Thought I would start a new post since there seems to be so much information floating around about these two ships. I have spoken with Fort Lauderdale this morning and the official word is that Radisson will be able to book the Paul Gauguin for French Polynesia in 2006. Again, I preface that with the new owners can change that contract with Radisson at their discretion. As far as the Diamond, yes a bid has been put in but in no way has been finalized. Radisson has a number of options they are exploring and that is why they have not put out a press release. Management is considering their options and once they have more definite plans will release them. The options they are exploring will protect the cruises already booked. There are no changes to the current 2005 Diamond schedule at this point. Stay tuned for more information.

Thanks, Susan, for updating us.

I guess it's wait and see for now.

Susan,

Thank you for the information. I guess what I was told on board the Mariner, was pretty much on the mark, as for now.

Betty

Thank you Susan for keeping us informed!

Anthony

Thanks Susan - when I'm on the Diamond in a few weeks, I'll nose around!

Thanks, Susan. Sounds very logical. It's now a pawn game.

Thanks Susan for the information and also thanks for starting a new post with the information so it's easier to find for people!

Masaki

Susan,

Thanks again for the info. Please keep us up to date.


JPar

Bobbi,

Enjoy this smooth wonderful ship. I loved it!


JPar

all, latest news on PG..

© Copyright 2004 Seatrade Communications Limited. Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Seatrade Communications Limited.


Radisson to manage Gauguin until 2007
29/12/2004
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises signed a deal with the new owners of Paul Gauguin to continue managing the ship in Tahiti and French Polynesia through Jan. 6, 2007.
Radisson has operated the 320-passenger vessel in the South Pacific since it entered service in 1998.

The ship’s new owners, Paul Gauguin Shipping Ltd., have extended the management contract with Radisson for an additional year. Grand Circle Corp. and Vantage Deluxe World Travel of Boston jointly own Paul Gauguin Shipping Ltd. and will sell some Paul Gauguin inventory on select sailings on a limited basis to their database of customers. However, Radisson pledged it will guard the confidentiality of client data gained by the cruise line from travel agent bookings and will not share that information with the ship’s new owners.

Mark Conroy, president and ceo of Radisson Seven Seas, expressed satisfaction with the agreement, which he said will allow the line ‘to carry on with the management of this acclaimed ship to the very same standards that have made her so successful.’ According to Conroy, the deal is a plus for agents, as well, because Paul Gauguin is experiencing record levels of advance bookings as the ship enters its eighth year in Tahiti. ‘The vessel is virtually sold out for the next few months,’ he said.

Paul Gauguin in 2005 will operate 35 seven-night Society Islands itineraries plus an expanded series of 10-, 11-, and 14-night sailings reaching the Marquesas, Tuamotus, Australs, Cook and Pitcairn Islands (for a total solar eclipse cruise).

My credit card shows that RSSC has processed my deposit for the Diamond in Oct, so I am feeling hopeful at this point.

I'm just happy to hear that the PG will still be available in 2006!

What bothers me is the Radisson to which I was first introduced back in early '03 had six operating ships, and itineraries to match. If Radisson gets down to only three ships, itinerary selection may become "slim pickin's".

Also, the shipboard experience has been clearly different on the PG and the Diamond (and the SOF which we never got to cruise) than on Radisson's other three larger ships. In fact, we find shipboard experience on the Navigator, Mariner, and Voyager to be very similar. How many times do you want to take the same cruise?

I certainly hope Radisson can find a way to keep some smaller and different ships in her fleet. To us, it just won't be "Radisson" without them.

Thanks,
Richard :) :)

Actually Richard, I don't get to cruise often enough for a trip on Mariner, Voyager(which I haven't cruised on) or Navigator to become old hat. And while I have some interest in going to new and different ports, most of the time I'm just happy to be enjoying my on-board experience.

Of course, I may change my mind after my Diamond cruise (2 weeks from today!!!!!!)

Richard, I cruise probably more than Bobbi, but for me it is not the "same cruise" if the itinerary is different each cruise, no matter the ship! We do get off the ship, after all. Other than MINT, that is why I am on the ship! If you want that "small ship" feel, I would suggest you look into Silverseas Wind and Cloud, as they are both around the same size or smaller than the Diamond and PG. I loved the Shadow (one of their larger sister ships), but it did have the "feel" of RSSC, since the ships were built at the same shipyard, and service and cabins seemed the same to me. And it has your favorite, all-inclusive!! I am not wedded to RSSC, but with my all-balcony, open dinner seating, mostly all inclusive requirements, I am pretty much limited to RSSC and SS. My former sister in law also loves Sea Dream Yacht Club, really small ships. There is a lot of competition out there among luxury ships, and they are all trying to get our business. Seabourn maybe, since you don't require a balcony, I think?

I just read on CC that Radisson has removed all the Diamond's sailings after October, at the their website. It looks like everyone is safe except Pudgesmom, who is booked in December.
It looks like Ngaire was right on target when she said they will keep the ship through the Med sailings season.

Karen: Does that mean no farewell cruise on the Diamond if you don't do it by next October? I am so happy we got to enjoy that ship twice - Joanna

That's why Ngaire is so well-respected among her clients. She just has that "feel" for things because she limits herself to a few lines at her agency, and keeps tabs mostly on RSSC. Not to say that the end result won't be different, and I hope they will continue through December. Just that Ngaire gave her opinion that seems spot on as usual.

We can't go on farewell cruise since we will already be on Mariner. :(

Interesting that they have gotten rid of all of the good deals such as free air or $1000 off. Current discount off of inflated prices is pretty miniscule.

I am glad that we had the chance to sail on the Diamond; just wish we had the opportunity to sail her again.

I am planning to get off the Diamond in Barcelona, but oh so wanted to do the farewell cruise. Ouch, my credit card will certainly go up in flames if I add another leg to my trip.
This is all so sad.

I just looked. Barcelona is the end. Priscilla, John & I are lucky to already be booked.

Betty, that will be a special cruise, indeed!

Editing to add, we will miss the Diamond by one week in Rome. I would of loved to been able to say goodbye, even as a guest.

I think the 007 group should get on the Diamond in Rome & we can all say goodbye together. You all disembark in Monte Carlo the day we sail from Rome. You all shouldn't have a problem getting down there in time to board.

Well we will always have our great memories - the Diamond was out first cruise and then we went on DDD which was another fantastic experience - I hate good byes - Joanna

Marc, were there different specials on those sailings before, besides the 33% off that is listed now?

I will never forget telling Joanna about the Diamond, I had cruised her maybe once or twice, and hesitated recommending her above the other ships. But they had chosen a back to back for their first cruise! I was so happy when she came home and posted positively about her. Back then, there were few reports about Diamond, and now there are many, just like before the demise of the Song of Flower!

Yes, I'm pretty sure, but they are gone. I don't know when they changed. It may have been awhile as I haven't been paying too much attention to Europe. Ngaire?

Olivia: Our b2b was so wonderful - Italy and Greece and so many great people - we loved the ship and it was the beginning of booking other Radisson cruises with Ngaire's help of course - Joanna

The Diamond cruises have been changing constantly even before this news was out. The way RSSC is doing the specials now is like this.

They take a "magic number - we dont know what that number is" and as soon as that many cabins are sold they pull that special off. It is all about capacity control. The computer does this not a person so it is very instant.

So they all started at 2 for 1. Then they started to change to the What a Fare deal when they hit a certain capacity. Then when they hit the next level of capacity then the What a Fare deal went away.

There are also some "time sensitive" dates as well you must book by certain dates.

Today there were masses of changes, and I mean masses. Time dates for 12/31 deadlines, and I think also capacity dates as people have been booking the Diamond with the news of the pending sale. Julie was turning gray today.

The computer in reservations and the web hit at the same time now they are linked. We have a software that alerts us to even the slightest change on the web. If they change a capital letter to a lower case letter we know about it. You should have seen her screen today with all the changes. So we are really up to date with the changes so we can fix our web. It just takes a while to change all those tables we have so I am not sure she finished today.

So EARLY booking is the way to go - Mr. Marc and his early planning is very very sensible.

As point of comparison:

10 Sep Monte Carlo to Rome on Voyager....cheapest balcony is $3996 minus $1000 (or free air).

17 Sep Monte Carlo to Rome on Diamond.....cheapest balcony is $3816.

Which is better deal? Of course, this is Diamond's Swan Song.

Do not let Julie turn gray - she is too pretty - Joanna

Well it is either her or me and under my blond hair is all the gray. Maybe you have a point.

I was pointing out the same thing to Ray tonight. The Diamond is not a value now - kudos to all of you who booked early.

Looks like my cruise on the Diamond is toast. Windstar's Windstar was my second choice, so I guess will have to experience Radisson another time. Thanks all for the information.

Beth

I just checked in and saw this thread, and now I'm feeling pretty lucky. After news of the potential change came out a couple of weeks ago, I checked the Diamond itineraries and realized that we were booked on the last 2005 European itinerary (B2B October 15-29, Istanbul-Rome-Barcelona). I booked it because we loved the itinerary and people here loved the ship, which we hadn't experienced, plus at that time (last summer) it was 2-for-1. I'm so glad it looks as if we will be able to experience the Diamond, even if it is on its Swan Song.

Now remember this is NOT official yet this is all speculation on our part. RSSC may have just taken off these cruises so that people would not call to try to book because this is what they are negotiating. I think the "writing is on the wall" BUT I have not been told a thing yet so nothing is in stone here.

You're right, Ngaire. I won't plan on anything for certain just yet. But I WILL keep my fingers crossed!

Priscilla,

How fortunate for you to have booked early enough to experience the Diamond.

I'm sure those who looked forward to sailing on the Diamond, either after October 2005 and/or sometime in the future, are quite disappointed.

I have a name for your cruise - "SSS" - Swan Song Sailing!

Doug and I went back and forth trying to decide whether to take a Carribean 2005 vacation in November on the Diamond or the Voyager (they were both 2 for 1). This was because the Voyager is our favorite ship, but the Diamond was considerably cheaper. Ultimately, we opted for the Voyager because we love the Voyager and it left from Fla instead of Puerto Rico. I guess we made the right choice.