Recent Cruise Industry News!!

Well, I am trying to finally get back into the swing of things here on the blog. The month of June is already more than half way over (time goes by so fast!!) and so far I have only one new article up for the month, “Come to Alaska”…check that out by the way.

Despite my absence from the ‘blogosphere,’ the cruise industry never sleeps and is constantly moving, giving us more to talk about here on Ramblings. So lets talk about what’s new, interesting, and happening lately in our favorite industry! You will have to forgive me as some of this news is slightly old. :o

- Princess Cruises, Holland America and Carnival Cruise Lines have just announced that they will be implementing a new and more restrictive smoking policy.

Up until now, Princess has allowed smoking inside select cabins and on cabin balconies (ironically the 2006 fire aboard Princess’ ship Star Princess, was caused by a cigarette on a balcony – new safety requirements have been passed regarding balcony fire safety as a result). Princess said that it’s new policy is in line with the global trend towards a more smoking-free environment, and that it will go into effect on all cruises after January 15th, 2012. Princess is however, quick to add that they still welcome smokers on their ships and will still have several different and convienent location where smokers may get their fix. Theses places include cigar bars, portions of the open decks, and in certain areas of the casino and night clubs.

Holland America’s new policy will disallow any smoking in any cabin across their fleet, effective January 15th, 2012. However, smoking on balconies, and in certain other areas, is still allowed.

Carnival’s new policy will be implemented in 2 phases. Phase 1, effective June 15th, 2011, will limit smoking onboard to Carnival’s dance clubs, and certain areas of the casinos, casino bars, nightclubs, and certain portions of the open decks.

Phase 2, effective December 1st, 2011, will restrict all smoking in all cabins across the fleet. Smoking on balconies (with the exception of the smoke free Spa cabins) will still be allowed. All three lines have stated that anyone who breaks these rules will be charged a $250 cleaning fee.

In recent years, smoking has become one of the more controversial subjects in the cruise industry. Obviously, many people are staunchly against it and would prefer that there was no smoking at all…others are just the opposite, and want to be able to smoke more freely.

- Radiance of the Sea has just completed a seventeen million dollar overhaul in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The refit added several new features and venues to the 90,000grt ship, such as, "Samba Grill" (a Brazilian Churrascaria introduced on the Allure of the Seas), Royal Caribbean’s largest pub at sea, “The Quill and Compass,” “Izumi Asian Cuisine,” and “Rita’s Cantina. They have also added a new and improved mini-golf course, a big screen outdoor TV, an arcade, and even a nursery. The drydock, part of a larger 70 million dollar effort by RCI to upgrade their fleet, added several new cabins, (including 3 single cabins), as well as other new eateries from Allure and Oasis of the Seas.

Radiance is offering cruises this summer to Alaska. Then this Winter, it will be repositioned to the South Pacific for it’s first season in Australia.

- P&O Cruises has announced that they will be building the largest ship in the company’s, over 170 year history, at over 141,000grt. The ship will be sister ships to Princess Cruises' recently announced, and completely new, "Royal Princess," albeit with some differences. The most obvious difference at this point is that, unlike the Royal Princess, this new P&O ship will have 2 funnels situated on its stern. The ship will also lack the new “Sea Walk”, a cantilevered, glass floored walk way that takes you over the side of the ship where you can watch as the sea passes almost 200 feet below you, featured on the upcoming, Royal Princess.

Personal Note: Even though I love the way multiple funnels look on ships, I have to say that I am not so crazy about how they have done it on this ship…it looks unbalanced to me.

The ship will be built by Fincantieri Shipyard in Italy, and is expected for delivery in March 2015. At over 141,000grt, the ship will carry 3,600 passengers and will be the largest ship ever built for the British market.

- In a somewhat surprising move, Royal Caribbean has announced that they will be sending the 140,000grt, Voyager of the Sea’s, down to Sydney, Australia in Fall 2012. The ship will be, by far, the largest cruise ship to ever homeport in Australia, and one of the largest to ever even call
there. She will be joining her fleet mates, Radiance of the Seas, and Rhapsody of the Seas, in what some have called a ‘war’ against Australian cruise market leader Carnival Corp.

Launched in 1999, the Voyager was the largest cruise ship ever built and was revolutionary for Royal Caribbean and the industry as a whole. She introduced novelties like, “Studio B” (Royal Caribbean’s ice skating rinks), rock climbing walls, and the huge indoor Royal Promenade; all of which have become staples of RCI ships. The addition of this ship to the Australian cruising fleet is no small upgrade.

In recent times, Australia has seen a rash of new high-end deployments to the country. Both RCI and Carnival Corp. are sending some of their best to be home ported in Australia for a season or more. As I reported a few months back, Carnival will be sending it’s Carnival Spirit, one of their most popular ships, and Holland America’s Oosterdam (both of which I might add, are leaving for Australia at the expense of the cruise industry in California…). Royal Caribbean is taking it up a few notches (if you ask me) from there. They are sending the wonderful, Radiance of the Sea’s, later this year (one of RCI’s best ships and most beloved), the Rhapsody of the Seas (one of RCI’s slightly older ships at 14 years old, but still a great and popular ship), and now, the Voyager of the Seas. On top of this, Celebrity Cruises – a RCI sister company --, will be sending their cutting edge (and one of my personal favorites) Celebrity Solstice, down under next year.

In my humble opinion, Carnival better watch out. RCI seems quite intent on taking Australia.

Moving on…

In an even more surprising move though, Royal Caribbean has announced that they will be first deploying the Voyager of the Seas to China in July 2012. This is surprising to me because I personally did not think that the Chinese cruise market, though fast growing, would be ready for a ship like Voyager. Up until now, like Australia, China has gotten some of the older and less flashy ships home-ported there. Over the years better ships have come, but nothing at quite the level of Voyager. However, obviously RCI must be confident that she will do well there, and I am sure she will be popular. She is a great ship and will offer something new for China!

Before this big move, Voyager of the Sea's will be based in New Orleans.

- Carnival has announced that they will be starting their first year round deployment out of New York City, with their Carnival Miracle. Beginning in April next year, Miracle will be offering 3 different eight day cruises. 1) An Eastern Caribbean cruise, calling at place like San Juan, St Thomas, and Grand Turk. 2) A Bahamas cruise calling at places such as Half Moon Cay (Holland America’s private island), Grand Turk, and Nassau. 3) will be a Bahamas/Florida cruise with stops in Cape Canaveral, FL, Nassau, and Freeport.

(above photo shows Carnival Miracle in New York - by flickr member " Tom Turner - SeaTeamImages / AirTeamImages" Tom Turner)

Carnival will be joining NCL (who has 2 ships based year round in NYC), and Disney Cruise Lines which announced in April that they will be basing the Disney Magic in NYC for 20 cruises, starting May 2012.

Carnival currently has part time deployments in NYC with their Carnival Glory, and Carnival Miracle. The larger Carnival Corp. also bases Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 out of New York for a part of the year.

- P&O's ships the Arcadia, was recently subjected to very bad treatment by the US Customs and Border Patrol while docked in Los Angeles. Passengers (with a large number of elderly) were made to stand and wait as each passenger was put through an extensive background check, even though the ship had already called on other US port's during it's cruise. The ship subsequently, stayed an extra 24 hours in Los Angeles (cancelling a call in Roatan) to allow it's passengers to actually see this great city. Interestingly enough, I was at the port during this unfortunate event and reported the news on Rambling's Facebook page, right away.
As an Angelino (a person from Los Angeles) I am very sorry to all the passengers on the Arcadia for your bad time in our city.

- Some other small tibbits of news...

- Carnival Cruise Line's is being sued by preservation and environmental groups in Charleston, SC, who allege that the Carnival Fantasy - which is based out of the city - breaks zoning laws (the ship does not meet the city's 60ft height limit) , causes public disturbances, and breaks environmental laws. Personally, I think this lawsuit is absolutely baseless.

- South Carolina's legislator as passed a resolution thanking Carnival for it's contributions to South Carolina and it's economy.

- The Australian government is looking at ways to help ease cruise ship congestion in Sydney, with all the new deployments there.

Anyway…that's it for right now! Keep checking back here for more articles. Thing are busy in life so I make no guarantee that they will be up tomorrow, but rest assured that I am working on getting them posted as soon as possible…hopefully tomorrow…or the next day…or days ;) .

(Sunset from Enchantment of the Seas)

What’s New? Cruise News!

Well it’s been a few weeks, at least, since I have done one of my updates on the cruise industry, so I figured I ought to do one. So……here you go. I will try to be brief.

Royal Caribbean’s New Order.

This past month Royal Caribbean signed a letter of intent with the Meyer-Werft Shipyards in Papenburg, Germany for an entirely new ship to be launched in 2013 with the possibility for more orders. Dubbed Project Sunshine, the ship will be around 158,000grt- which far out weighs the 120,000-130,000grt tons that I had predicted in an earlier article (SEE HERE)- and will feature some Oasis Class amenities…though RCI has not said which.

Rumors had been going on for weeks that RCI was working on something new. There was even speculation that it would be with the Meyer-Werft shipyard. These rumors were confirmed a few weeks back when Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO confirmed at an earnings call, that RCI was working on something new, but offered no real detail into the ship. Now, we know where the ship will be built, its size, that it will have amenities from Oasis and we can even guess at some of its dimensions (based on the fact that ships built at Meyer-Werft have several things limiting there size, such as the fact that they are built indoors and then have to sail down river to reach the ocean).

The ships size puts it somewhere between the Voyager Class ships and the larger super-voyager Freedom Class, in terms of size. Some have already speculated that this means that essentially, this ship will be basically a modified Freedom Class ship. I disagree with that, however. The Freedom Class ships where built and partially designed in Finland, this ship will be produced by another yard. On top of that RCI has stated that she will have Oasis touches. If any of these touches are the bigger amenities, they will require an entirely new design to accommodate them. Also, I think considering RCI’s new build history, that they won’t disappoint. Fact is, we will just have to wait and see.

Australia’s Continued Growth

Australia’s cruise industry got another huge boost this week with Celebrity’s announcement that they will be basing the practically brand new, Celebrity Solstice (being launched in November 2008 she’s not even 3 years old yet) in Sydney for the 2012-2013 cruise season. This news comes just weeks after Carnival announced that they will be sending their own Carnival Spirit down under. This really is a big step for Australia as a cruise market.

The Celebrity Solstice is without a doubt, one of the most stylish and sophisticated ships currently in service. The first of the much praised, Solstice class, she is around 122,000grt and features many amenities such as the first grass covered deck at sea, a glass blowing museum and show, and some of the best interior (if not the best) design of any ship afloat. The onboard atmosphere is laid back and casual, but at the same time stylish and sophisticated and a little on the formal side, but very decidedly not stuffy………very Celebrity Cruise-esque. You Australians are really getting a great ship!

The Solstice will operate on 13 and 12 night voyages, starting in December 2012. She will also run a circumnavigation of Australia. (Photo at right - "Celebrity Solstice" by flickr member jens.steinbeisser )

Also in the news for Australia, Holland America has also announced this week that they too, will be basing one of their ships, the Oosterdam, out of Sydney for the 2012-2013 season. Fewer details have been released on her deployment, but according to Cruise Critic she will be sailing 10 to 25 day cruises.

Oosterdam, launched in 2003, is the second ship in the Vista Class. And while not quite as stylish as Celebrity Solstice, she is still a perfectly nice ship. The only sad thing about this deployment is that it represents a further loss for the California cruise market, as this ship, up until now, spends winter spring and fall sailing out of San Diego to the Mexican Riviera (In fact I spent several hours in October looking at the ship in San Diego).

(Photo above - "IMGP8934" by flickr member joshhikes)

Texan Princess

The Port of Galveston, TX, has been growing steadily as a prominent cruise port for several years now, with several cruise lines sending some of their bigger and nicer ships there. Ships like Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Conquest, and even Carnival's newest ship, Carnival Magic, will call the port home (when she's launched later this year, and after a few month sailing the Mediterranean for the Europe cruise season). Further, RCI’s Mariner of the Seas, which recently left Los Angeles, will be replacing the Voyager of the Seas, in Galveston, later in November of this year. Several smaller, less prominent ships, like Carnival Ecstasy, have also been based in the port.

This past week, Princess Cruises announced that their ship, the Crown Princess, will be based in Galveston, starting in December 2012. The ship is currently scheduled to be there until April of 2013.

Crown Princess, launched in 2006, is one of Princess’ largest ships, and number 7 in the Grand Class series of ships. In my opinion, this ship and Princess Cruises in general, are between the premium segment and the mass market segment of cruising. This makes the ship a step up for Galveston, because up until now, the port has been served by mostly RCI and Carnival, both of which are mass market. The ship isn’t the most stylish…in fact, Princess ships are often described as bland, however, this bland-ness gives Princess something of an advantage as it will offend no one, but at the same time, it offers a great cruise experience. Princess has a very solid and very consistent product. Texas is getting a nice and pleasant ship. (photo at right - "Crown Princess" by flickr member JohnFinn )

P.S. Don’t judge the ship by it exterior…she’s not really ugly but she’s no beauty queen either….she’s interesting and actually, in my own way, I kind of like her looks.

Oceania in Los Angeles

A couple of weeks ago, Oceania’s new ship, Marina, made her inaugural call in Los Angeles…of course I was there. (Check out our photo album! Look for the link on the “photos” page above).
While there is not much to say about my experience with the ship (I just looked at her and took a lot of pictures), there is still a lot to say about this ship. Launched just over one month ago in Miami, FL, the ship is the first new ship to be built by the relatively young Oceania Cruises. Her design is based on Oceania’s three smaller ships - Insignia, Regatta, and Nautica, (all of which are from the “R” Class of ships) – but still, the ship is distinctive in her own way. Her interiors are slightly more modern than her fleet mates, and somewhat flashier (in a good way). Foodies will be happy on this ship, as she is full of some great and exclusive food offerings, including famed Chef Jacques Pepin’s first restaurant at sea or on land.

Already, this ship is getting rave reviews.

Cunard’s Australia Royal Rendezvous

In the last couple of weeks, the Queen Mary and Queen Victoria Royal Rendezvous wasn’t the only one, no, the whole Cunard fleet had their time in the spotlight. In Sydney, the glorious Queen Mary 2, and the new Queen Elizabeth, sailed in tandem into port for a call in Sydney. Thousands of shipgeeks and non-shipgeeks alike lined the shores of Sydney Harbor to watch this great event.

This event has historical implications, as Sydney was home to a rendezvous between the two original Cunard Queens, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, during their heroic war time service in WWII. There was even a WWII veteran there, who apparently saved the Queen Mary from a U-Boat during her troop transporting days.

Cunard is probably the only shipping line in the world that can generate so much interest in its ships (even among non-shipgeeks) wherever it sails to. I was struck by just how many non-shipgeeks were on the Queen Mary, this past Thursday, to see her rendezvous with Queen Victoria.

Both QM2 and Queen Elizabeth are currently on their World Cruises.

Blog News

You might have noticed some recent changes made to our page. If not let me direct your attention to them… If you look to the top of our page, you will see a new menu bar with “Home, Cruise Lines, Ships, Photos, Other Sites, The Shipgeek and Contact Us”.

These changes are in response to the continued growth of our blog and in an effort to offer more things on here. While these pages are still being worked on, you can still use them to find a cruise line, see what ships we think are worthy of note, check out hundreds of cool pictures, look at other great cruise and ship related websites, read about me and my own shipgeek journey, and finally, you can contact us through email for any questions, comments or just to say hi!

It’s pretty amazing to see just how fast the blog is growing! I want to thank all of you readers for your continued support and readership! GASP!!! That word has ship in it!!! :D

(Above photo - "CELEBRITY SOLSTICE" by flickr member steamboatsorg)

Carnival in Australia, Los Angeles in Decline...

Big news in the industry right now... The other day it was announced that Carnival is abandoning me for…for…Australia! The Carnival Spirit, which Carnival recently announced it would be sending here to L.A., has been assigned to Australia from October 2012, where according to rumor, she will be sailing on voyages of 8 to 12 days.

This is actually probably the biggest news of the past couple of weeks (OF COURSE I MEAN OTHER THEN CUNARD NEWS!!!) as this is a pretty big step for Carnival, and for the Australian based cruise industry as well. For Carnival as a company, it is a big step because it is the first time Carnival has permanently based a ship outside of North America, Carnival’s main market. It is also one of the first times Carnival has really really reached out to a demographic other than North Americans. Carnival has based ships (temporarily) in Europe for a few cruises, but even those were strongly targeted at Americans wanting to cruise the Mediterranean. This time is will be mostly Australians and New Zelanders.

For the Australian cruise market this move also represents a large leap. In recent years the Australian cruise market has been growing and growing fast. As a response to this growth, the cruise lines have been sending more and more capacity down to Australia, either to be based there for a season, or just to make a few calls. Bigger and newer ships, such as the Queen Mary 2, usually only call at Sydney (or other Australian ports) as a port-of-call, and until now have never really been based there permanently. Up until now, Australian cruisers have been left with older, hand-me-down ships that are too old for the American and European cruise market. The largest cruise line serving Australia, P&O Australia (a sub-brand of P&O, a subsidiary of Carnival), has a fleet totally made up of older hand-me-down tonnage from various lines under the Carnival Corp. umbrella. The leftovers if you will…

The Carnival Spirit, on the other hand, while not the newest or the biggest in Carnival’s fleet, it’s still modern and it certainly will be the largest, and newest, to serve Australia and it’s a big big step up from the current selection out there. This just goes to show how much the Australian market has been growing! Cruise lines don’t send their better ships to a small meaningless market; they are reserved for important markets and destinations where they can be supported.

The Carnival Spirit was built in 2001 as the first (second if you count Costa Cruises fleet) in Carnival’s new Spirit Class of ships. It has since become one of Carnival’s most popular and nicest ships. Australia has scored big with this one! (photo at left "CARNIVAL SPIRIT" by flickr member "steamboatsorg" - Franz Neumeier, www.cruisetricks.de )

How do I feel about this though…well…I am happy for Australia…but at the same time I hate it! This ship has been deployed in California (which for those of you who are just joining, is my home state) mostly, for a while now…oh, and in Alaska in the summer months. In a few months, Spirit will be starting a season based out of L.A. doing the Mexican Riviera. Lately though, Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach have fallen victim to a declining cruise market :( due to several things, including fear of drug violence in Mexico, the Jones Act and a lack of destinations. Several ships have already left (such as yesterday when Mariner of the Seas left - sniff, sniff ) and headed to other destinations like Europe. Soon Norwegian Star will be leaving as well, and now here goes the Spirit along with them.

So in that sense, I hate it. I hate to see another ship leaving Los Angeles. I want to see my homeport doing well in the cruise business (in cargo operations, L.A. is still one of the most powerful ports in the world). I do think within a few years the cruise industry in California will pick up again (California is one of the largest cruise markets in the USA), but in the mean time, it’s sad to watch the decline.

On a happier note for L.A., the Disney Wonder will be here (and stay here for a few months) on Friday, which I will be there at the port for. On top of that, the QV and QE will be out here next week! (PLEASE PLEASE ALLOW ME TO VISIT THEM, CUNARD!!!...I love you!) Los Angeles, as well as other ports in Southern California, are great ports in great cities! I think that this fact will eventually help turn the tide for L.A., and bring the ships back.

In the end, both Los Angeles and Australia are going to be important players in the future of the cruise industry…that’s what I think anyway.

(Above photo -"Los Angeles Maritime Museum" by flickr member "karenpeacock")