Festival Cruises splits fleet
European Vision
Festival Cruises has decided to promote its vessels under two separate brandnames.
More specifically, this year it intends to publicise its vessels Bolero, Azur and Flamengo as part of its Discovery fleet while its Mistral vessel, that was presented to the Greek market recently, and the European Vision ship will form its Premium group.
Next year, the Azur will travel to Egypt and Israel, the Flamengo will be in northern Europe and the Bolero in the western Mediterranean.
Its newest ship, the European Vision, will set sail in July next year, beginning at Genoa, and will visit Greece and Turkey. It can carry 1,500 passengers and has 132 suites each with their own balcony. The Mistral can carry 1,200 passengers and has 80 suites while it is also equipped with its own English-style pub, a conference centre for 200, a golf practice range and a rock-climbing wall. The Mistral was delivered in July last year by France's Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards and combines comfort with European culture.
During its visit to Piraeus, Festival's director in Greece, Michalis Benakis, announced that new offices will be established in order to meet a rising demand for cruises by the Greek market. The Mistral will be visiting the Greek islands until October 28 and docking at Piraeus every Thursday from where it will depart for Venice.

Festival Cruises on the Net

Festival Cruises now offers its clients and potential passengers information at the click of a button, literally following its entry to the Internet. By clicking onto www.festivalcruises.com, websurfers can learn about the company, its history, administration, its future plans in addition to detailed information on the company's fleet. Photographs of vessels are posted on the site as is technical information, services and, of course, cruise schedules. The firm's latest acquisition, the newly-built Mistral, and European Vision - which is currently being built in France and is due for delivery in 2001. Designed by FDS (First Data Systems), the easy-to-navigate site also includes information on its travel agent partners. FDS, established in 1997, is one of the fastest-growing companies operating in the Internet field and offers personalised and corporate services.