Editorial: Challenges
The cruise-ship building industry is finding itself at a crossroads as new orders have slowed down to a trickle, and most yards have had to adapt by cutting back or pursuing alternative projects. Meanwhile, the orderbook is still at an impressive 17 cruise ships for deliveries through 2016, and cruise line executives have stated that…
Princess Cruises: Delivering Today for the Future
The key to the future is how you deliver (the product) today, according to Alan Buckelew, president and CEO of Princess Cruises. “How well we please the passengers today will be the key to our long-term success,” he said. “Happy customers will not only return, but they also go home and proselytize.” Buckelew described Princess…
Shipbuilding: Maintaining Healthy Yards?
This may be a more dramatic year for shipbuilding than is at first apparent, if no orders are placed before Dec. 31. In that case, this will the first year in recent memory, when not a single new shipbuilding order has been placed. (Viking Ocean announced its original agreement with STX France in December of…
Shipbuilding: Hapag-Lloyd Takes Next Step with Europa 2
The Europa 2 will be the first newbuild in the world to have a catalytic converter, reducing nitric oxide emissions by 95 percent when she launches ultra-luxury service for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises in 2013, said Dr. Henning Brauer, head of project management for the German cruise line. “It will reduce nitric oxides in the exhaust by…
Cruise Ship Interiors Reach New Heights
Interior design onboard ships has caught up, and in some cases, is passing shoreside trends in land-based resorts and restaurants, said leading design firms interviewed by Cruise Industry News. “For a number of years we felt the industry was so far behind, but now it is more daring,” said Fredrik Johansson of Tillberg Design in…
LNG: First Large Gas-Propelled Passenger Vessels
The Viking Grace was launched at STX’s Turku shipyard in August. Sailing for Finland-based Viking Line, the new ship will replace the Isabella on the Turku – Aaland Islands and Stockholm route in January (2013). Built at a cost of 240 million euro, the Viking Grace will be the first large passenger vessel fueled by…