7 New Luxury Cruise Ships on the Horizon

If you're like me, you've had just about enough of media reports pointing to cut-backs in consumer spending in the travel category. Some pundits are forecasting less-than-rosy scenarios for the next 18–24 months. And while I agree that the economy is in very serious straits, I don't want to lose sight of the wonderful things that are happening right now in the luxury cruise category.

Think about it: we've got some gorgeous new luxury ships coming down the pike:

• Seabourn's 450-guest Odyssey—sailing June 2009
  
  
• Silversea's 540-guest Silver Spirit—sailing January 2010
  
  
• Seabourn's 450-guest Sojourn—sailing June 2010
  
  
• Oceania's 1,260-passenger Marina—sailing September 2010
  
  
• Cunard's 2,092-guest Queen Elizabeth (to replace the QE2)—sailing Fall 2010
  
  
• Seabourn's 450-guest unnamed ship—sailing 2011
  
  
• Oceania's 1,260-guest unnamed ship—sailing July 2011

These new ship launches will ultimately be good for the luxury cruise lines and for you and me as consumers.

Will there be too many staterooms to fill in the coming years? Perhaps in the short term, but that may cause increased competition for the cruise lines to either provide impeccable service or offer lower price points.

Will all of the cruise lines make it through the recession? I certainly hope so, but if they don't there will be consolidation and an opportunity for combined teams to come together with new ideas to meet the challenges of the future.

We're already seeing some innovative strategies to entice new bookings (i.e., Regent's free shore excursion offer and Paul Gauguin Cruises' loyalty program that offers discounts to travelers who've sailed with a select group of cruise lines in the past).

These are all good things for the luxury cruise market. I'm looking forward to seeing all of these new ships take to the seas in the next few years.

Tahiti Loses Another Cruise Ship: Star Flyer

French Polynesia's new tourism minister Jacqui Drollet, who took office just weeks ago on February 11, must not be sleeping very well at night. He's tasked with increasing Tahiti's tourism at a time when long-haul trips are being eschewed by Americans and Europeans who don't want to spend and arm and a leg just to get to and from their vacation havens.

The economic woes of the world have not only hit travelers, they've made a mark on cruise company bottom lines. Last year Princess pulled the Tahitian Princess out of French Polynesia (although the Pacific Princess still sometimes call upon these islands) and Silversea announced that it was canceling Prince Albert II's 2009 summer season in the area.

Now, Star Clippers has also announced plans for its 170-passenger Star Flyer to leave the Society Islands in early spring 2010. The company plans to reposition the sailing ship in the Mediterranean—closer to potential customers.

Sad news all around at a time when French Polynesia's president Oscar Temaru has been quoted in Tahitipresse as saying the current tourism outlook is "catastrophic." He also admitted that “There are days when hotels on Moorea and Bora Bora have occupancy rates of less than 20 percent."According to Tahitipresse, there was a 10 percent decline in tourist arrivals in 2008 from 2007.

Air Tahiti Nui also recently cut back its nonstop service from New York's JFK. Instead, travelers will now have to connect at Los Angeles' LAX for nonstop service to Papeete, Tahiti.

So what does this mean for cruise aficionados who want to cruise French Polynesia in 2010? Well, only the luxury ships remain in the area. The options as it stands now include:

• m/s Paul Gauguin—Currently managed by Regent Seven Seas, all aspects of this 330-passenger all-inclusive ship will be taken over by the vessel's owner, Paul Gauguin Cruises, as of January 6, 2010.
  
  
• Ti'a Moana and Tu Moana—Two luxury yachts currently sail the Society Islands under the auspices of Nomade Yachting Bora Bora. Perhaps the most expensive all-inclusive cruise option in the South Pacific, these 40-passenger yachts also provide the highest level of personal service.
  
  
• Haumana—This 24-passenger catamaran from Haumana Cruises offers 3-, 4-, and 7-night itineraries around Rangiroa.

So how will the loss of the Star Flyer affect bookings on other French Poly cruise ships? Only time will tell. There are some good values to be had right now aboard the Paul Gauguin and the departure of the Star Flyer may actually open up opportunity for other lines that were previously eyeing this region.

For more information about French Poly cruise options, read "Sailing French Polynesia: Your Best Bets" or visit Tahiti Tourisme's website.

Photo courtesy of Star Clippers

Addicted to Frequent Flyer Miles & Loyalty Points?

I have a confession to make: I'm addicted to earning frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty program points. It all started about two years ago when I was planning my first trip to Africa. I knew I wanted business class seats for the long journey, but I didn't have enough frequent flyer miles in one account to book the seats. I wasn't sure what to do until I found the FlyerTalk forum.

FlyerTalk is an interactive community of frequent flyers, but all types of travel reward programs are discussed (air, hotel, car rentals, etc.). There are forums for just about every airline, hotel program, and several reward credit cards.

Within weeks of reading posts at the forum I learned how to leverage the frequent flyer miles and American Express Membership Rewards that I had built up. I also learned what fare classes to search for when it comes to award tickets and upgrades using frequent flyer miles. (Subscribe to ExpertFlyer.com to read more about airline fare classes and inventory buckets. If you're about to book an award ticket, you shouldn't do so without consulting ExpertFlyer first.)

With these tools, I transferred miles from Amex Membership Rewards to my Continental account. I then called Continental's award desk, armed with several itinerary options, and was able to book two business class tickets on partner airline, Delta (JFK to DKR to CPT and JNB to DKR to JFK).

Success! And I Become Obsessed

The addiction began to grow after that initial conquest. I turned my attention to my American Airlines account. I had a few miles, but not enough to book a trip anywhere. So, I began playing word games at Live Search Club in order to convert winning tickets into frequent flyer miles. Seventy-five thousand miles later I booked tickets to Papeete, Tahiti.

My AA AAdvantage account kept growing due to various promotions, the use of a branded credit card, and the program's online shopping mall.

Moving On to Hotel Loyalty Programs

As I learned more about travel rewards, I realized that hotel loyalty programs were another avenue for low-cost, luxury getaways. For my Africa trip, I took advantage of a sign-up bonus for the American Express Starwood card. I focused all of my spending on this card for the next few months and built up a vacation's worth of points to be used at hotels across the globe.

And, just recently I found out that American Airlines miles can be converted to Hilton HHonors points...yet one more excellent way to plan an inexpensive but top-notch vacation.

Resources to Bookmark Now

If you aren't yet mesmerized by the possibility of loyalty program rewards, visit the following resources to learn more:

• FlyerTalk forums
  
• ExpertFlyer.com subscription database to view airline award and upgrade availability
  
• Inside Flyer print magazine covering loyalty program information
  
• SeatExpert.com and SeatGuru.com for airplane seat selection guides

If you've got additional frequent flyer/loyalty program hints and tricks, please let me know. My compulsion to snag low-cost, high-class travel isn't going away anytime soon!