Compagnie du Ponant detailed its newest ship, Le Lyrial, which will be launched in the Spring of 2015. This is the fourth ship in the line's yacht-style expedition ships. The interior design of Le Lyrial was headed by interior architect Jean-Philippe Nuel, who will be working with Veronique Saadé, deputy managing director of Compagnie du Ponant.
Compagnie du Ponant redesigned Deck 6 on Le Lyrial to accommodate larger suites, up to 600 square feet for the Owner’s Suite. Thanks to this, Le Lyrial will have 122 staterooms and suites compared to the 132 on Le Soléal, L’Austral and Le Boréal.
Changes in cruise line pricing have been tracked during Wave Season, and according to Robin Farley, cruise industry analyst for UBS Global Research, cooler climates are not seeing the same popularity as warmer ones. Farley stated that while Caribbean itineraries showed pricing increases over the past week, Alaskan itineraries are not benefitting from the same results.
“Record cold temperatures in many regions may not be helping sell cruises to Alaska,” she told investors in a Wave Season pricing update.
Despite this, pricing is up sequentially in the third week of Wave Season, based on an average price of all sailings for the six largest North American cruise lines and two of the largest European lines. UBS Global Research tracks pricing on more than 8,000 sailings. Farley said the pricing uptick has been “an improvement from flattish to slightly down trends prior to the start of Wave, which included the pre-New Year lull in the week of Dec. 29."
Silversea Cruises released new updates to its website with the new "My Silversea" personal log-in area. Now available at Silversea.com, both guests and travel agent partners can update their profile and preferences, arrange activities prior to a reserved voyage and access additional features. Specialty restaurant dinner reservations can now be pre-booked in advance (from 120 to 7 days prior to sailing), along with the optional shore excursions, beauty, spa and fitness services that previously have been available to reserve in advance through the line's website. Members of Venetian Society, Silversea's past guest loyalty club, will now also be able to keep track of their past voyage history by logging into "My Silversea."