Destination Focus: Caribbean
The Caribbean maintains its position as the most popular cruise destination in the world, capturing more than 40 percent of all the passengers, despite the build up in the Mediterranean, South America and Australia. Caribbean port authorities and tourism officials have taken up the challenge by upgrading their facilities and building new ports to accommodate…
Luxury Market: Defining Luxury
While rating ships on an intricate point system, luxury is ultimately in the eye of the beholder, according to Douglas Ward, author of Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruises and Cruise Ships 2011. Not so fast, according to Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center, who defines true luxury products by per diems, which…
Technical: Evolving Solstice
Newbuildings continue to evolve, even after they are contracted, as evidenced by the fifth Solstice-class ship, the Celebrity Reflection, which is switching to the latest generation of ABB pods and a different manufacturer for its main engines. “The pods are next evolution and more robust,” said Greg Purdy, vice president of marine operations at Celebrity…
F&B: A Better Dining Experience?
The growing popularity of specialty restaurants has generated some criticism that cruise lines may be paying less attention to the regular dining operation in order to encourage passengers to patronize the for-fee establishments. That charge, however, is vehemently denied by cruise lines. “Our main dining rooms are the heart of our dining operation, and we…
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…
Editorial: Cruise-Ship Building at a Crossroads?
Is cruise-ship building at a crossroads? In many ways it is. The economic downturn, which has led to a slowdown in newbuilding orders, has come at the same time that new rules and regulations are being phased in, allowing more innovative designs, and also making for safer and greener ships. In addition, the shipowners are…
Shipbuilding: Taking Initiatives
“Our strategy is very simple: It is to work hard,” said Gabriele Cocco, executive vice president for merchant ships at Fincantieri, and responsible for cruise ships. “The situation is very difficult for all shipbuilders. That is a fact,” said Cocco. “The future is different – characterized by uncertainty. There is no long-term perspective any more,…
New Ships: Disney Dream: To A New Level
The 128,000-ton, 1,250-stateroom Disney Dream will be delivered in January from Meyer Werft. The Fantasy follows in 2012, as Disney Cruise Line more than doubles its capacity with the two newbuilds joining the Magic and Wonder. “The Dream is so full of new, innovative features, and a handful are industry firsts,” said Tom Wolber, chief…
Technical: Scrubber Tests
While Holland America Line continues to test its scrubber system, Royal Caribbean Cruises has also launched a test program. The emission control technology selected for testing on the Independence of the Seas is new, with Royal Caribbean partnering with Ecospec to install the CSNOx system. The system uses patented Ultra Low Frequency Electrolysis System (ULFELS) to…
Onboard: Crystal Sparkles on Black Sea Cruise
Norwegians say that any milestone in life divisible by five or 10 is worthy of a special celebration. This year being one of those steps in our lives we opted, for the first time, to take a cruise with Crystal, on the Serenity. The timing and the amazing itinerary it covered was a perfect fit…