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Maiden voyage of “Queen Elizabeth” to include American Samoa as port of call
By Fili Sagapolutele fili@samoanews.com
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Cunnard’s newest cruise liner the “Queen Elizabeth” arrives in Southampton, southern England for the first time Friday Oct. 8, 2010. The cruise ship on her maiden voyage will be stopping in at Pago Pago Port on Feb. 10, 2011, as part of her scheduled itinerary, says David Vaeafe, executive director of the American Samoa Visitor’s Bureau. The stately ship was officially named last week by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England, and will begin her maiden voyage on January 5, 2011 from Southampton, England embarking on a 103- day cruise around the world, calling into 42 ports in 22 countries along the way. [AP Photo/Chris Ison/PA Wire]
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American Samoa is included in the around-the-world maiden voyage of the new cruise ship “Queen Elizabeth” that will be calling into the Port of Pago Pago early next year, says David Vaeafe, executive director of the American Samoa Visitor’s Bureau.

Officially named last week by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England, the Cunnard liner will begin her maiden voyage on January 5, 2011 from Southampton, England embarking on a 103-day cruise around the world, calling into 42 ports in 22 countries along the way, before returning to Southampton on April 19, 2011, according to information provided by the Visitor’s Bureau.

The cruise ship is scheduled to call into Pago Pago on Feb. 10, for a full day visit, after arriving from Apia, Samoa with the next port of call Denarau, Fiji, said Vaeafe.

Vaeafe says that information provided to his office states that the cruise ship can accommodate up to 2,092 passengers on the luxury liner, which is the sister ship to the Queen Mary.

“To have a cruise ship of this caliber on a maiden voyage stopping in American Samoa is great exposure for us,” Vaeafe told Samoa News. “There are only four Pacific islands on the itinerary and it’s very good to have us on their map and radar as a place to visit.”

Cost for the 103-day maiden voyage start from $19,995 for an inside cabin to $69,995 for a Queen Suite. Optional short segment voyages are available throughout the cruise including the 23 day ‘Great South Pacific Odyssey’ which departs Los Angeles, on Jan. 29 and calls into Maui and Honolulu, Hawaii; Apia, Samoa; Pago Pago, American Samoa; Port Denarau, Fiji; Bay of Islands, Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand before ending in Sydney, Australia on February 22, 2011, according to information provided by the Visitor’s Bureau.

Prices for the ‘South Pacific Odyssey’ segment start from $4,695 for an inside cabin to $15,745 for a Queen Suite.

Vaeafe said his office is working on finalizing the cruise ship schedule for next year, which is expected to be completed next month. He said American Samoa currently gets an average of about nine or ten cruise ships a year, but he would like to see the numbers increase to between 15 and 20 per year.

“I believe that this number of cruise ships —15 to 20 — is sufficient for the territory and any more than that may hinder on local resources,” he said, adding that for this year, there were two more cruise ships scheduled to stop in Pago Pago.

He said the Visitor’s Bureau continues to promote the territory as a destination stop for cruise ships and the agency is putting together a brochure specifically for cruise ships.

Among the highlights — besides the beauty of our island territory — is the fact that the Port of Pago Pago can take two large cruise liners at a time, similar to this month when the ‘Sapphire Princess’ and the ‘MS Volendam’ were in port for one day, bringing more than 4,000 passengers and crew members.

One of the successful undertakings for the Visitor’s Bureau this year, was Vaeafe’s attendance in April at the annual cruise ship conference in Florida, where American Samoa was able to secure two vessels to sail into Pago Pago in 2012.

“It’s great that two vessels have included American Samoa in their schedule in 2012 and we will continue to work on getting more vessels,” said Vaeafe, who noted that he will again be attending next year’s conference.

And this time, said Vaeafe, he is hoping that a representative of Port Administration will attend to provide port information to cruise ship owners. He said he would also like to see Betty Cavanaugh, owner of Pago Pago Tradewinds Tours travel as well so that she can provide more detailed information about ground tours.

Cavanaugh’s company has been handling all ground tours for many years, working with cruise ship owners and operators.

Recently, smaller tour entrepreneurs have been developing and offering their own ‘island-round’ tours, when the cruise ships arrive. Samoa News understands these smaller tour operators advertise their services on the dock at arrival time, and have met with limited success.

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