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…
Editorial: Many Challenges; Many Solutions
The cruise industry has been driving more development than any other area of the hospitality or transportation industries. There are new technologies and systems being applied today that did not even exist a few years ago. We have talked to executives in marine and hotel operations who have shared their initiatives and insight with us,…
Hotel Operations: Cruising to the Next Level
The cruise lines continue to raise the bar on product delivery, supported by crew training and motivation, and advanced software applications. The focus is on raising product standards for dining, with open seating and alternative restaurants; entertainment and programming; guest accommodations, disembarkation procedures, and more, while also driving onboard revenue, containing costs and protecting the…
Company Profile: Holland America Line: Global Footprint
Holland America Line has been focused on North America for a long time. But as the industry has taken on a more global proportion, it is inevitable that Holland America with 14 ships is also leaving a worldwide footprint, said Stein Kruse, CEO and president. “We have a brand with universal appeal,” he said. “We…
Marine Operations: Pushing the Envelope
In marine operations, the focus continues to be on fuel and energy savings, in addition to the environment, recruitment and training, according to executives surveyed by Cruise Industry News. Cruise lines are continuously evaluating and testing new technologies, systems and procedures to meet their objectives. The new ships incorporate the tried and true, but also…
Destination Focus: St. Lawrence: The Ships are Coming
Legends abound about how ports along the St. Lawrence River were named, but U.S. cruise lines and Canadian tourism officials hope that the translation is “Where the River Meets the Big Ships.” The Canadian government is allocating upwards of $50 million to upgrade port facilities in Baie-Comeau, Gaspe, Havre-Saint-Pierre, Sept-Iles, Saguenay and Iles de la…
Destination Focus: Mexico: Proactive Ports
Mexico has confronted a series of challenges recently: growing worldwide competition, ports crippled by hurricane devastation and encroaching homogenization. Instead of blanching, the country’s tourism and port officials faced the problems head-on, meeting periodically to develop specific action plans, appointing people to carry them out and measuring their effectiveness. They rebuilt hurricane-damaged piers and, in…
Fall 2008: Editorial
We are covering a series of timely topics in this issue: Energy: In order to get a good picture of what can be done to minimize energy consumption, we have gone to the experts and asked their opinions. They told us basically that the biggest savings can be had by simply slowing down the cruising…