All Work and No Play? No Way
Out of some 8,000 hotel officers and crewmembers working aboard Holland America Line’s (HAL) ships, more than 1,000 of them have notched 10-plus years of service with the cruise line – an impressive statistic. The figure is but one indicator of HAL’s solid workplace culture, said Wayne Byers, the cruise line’s vice president of human…
North American Ports: Business is Booming
As the cruise industry continues its rapid expansion, ports across North America are finding themselves having to deal – quickly – with all of the issues that go hand-in-hand with larger ships and the accompanying onslaught of more and more passengers. Rising security costs, for one, are a matter that all ports, regardless of size,…
Captain’s Log
The Captain’s Log, Around the World with Cruise Captain Hans Mateboer is the title of a new book with a collection of Mateboer’s stories of funny happenings onboard. His articles have also been published regularly in the Cruise Industry News Quarterly since 1999. “A cruise ship can be compared to a small floating city, and…
New Wave of Orders
Cruise ship building has picked up the pace again after Carnival Corporation placed what it called a “historic multi-billion-dollar cooperation” with Fincantieri to construct four new ships and redesign the previously announced Queen Victoria for Cunard Line. “The time is moving on newbuilds,” said Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival, in the company’s third…
Company Profile Radisson Seven Seas Cruises
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) is being re-branded and is expected to have a new name next year, positioning the cruise line closer to the luxury hotels in the Carlson group. But the product formula will not change. “We believe that around 700 passengers are ideal,” said Mark Conroy, CEO of RSSC. “We could build…
HAL’s Oosterdam Defines Premium
Delivering a premium cruise product and securing premium rates is not an easy task given the number of options for passengers today. An Alaskan cruise aboard Holland America Line’s (HAL) Oosterdam – our only cruise this year – gets high marks in our opinion, with an elegant ship, rich in design and high-end furniture, tableware…
Raising the Bar
The bar is constantly moving upward for the cruise experience. The latest big wow factor was introduced by Princess Cruises aboard the Caribbean Princess – an outside movie screen allowing passengers to watch their favorite flicks poolside under the stars. Sporting events and other programming are shown during the day. Royal Caribbean International meanwhile has…
More Choices
“Ingredients are like kings; chefs are the servants,” according to Rudi Sodamin, master chef for Royal Caribbean International (RCI). Sodamin attributed the quote to Brillat-Savarin who he said is the greatest gastronome the world has ever known. “Following this credo, we are using aroma and fresh products while offering fine service,” Sodamin continued. “Our menus…
Cruise Lines Set New Course
As the 2004 European cruising season is in full swing, the market has changed dramatically from 2003 and 2002. Instead of a variety of European companies competing mostly in national markets and some on a pan-European basis, most of the strongest national brands are operating under the Carnival Corporation umbrella, with a combined fleet of…
A Golden Princess for All Times
When the alternative dining competition heated up among the cruise brands Princess Cruises created its own variety: Anytime or Personal Choice Dining (PC Dining). A cruise on the Golden Princess gave us an opportunity of sampling this arrangement and experience the Grand Class of ships that Princess spawned a few years ago. Anytime Dining Having…
At The Helm
“We have the technology to take this ship into practically any port we choose, despite her size,” said Captain Bernard Warner aboard the 109,000-ton Golden Princess. “She is extremely maneuverable with 9,000-horsepower bow thrusters and 7,000-horsepower stern thrusters. We can hold her up against a 30-knot wind even though the side of the ship measures…
2004 Is(Ship) Shaping Up
As we write this, 2004 is promising to be a good year for the cruise industry. Propelled by the introduction of the Queen Mary 2 in January, the industry has received broad publicity worldwide that can only help generate more interest in cruise vacations. Add to that, a series of introductions of new ships in…
Spring 2004 : Market and Brand Growth
Ten new ships are slated to be introduced in 2004, which will boost industry capacity by more than one million new passengers, according to estimates by Cruise Industry News (CIN). This translates into a 12 percent passenger capacity increase over 2003, which was up about seven percent over 2002. The world fleet of some 250…