13 January 2016
All Leisure Holidays (ALH), the British cruise ship operator, has just signed a three-year agreement with Portsmouth International Port that will extend a relationship that started in 2010 to at least 2018.
The group owns three well-known companies; Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and Hebridean Island Cruises. During the last five years ships from each company have visited Portsmouth International Port, a decision based on excellent transport connections, location and investment in new facilities.
The new three-year agreement with ALH starts in January 2016 and is a vote of confidence in the high levels of service offered at Portsmouth International Port. The cruise team at Portsmouth is renowned for offering a bespoke and flexible service to a wide range of visiting cruise vessels, with an ever-growing reputation for handling smaller luxury ships.
For the last five years Swan Hellenic’s Minerva has been based at Portsmouth International Port for cruises in Northern Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia. That relationship will continue for at least another three years, with Minerva starting Portsmouth International Port’s 2016 cruise season on April 15th.
The first cruise of next year from the famous Waterfront City will see passengers taken on a two-week holiday to explore three fascinating French rivers – the Loire, the Seine and the Garonne. Throughout the summer Minerva offers a varied and distinctive series of nine cruises from Portsmouth International Port, including visits to the glorious gardens of Europe, destinations in the Baltic, an Icelandic quest, the Norwegian fjords, the Scottish Highlands and Islands, and a chance to discover the treasures of Portugal and Spain.
With a maximum of 350 passengers, Minerva offers a refined experience for her guests, the cruise ship invoking a feeling of a stylish country house hotel.
Rupert Taylor, Harbour Master at Portsmouth International Port, is responsible for the busy cruise schedule. Reflecting on the new agreement, Rupert said “I’m delighted that ALH has extended its relationship with Portsmouth International Port for another three years. The first agreement started in 2011, the same year we opened our modern cruise terminal and a key reason they chose to base ships with us for the summer season. Since then we have helped ALH send thousands of passengers off on holidays of a lifetime from Portsmouth International Port and look forward to watching that number grow over the coming years.”
Stuart Horne, All Leisure Holidays’ Director of Fleet Operations, said, “Our cruise brands have always had fantastic service from Portsmouth International Port and we are looking forward to continuing this relationship for the foreseeable future. Portsmouth is a fantastic base from which we will be offering 11 cruise departures with Voyager and Minerva during 2016 to some incredible destinations such as Iceland, the White Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia.”
For further information please contact Emma Gaisford/Julie Blackwell on +44 (0)1256 631696 or email julie.blackwell@purple-agency.com