SAGA POSTPONES SHIP LAUNCH AND TOURING PROGRAMME UNTIL 2021

Spirit of Adventure had been due to take its first passengers this summer, but the inaugural sailing was first shifted to November and will now be on 5 February next year.

Sister ship Spirit of Discovery will not sail until 7 March next year and tours are postponed until 31 January 2021.

A Saga spokesperson said: “Over the past few months, we have worked hard to put in place detailed plans to safely return to cruising and have made fantastic progress with all this work.

“Sadly, however, with Covid-19 again on the increase and most countries still not accepting cruise ships, we have taken the decision to extend the suspension of our cruise operations to next year. This includes the postponement of the inaugural cruise of the Spirit of Adventure.

“We are in the process of contacting all our guests to discuss their options, which include rolling over their booking or receiving a full refund. We look forward to welcoming our guests onboard our ships and on our tours as soon as we are practicably able to do so.”

Saga said 2022 cruise bookings were “extremely strong” and showed pent-up demand. Covid precautions mean ship capacity will be limited to 800, with enhanced cleaning and upgraded air conditioning.

 

 

Getaway introduced in New York, but thoughts drift to warm Miami

By Arnie Weissmann

ABOARD THE NORWEGIAN GETAWAY — The frigid January weather in New York has kept most industry guests and media away from the Norwegian Getaway’s distinctive outdoor attractions during the ship’s inaugural sailing.

Few took advantage of the open-air dining on Waterfront, let alone the ropes course, water park with slides or other top-decks attractions.

The ship is a structural clone of its older sister, the Breakaway, which debuted last year, and having the passengers stay largely indoors kept them focused on the shifting of emphasis from themes of New York, where Breakaway homeports, to Miami, where the Getaway will be based.

“I like the subtle touches of Miami,” said Karen Giantomasi, client services supervisor for the online travel agency Cruise Direct International Voyager. “The mojitos in place of Champagne, Cuban food at the buffet.”

But many travel counselors said the shift in geographic emphasis inside really just supports the biggest change of all — that this ship will soon have a southern point of departure.

Although Wendi Randal of Liberty Travel in Pittsburgh doesn’t have clients in either homeport, the cold weather emphasized to her the importance of having a warm gateway. “You want [clients] to be able to try everything that’s outside, and you don’t want the weather to hinder that.”

One discerning couple didn’t mind at all that, other than the tweaking of restaurant and bar themes, the interiors were virtually identical. Sitting quietly and unnoticed at a side table at Sugarcane Mojito Bar off the atrium was Craig Cannonier, premier of Bermuda, and his wife Antoinette. 

He had been aboard during the inauguration of the Breakaway (which sails to Bermuda), and on this sailing was again in a suite in the Haven, the private area atop the ship which caters to upscale travelers.

“We’ve broken away, we’ve gotten away, next we’ll stay away — stay away from land,” he said. (He said he wasn’t worried about competition for Bermuda from cruising, and believes that port visits ultimately lead to subsequent longer land stays.)

As for the lack of differences — he did notice that “here, you have a mermaid painted on the outside” — he was sanguine. “They took a model that worked and built another. Why do something else? It’s not the same itinerary, so why not build a replica that works and take it to another destination?”

“We’ll bring our family aboard [the Breakaway] on our next vacation, down to our 3-year-old grandchild,” added Antoinette. “They do a good job.”

Norwegian Getaway to be Bud Light Hotel at Super Bowl

By Tom Stieghorst

The entity that has chartered the Norwegian Getaway during Super Bowl XLVI in February is Anheuser-Busch InBev, the beer giant, which will convert it into the Bud Light Hotel during the week leading up to the game.

“We are honored and proud that one of our world-class ships will be the center of Bud Light’s Super Bowl event,” said Norwegian spokeswoman AnneMarie Mathews.

Norwegian pushed back the inaugural sailing of the Getaway from Miami to accommodate the charter. The Super Bowl is being played in the New York area for the first time on Feb. 2.

Anheuser-Busch has created a Bud Light Hotel at four previous Super Bowls by buying a hotel’s entire inventory for the week. It redecorates the hotel with Bud Light logos, colors and souvenir items and creates temporary installations. Big-name entertainers such as Flo Rida and Stevie Wonder gave performances at the hotel during the most recent Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Guests will be VIPs invited by Budweiser. It is the first time a cruise ship has been designated as the Bud Light Hotel.