It may have been Easter but, that didn’t stop our good friends in APT Travelmarvel christening not one, but two, river ships in Europe this past week.
Kicking off the first of the big events was the Porto-based Travelmarvel ship MS Estrela. Christened under a rare sighting of the sun by industry stalwart Lucy Huxley, Editor in Chief, Travel Weekly.
ITTN and a 13 strong group from the Irish trade along with our UK counterparts were thrilled to be in attendance and congratulate her led by APT Travel Marvel Country Manager Michelle Ryan, Head of Sales for the UK and Ireland Brad Bennetts, UK and Europe Managing Director, Paul Melinis and APT Group CEO, David Cox.
On the day and throughout the celebration cruise, Lucy embodied what one would expect of a Godmother – elegant, eloquent and of course a deep appreciation, understanding and pride in the overall travel industry.
The MS Estrela –
On first view, she stands out, her colour is different to that of a typical river cruise, she’s a grey green to the naked eye, but when the sun hits her the paint sparkles, adding glamour to the overall exterior. The use of a special paint ensures that APT Travel Marvel’s newest ship ‘The Estrela’ stands out in the crowd of river ships on the increasingly popular river Douro in Portugal.
The Estrela is unique for many reasons, my personal favourite being that she’s got the longest swimming pool of any ship on the Douro river and that the top deck is simply made for lounging and enjoying long summer evenings sailing this unique sun-drenched waterway. A rooftop bar, luxurious sunbeds that boast some of the thickest sun loungers I’ve ever come across on a river ship, and a chill out zone that rivals beach clubs in Ibiza and you are starting to get the picture.
Internally she boasts clean lines and modern elegance, with a gentle nod toward her Portugeuse home, dotted throughout. Her restaurant is bright and fun, and lends to lively dinners with your travelling partner or holiday friends you are likely to make on your holiday.
What’s really unique about this ship is that she rotates between the 5star APT cruise brand and the 4star Premium cruise brand Travel Marvel – so your clients can choose either the 5 star ship which is fully inclusive with food, drinks, tours, service all in, or they can also opt to choose Travel Marvel where you get the 5 star hardware of the ship, but on a full board menu and service basis with the option to pick and choose what you drink and what tours they do or don’t do on their cruise. Its, in a way, too good to be true. Its allows us travel professionals to offer more choice to our clients. APT Group CEO, David Cox explained to our group that the concept derived from a desire among their guests to either sit back and relax and be 100% taken care of, or a newer, more intrepid grouping who like to pick and choose and manage what they do on their vacation and so in typical APT style ‘our guests asked, we listened, we delivered, that’s the APT difference’.
The lead in price on MS Estrela is €2495 on dates in July and August including flights from Dublin.
On Easter Monday, the second Christening took place, and while this was a smaller, more intimate affair, it was also done in style – as one would expect from this brand. The Christening took place in Rotterdam, where co-owner of the APT Group, Lou Tandy, a family, and industry expert, and daughter of the founder of the APT business was truely the only person who could possibly be named Godmother of this new generation of luxury APT ships. Elegant and sophisticated she Christened the ship under Dutch sunshine to wishes of good fortune. To me its very clear that the new generation of co-owners in Rob McGeary and Lou Tandy, heralds a new, fresh landscape for this brand.
APT Solara –
Luxury at its best, this is design on a new level, bright, contemporary designed by Melbourne based design firm Hecker Guthrie, I can’t even describe how I believe this ship elevates on many, many levels.
Its the innovation in dining that gets me, as a self proclaimed River Cruise expert, this is where I am most drawn. She’s 5 star, so all inclusive – but all inclusive on a river ship with 6 restaurants – where do I sign up? APT Solara offers more options than any other European river ship and its the difference in each offering that intrigues. Personally, its the Gruner Bar & Dining restaurant that offers industry first riverscape views, that I am chomping (pardon the pun) to dine in, it’s without a doubt the highlight on this ship and is the worlds first wine and cocktail bar, it holds 28 people raises up to the sundeck via a hydraulic lift to provide uninterrupted 360 degree views. It is raising the level of sophistication in river ship experience to the next level and APT have said watch this space! This is a unique experience.
The river staterooms and public areas are airy, spacious and ooze cool. Check out the statement arcitectural piece in reception – its takes the obligatory group photo location to a new level. The deck area has a stunning center stage seating area which will have guests hot footing it up on deck to secure their spot post dinner. A social and beautiful area for relaxing and taking in the towns, cities and castles along the Rhine. As per her name this ship is a real star.
Sail safe, Ladies.
