Island Cruises
Encyclopedia
Cruise line
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...
operated by Sunshine Cruises Limited, founded as a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a Norwegian / American company based in Miami, Florida. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & PLC. As of March 2009, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd...
and First Choice Travel PLC
First Choice (travel firm)
First Choice is a brand name used by TUI Travel PLC to sell package holidays in the United Kingdom.The brand is also the name of a chain of travel agents that are part of the same group....
. First Choice were later acquired by TUI Travel PLC. In 2008 Royal Caribbean sold its stake in the company to TUI, and the cruise line's only fully owned ship, the Island Escape, will be transferred to TUI's Thomson Cruises brand.
The company operates in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, aiming its products primarily at markets in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
In Europe and the Caribbean, Island Cruises targets the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
family market, offering casual "totally relaxed" cruising. In South America, the company targets a younger audience.
History
Island Cruises was founded in 2001 by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and First Choice Holidays PLC, and began operations in 2002 with one ship, the Island EscapeIsland Escape
MS Island Escape is a cruise ship owned and operated by Thomson Cruises under their Island Cruises brand. She was built in 1982 by Dubigeon-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France for Scandinavian World Cruises as the cruiseferry MS Scandinavia. At the time of her construction she was the largest...
. Initially, Island Cruises had planned to operate in Europe during the summer season (Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
), and out of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
during the winter. Before the first winter season began however, the decision was made to change the winter schedule to 3- and 4-night cruises out of Brazil. During 2002, the Island Escape was featured in the reality television series Cruise Ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
, commissioned by ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
In 2005 a second ship joined the Island fleet, when the was chartered from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
On 6 October 2008 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. sold their share in Island Cruises to TUI Travel PLC, who had acquired First Choice Holidays PLC. At the same time the Royal Caribbean announced they would be ending the charter of Island Star to Island Cruises in April 2009.
Sailings on the Island Star after April 2009 have been cancelled, and the ship will be re-deployed to Pullmantur Cruises
Pullmantur Cruises
Pullmantur Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Spain. It began operations in the late 1990s as an offshoot of the Madrid-based travel agency Pullmantur. Pullmantur Cruises, through its parent company, was purchased by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. in 2006.- Overview :Pullmantur Cruises is the...
, another subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd as the MV Pacific Dream. Sailings on the Island Escape are unaffected, but are now being sold under TUI's existing Thomson Cruises brand.