American Canadian Caribbean Line, a family-owned company that operates three small ships, is changing its name to Blount Small Ship Adventures. The new name is a tribute to the late Luther Blount, who founded the line in 1966, according to his daughter, Nancy Blount, who is company president. The company's tagline is "Go Where the Big Ships Cannot" -- a phrase coined by Luther Blount in the 1960s.
"In 2011, we'll celebrate our 45th year in business," said Nancy Blount. "And we thought, what better way to pay tribute to Luther, who created this company, than to rename it something more reflective of his spirit of adventure." The new name also reflects the type of cruise the company operates -- small-ship, informal cruises to many places only otherwise accessible by private yacht -- rather than the locales in which it operates.
The company, which was just named the preferred small-ship provider in North America for AARP, also will use the name change to draw attention to new products and innovations. "We're looking at this rebranding and all the changes taking place as taking the company to the next level, yet being true to our roots," Nancy Blount said. "As we build and grow, there's a new focus on product development, new programs such as New York City to Toronto, and enhanced programs in the Caribbean. We're adding enrichment, such as vineyards onboard for wine tastings, culinary experts who will use local ingredients to create local dishes and a photographer on almost every cruise. We also have kayaks and bikes onboard. The product has really seen an overhaul in the last year."
The three vessels -- the 100-passenger Grande Mariner, 100-passenger Grand Caribe and 84-passenger Niagara Prince -- have been retrofitted over the past three years. The Grande Mariner is the latest, with its work scheduled to be completed before its May 23 departure.
New ships also are in the plans, probably within the next three years, Nancy Blount said. Sister company Blount Boats is a shipyard headed by her two sisters. She also said expansion may come in another form: "There may be boats out there for sale and there may be partnerships we enter into to give us entré into other destinations and offer what our passengers are interested in."
The company also is working to foster its relationship with travel agents. Currently, between groups, charters and FITs, agents are responsible for about 85 percent of the company's business, Nancy Blount said. New initiatives include online training webinars, which have drawn an "amazing response and terrific attendance" and a preferred supplier agreement with Vacation.com, she said. The company continues to offer fam rates to agents of 40 to 50 percent off regular fares. The name change will be launched in the new 2011 brochures, which will drop in June, as well as a fully redesigned website.
Luther Blount died in 2006 at age 90. At that age, he was still riding his bike to work every day. Blount, who designed and built boats, is credited with many innovations, such as bow ramps that allow passengers to disembark the vessels right onto the beach and retractable pilot houses for sailing underneath low bridges. For more information, visit www.accl-smallships.com.
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