HAL was to have gone under the World's Leading Cruise Lines umbrella at the end of this month when Millmore's contract expired (Seatrade Insider 11/03/2002).
However, Millmore, whose company has represented HAL since 1987 and is now its biggest producer outside the US, told Seatrade Insider today TTW's contract has been extended due to a technical hitch. He said HAL's new reservations system which was to be operational in the first half of 2004 has been delayed. He said WLCL's vp Asia Pacific Jackie Foggitt decided it would be better for the industry to stay with the same system for the next 12 months.

Millmore, who was to have been a preferred seller of the product, said he is delighted with the 12 month extension. Today he released new competitively priced air-sea packages for the Australian market in conjunction with Prinsendam's world voyage. The former Royal Viking Sun and Seabourn Sun which operated a three-month trans-Tasman programme from Sydney November last year, arrives in Melbourne February 17 en route to Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns and Darwin.

The vessel recently underwent a multi-million euro refit and kicks off her winter season this month with a series of ecological cruises from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Caribe's new seven-night itinerary starting next spring uses Havana as a homeport with passengers visiting Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica's Montego Bay and Juventud before returning to Cuba.

Last year, Festival doubled its passenger numbers in the Caribbean. 'With the Caribe's exciting new programmes added to European Vision's itineraries, I am positive that 2004 will be our most successful year yet,' says Walter Broglia, Festival's worldwide sales and marketing director.

Boe, who retains his position as deputy manager of the French Territory's regional tourist office which covers the popular cruise ports of Noumea and Isle of Pines, is well-known to the industry. His Sydney office joined Cruise Down Under in 2001 and Boe, who has attended Seatrade Miami for the past two years, joined Cruise New Zealand in January.

He played a major role in securing CDU's first offshore agm for Noumea in 2004 at a date still to be confirmed and is negotiating with CNZ to take part in the event with a joint one-day seminar.

New Caledonia has dominated the itineraries of P&O's resident ships and  cruise traffic from Australia was boosted when Pacific Princess began her first South Pacific season in November last year and SuperStar Leo temporarily called Sydney home on April 30.

The destination is also attracting an increasing number of luxury liners on trans and circle Pacific voyages.  A champagne beach party on Isle of Pines, for example, will be a highlight of Seven Seas Voyager's 94-night Asia-Pacific cruise departing Los Angeles January 10.  

BMT SeaTech Ltd, in collaboration with Alstom, has successfully linked PC Rembrandt, its PC-based simulator, to Alstom's A-series DP system. The result is a DP simulator combining the ship-specific DP algorithms and console from Alstom with the PC Rembrandt mathematical model and worldwide electronic charting and 3D visuals.

As the first vessel fitted with a quadruple pod arrangement, QM2's safe operation depends upon the ship's officers' familiarisation with the vessel's manoeuvring characteristics, its on-board equipment and handling capabilities. The system is currently in use at the shipyard and will, upon delivery of the liner, be installed on the bridge of QM2 for use in either a stand-alone mode or with the Alstom DP system.

Executive chairman Roger de Haan has decided he wishes to retire and focus on a regeneration project in his home town of Folkestone, on the south east coast of the UK.

Saga was set up in 1951 as the first company in the UK to target retired people. Founder Sidney de Haan (Roger's father) identified the potential market of older people at his hotel business. Best known for its package holidays, 80% of its profits (£48m on £153.6m turnover in 2002) come from insurance and financial service operations.

UBS Warburg has been asked to examine options, namely floating or selling the business for a widely reported £1bn. Saga has confirmed that it wants the group to remain intact. 'It's hard to see another travel company wanting to purchase the group,' cruise analyst Tony Peisley told Seatrade Insider. 'More likely it will go public or be sold to a group of venture capitalists,' he added.

By the end of 2004 Saga will have three cruiseships although cruise is a very small part of the overall business which carries more than 250,000 holidaymakers a year.

It entered the cruise ownership market in 1997, buying Sagafjord and renaming her Saga Rose after a £15m refit and facelift. Much talked about newbuilding plans in recent years never came to fruition and in order to satisfy demand (Rose's repeat business grew from 30% in its first few years to nearly 60% in 2003, reports Peisley in his latest research report, Global Changes to the Cruise Industry 2003-2010), Saga Shipping took out a three year (summer-only) charter on the 352-passenger Minerva (Saga Pearl) from this year. In May, Cunard agreed the sale of its 1973-built Caronia to Saga at the end of 2004.

New equal partners of the company are Gisa and Hedda Deilmann, the late owner's twin daughters.

Following the late Peter Deilmann's wish, Traute Hallmann-Schulze and Norbert Becker, who have worked for many years in the company's financial department, have been appointed new managing directors whilst Walter Bönig, a tourism marketing veteran, is the new head of tourism, marketing and sales.

org into a more consumer-oriented site that provides specifics on cruises and ships and also takes bookings for sailings from the historic Virginia port.

'This website is indicative of our changing focus,' said Stephen Kirkland, cruise operations/marketing manager for Nauticus, The National Maritime Center, where cruise ships berth in the heart of the city. 'We've spent years trying to attract cruise lines to Norfolk. Now that the ships are coming, our goal is to give passengers the information they need to make sailing from Norfolk a convenient alternative to other ports.'

Booking requests on the site are handled by CI Travel, a division of Cruise International, the city of Norfolk's official travel agency and a longtime key player in cruise marketing efforts. Kirkland noted that CI Travel was instrumental in bringing cruise ships to Norfolk in the 1960s.

The website also serves as a source of information for travel agents, providing downloadable directions, parking specifics and contact information. In addition, it will post updates on the progress of Norfolk's new cruise terminal.

The city's 2004 cruise season includes more than 60 calls (a 200% increase on '03) from lines including Carnival, Radisson, Holland America, Celebrity and Norwegian.

& plc announced a quarterly cash dividend of 12.5 (US) cents per share, payable on Dec. 12 to shareholders of record on Nov. 21. Holders of Carnival common stock or Carnival plc ADSs will receive a dividend payable in US dollars. The dividend for Carnival plc ordinary shares will be payable in sterling unless shareholders elected to receive it in US dollars by Nov. 27. The sterling dividend will be approximately 7.25353 pence per share according to the exchange rate quoted at 11 a.m. London time today by the Bank of England (US$1 = 58.02820 pence).

The Feb. 27 occasion marks the first time a new cruise ship will beintroduced at the nation's newest cruise homeport.

'We are privileged that Miss Lynch, who represents the thousands ofcourageous American men and women serving in our armed forces, has acceptedour invitation to be godmother of our newest ship,' said Carnival presidentand ceo Bob Dickinson. 'And Jacksonville, with its long military and maritimehistory, is a perfect venue for this ceremony,' he added.

Lynch will break the traditional bottle of champagneacross the bow of Carnival Miracle at ceremonies preceding its three-day inaugural cruise from JAXPORT.

In appreciation, Carnival will make a significant contribution to the Jessica Lynch Foundation, Dickinson said. Lynch established the foundation to assist children of soldiers whohave served in the military or were killed while on duty. She alsoplans to use the foundation to benefit the Wirt County, West Virginia,community where she lives.

The cruise is part of the line's inauguralfestivities for its new US-flag ship, Pride of America.

All ticket revenue from the gala cruise will benefit Bishop Museum, Childand Family Service, Ready to Learn, The Council for Native HawaiianAdvancement and the USS Missouri Memorial. NCL America will donate theuse of the ship and all operational, food and beverage services andamenities for the sailing.

Per cabin prices for the overnight fundraiser are set at $300 for insides, $500 for outsides, $700 for balcony cabins and higher for suites, up to $1,500 for deluxe penthouse suites. To book, passengers are asked to contact the charity they would like to support.