On Board Cunard Sees Strongest Bookings in Decade & Unveils Queen Anne’s Extraordinary New Vision
Cunard's Summer 2023 itineraries – which unveiled over 150 new, international voyages – saw a record-breaking first two days of trading, with demand especially strong for Princess and Queens Grills Suites. "We are thrilled by the robust response to our recently announced Summer 2023 voyage program, which has surpassed our record-breaking sales in 2021 when Queen Elizabeth's summer at sea sailings became available to book," said Jamie Paiko, VP of Sales for Cunard North America. "Cunard's two strongest booking periods in more than a decade have happened in the last 12 months, which is a true reflection of Cunard's global appeal, and our guests' enthusiasm to rejoin our luxury ocean
travel experience." Additionally, following the name reveal of Queen Anne on February 8, Cunard introduced details of the design. Queen Anne has been created with an extraordinary new vision, taking some of the finest talent of our time to write a striking new chapter in Cunard's a story inspired by the brand's remarkable past. The principal concept was founded on heritage, craftsmanship, storytelling, style and innovation – which became the design DNA for the ship, and accordingly, the engine of inspiration for the designers. Queen Anne will set sail in early 2024, with her maiden season program available to book from May.
AIDAcosma Starts First Voyage On February 26, AIDA Cruises welcomed the first guests to the premiere voyage of AIDAcosma in Hamburg. On board the newbuild, powered by low emission liquefied natural gas (LNG), guests can expect a huge variety of offerings. The beautiful new Ocean Deck extends over four decks and offers a panoramic view of the sea and an infinity pool at the stern. Also on board is the new Fun Park with a large indoor playground.
COSTA TOSCANA’S INAUGURAL CRUISE Costa Toscana, the newest Italianflagged ship in the Costa Cruises fleet, set sail on March 5 from Savona on her maiden cruise. Costa Toscana is a latest-generation ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) – one of four Costa Group ships using the technology: AIDAnova, Costa Smeralda, Costa Toscana and AIDACosma. "Costa Toscana is an innovative ship that which fully interprets the new cruise experience, including the exploration of destinations, on which we have been working in recent months,” said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises. “The departure of Costa Toscana also represents a new step in the journey that will bring our fleet back to full capacity this summer. Our restart will bolster an ecosystem that before the pandemic generated an annual economic impact of 12.6 billion euros in Europe, including 3.5 billion in Italy alone, with over 63,000 jobs. “We are seeing an increasing demand for our cruises. Furthermore, as the general situation improves, we expect a simplification of our enhanced health and safety protocols, based on our ongoing monitoring of the pandemic. The work we are carrying out in this direction with the authorities is already well advanced. I believe that cruises will soon be back to normal, with new protocols that will allow our guests to fully enjoy the experiences on board and ashore, with the return, for example, of free excursions for guests."
FIRST QUARTER 2022 | TRAVEL & CRUISE 17