For the fourth consecutive year, Voyages of Discovery has been awarded “Best Cruise Value” for 2009 by The World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society. Discovery was also included in their “Top Ten for 2009” cruise lines category.
In addition to great savings, all Voyages of Discovery itineraries feature an extensive enrichment program. Top historians, diplomats, scientists and naturalists provide background and insight into the history, culture, flora and fauna of the destinations visited.
During the past two years over $3.5 million has been spent refurbishing the public areas of mv Discovery, including the Seven Continents restaurant and some of the cabins with the objective of further improving the onboard facilities. An additional $3.5 million budget has been agreed for the next 12 months and the program includes refurbishment and improvements to the Yacht Club, as well as a major roll out of cabin refurbishment. Those guests who have seen Discovery recently have noted the improvements and appreciate the style and ambience of the new color schemes. In an onboard survey, 98% of the guests rated their cruise experience as Good or Excellent.
Voyages of Discovery also has launched new video itineraries for all of its summer 2010 cruises. These can be viewed online when selecting a specific Summer 2010 itinerary at www.voyagesofdiscovery.com. The online videos have been created to bring Discovery’s unique brand of destination-led, small ship cruising to life and to enhance the interactivity of its marketing.
Voyages of Discovery became the first cruise company to launch online video itineraries for individual cruises earlier in the year for its winter 2009 cruise program. Following their huge success, the new summer videos have been launched and are even more spectacular.
Each “video brochure” gives potential guests a taste of what they can expect from their cruise – a chance to see the world in its true colors and in the hands of experts. The videos capture the magic of each of the destinations from the summer program as well as the relaxed comfort and personal service guests can expect on board mv Discovery. “We are always looking for effective ways to communicate our unique style of discovery cruising,” says Mark Flager, Vice President of sales, marketing and passenger services at Voyages of Discovery. “Online video adds a new dimension to the mix and is a great medium to demonstrate what makes a Voyages of Discovery cruise so unique in the marketplace.”
With many cruise companies taking a “bigger is better” approach to cruising, these videos go some way to bringing the virtues of small ship cruising to life. Because no more than 650 like-minded guests travel on board Discovery, there aren’t the inevitable crowds that come with larger ships and on Discovery, each cruise is carefully planned to maximize time spent ashore.
Winter 2009/10 and Summer 2010 cruise itineraries, pricing, videos and brochures are available online at www.voyagesofdiscovery.com.
