Norwegian ‘On Trend’ in Food and Beverage
“We are very much on trend with what our guests’ expectations are and the many ways we can exceed those,” said Wes Cort, vice president, food and beverage operations, Norwegian Cruise Line. “We are very diverse in what we offer from our standard concepts that are at the top of the list in terms of…
Working at Sea: Recruitment Challenges
The expansion of the cruise industry over the next decade brings great career opportunities for many seafarers, but also recruitment challenges for the cruise lines, according to Lena Dyring, assistant director, cruise operations, Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU). She said that guests’ satisfaction ratings depend on interactions with crew. And new ships also require highly skilled…
MSC Building ‘Consistent Connected Experience’
Two kilometers of fiber optic cable on the MSC Meraviglia interact with 16,000 connectivity points, including 3,000 beacons and 700 digital access points in an effort to provide a connected experience to passengers, according to Daniele Buonaiuto, CIO. Guests on MSC’s newest vessels and the recently-refurbished MSC Splendida can indulge in a state-of-the-art digital platform…
New Technology: Carnival LNG Bunkering
With the AIDAnova slated to start regular service in the Canary Islands in December, Carnival Corporation has been working on the LNG bunkering processes and procedures not only for the new AIDA ship, but also for the Costa and Carnival ships that will follow. Carnival has contracted Shell to supply AIDA and Costa with LNG…
People Are Key
“My role is making sure that our brands are wildly successful and that the people within those brands are able to achieve the brand promise,” Stein Kruse, group CEO of the Holland America Group and Carnival UK, told Cruise Industry News. With 51 ships and some 60,000 employees at the six brands he is overseeing,…
Core Strategy Is Key
Having announced itineraries through May 2020, Carnival Cruise Line does its deployment basically on an annual cycle, opening up a year’s worth of inventory at a time, according to Fred Stein, vice president of itinerary planning. “Meanwhile, every day, every week, we are constantly monitoring the performance of all our products, and it becomes an…
Collective Planning Puzzle
This year will be a big year for Royal Caribbean Cruises with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises introducing new ships. The new ships in turn are the primary drivers generating itinerary changes throughout the fleets, according to Chris Allen, vice president, deployment and itinerary planning, Royal Caribbean Cruises. Celebrity will be introducing the new…
Excelling at Diversity
Everything on the Star Legend’s deployment this year is new, with the ship now in the Pacific and seasonally split between Asia and Alaska. There are also new programs for Windstar Cruises in Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and Canada/New England in a monster year of new itineraries for the Seattle-based six-ship brand. Planning for 11-,…
D’Souza’s Eclectic F&B Journey
At first, Linken D’Souza may seem like an odd hire to run food and beverage for Royal Caribbean International’s 25 ships and estimated 250 dining venues. He’d never worked in the cruise industry, never been on a cruise, and by his own admission had maybe never even seen a cruise ship before taking the job….
Ultra Lux Experience
The addition of the 604-guest Seabourn Ovation will round out the line’s fleet at five ships as the Seabourn brand marks its 30th anniversary this year. “Quite frankly that is a perfect way to celebrate our leadership in the ultra-luxury category,” said Rick Meadows, president, Seabourn. The additional ship will boost capacity and further help…
Major Revitalizations
Among the big out-of-water projects for Royal Caribbean Cruises this year are revitalizations of the Adventure, Mariner and Independence of the Seas, plus the complete refurbishment and transformation of the Adonia into the Azamara Pursuit. The company’s large-scale drydocking projects are overseen by the newbuild and innovation department, headed by up Kevin Douglas, vice president,…
Prototyping to Streamline Refits
“We are working to support the brands on prototypes and new innovations, as well as strategic corporate projects,” said Peter Fetten, senior vice president corporate ship refit for Carnival Corporation. New refurbishment jobs are spearheaded by Fetten and his team, known as “prototyping.” These items are generally completed on one ship as a prototype project….
Sound Supply Chain Strategy
Posting more passenger cruise days, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has held the line on its food spend. Much of the credit goes to Carl Robie as senior vice president of supply chain. Robie said in an exclusive interview with Cruise Industry News that he and his team of 70 supply chain professionals have been…
Fleet Operations Centers
“Imagine if you have 10 to 15 ships in the Caribbean and a hurricane is coming, but you do not know what the storm track will be, and you need to avoid having the ships managing themselves in an uncoordinated fashion,” said Andy Paul, senior director, special projects, corporate maritime quality assurance for Carnival Corporation….
Seaside Strikes New Note
“The MSC Seaside has lots and lots of new features that will entertain our guests. A seven-day cruise may not be enough,” said Roberto Fusaro, president of MSC Cruises USA. The company has spent money, time and a lot of effort to lay the foundation in North America ahead of the Seaside, which arrived in…