Weiss zufällig jemand von Euch, warum es keine Pläne gibt, die Royal Viking Line wiederzubeleben. Die Royal Viking Star, Sea, Sky und Sun sind für mich immer noch die schönsten Schiffe!
Wer hat denn die Namensrechte, hat die über Cunard Carnival bekommen?
Wirklich schade, dass es die Reederei nicht mehr gibt!

Hallo Mark,

ja, die Namensrechte gingen mit der "Royal Viking Sun" an Cunard und damit an Carnival Corporation & plc. Dort hat man offenbar keinerlei Interesse, die Marke wiederzubeleben - einmal ganz davon abgesehen, daß man sowieso lieber auf Marken im Standard- und Premiumsegment des Marktes setzt, bei denen möglichst große Schiffe zum Einsatz kommen können. So werden Seabourn und Windstar ja recht stiefmütterlich behandelt, und immer wieder ist die Rede davon, daß man sie u.U. irgendwann abstoßen möchte. Das Thema Cunard will ich lieber gar nicht erst anschneiden.

Es gibt mehrere Reedereien, denen viele nachtrauern und die viele gerne "wiederbelebt" sehen würden, z.B. auch Sitmar und Home Lines.

Hallo Raoul!
Steht das nichtanschneiden wollen des Themas CUNARD vielleicht im Zusammenhang, daß PRINCESS derzeit die QM2 "auf Trab bringen" soll.
Wenn man den Dingen die man bei Cruisecritics so liest,glauben schenkt, kommt man aus dem Staunen nicht heraus ...

" And worries that Princess would weaken Cunard's storied heritage seem to be premature. Rai Caluori, the hands-on senior vice president of fleet operations for Princess, who took on the same job for Cunard, says that "we are very cautious about making changes [to Cunard]. It's our goal to maintain and evolve -- not to dilute it."

Ultimately, he adds, the most important issue is that "people want to know that the change will result in tangible improvements."

It must be said, in fairness, that quite a few aspects of QM2 have consistently garnered raves, including the Canyon Ranch SpaClub, the Todd English alternative restaurant and the ultra-deluxe penthouse suites. QM2 boasts the finest library at sea, cruising's only planetarium and the largest ballroom on any ship afloat. The "ye olde England"-style Golden Lion Pub and the trendy disco G-32 are among the most popular venues.

Still, much preliminary attention has been focused on improving QM2. Some changes have already been made, others are in the works and still others (in the cases of major structural adjustments) will have to wait for the ship's dry-dock period this fall. Changes passengers can anticipate include:

Smoother onboard operations: Princess transferred senior onboard staffers experienced in mega-ships -- such as a hotel director whose credits included Grand Princess and Coral Princess, and a maitre d' from Diamond Princess -- to QM2.

Ship designers at Princess took a cold, hard look at some physical areas regarded as weaknesses on QM2. First among them was service and food quality in Britannia, the ship's largest dining room, whose problems, primarily, were deemed logistical in orient. According to Caluori, the waiter stations were all lined up together in the huge dining room -- so those waiters with tables at far reaches were invariably slower in delivering service (and more frequently showed up with cooling food). There is no alfresco dining on QM2 -- not much of a problem during windy Atlantic crossings, but certainly a disappointment during the ship's warm weather itineraries. Weather restrictions had limited access to venues originally planned for outdoor dining, such as the top-deck Boardwalk Cafe and the patio area outside the Todd English alternative restaurant. Both have been closed and ship designers are evaluation new options.

King's Court, the ship's buffet venue, was simply not large enough for the crowds. According to industry publication Cruise Business Review, the inadequate seating during peak times "resulted in causing the service staff to go into hiding while frustrated passengers were looking for free tables." (Lack of signage, too, was a problem -- this one has already been resolved.)

Beginning in March, Cunard introduced White Star Service, a program aimed at supporting onboard crew and staff that will raise ship service levels in the process. White Star Service emphasizes communication, relationship building and interaction between onboard staffers (and departments). A note: This month, White Star Service will also be introduced to QE2.

Entertainment-wise, the ship's much-ballyhooed Oxford University at Sea was offering programs that were a bit "dry" for the 65 percent of Americans who have so far comprised the ship's passenger demographics, and Cunard is re-evaluating its offerings.

QM2 is not the only ship in the fleet to warrant close attention. Caluori says that QE2 will get a boost as well. Improvements include "pretty aggressive refurbishments of public rooms and suites" (a decision on whether to undertake major work in standard cabins hasn't yet been made, Caluori says). Cunard won't wait for a dry-dock period to make these improvements; they'll be gradually introduced over the next four to six months.

And Queen Victoria, the line's newest ship -- now under construction and slated for launch during the summer of 2007 -- has benefited from new attention to detail. The ship, designed on the same platform as Holland America's Vista-class vessels, will now see some distinctions of its own. These include a structural redesign that features a Ritz-like tea room and a double-high Queens Room (ballroom)."
LG
Klaus