading self-imposed 66% occupancy cap for the Alaskan itineraries. The UnCruise Adventures team continues to work with officials to help effective testing become more widely available and prioritize measures to support guests and crew.

Dream Cruises celebrates re-start of cruise service with return to Taiwan

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 27 July 2020 27 July 2020

Dream Cruises celebrated the re-start of its cruise service and return to Taiwan during a special inaugural ceremony to commemorate Explorer Dream’s new “Island Hopping” itineraries created specially for the Taiwan market. Dream Cruises will offer new cruises calling into the popular ports and islands of Peng Hu, Matsu Island and Kinmen as well as Hualien, where Taiwanese guests will again be able to enjoy refreshing short getaways on carefree ocean voyages.

The landmark event was attended by a number of important guests from Taiwan including the Minister of Transportation and Communications, Lin Chia-lung; the Minister of Health & Welfare, Chen Shih-chung; the Mayor, Keelung Government, Lin Yu-chang; the Director General of Maritime and Port Bureau, MOTC, Kuo Tien Kuei; the Deputy Director General of Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Chuang Jen-Hsiang; business partners, the media and representatives of Genting Cruise Lines.

“It is a great honour for Genting Cruise Lines to continue its long and fruitful partnership with Taiwan which began over 20 years ago, as we begin on the road to recovery together due to the COVID-19 pandemic and which will bring hope to the global cruise industry as well,” said Kent Zhu, President of Genting Cruise Lines.

“We could not have done this alone and I would like to acknowledge the great encouragement we have received from all the various Taiwanese authorities – namely the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which demonstrated their immense support of the travel industry; the Ministry of Health & Welfare, for their trust and confidence in us; the Ministry of the Interior for their continuous assistance; and the warm hospitality and advocacy from the City of Keelung – and our travel partners and all of our media friends who have been instrumental in making this day happen,” Zhu continued.

With the backing of local authorities and through their vision to reinvigorate the local economy and the tourism industry, Dream Cruises’ innovative island-hopping cruises on board Explorer Dream will highlight the physical and geographic beauty of Taiwan, allowing travellers to enjoy a long awaited holiday at sea to scenic destinations along the coastline and outlying islands with total peace of mind. These cruises will also showcase the very best that Taiwan has to offer in terms of its culinary heritage as well as its entertaining cultural heritage.

For a taste of Taiwan, collaborations have been forged with the Council of Agriculture to provide local produce on board Explorer Dream and a new order-to-home service for their “2020 Top 100 Premium Agricultural Products” on the ship. Additionally, guests can sample local brands including Sharetea, Taihu Beer, Tien Hsia San Chueh Noodle Cuisine, Formosa Chang, SunnyHills and Mark’s Teppanyaki from Marriott Taipei for everything from bubble tea to local craft beer and popular Taiwanese cuisine.

To offer a truly authentic experience that is close to home, local travel experts have been recruited as Dream Ambassadors, who will offer assistance and guidance to on-board guests in their native languages.

Guests will also see the debut of the new Flexi-Feast dining concept which allows unprecedented flexibility for a completely customized dining experience at sea by allowing passengers the freedom to choose from a wider choice of venues and to dine at their leisure. As well, Flexi-Feast will provide additional peace of mind for guests by helping to ease bottlenecks at certain venues for a more spacious and more comfortable environment on board and provide better social distancing by seating guests across all restaurants instead of concentrating on a few inclusive outlets.

In preparation for welcoming its first passengers on board, over the past months, Genting Cruise Lines has completely re-examined and enhanced all of its health, hygiene and operating protocols to ensure the safest environment for everyone on board including thorough sanitization and disinfection and enhanced hygiene practices for guest cabins and crew member quarters, public areas and recreational facilities; social distancing in dining, entertainment and public areas; safe food and beverage handling procedures; and, 100% fresh air ventilation in staterooms and public areas.

Prior to Explorer Dream’s arrival in Taiwan, Genting Cruise Lines had also worked with DNV GL, the largest classification society in the world, to adapt their health care “Certification in Infection Prevention (CIP) for the Marine industry (CIP-M) and Explorer Dream is the first cruise ship in the world to receive the CIP-M certification, a further testament to the effectiveness of the enhanced preventive measures developed by Genting Cruise Lines.

In accordance with Taiwan’s regulations prior to resuming sailing, Explorer Dream observed strict quarantine procedures with the crew has completing a total of 21 days of isolation and passing all COVID-19 testing. In preparation for her inaugural sailing, the ship also underwent a thorough deep cleaning in accordance with EU standard. To ensure the seamless execution of preventive measures both on board and on shore, the crew participated in an outbreak simulation drill under the guidance of the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and with consultation by medical experts from the Taiwan Public Health Association.

“The restarting of the cruise industry is a remarkable achievement which was made possible by the Taiwan authorities’ swift and effective handling of the COVID-19 crisis and their foresight in resuming the tourism industry to benefit all the ports, the economy and the lifestyle of the people of Taiwan,” added Zhu. “Looking forward, we believe the development of cruise bubbles between Taiwan and neighbouring regions that also have their pandemic situation under control, such as the outlying islands of Japan, can further initiate the next phase in the re-establishment of international tourism and spur the economic recovery for a post COVID-19 world.”