Carnival Cruise Lines: Having More Fun

“We are focusing on sharpening our message of how good we are,” said Bob Dickinson, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines. “When people cruise with us, they rate us significantly higher than people who have not cruised with us. We have a gap between reality and perception. “We were bottom feeders for many years,…

Class Societies: Being Proactive

Classification societies have two roles: First, to verify that the shipowner gets the product he is paying for and that the yard is building according to rules and regulations, and second, to continuously develop new standards, moving the bar upward, being proactive, according to Karl Morten Wiklund, head of the cruise section at Det Norske…

People-Oriented Captain

Captain Hagen Damaschke said that he sees himself as a people’s captain, as opposed to one that sits in an ivory tower hidden away from passengers. Damaschke pointed out that socializing is one of his favorite things to do onboard the Europa because getting to know his passengers helps him to do a better job….

All Work and No Play? No Way

Out of some 8,000 hotel officers and crewmembers working aboard Holland America Line’s (HAL) ships, more than 1,000 of them have notched 10-plus years of service with the cruise line – an impressive statistic. The figure is but one indicator of HAL’s solid workplace culture, said Wayne Byers, the cruise line’s vice president of human…

North American Ports: Business is Booming

As the cruise industry continues its rapid expansion, ports across North America are finding themselves having to deal – quickly –  with all of the issues that go hand-in-hand with larger ships and the accompanying onslaught of more and more passengers. Rising security costs, for one, are a matter that all ports, regardless of size,…

Captain’s Log

The Captain’s Log, Around the World with Cruise Captain Hans Mateboer is the title of a new book with a collection of Mateboer’s stories of funny happenings onboard. His articles have also been published regularly in the Cruise Industry News Quarterly since 1999. “A cruise ship can be compared to a small floating city, and…