Editorial: Covering the Entire Global Industry
There is so much going on in the cruise industry and at Cruise Industry News we are doing our best in each issue to give our readers an overview of the news, the trends and the future, while also providing some exclusive insight and looks behind the scenes. Innovation: The cruise industry never seems to…
Safety: Inspecting Ships
The key to a cruise ship inspection is using a holistic approach, according to the United States Coast Guard during a recent training course for Coast Guard personnel and industry representatives from the class societies and cruise lines. The course spanned an entire week, and included ship visits, giving Cruise Industry News an exclusive behind-the-scenes…
IT Czar
All information technology (IT) at Royal Caribbean Cruises and its brands falls under Bill Martin, CIO, who has the daunting task of overseeing shipboard IT infrastructure along with shoreside systems, websites, agent systems and more. The latest ships, including the Oasis and Solstice classes, and the two Project Sunshine newbuilds, run on a fiber optic…
Europe: A Sea of Challenges
Some countries in Europe continue to be strong despite the economic and political challenges that much of Europe is facing. Other countries, especially in Southern Europe, may be on the verge of economic collapse, as a sea of challenges keeps coming. Meanwhile, the cruise passenger capacity for 2012 for ships sailing in Europe is approximately…
Cruise Experience: ‘Fun Is Who We Are’
“Is it fun? Will it appeal to our guests?” asked Lania Rittenhouse, vice president of product development at Carnival Cruise Lines. That is the first criteria when considering new food venues, bars or entertainment. “The second criteria,” she said, “is whether it represents good value to our customers. They tend to be value conscious and…
Food & Beverage: ‘Healthy and Active’
A raw-food program has turned out to be very popular aboard the two SeaDream vessels, according to Thomas Carlson, vice president of hotel operations for SeaDream Yacht Club. Developed with Hippocrates Health Studio of West Palm Beach, the raw food program refers to the style of preparation, according to Carlson, and has no fish, meat,…