Caribbean: Destination Evolution
Pull into port, get off the ship. Sun on the beach. Do a little shopping. Ogle the crystal-clear Caribbean waters, the architecture, the quaint town. Swim with dolphins. Then get back on the ship, sail overnight, and do it all again the next day. This may sound like the typical to-do list of a cruise…
Luxury/Adventure: On a Growth Course
The luxury and adventure markets are two separate niche markets. While luxury passengers may seek enrichment on their cruise, some may want to sip a martini in Monaco or have lunch in Portofino. But the true adventure passenger wants to experience enrichment whether that includes paddling up an African river or jumping ashore on the…
Winter 2007-2008: Editorial
Working at Sea: The industry’s focus is increasingly on recruitment and retention as the cruise fleet grows larger along with the world’s shipping fleet and the competition for qualified people heats up. At the same time, there are efforts underway to improve the living and working conditions on all ships at sea. We are glad…
Competing for Manpower
With all the new and bigger cruise ships entering service over the next few years, the industry’s biggest challenge may be the human element and finding enough qualified seafarers. While recruitment needs for the cruise industry are estimated to be in the range of 50,000 over the next five years, according to Cruise Industry News,…
Marine Operations: Focus on Fuel and Crewing
The marine operations function faces a variety of challenges as the industry sails into 2008. Fuel consumption continues to be a major concern due to dramatically increasing prices, but recruitment of deck and engine crew and officers are also taking on added significance in an overheated maritime employment environment. At the same time, the eroding…
Hotel Operations: Wooing Passengers and Crew
“We are always focused on the food – we look at it, analyze it and study trends; food is always in the picture,” said Natko Nincevic, senior vice president of hotel operations at Carnival Cruise Lines. At Holland America Line, Johan Groothuizen, vice president of marine hotel operations, said that he was concentrating on the…
Company Profile: Royal Caribbean Cruises: Global Business Model
While there are many new and exciting developments at Royal Caribbean Cruises these days, Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said the most important aspect of the business is the strength of the market positions of its cruise brands. “It is tempting to talk about what’s new, but the bottom line is to continue to operate…
Destination Focus: Mexico: Building Up Their Cruise Future
Mexico is highly regarded and critically important to the cruise industry, despite a recent passenger tax passed by the country’s congress. At the October meeting of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) in Cozumel, port and tourism officials of this northernmost Latin American nation earned kudos for their professionalism, their awareness of what is needed…
Destination Focus: North America: Northwest: Improving Services
Northwest Pacific ports offer unique attractions on cruises to Alaska and British Columbia and are also setting new standards with a clean air strategy. Vancouver: How to Grow the Market “To grow Alaska further, the industry needs better utilization on other days (than the popular days),” said Greg Wirtz, manager of trade development at the…
Fall 2007: Editorial
Pushing the bar: While the cruise industry continues to grow, it is pushing the product and experience bar ever higher with new ships. At the time of writing, there were 40 new cruise ships on order for deliveries through 2012, and more orders are expected, according to shipyard and cruise line executives we spoke with….
Big Changes Ahead for Cruise Ships
If the continuously increasing ship sizes and ever increasing number of special features are excluded, there have not been too many major changes in ship design and technology for several decades, according to Markus Aarnio, managing director of Foreship, a ship engineering and design firm. However, due to recently introduced new rules and regulations, together…
Shipbuilding: Driving New Orders
The fall months are typically when Fincantieri has been able to sign big orders, and Enrico Buschi, general manager of merchant ships and head of cruise ships at Fincantieri, told Cruise Industry News in early September, that he was hopeful to do the same this fall. “The growing cruise markets drive new orders,” said Buschi,…
Ship Review: Putting Fun into Glamour and Elegance
With the Queen Mary 2, Cunard Line has put fun into glamour and elegance. The QM2 is able to maintain that romantic sense of classic trans-Atlantic travel from the past, but in a modern setting. The formal dinners are there along with white-gloved tea service and ballroom dancing, but so are also informal dining options,…
Summer 2007: Editorial
We are covering a range of subjects in this issue – which are all important to the industry – and would like touch on some of them. The Cruise Experience: Cruising is evolving on many levels and in many directions, depending on the product and the market. Most important for the industry, perhaps, is its…
Food & Beverage: New Dining Experiences
Dining aboard cruise ships will continue to be one of the highlights of a cruise, despite all the choices of activities now offered by the new, large ships, and the range of more exotic itineraries featured by the smaller luxury- and expedition-style ships. This spring, for instance, Princess Cruises unveiled what Vice President of Food…