Editorial #104: Captains of Ships and Industry
Captain Claus Andersen and his crew aboard the Anthem of the Seas received praise from the U.S. Coast Guard for their “capable and professional” handling of the storm that the ship ran into last month. Meanwhile, and for unrelated reasons, cruise managements have received less “praise” by Wall Street as cruise stocks have nosedived. It…
Latest Chinese Cruise Line: Diamond Cruise
Another new Chinese cruise line is set to start up this year: Diamond Cruise, sailing the Glory of the Seas. With the exit of HNA at the end of 2015, Diamond joins Bohai as the only other true domestic Chinese cruise line. Legally, Diamond was established in the Bahamas last summer, with headquarters in Shanghai,…
Royal Caribbean/Celebrity: New Ports and Destinations
“We try to optimize the fleet for each brand – to deliver on the brand promise and on the sourcing mix of passengers,” said Chris Allen, vice president of deployment and itinerary planning at Royal Caribbean Cruises, where he and Marc Miller, director of deployment and itinerary planning, are responsible for the Royal Caribbean International…
Holland America: Analyzing Deployment Options
While the biggest news at Holland America Line is the new Koningsdam, which will cover the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Caribbean this year, the line is building back up on the West Coast next winter, adding more sailings to the Mexican Riviera as well as Hawaii and through the Panama Canal. “The (market) is…
From Bar to Shore with Norwegian
Norwegian Cruise Line is building on successful brand partnerships in the beverage area to drive guest satisfaction and onboard revenue, all based on deployment. “Guests have told us, and research has told us, that they want to see things that are unique to the region and obviously that will entice them to cruise more,” said…
Seabourn: Growth Trek
The 40,350-ton Seabourn Encore will be delivered later this year, marking a natural evolution of the brand, said John Delaney, senior vice president of marketing and sales. Building on the three-ship Odyssey class, the Encore will trend bigger at 600 passengers, but still offer a Seabourn vibe. A sister ship, the Ovation, will follow from…
Royal Caribbean Reducing Air and Water Emissions
Reduced air and water emissions are essential parts of Royal Caribbean Cruises’ environmental stewardship strategy, according to its recent sustainability report. The company has been investing in emission purification systems (scrubbers), advanced wastewater, ballast water and bilge water treatment systems, in addition to energy saving technologies. Today, 82 percent of its berths are covered by…
Editorial #103: Changing Times
This will be a year of more changes. The most attention-getting development will undoubtedly be the industry’s build-up in China, which in turn is causing some capacity adjustments in existing markets. However, with new 11 ships being introduced in 2016, all the major markets will see growth, as about 24 million passengers are expected to…
Executive Profile: Building A New Culture
“Our overriding ambition is to create an entirely safe and secure marine platform, on which we, together with hotel operations, can deliver an outstanding guest experience,” said Jens Lassen, executive vice president of Carnival Maritime in Hamburg. “To accomplish that we have three goals,” he explained: “To establish airline safety standards; to have the highest…
Carnival Corporation: Marching East
With four brands – Costa, Princess, Carnival and AIDA – set for the Chinese market in 2017, and a domestic brand to be named later, Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, stressed that the companies will remain distinct brands in China. Meanwhile, Carnival is coming off an exciting 2015 that saw a nine-ship…
Celebrity: Redefining Boutique Hotels
Formal nights are a thing of the past on Celebrity Cruises, with the company embracing what it calls “evening chic,” a perfect description of the image it wants as 2016 opens for the brand. “Our big news is how we are going to talk about the brand moving forward,” said CEO and President Lisa Lutoff-Perlo….
Princess: Come Back New
“We are delivering on our Come Back New promise,” Gordon Ho, senior vice president of marketing at Princess Cruises, told Cruise Industry News. “We make sure we provide a meaningful, transformative and rejuvenating vacation experience that help our guests come back new. “We do this through our itineraries, the food and the onboard experience,” he…
New Orleans “Planning for Growth”
New Orleans has high expectations for this year with Carnival Cruise Line replacing the Elation with the larger Triumph in April, bumping up the passenger capacity by more than 30 percent in addition to the Carnival Dream, according to Don Allee, director of cruise and tourism for the Port of New Orleans. He spoke to…
Mexican Riviera Building Back Up
The largest operator on the Mexican Riviera, Carnival Cruise Line, said it will continue to offer a robust year-round program in 2016. The Carnival Miracle sails year-round on three different week-long itineraries from Long Beach, calling at Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan; Cabo San Lucas and a two-day overnight stay in Puerto Vallarta;…
LNG: Critical Aspects
LNG-fueled cruise ships are not a challenge technically, but may be deployment-wise, according to Helge Hermundsgard, business development manager for DNV GL. He said that as long as a bunkering infrastructure is not in place, LNG-fueled cruise ships are limited to itineraries where bunkering will be available. Not only is the bunkering availability today missing…