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 Posted Thursday, 02 September 2010, 12:59 AM By Cruise News Hound |
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Cunard Line is pleased to announce that Her Majesty The Queen will name the company’s new Queen Elizabeth, the third Cunard ship to bear the name, at a ceremony to take place in Southampton, England on Monday, 11 October 2010.
The naming will be a milestone in British maritime history and will be a major event of worldwide interest.
“The naming of a Cunard Queen is a very special occasion and this will be an historic event in the true sense of the word,” said Peter Shanks, president of Cunard Line. “The Queen launched Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1967 and named our current flagship, Queen Mary 2, in 2004. We are both honoured and proud that Her Majesty will name our new liner, Queen Elizabeth,” added Shanks.
Her Majesty was also present at the age of 12 at the launch of the first Queen Elizabeth on 27 September 1938 when she accompanied her mother, Queen Elizabeth, to Clydebank for the launch.
The Naming Ceremony will take place in Southampton on Monday, 11 October and Queen Elizabeth will set sail on her Maiden Voyage the following day.
Other historic namings of Cunard ships by British royalty over the Line’s 170-year history include the following:
• Her Majesty The Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, launched Caronia, the ‘Green Goddess,’ in 1947.
• Her Majesty Queen Mary, wife of King George V, launched Queen Mary in 1934 – and in so doing became the first British Monarch ever to launch a merchant ship. His Majesty King George V accompanied his wife.
• The late Queen Mother, as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, launched Queen Elizabeth in 1938. Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret accompanied their mother.
• HRH The Princess Margaret launched Carinthia in 1955.
• HRH The Duchess of Cornwall named Queen Victoria in Southampton in December 2007. HRH The Prince of Wales was also in attendance.
For more information and to book a voyage aboard Queen Elizabeth, consult your Travel Agent or go to You must be registered to view this link
Image and information courtesy of Cunard Line
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| Posted Wednesday, 01 September 2010, 11:56 PM By Cruise News Hound |
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Times are going to be tough over the next few years for those employed in the theatre industry. With severe funding cuts expected from central and local government, falling support from the corporate sector and fewer regional theatre productions, jobs will undoubtedly become more scarce – both for those on and off the stage. Actors, managers and technicians will have to be more imaginative and broaden their horizons in their hunt for work.
Which brings me to cruise ships (bear with me on this). Cruise entertainment doesn't have the best of reputations, but I took my maiden voyage earlier this year and it was a real eye-opener. I was there to review shows on board the Celebrity Eclipse, and both the productions and facilities were extremely impressive. The theatre itself was actually of a far higher standard than many of the West End's crumbling playhouses – more comfy seats, better sightlines, excellent acoustics and high-end equipment.
Celebrity spends up to $1m per show for three 60-minute productions on every ship in its line. Each vessel has a 1,150-seat theatre, employs a cast of 18, plus nearly 40 musicians, a stage crew of six and various other technical crew across the music lounges on the ship.
And cruising is a huge growth area in the entertainment business. Looking across some of the other lines – P&O has its own on-board theatre company with more than 100 entertainers, Royal Caribbean is staging cruise versions of Hairspray and Chicago, and elsewhere there are licensed versions of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals or other popular shows such as Saturday Night Fever.
And while you're unlikely to see Chekhov on the high seas, some of the smaller lines do stage a little drama – Crystal Cruises has previously put on one-woman shows by Lynn Redgrave and Susannah York. There is huge scope for employment for people in the theatre industry on cruise lines and because it's a profit-making industry – the amount these ships take on their bars alone is quite staggering – the number of openings is steadily growing.
Celebrity, for example, is planning to launch two more of its gigantic luxury ships, each with 1,150-seat theatres and jobs for more than 50 entertainers over the next couple of years. People can be a bit sniffy about working on cruise ships and, to be fair, the performers I spoke to on Celebrity admitted the first time they accepted work on a cruise, they thought it would just be filling in between other jobs. But, they came to love it and now see it as a long-term career choice.
One dancer told me: "I always tell my friends, yes, I could be in the West End, but in the West End I'd be doing the same show for six months, just getting enough money together to live, go to auditions and take classes, and I'm not going to save any money from it. Right now, I'm doing amazing shows, getting free training, saving a lot of money [accommodation is free] and seeing the world."
As opportunities in the West End and beyond get thinner on the ground, other performers, producers, directors, stage managers, even writers may have to think more laterally if they want to stay in gainful employment. And, who knows, the cruise industry could end up keeping theatre afloat.
From UK Guardian - Story by Alistair Smith
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| Posted Wednesday, 01 September 2010, 06:26 PM By Cruise News Hound |
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I am not normally attracted toward covering travel agent stories but this one is significant. The key point to why OzCC members may be interested, is that our ACCC believes that this will not detract from competition. This may even enhance competition in some sectors of the market.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Stella Travel Services Holdings Pty Ltd by Jetset Travelworld Limited.
The brands of Stella Travel Services include Harvey World Travel and Travelscene American Express, and Jetset Travelworld also operates Qantas Holidays and Qantas Business Travel.
On 21 July 2010 the ACCC published a Statement of Issues outlining certain competition issues which arose during the course of the ACCC's initial market inquiries. The Statement of Issues identified that the Jetset-Stella merger had the potential to raise competition concerns in the retail and wholesale supply of travel products and services.
After extensive further inquiries with retail travel agents, wholesalers, content providers (such as airlines and hotels) and industry associations, the ACCC concluded that the proposed acquisition was unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in any of the relevant markets.
"The ACCC conducted an extensive review of this transaction to ensure that it would not adversely impact Australian travellers," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said today. "After looking very closely at the issues, the ACCC found that the merged Jetset-Stella entity and its member agents are likely to face continued and increasing competition from online travel agents, direct supply by airlines and hotels, and the largest travel retailer in Australia, Flight Centre.
"The Internet has dramatically affected the way competition works in the travel industry as more and more customers look online for the best deals," Mr Samuel said.
"As a result, not only are traditional bricks and mortar agents forced to compete harder on price and service to attract customers, but airlines, hotels and tour companies also have new ways of reaching those customers. In this context, the Jetset-Stella merger is unlikely to substantially lessen competition."
The ACCC also concluded that Qantas Airways Limited owning a lesser interest in a larger retail group, when compared to the current interest Qantas holds in Jetset, was unlikely to substantially lessen competition.
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