American Superyacht Forum 2009

Goldring Travel May 8, 2009

On Sunday I am traveling to Seattle for the 2009 American Superyacht Forum. It is an event that I look forward to every year, but this year the economy has me wondering. The fact is that the superyacht industry is hurting. While there are those that are seemingly immune to the weak economy, or are simply

Ex-Silversea Execs Start Marketing Company

Goldring Travel May 1, 2009

David Morris and Marilyn Conroy, who were recently fired from Silversea Cruises as the heads of marketing and sales have started a new venture, David Morris International which is going to market to the…yep…cruise industry. Apparently Mr. Morris is going to be finding ways to have land and cruise vacations be more seamless; something he has

Cruising With “Ugly Americans” Who Don’t Know That They Are

Goldring Travel April 24, 2009

One of my readers pointed out a thread on CruiseCritic where a rather infamous Regent poster commented that she is hesitant to cruise Silversea, but might change her mind if, in part, Silversea “perhaps ha[s] more people from North America on board”; noting she “prefer[s] luxury hotels and cruise lines that cater to Americans/Canadians”. While it

Seabourn Has Record Sales Day – What Does It Really Mean?

Goldring Travel April 22, 2009

Seabourn announced it had its single busiest day of sales this past Monday with 830 calls in 11 hours. It also noted bookings have risen by 40% over the prior month and there remains a very high level of first time guests. Now, keeping it real, while there is no way to turn the information

SeaDream Yacht Club – Is a Nightmare Looming? UPDATED

Goldring Travel April 20, 2009

It has been reported in the Norwegian media that CG Holdings, owner of SeaDream Yacht Club, may be filing for bankruptcy imminently. What this means for SeaDream really is not known; especially as their are conflicting reports. According to reports, the Chief Financial Officer of CG Holdings says all of CG Holdings assets are up

Iamboatman’s Blog Provided Timely Information That Causes Silversea to Throw Out The Children (Program) To Keep the Luxury Bath Water

Goldring Travel April 17, 2009

Last week I posted that Silversea was going to institute a Children’s Program ala Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Silversea is Robbing The (Regent Seven Seas’) Cradle. The information was not posted or confirmed anywhere else that I am aware of. At the time I said “Silversea is making a big mistake”. And I was, apparently,

Is Virtuoso Hitting a Sour Note?

Goldring Travel April 17, 2009

There have been grumblings within the travel agent world that Virtuoso has become a less attractive option for many of its member travel agents with, it is reported, significant numbers jumping ship to Signature and other consortiums. (Full disclosure: I am a member of a “competitor”, Ensemble Travel consortium.) Yesterday Virtuoso announced plans to reorganize its

Windstar’s Sails May Be Luffing Very Soon.

Goldring Travel April 16, 2009

It was reported today that Ambassadors International, the parent company of Windstar’s owner, Ambassadors International Cruise Group, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ambassadors Cruise Group, LLC, missed a $1,800,000 interest payment on the notes (loan) it used to purchase Windstar. Ambassador warned that if it cannot sell its non-Windstar assets it may fail as a

Seabourn Reports Record Bookings for The First Quarter of 2009…Because of Consistency of Product

Goldring Travel April 15, 2009

Seabourn Cruise Lines reported yesterday that it recorded record bookings for the first quarter of 2009. Remember though, the term is “bookings”, not “sales” or “revenue”. There is a significant difference, but…and it is a big “but”…in the longer term, it just might be better news than record sales. In a world of luxury cruising where

Silversea Cruises is Robbing the (Regent Seven Seas’) Cradle…Seriously (And You Are NOT Going to Like It)

Goldring Travel April 10, 2009

Ever see those signs, “Child Onboard”…Silversea Cruises now has them available. That’s right: Your elegant, luxury, cruise without children will not be happening on many Silversea Cruises. Those that booked their 2009 Silversea cruise as an adult luxury product are not going to have exactly what they expected. In fact, they are going to have

Windstar’s Wind Surf – Caribbean – January 2014

Goldring Travel Blog – Making Waves

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