Editorial: Pulling for Excellence
We were having breakfast in a trendy New York eatery, when we asked the waiter if we could have some syrup with our Belgian pancakes. “They are so good, you don’t need it,” he said, and moved on, before we had a chance to react. This is just one of the little things that serve…
Marine Ops: Royal Caribbean: ‘Safe, Reliable and Compliant’
With seemingly more new rules and regulations being introduced and in the pipeline, Senior Vice President of Marine at Royal Caribbean International, William Wright said: “We react to new rules and regulations as we always have. This is nothing new; there have always been new rules coming down the pike, except that maybe the texture…
Hotel Ops: Staying Ahead
A continuous flow of new hardware into the cruise market has led to innovation in the onboard product with the lines looking to differentiate themselves. At the same time, they face a variety of challenges and have to keep both at-sea and shoreside members of the team motivated. Setting Yourself Apart “We want to be…
New Ships: Third Sister Is Still Unique
There are only a few differences between Celebrity’s latest Solstice-class ship, the Eclipse, and her older sisters, the Solstice and the Equinox. The new alternative restaurant Qsine replaces Silk Harvest (see CIN Quarterly Magazine – Summer 2010) with iPad menus and “interactive” food. A grand staircase in the center of the ship is the biggest…
Mexico: Two Coasts; Different Trends
Mexico ranks as one of the top cruise destinations in the world, but while traffic is trending up on the Gulf Riviera, it is dropping significantly on the Pacific Riviera. The reasons are many. The Gulf benefits from the Caribbean traffic with the newest and largest ships, proximity to major U.S. homeports, and from the…
F&B: Wine Partner to Cruise Lines
Slainte Wines, a major supplier of wines to the cruise industry, has been on a growth course and today represents what Christopher O’Connor, president, called a huge portfolio – more than 100 brands. “We are focused on being good to everyone we represent,” he said. “We are not adding brands just to add brands.” Last…