Company Profile: Royal Caribbean International : More Freedom
The Freedom of the Seas will be a very powerful vacation offering when she enters service next spring, according to Adam Goldstein, president of Royal Caribbean International. “It is a fantastic product,” he continued. “We are confident it is the right product for the right time.” Goldstein said that the Freedom-class of ships will give…
Ship Review: Bella Costa Magica
We chose Costa Magica for our cruise this year because it had been 10 years since we sailed the Mediterranean (also on Costa) and that was prior to the Carnival acquisition. The itinerary was attractive and it also afforded us a few days in as Civitavecchia is the homeport. The ports of call were Savona,…
Destination Focus: Asia/Pacific: To Grow Aggressively or Patiently?
The cruise industry may be sailing in the wake of a tremendous growth forecast for the Asia/Pacific region predicted by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), which estimates that Asia/Pacific will see nearly 400 million international tourist arrivals annually by 2020, compared to 153 million in 2004. Anticipated to increase at a rate of 6.5 percent…
Food & Beverage Constant Change
The key to creating a memorable dining experience for passengers is training, according to Natko Nincevic, senior vice president of hotel operations at Carnival Cruise Lines. “With 20,000 crewmembers and a turnover of some 4,000 a year, if you do not have training programs it would be very difficult to run as smooth an operation…
Costa Crociere: Raising the Bar
At Costa Crociere, CEO and Chairman Pier Luigi Foschi’s management philosophy has raised the bar for the industry. Earlier this year, Costa announced Green Ship certification for its entire 11-ship fleet by RINA, in addition to receiving Best 4 certification last year – both are voluntary, Foschi pointed out. “We want to have the best…
Shipbuilding: Chantiers de l’Atlantique: Rebuilding Market Share
In order to meet demand, the cruise lines need to introduce 10 to 12 new ships annually in the years to come, said Patrick Boissier, CEO and chairman of Chantiers de l’Atlantique. “The cruise industry is a wonderful business, it continues to grow, and it still has huge potential,” Boissier added. The French builder presently…
The Good, Bad and Ugly of Cruising
In a perfect world, Norwalk virus doesn’t exist. Neither do bedbugs. Bad weather is a mere figment of the imagination, and seasickness? Not a chance. Unfortunately, these are all things that can – and do – happen aboard cruise ships, and to the millions of passengers who set sail each year. So it comes as…
European Pax Eye New Cruise Wave
European cruising is on the upswing. According to the European Cruise Council (ECC), 2.8 million Europeans sailed on ocean cruises in 2004 – an increase of 5 percent over 2003. Fred Hitchins, director of IRN Research, the company that provides the ECC with its statistics, pointed out that while 2005 will see some increase, 2006…
Setting Different Courses for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity
Further diversification of homeports and cruise lengths continue at Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, according to Jamie Haller, director of deployment and itinerary planning. “The most significant development at Royal Caribbean in 2005,” he said, “is our expansion in the Northeast and our continuing diversification of cruise lengths. We now have regular sailings ranging…
Full Steam Ahead
11.1 million passengers are forecast to cruise on the fleet of the member cruise lines of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in 2005, according to the organization’s Chairman Andy Stuart, who is also executive vice president of marketing, sales and passenger services for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). Stuart broke the 11.1 million down into…
Safe Harbors
With so many different nationalities represented among cruise ships’ crews, seafarers’ and maritime workers’ unions clearly play an essential role when it comes to crafting labor (and various other) agreements for workers at sea. Most major cruise lines, say experts and union officials alike, have collective bargaining agreements on board their vessels and work readily…
Caribbean Cruise Capacity
Caribbean cruise capacity stays flat in 2005, compared to 2004 when it was up 5 percent; 2003, 13 percent; and 2002, 16 percent. According to estimates by Cruise Industry News, cruise ships will be able to carry 6.5 million passengers in the Caribbean (including the Bahamas, but excluding Panama Canal cruises) this year. But the…
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….