A new cruise and a new ship highlight Tauck’s 2010 small ship offerings that represent a selling opportunity for agents. Tauck has unveiled its line-up of small ship ocean cruises for 2010 and the company’s offerings for the coming year are highlighted by a new eight-day voyage in Iceland aboard the all-new Le Boreal, a sleek 264-person yacht slated to launch next May.
The new Iceland cruise, “Iceland: Land Of Fire And Ice” (from $5,790 per person, plus air), serves a destination that Tauck’s customers have expressed strong interest in visiting, said company CEO Dan Mahar.
“Our guests have been asking us for years to offer a program in Iceland, but until now we couldn’t do it – the country’s hotel infrastructure wouldn’t allow us to provide the level of quality, comfort and amenities that people have come to expect from Tauck,” said Mahar. “However, with the upcoming launch of Le Boreal, we’ll be able to bring the necessary infrastructure along with us. And although this is a new ship and a new destination, our Iceland cruise will still reflect Tauck’s signature style of cruising.”
See more of Iceland in the video below
Mahar explained that the most distinguishing characteristic of Tauck cruising is the company’s all-inclusive pricing policy. Included in the price of the new Iceland cruise, for example, are all shore excursions (a $1,355 value, per person), all meals, all gratuities, wine with dinners, nightly cocktail hours, taxes, port charges and much more.
Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the 466-foot Le Boreal will have six decks and sail under a French flag with a crew of 140 following its launch next May. Each of the ship’s suites and staterooms will be outward-facing, and 95 percent of all accommodations will have private balconies. In addition, 40 of the ship’s staterooms can be reconfigured to yield 20 398-square-foot suites with private balconies.
Amenities aboard Le Boreal include the 260-seat Le Theatre for entertainment and guest lecturers, as well as a swimming pool, fitness center, steam room, massage rooms, gift shop, hairdresser and slot machines. Dining options include the flagship Le Restaurant Gastronomique, which serves 260 and specializes in upscale French and international cuisine, and Le Grill, which offers more casual indoor and outdoor dining to as many as 130 diners.
Guests can also enjoy afternoon tea, at the 2,745-square-foot Le Club, which also features live music, a dance floor, cocktail bar and outside terrace. The 1,184-square-foot Le Panoramic Lounge features a library, internet desk, cocktail bar, and live entertainment on selected nights, while an open-air bar overlooks the pool deck and offers seating for 50.
Le Boreal will be featured on Tauck’s 10-day “Venice & The Dalmatian Coast” cruise (from $5,690 per person, double, plus air) and “St. Petersburg & The Baltic Sea” (12 days, from $6,590 per person, double, plus air), as well as the new “Iceland: Land Of Fire And Ice” itinerary.
Besides Le Boreal, the new cruise in Iceland is also notable for its varied itinerary, Tauck notes, which will highlight small islands with just 100 residents, and the capital city of Reykjavik (population 117,898). Guests will also experience ancient frozen glaciers and active fiery volcanoes, and they’ll view wildlife on the island of Grimsey and barren sulphur fields at Namaskard. They’ll also journey north of the Arctic Circle, and sample the warm thermal waters of the Blue Lagoon. Finally, they’ll visit the site in 930 AD of the world’s first democratic parliament (Thingvellir National Park; a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and they’ll see the youngest island in the world, Surtsey Island, which was formed by volcanic action in the 1960s.
Tauck’s 2010 collection of all-inclusive, small ship ocean cruises is comprised of 12 itineraries in the Mediterranean, Aegean, Atlantic, Baltic and Black Seas, as well as Latin America. Nine of Tauck’s cruises feature small ships owned and operated by Ponant Cruises of France. Besides the three itineraries aboard the new Le Boreal, Tauck offers three cruises on the 330-foot, 90-passenger Le Levant, as well as three programs aboard the sail and motor-powered 60-passenger, 290-foot Le Ponant.