'The Cruise' to return to our screens very soon

2016-12-28

Fans of the ITV series will be pleased to hear that the second series of ‘The Cruise’ is set to air from Thursday 12th January at 8.30pm.

This time around the new series will give insight into the day-to-day roles of 1,400 crew members and what it’s like for passengers onboard the 3,560 guest, Royal Princess, which is the sister ship of series one star, Regal Princess.

The new series will catch up with some familiar faces from series one and show how the team works together to keep the operations of the ship running smoothly, which includes navigating the 141,000-tonne, 19-deck ship, preparing over 20,000 meals a day and servicing 1,800 cabins. Hugh Bonneville returns to provide the voiceover for the new ship, which was filmed in the Mediterranean over the summer.

Princess Cruises' vice president UK and Europe, Tony Roberts, said: "Following on from the success of series one, which averaged 3.5 million viewers and has received a National Television Award nomination, we are excited to see what series two has in store for Royal Princess' crew and guests.”

Join millions of viewers in live discussion with #thecruise and tweet us your thoughts @iglucruise.

Royal Princess is Princess Cruises' newest ship, and was launched by Kate Middleton, the Dutchess of Cambridge in June 2013. More on Royal Princess.

New Cocktails for Cunard inspired by Commodores

2016-07-19

Cunard continue to provide an impeccable level of traditional luxury cruising with the announcement of new cocktails for their signature venue, the Commodore Club.

The Commodore Club, available to all guests sailing with Cunard, is present fleet wide and provides stunning panoramic views with an extensive selection of Martini cocktails, Whisky’s and more. Guests can also partake in Whisky tasting classes in the popular bar venue.

The new cocktail menu pays homage to the Knighted Cunard Commodores, with each recipe being inspired by their historic stories and individual personalities. The highly respected and talented commodores have safely steered Cunard ships for almost two centuries, recognition of which can be seen throughout Cunard history and today with the exciting new menu onboard.

Featured in the new menu is an Advocaat cocktail ‘Punch Romain a la Carpathia’ inspired by Commodore Sir Arthur Rostron who led the safe rescue of all Titanic survivors in 1912. Guests can regale with stories of the respected Commodores and see the men come to life with beautiful illustrations adorning the menus.

Those sailing on the newly remastered Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 can choose from the new menu featuring seven different cocktails, plus enjoy an enhanced Commodore Club interior after a recent $132 million refurbishment.

Iglu Cruise make finalists at the Agent Achievement Awards

2016-05-11

This year sees Travel Weekly's 21st Agent Achievement Awards. These awards are to honour the best travel agents in the UK, and will be held at the prestigious Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel on 13th July.

We are delighted to announce Iglu Cruise has made the shortlist in the following categories this year:

Cruise Agency - Large Agency

Call Centre Agency

Online Agency

Best Use of Social Media Award

To be shortlisted in four categories is a real testament to the hard work and commitment of the entire team at Iglu Cruise. This combined with a real passion for the cruise industry and in delivering great customer service, is what we believe to be the key factors in our success so far.

Travel Weekly always put on an amazing evening of glitz, glamour, laughter and entertainment. The celebrity host is kept top secret and in the weeks leading up to the awards, industry people speculate as to who they think it will be.

Last year was Britain's Got Talent's Stephen Mulhern who had a great rapport with his co host and Travel Weekly Editor in Chief, Lucy Huxley.

The entertainment is also a surprise and as the headline sponsors, Norwegian Cruise Line gave a taste of their onboard experience with the Bootleg Beatles and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Following that was Irish comedy rap band, Abandoman. The audience was in hysterics with their improptu rap about random objects the ladies had taken out of their handbags.

Iglu Cruise celebrate 10 years

2016-02-26

We are proud to announce that 2016 welcomes the celebration of Iglu Cruise’s 10th Birthday!

It’s been an eventful 10 years for Iglu Cruise. Starting with a small crew of just 6 in 2006, Iglu Cruise now employs over 100 staff all over the UK and the world. Our head office still sits in the same building in Wimbledon and we are still proudly independently owned and run. And it’s not just our staff numbers that have grown. Iglu Cruise has proudly sent over half a million passengers cruising all over the world. That’s enough passengers to fill the Queen Mary2 over 190 times!

From effortless sailings out of Southampton to exclusive tours of the Terracotta Warriors and escorted trips to the Formula one Grand Prix, we’ve continually offered new cruise experiences for our customers to enjoy - and we’ve been there with you. Our experienced team have been with us for years and know every ship and destination we offer. Over ten multi-award winning years we’ve inspected well over 100 different cruise ships and discovered the best hotels and ports around the world so we can share your love for cruising and for travel.

2015 was an eventful year for us in itself, read all about it in our yearly round-up. We have also remained active in industry events and our proud to showcase our collection of cruise awards.

This year we invite you to celebrate with us as we announce exclusive offers, special events and expert insights into the world of cruising from the last ten years. There’ll be giveaways, competitions, new cruises and offers, special guests and of course a cake!

We would like to thank you, our customers, for helping make the last 10 years possible. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with you and continuing to serve for many years to come.

We win Best Online Agent for the 4th year in a row!

2015-12-11

It’s been an exciting week here at Iglu HQ, not only have we had the pleasure of celebrating the long-term service of our loyal and valued team members (some 10 year and even 15 year anniversaries at Iglu), partied our socks off with Carnival, Princess and P&O at our wild west themed Christmas party. But have now also been crowned Best Online Travel Agent by CLIA for the 4th year in a row!

This is a very important award for us as it encompasses every aspect of Iglu and shows the dedication and hard work from every department required to be best online agent. We have defended our title for 4 years now and will continue to work hard in the hope of bringing this award home every year.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our loyal customers and supporters who have been on this exciting journey with us and continue to inspire us each and every day.

Our winning week has also seen us collect Top Air Plus Agency at the Travel2 awards in Scotland. Big smiles all round and the start of a fantastic culmination to another successful year.

View our full list of awards

We're shortlisted at the 2015 Cruise Excellence Awards

2015-11-04

We are very pleased to share the news that we have been shortlisted at this year’s CLIA Cruise Excellence Awards.

CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) UK and Ireland today released the list of agents shortlisted for this year’s awards. Andy Harmer, CLIA UK & Ireland Director said “The short-listing was incredibly hard due to the achievements of so many in the last year”

Iglu Cruise are shortlisted along with Barrhead Travel, Cruise Nation and Cruise.co for Best Online Travel Agency of the year. Iglu Cruise have previously won this title in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The Cruise Excellence Awards recognise leadership, innovation and expertise in the cruise industry and we are very proud to be taking part once again.

Other award categories which will be presented on the night include High Street Travel Agency of the Year, Innovation Award in Cruise, Travel Agent Business of the Year and a Rising Star Award.

The awards will take place on 10th December 2015 onboard Cruise & Maritime Voyages newest ship, Magellan.

See our award winning history

Iglu Receives New Investment From LDC

2015-06-12

Iglu, the UK’s leading online travel agent specialising in cruise and ski holidays, is gearing up for growth after securing investment from mid-market private equity firm LDC.

The investment from LDC enables the existing Iglu management team, led by founder Richard Downs, to retain a majority shareholding, with LDC taking a significant minority shareholding. Successful travel industry entrepreneur Greg Wills has also agreed to join the board as a Non-Executive Director.

The deal provides a full exit for Growth Capital Partners, which backed the business in 2012.

The business trades through three websites - Igluski.com, Iglucruise.com and planetcruise.co.uk - and employs 240 staff in its head office and call centre in Wimbledon and second site in Portsmouth. In the past three years the business has doubled sales from £87m to £174m through a combination of organic growth, entry into new markets and acquisition.

The UK cruise market is predicted to show strong growth in the foreseeable future thanks to increased capacity from several major new cruise ships. Coupled with the backdrop of improving macroeconomic conditions and growing customer demographic this should help Iglu in achieving their growth plans.

The investment from LDC will also allow Iglu to take its model into new geographies and product areas including tailor-made holidays, luxury cruises and long haul holidays.

Richard Downs, Chief Executive Officer of Iglu, said: “We had a number of potential investors who all recognised our online expertise and great customer service, but we chose LDC because of their long-term investment approach and undoubted experience in the leisure sector. This will prove invaluable for our future development.

“The LDC team particularly liked the fact that there is hardly a ski resort or cruise ship our sales consultants haven't experienced first-hand. Our customers also recognise this, value the advice and, most important of all, keep coming back.”

The deal team at LDC was Paul Landsman, David Andrews and Alex Wilby. Paul Landsman, Investment Director of LDC, said: “Richard and the team at Iglu have built an enviable position in the ski holidays market and proven they can take their digital-first model into new vertical markets with a highly successful cruise business.

“Iglu’s model, infrastructure, digital marketing expertise and team have helped them consistently outperform the market and provides the perfect platform for further growth with the right long-term partner.

He added: “We are very excited to be working with Richard and his team to help fulfil its ambition in becoming a global online travel agent with a leading position in multiple specialist holiday markets.”

Following the transaction, Martyn Williams will remain Non-Executive Chairman of Iglu, whilst Paul Landsman and LDC CEO, Chris Hurley, will join the board.

Incoming Non-Executive Director, Wills, originally founded Rentalcars.com (previously Traveljigsaw.com), which has grown to become the world’s largest online car rental travel agent with $1bn of sales in 42 languages across 180 countries.

Mr Wills said: “Iglu has a very strong management team and has an exciting growth strategy. This is a wonderful opportunity to work with one of the premier brands in their market places. I am looking forward to working with Richard and his team.”

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking and RBS provided debt funding for the transaction.

LDC was advised by:

Livingstone CF advisory (James Lever, Gavin Orde, Jamie Hutton);
Livingstone Debt advisory (Bill Troup, Neil Smith);
Alvarez and Marsal Financial and IT DD (Adrian Balcombe, Colin Gater, Ian Fleming, Ben Mitton, Malvinder Singh, Frank Rejwan);
CMS Cameron McKenna - Equity (James Grimwood, Matthew Stephen); and CMS Cameron McKenna - Debt (Peter Crichton and Tom Hughes)

Deloitte and Osborne Clarke advised management and Growth Capital partners.

Issued on behalf of LDC by Citypress.

Press information:

Martin Currie
Citypress (on behalf of LDC)
T. 07976 291532
E: martin.currie@citypress.co.uk

Peter Miller (on behalf of Iglu)
T: 07808 940173
E: pmiller@peak-time.com

Iglu Win Six Awards At The UK Cruise Awards

2013-11-13

A spectacular ceremony was held onboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 on Monday to celebrate the best in the cruise industry and we won six impressive awards.

Cruise partners were invited to the event hosted by Cunard Cruise Line, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises in order for them to recognise the success of their partners in the last year.

From the distinguished city of Hamburg, everyone boarded the ship for a night of celebrations before sailing back to the port of Southampton the next day.

After an introduction from executives of the three brands, over 30 awards were presented and between Iglu Cruise and our partner company Planet Cruise, we won six.

From P&O Cruises we won the Best Newcomer Conversion award and Planet Cruise won Tour Operator of the Year.

Cunard Cruise Line presented us with Greatest Growth and Travel Agent Call Centre of the Year as well as awarding Planet Cruise with Best Newcomer Conversion.

Princess Cruises presented us with the Greatest Growth award.

Accompanied by a delicious meal and exciting entertainment, the awards were a huge success and enjoyment was had by all who attended.

Congratulations to all of the winners.

Iglu Cruise Win Best Cruise Agent 2013

2013-09-13

Last night saw a celebration of the best in the cruise industry at an exciting awards ceremony hosted by Cruise International at London’s British Film Institute.

Held at the prestigious London location, it saw the biggest names in the industry come together for an afternoon of cruise spectaculars! TV presenter Jenni Falconer presented the awards along with Liz Jarvis, Editor of Cruise International.

Iglu Cruise won the award for Best Cruise Agent, an important award for us as it is chosen by our customers. Sarah Strang, Head Of Marketing collected our trophy which was presented by Jenni Falconer and Andy McGowan from Sea Dream Yacht Club.

The award for best cruise line went to Royal Caribbean International who were also Highly Commended for Best Affordable Cruise Line, Best for Activities, Best for Families and Best Cruise Product.

The Best River Cruise Line was awarded to Viking River Cruises and the Best Luxury Cruise Line was given to Cunard.

The new Royal Princess from Princess Cruises’ which was launched in May of this year and named by The Duchess of Cambridge won the award for Best New Ship.

Carnival Cruise Lines picked up the award for Best for Activities, Disney Cruise Line won Best for Families and Best for Entertainment and Fred Olsen Lines was awarded Best Affordable Cruise Line.

A Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Larry Pimental, President and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises for his amazing contribution to the cruise industry. Pimental is responsible for the strategic direction of Azamara Club Cruises and made a large contribution to the AZAmazing Evenings programme.

Liz Jarvis, Editor of Cruise International said, “2013 has been a brilliant year for the cruise industry, with fabulous new ship launches and exciting new itineraries. The Cruise International Awards celebrate the best of the cruise industry, and because they’re voted for by the holidaymakers themselves, they’re an excellent benchmark of consumer opinion.”

Congratulations to all of the winners and here’s to cruising!

By Sally Grimes

Three Of The Largest Cruise Lines Go Smoke-Free

2013-09-11

P&O, Cunard and Royal Caribbean have announced significant changes to their onboard smoking policy which will affect passengers who wish to smoke onboard.

P&O and Cunard has announced that passengers will no longer be able to smoke on stateroom balconies and smoking will only be permitted in specific areas. In a joint statement they said “Following feedback from guests and the results of recent customer research, smoking will no longer be permitted on stateroom balconies. Smoking is therefore not permitted in staterooms, balconies or public areas but will continue to be permitted in designated areas of the open deck.”

Both lines have said they will however allow electronic cigarettes to be used in staterooms, on balconies and in other designated areas onboard.

P&O and Cunard have said that these changes will take effect on all cruises departing after the 2014 world cruises.

Soon after this news broke, industry giant Royal Caribbean revealed they too will be changing their onboard smoking policy from January 2014.

Smoking is already banned in staterooms onboard all Royal Caribbean ships but smoking has been allowed on stateroom balconies and in designated areas. However, from 2014 smoking will no longer be allowed on balconies.

As well as balconies the line has also extended the interior smoking ban to all public spaces on its ships, with the exception of the casinos. The casino, Connoisseur Club and some areas of the starboard side of outer decks will be the only designated smoking areas. The new restrictions also apply to electric cigarettes.

Effective on all cruises from January 1st 2014, Royal Caribbean said the new smoking restrictions are the result of "careful consideration and review of guest feedback."

Extensive research, guest reviews and feedback were used to make these decisions by the cruise lines and it is anticipated that these changes are going to bring positive feedback from guests.