Shipbuilding: The Economy Will Drive Future Orders
While prices on raw materials, machinery and furnishings have come down since last fall, affordable access to capital has also become more limited, so shipowners are basically not able to take advantage of what may be lower building prices, according to Enrico Buschi, COO at Fincantieri’s cruise ship business unit. Shipowners are facing two challenges,…
Fall 2009 Ship Review: Passionate Love Boat
Passion steers the newest addition to the Princess love boats – the Ruby Princess. As one-on-one interviews with Ruby officers in this issue will attest to, there is a passion imparted by management for hospitality, cuisine, and service. A true premium product, the Ruby Princess will challenge luxury and upscale ships. It was the itinerary…
F&B: ‘The Plates Speak for Us’
“Remember, food is gold,” said Executive Chef Joel Directo aboard the Ruby Princess, meaning that from his point of view, the food experience may be the most important part of a cruise. Very good teamwork, good spirits and high staff morale are key to the food preparation and restaurant service, which in turn reflects on…
Summer 2009: Editorial
There is an impressive line-up of new ships being introduced, taking the cruise experience to a new level in terms of facilities and activities offered. More like floating resorts, these new ships will appeal to a broader audience and thus help grow markets around the world. It is not only new hardware that drives industry…
F&B: Balanced Innovation
Cruise line food and beverage executives face challenges that landside chefs and restaurant owners do not – such as maintaining a fresh supply of fish and produce on long hauls at sea and frequent re-training of culinary staff due to the transitory nature of crew contracts. However, they still manage to continually push the envelope…
F&B: Re-Inventing Beverages
The ongoing recession notwithstanding, passengers are still drinking – not necessarily more, as one might expect during hard times, but they are not depriving themselves either. Whether they’re leaning more toward beer than pricier options or splurging on their favorite grape, passengers are continuing to imbibe. Cruise line beverage managers are innovating in response, with…
European Operators: Different Business Models
The European cruise industry continues to grow, but not only with European-based cruise lines. The traditional American brands are also focusing more on Europe, and not only for ship deployment, but also for passenger sourcing. The largest brands in Europe in terms of passenger capacity are Costa Crociere, MSC Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, P&O…
Destination Focus Europe: Driving Expansion
The most popular sailing region is the Mediterranean where cruise ships will carry an estimated 3.6 million passengers in 2009, according to Cruise Industry News, including 269,000 during the winter season. The cruise capacity in Northern Europe is estimated to be 1.1 million passengers in 2009. While ships sail from the UK during the winter,…
Oasis of the Seas: Breaking Barriers
The Oasis of the Seas is not just the largest cruise (passenger) ship ever built, but also a totally new design and configuration, said Harri Kulovaara, executive vice president at Royal Caribbean Cruises. While the Oasis is clearly an extrapolation in size as well as in complexity, she is also the result of Royal Caribbean’s…
Editorial: Vibrant Growth Industry
These are clearly challenging times, but the cruise industry has a lot going for it, including huge market potential on a global scale. Hence, to quote Vicky Garcia of Cruise Planners/American Express, “this is not the time to stick your head in a hole but to get out there and shake hands and kiss babies….
Itinerary Planning: ‘Demand and Revenues’
While the cruise lines are following traditional deployment patterns in 2009, there may be more changes in store for 2010, pending how this year works out. More ships are expected back to the Caribbean, as limited and more costly airlift and the recession put long-distance travel out of reach of many Americans. At the same…
Destination Caribbean: Benefits of Cruise Tourism
Like the nations that supply their tourism dollars, the Caribbean islands were bowing under the weight of the global recession at press time, though officials were still expressing a measure of optimism and forging ahead with renovations or other projects, thinking of the long term. In Jamaica, William Tatham, vice president of cruise shipping and…
Company Profile: Celebrity Cruises: A Brand Transformed
“The Celebrity Solstice has been transformational for the brand,” said Dan Hanrahan, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. What sets the brand apart is its service, crew and hardware. Not only is the new Solstice getting rave reviews, the Millennium- and Century-classes of ships are also doing well, according to Hanrahan. He noted that Celebrity…
Orderbook: 38 New Ships for 2009 – 2012
There are 38 cruise ships on order and under construction (including one option) for deliveries in 2009 through 2012. With a building value of more than $20 billion, the ships will bring 85,480 new beds into the market for an estimated additional annual passenger capacity of about 4.2 million passengers by 2012. At press time,…
Filling the Ships
“We are filling the ships, although not quite with the yields we would like. But consumers are recognizing the value, and we are doing OK,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales and trade support for Royal Caribbean International. The ships are going out full, agreed Steve Hattem, vice president of marketing for CruiseOne…