Earn your way on-board Australia’s best fleet

Throughout the month of August, RCL Australia is encouraging all cruising agents to complete their Essentials Training for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises via training program Cruising for Excellence for their chance to earn priority selection for some of the most sought after ship tours this coming season.

Agents who reach Admiral Status by completing the Essentials Training (including Bonus Training) or Refresher Course for all three brands, will earn priority selection for tours on board Ovation of the Seas, the newest, biggest and most technologically advanced cruise ship to ever call Australia home; Celebrity Solstice, Australia’s best cruise ship*; and the recently revitalised Azamara Journey during her maiden Australian season.

Plus, agents can earn up to 20 CLIA Accreditation Points by completing the training.

RCL’s Cruising for Excellence training program is all about supporting agents with the most up-to-date information on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, to help travel partners sell cruise holidays. With exciting new products coming to Australia this season, RCL has recently updated the program so agents can be the first to learn about the new ships and onboard innovations coming to Australia for the 2016/17 cruise season.

Visit cruisingpower.com.au for full details.

Guests Who Book 2017/18 Cruises with Holland America Line’s Popular Explore4 Promotion Receive Four Enticing Offers

Holland America Line’s popular Explore4 promotion is back and better than ever with four top offers on select January 2017 through April 2018 cruises. Travellers looking to book a cruise or Land+Sea Journey for next year or beyond can take advantage of the benefits, which include complimentary beverages and speciality dining on-board, as well as reduced deposits and fares for friends and family. Suite bookings feature an Internet credit and prepaid gratuities.

The Explore4 promotion for guests booking any category stateroom includes a Signature Beverage Package valued at up to US$2,400, dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, reduced cruise fares for friends and kids in the same stateroom and 50 percent reduced deposits. Bookings must be made by Nov. 18, 2016.

P&O Cruises Named as Australia’s Most Trusted Cruise Line

P&O Cruises has continued its winning streak, retaining its position as one of Australia’s most trusted brands for the fourth consecutive year.

The cruise line has been named as Australia’s most trusted cruise line in the Reader’s Digest 2016 survey of Australia’s Most Trusted Brands announced this week. P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said he was thrilled that P&O Cruises had claimed the title yet again.

“The past twelve months have been huge for us. We’ve introduced our two latest ships Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden, announced the very first new-build ship exclusively for the Australian market and revealed details of the next addition to our fleet, Pacific Explorer,” Mr Myrmell said.

“Throughout that time, we’ve worked hard to offer a quality, contemporary product that speaks to Australian cruisers and our continued recognition in these awards is a wonderful vote of confidence in our brand”.

The annual survey has been operating for 16 years as an independent survey of the Australian public. This year, 65 categories from biscuits to banks were featured in the largest survey to date, with more than 2400 people surveyed.

Murray Princess Captain Comes Home

Captain Cook Cruises is delighted to announce the appointment of Terry Salmond as Master of the PS Murray Princess, operating three, four and seven night cruises along the Murray River.

Captain Terry returns to the Murray Princess after previously being Master for 6 years from 2002 until 2008. In fact, working on the Murray Princess runs in the family, with Captain Terry originally coming to Adelaide from Ipswich, Queensland in 1993 to visit his father, who was working as a chef on the ship. Terry ended up moving to South Australia a month later.

“I still tell people I’m here on a two-week holiday that started 20 years ago.” says Captain Terry.

After settling in South Australia, Captain Terry joined his dad and was employed on the Murray Princess for the next 14 years, even meeting his wife Lucy onboard who was the leading hand in the ships dining room.

Captain Terry started off on the Murray Princess washing dishes, cleaning cabins and working on decks until obtaining his Master 4 certificate and being promoted to Master in 2002. In 2008, Captain Terry and Lucy moved to Launceston, Tasmania where Terry studied Marine Engineering and secured a cadetship with Teekay Shipping Australia. He then obtained his engineer watch keepers certificate and over the next seven years worked third and second engineer on a variety of vessels.

In 2012 Captain Terry, Lucy and their three children moved back to Adelaide, where Terry maintained his employment with Teekay Shipping Australia before accepting a position as Master of the Murray Princess with Captain Cook Cruises once again in 2016.

“I have always enjoyed working on the Murray, as the river and its people feel like a family, and it is one of the most magnificent places I have seen.  In addition to this, I love the opportunity to meet guests from all over the world, and working with some amazing crew members.

Azamara Club Cruises Unmasks New Brochure for 2017/18

Azamara Club Cruises’ elegant new brochure is hot off the press and ready to take home today, unmasking an array of incredible sea, river and land adventures on offer around the world in 2017 and 2018.

Featuring more than 100 cruises, 200 destinations and 900 land discoveries for discerning travellers to immerse themselves in, the new brochure also boasts a range of new additions.

The brochure reveals an array of exciting new destinations for Azamara, such as Australia’s dreamy Whitsunday Islands and sunny Portimao in Portugal. As well, the brochure unveils an incredible range of brand new special events and cruises, including the Cannes Film Festival, Monaco Grand Prix, a World War II Remembrance Voyage to Normandy and a New Year’s Eve party in the heart of Sydney Harbour.

Azamara’s hotly anticipated World Journey, which departs from Sydney on the newly revitalized Azamara Journey in 2018, will take guests on an unforgettable, round-the-world trip of a lifetime, calling at enthralling destinations in 29 different countries and treating them to world-class Azamara service along the way.