TWELVE months after
debuting Emerald ‘Star
Ships’ on European rivers
to rave reviews, Australian
premium escorted tour
company Evergreen Tours
has released its new season
product with an expanded
range of cruising and
bedded down pricing.
Evergreen Tours’ fleet of
Emerald ships have swollen
to three, a fourth vessel will
be handed over next month and a
fifth launching in early 2016.
GM Angus Crichton says agents
can bypass preview & pre-release
Europe touring programs & bed
down firm cruise and itinerary
dates with Evergreen Tours.
“Agents want to know what’s
new for 2016 & with our brochure
out now, they know all the details –
there is no smoke and mirrors”.
“All our touring is done. Unlike
rivals, we’ve got land which others
may not have until Sep or Oct.
“So agents don’t have to say
‘I’ll put your name down and let
you know’. With Evergreen they
can go straight to the brochure
and select a date for one of our
traditional land tours.”
Crichton admitted the touring
range wasn’t comprehensive,
“but it is what sells out of the
Australian market”.
The new 182-passenger Emerald
Sun and Emerald Dawn are sister
ships to Emerald Sky and Emerald
Star, and will go into service in
coming weeks.
Crichton told Cruise Weekly that
travel agents have embraced the
Emerald ‘five-star ship at four-star
price’ cruise product, which is
owned by Scenic Tours managing
director Glen Moroney.
He said those agents who took a
punt on the brand in its first year
of operation were left thrilled.
“2014 was extremely successful
for the Emerald Star Ships. They
were an unknown quantity with
their innovative design, which to
those agents that have come on
board, has proven worth the risk.
“Having our own vessels was
a gamble by our owner Glen
Moroney,” Crichton said.
“It was a big risk to put money
into the brand for Evergreen
Tours, and it has paid off,” he
said, adding that limited capacity
remains on 2015 departures.
Crichton suggested that agents
unfamiliar with the product
could get up to speed by going
to the company’s landing page
of evergreentours.com.au, which
features a 3600 virtual tour of the
Star Ships, deck by deck.
The new ships are near carbon
copies of their fleet mates, aside
from minor cosmetic changes.
Subtle ‘Star Ship’ refinements
include a new landing on the
main stairs, while in-cabin mini-
bars have been pulled out of the
wardrobe and placed in drawers,
opening up more hanging space.
An extra shelf in the bathroom
& more space between twin beds
have also been incorporated.
Crichton is pictured above (left)
with Evergreen Tours Europe
product mgr Andrew Kelleher.
