PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear MHA
members,
Evolution is a word that has a habit of cropping up in our board meeting discussions. Undoubtedly that’s due to the fact that we have taken it upon ourselves to evaluate MHA’s past, take a fix on who and where we are today and, finally, to seek out the strategic answers that are key to a successful future.
And sometimes these strategic questions are thrust upon us by a natural progression that, while seemingly subtle, is in fact a very real force to be reckoned with. As an example of this, we can hardly ignore the need to accept and embrace the globalization that our industry – both cruise line and vendor side – is clearly moving forward. Having said that, we also need to understand what this potentially means to an association such as MHA.
As you all know, the cruise lines themselves have reached out for new and ever-more-exotic ports to enhance the “excitement factor” of their itineraries while at the same time engaging those adventure oriented passengers who seek “the seas less traveled.”
From an association perspective we see that one clear result of these increasingly global itineraries has been the dramatic growth of the MHA international supplier base.
I recently had the opportunity to take a look at a list of our member companies and the countries they represent. It’s an expansive and impressive list of more than 26 different nations, most of who have joined MHA in recent years. Most of these companies were also represented at our annual conference and trade show this past April.
“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand but what direction we are moving … we must sail and not drift nor lie at anchor.” This quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes seems particularly apropos to our industry, but it also provides us with a good perspective on how far this association has come and how it continues to develop.
It is clear that MHA must continue to move forward, evolving and becoming increasingly international in both its spirit and actions – a path that is seemingly a “natural” consequence of the truly global focus of our industry. Who knows where this will take us next!
With best regards,
Joe Lavi
Vice President, Purchasing
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES
President, MHA Board of Directors
top of page
PORTS AND PANAMAX
The mega ships are on their way, with both Royal Caribbean’s and Norwegian Cruise Line’s first jumbos set to launch late next year, and ports around the world are gearing up to accommodate them. Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, now ranked as one of the largest terminals in the world, will homeport RCI’s world’s largest Genesis ships and is being reimbursed by the cruise line some $37 million for expansion and infrastructure improvements. NCL’s F3 ships will homeport at Port of Miami where a new $60 million terminal is being built with $30 million earmarked for support facilities. Another $60- to $70-million terminal is also planned to serve other cruise ships. Port Canaveral’s plans include widening and deepening its entrance and access channels plus enlarging and deepening the west turning basin and installing additional navigational aids, figured to cost $41 million. Other port projects are planned or in progress in Seattle and Singapore, Antigua and Marseilles, Hong Kong and Bali, to name a few.
The granddaddy of them all is the Panama Canal, with construction that will eliminate the word Panamax. The $5.25 billion project got underway last September when thousands of Panamanians witnessed a ceremonial blast taking a huge bite out of a hillside. Major parts of the project are the excavation of the trench connecting the Culebra Cut with the Pacific, the deepening of Gatun Lake and widening of its channel, and the construction of two new flights of locks and their support channels which will handle the larger vessels. The new locks are scheduled to open for traffic in 2015.
top of page
SUPER SAILER
Star Clippers claims its newbuild now under construction will be the largest—and most expensive—sailing ship in the world. The as yet unnamed vessel will be 518 feet long and carry
37 sails on five masts. The 296 passengers will share the use of three pools on the top deck when the ship starts service in 2010.
top of page
NEW PLUS RENEW
While it has four newbuilds on the way, Carnival Cruise Lines is in the midst of the “extreme makeover” of all eight of its Fantasy class ships. The Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Imagination have already gotten the full “Evolution of Fun” upgrades with the Carnival Fantasy next in line in the $250 million refurbishment program. In drydock this fall, Fantasy will emerge with the elements of the program including an enlarged aqua park with a 300-foot water slide and redesigned main pool plus an exclusive adults-only area.
top of page
PRINCESS, TOO
Princess Cruises, which takes delivery of the Ruby Princess this fall, will update two of its older ships, the Star Princess this fall and Caribbean Princess in January, incorporating popular features of the line’s newer ships. These include creating the Piazza atrium with its shops, International Café and Vines wine bar, the adults-only Sanctuary served by dedicated Serenity Stewards, and adding seven ocean-view suites.
top of page
AND A STRETCH
Small-ship operator Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines took a step up in purchasing the 1,078-passenger Norwegian Crown (nee Crown Odyssey) and then adding a 99-foot midsection with 186 staterooms and 53 crew cabins. Renamed Balmoral, she joins Olsen’s existing fleet of four with capacities ranging from 450 to 850 passengers. Included in the rebuild are a new pool and sun deck, a casino, three new dining venues and 79 cabins fitted for singles only. Next up, the line will this year stretch its 750-passenger Braemar, also with a 99-foot midsec-
tion. Olsen’s theory: yesterday’s big is today’s small.
top of page
MAJESTIC FOR SALE
Ambassadors International has put its Majestic America Line on the market. The river boat fleet includes American Queen, Mississippi Queen, Columbia Queen, Empress of the North and Queen of the West; Delta Queen is due to retire this year. Fleet operations will continue through the year, then Ambassador will turn its full attention to operation of Windstar Cruises.
top of page
TUI GETS A SHIP
Celebrity Galaxy will be the first ship of TUI Cruises, the newly-formed joint venture of Royal Caribbean Cruises and Germany’s TUI AG. Galaxy will sail its scheduled cruises through March 2 next year. then start service in May for TUI. Renamed and customized for the German market, the ship will sail the Baltic and Caribbean and will be joined by newbuilds in 2011 and 2012.
top of page
GROWTH AHEAD
KSL Capital Partners of Denver, Colorado has purchased Australia’s Orion Expedition Cruises and its sole vessel, the Orion. The investment company’s plan is to build the expedition specialist into a multi-ship operation.
top of page
HAS LICENSE, NEEDS SHIP
State-owned Vietnamese tour operator Saigontourist has secured a license to homeport a cruise ship in Vietnam. Its search now is for a partner that can provide a suitable vessel for a planned 7-day itinerary calling at small Vietnamese ports inaccessible to large cruise ships. That would be a ship accommodating up to 120 passengers and geared to the luxury market. .The country’s National Assembly plans to improve its infrastructure including building a dedicated cruise terminal at the World Heritage port of Ha Long and other selected ports.
top of page
CABANAS FOR RENT
When Holland America’s Eurodam is launched this month, she’ll have 22 tented cabanas available for rent by the day or for an entire cruise, eight poolside on the Lido Deck and 14 in the Retreat area on the Observation Deck. In addition to privacy, renters get bathrobes and plush towels, fans, an Evian spray mister, an iPod preloaded with music, and a glass of champagne. There are snacks plus breakfast and lunch options, and the cabanas can be used for spa treatments as well. The rental charges range from $30 to $75 per day. Eurodam, carrying 2104 passengers, is HAL’s largest ship to date.
top of page
CURVY CABINS
With the first of its two F3 newbuilds not due to launch until 2010, Norwegian Cruise Line is revealing piecemeal some of their innovative features. “New Wave” standard, balcony and deluxe staterooms which make up 80% of the F3’s accommodations is one. The curved walls give a sense of spaciousness as does rearrangement of the bathrooms with the tub/shower and water closet split on either side of the entry and a vanity-top sink in the main room. The New Wave staterooms are just one of three types of accommodations aboard the F3s—the other two are top secret for the moment.
top of page
SOLSTICE STATEROOMS
Celebrity Cruises enlisted five women in travel-related occupations to come up with ideas for the design of staterooms aboard the new Celebrity Solstice to be launched in December. The results include modular furniture design, more storage areas around the beds and additional shelving. Staterooms will all have flat-screen TVs, 32” for most with larger sets for suites. Some bathrooms will feature the full AquaClass treatment, items such as fog-free mirrors, jet showers and lavish toiletries. Double doors between adjoining staterooms improve room flow and their individual verandas can be opened up to create a single larger one. Along with cabin innovations, Solstice
will also add an industry first: the Corning Museum of Glass “Hot Glass Show” with three resident glassblowing artists demonstrating their skills and conducting workshops..
top of page
BOTOX ABOARD
Norwegian Cruise Line now offers BOTOX Cosmetic, Restylane and Perlane facial treatments in its Mandara spas aboard Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Spirit, with plans to go fleet-wide this fall. Treatments are part of a ‘medi-spa’ program supervised by Steiner Transocean and administered by doctors trained to administer the product.
top of page
PLENTY OF PIZZA
A Guinness World Record was set by Costa Cruises mid-June for the longest line of pizza, 826 pies which stretched the 221-meter length of the Costa Classica. This topped by one meter the mark set in May by Big Apple Pizza & Pasta in Fort Pierce, Florida. The record was set in Australia at a festival in Sydney’s Little Italy where 25 chefs used 500 kilograms of flour, 350 of mozzarella and 250 liters of tomato sauce for their winning effort. With the record confirmed by Guinness, the pizzas were picked up by OzHarvest and distributed among groups that feed the needy. Money came in, too. Costa’s contribution of A$10 for each meter of pizza, and A$5000 donated by spectators went to Variety Australia, the entertainment industry’s charity serving children in need. The event also marked the cruise line’s 6oth anniversary and the deployment of Costa Classica in Asia in 2009.
top of page
DINING TRIAL
Flexible dining was tested aboard RCCL’s Freedom of the Seas this winter in the Caribbean and will be tried this summer in Europe on Brilliance of the Seas. The test allowed passengers to show up without reservations whenever they wanted to dine within regular meal hours, on one level of the three-deck-high main dining room.
The line found the option very popular in the Caribbean, but reports that passenger feedback shows the assigned-seating main dining room concept is still popular as well, so there’s little likelihood the old standard would be totally done away withs.
top of page
COLLECTION DU MONDE
The naming of Silversea’s new expedition ship Prince Albert II was the occasion too for introduction at lunch of new signature dishes from La Collection du Monde by Relais & Chateaux, the international association of hotels and restaurants that shares a culinary partnership with the cruise line. With R&C, Silversea chef Rudi Scholdis, pastry chef Alex Hekimov and Prince Albert II chef Sean Emslie created the gala menu including such delicacies as foie graa trilogy, blue Brittany lobster, forest mushroom risotto with alba truffle essence and fresh fillet of turbot with poached oysters, all dishes that will be introduced fleet-wide. Chef Jacques Thorel of l’Auberge Bretonne boards Silversea’s ships twice a year for training and quality control.
top of page
EUREKA!
It’s a prize-winning cocktail concocted by Celebrity Cruises bar manager Jesus Gomez that will be the signature drink at The Lawn Club aboard the new Celebrity Solstice. The recipe: muddle cucumber and fresh basil in a shaker, add cranberry juice, Bombay Sapphire gin, triple sec and ice, shake and pour into a highball glass. Eureka! garnered Gomez the Bacardi Bartender of the Year honor in the firm’s annual cruise competition and will be on Celebrity bar menus fleetwide.
top of page
GLUTEN-FREE MENUS
The Italian Celiac Association (AIC) and Costa Cruises signed an agreement for provision of gluten-free menus for passengers who have celiac disease, a digestive disorder. Part of AIC’s “Food Away from Home” project, it’s in place on Costa Concordia and Costa Serena and will be added this year on nine other Costa ships operating in the Mediterranean and northern Europe.
top of page
AIDA "FEELIES"
New on the new AIDAbella is the 4D Cinemare entertainment center showing films that viewers not only see and hear but also feel. While the 24-seat cinema moves in all directions following action on the screen, nozzles emit appropriate fog, water, air, heat, cold and odors that heighten viewers entry into a virtual world in the ocean, on the moon, into a jungle, down a mine shaft or facing into an Arctic wind. The selection of motion pictures spans all age groups, consistent with AIDA’s emphasis on family-oriented holiday cruises. Following naming ceremonies in April, AIDAbella is cruising the Baltics, then will move to the Canary Islands for the winter.
top of page
QUEEN'S FAREWELL
With the QE2 set to leave the Cunard fleet this year, the queen who launched her in 1967 went to Southampton to bid a final farewell on June 2. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth toured the ship meeting crew members then attended a reception and luncheon for 3oo guests, including past prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher and nine past captains of the QE2. In the nearly forty-one years since she was launched the QE2 sailed 5.6 million nautical miles including 25 world cruises and 803 Atlantic crossings carrying more than 2.5 million passengers. The ship leaves Cunard service in November to start a new life in Dubai as a first class hotel and entertainment destination.
top of page
SHIPS NAMED
Royal Caribbean has selected the names for its two 5,400-passenger Project Genesis ships. Oasis of the Seas will launch in 2009, followed by Allure of the Seas in 2010. The ships, one third larger than any cruise ship currently afloat, were the subject of a naming contest with RCCL selecting these submissions from a man in Michigan.
top of page
PEOPLE
IN THE NEWS
Industry veteran CHRISTIAN SAULEAU has resigned from his post as evp operations at Regent Seven Seas Cruises. He was a key planner in the design and launch of Seven Seas Navigator, Mariner and Voyager and influential in RSSC’s partnerships with both Le Cordon Bleu and Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society.
WAYNE BYERS has moved from vp human resources at Holland America
Line to the newly created position of svp global human resources at parent Carnival Corp. in Miami. Brendan Vierra steps up to Byers post at Holland America as vp human resources and Tim Murphy succeeds Vierra as vp guest programs.
Global hotel recruitment firm Executive Search Intl. has hired ERLING FRYDENBERG to lead its expansion into the cruise market. He’ll serve as president of the newly formed cruise division. His past affiliations include Silversea Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Crystal Cruises and Royal Viking Line.
Ambassador Cruise Group promoted DIANE MOORE to president of Windstar Cruises. Her 30 years in the industry include executive positions with Holland America Line. Crystal Cruises and Royal Cruise Line.
top of page
|
