Really Quick Update...More Coming in a Little Bit

I’M SORRY!!! I KNOW I HAVEN’T POSTED IN SO LONG!! (*sobs). Really I didn’t forget about you, I didn’t, it’s just…just I’ve been busy!! I know, you should never be too busy for ships! Nothing should come in the way of ships…but this time…something did. I will tell you more about that in another post! I think you might actually find it quite interesting, even though, it is completely un-related to ships.

Before that though, a really quick and totally uninformative catch up on the news!

- Carnival Corp. has ordered 3 new ships. Two for Carnival’s German brand, AIDA, to be built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (exciting!), and one Carnival’s European subsidiary, Costa Cruises to be built by Fincantieri (not very exciting as judging from the numbers, this ship will be another Dream Class ship).

-QM2 failed a health inspection (old news now). However, the noted problems have since been fixed, and in a subsequent inspection she passed! QM2 I LOVE YOU!

-The Port of Los Angeles hosted several US Navy ships for Navy Week…it was an overly successful but tremendous fail. Too many people, not enough planning.

-Ft. Lauderdale based cruise line, Discovery Cruises, is shutting down its one ship operation (sad). The line ran day cruises to the Bahamas with their ship, Discovery Sun.

-NCL has released more details on their upcoming ships…mostly regarding the new suite complex, “The Haven”. So far all the details look good, but I am already pretty certain that the ships will not be good when it comes to crowds. More on that later.

-Carnival has released the first interior renderings of the upcoming, Carnival Breeze, and I have to say that I have mixed feelings. This will be Carnival's first ship not decorated by the infamous Joe Farcus. More on that later!

-(old news) Celebrity Cruises’ newest ship, Celebrity Silhouette, has been launched, christened, and is now in service. And might I say, she looks to be a fantastic ship!

-The recent rash of storms in the Atlantic has caused problems with itineraries, damage to private destinations, and a large public relations problem for Royal Caribbean.

-Mickey Arison (my hero!) has a twitter!

And finally… The final block of the Disney Fantasy has been placed!

So that is pretty much all the news that I care to post right now. Sorry, I know I usually go into more detail, but it's late, and I don’t want to :D Stay tuned for my next article, “Why You Should Cruise”. That should be up maybe later today, tomorrow, or in the next few days!

This past few weeks. The SS United States, Cunard in Los Angeles, and other industry news!

EEEEEEE!!!!!! I am still glowing! Why? Well if you don’t know by now…Cunards Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth were here in Los Angeles!!! It was beautiful!! Too beautiful........I almost died. But that’s not all that happening lately, nope. There is also news of RCI’s plans for a new class of ships, some small updates on the Carnival Splendor (the one that caught fire), Oceana’s newest ship is out and sailing, the SS United States has been bought and some other news!

Cunard!
AHHHHH!!!!! AHHHH!!!!! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!! Seeing two of the Cunard Queens here in my home town was incredible! The day started off very early, like at 3:30 am early!(…usually I have not even gone to sleep yet at that time.). I got up this early so I would be able to travel from Pasadena to the port (a drive of about 30 miles I’d say) in time to see the Queen Elizabeth sail into port. Unfortunately, when I got there to San Pedro (the port district of the City of Los Angeles) there was some very thick fog and I was not able to see the ship sail in through Angles Gate (the entrance to the Port to Los Angeles), however I was able to go to a park across the quay from the cruise terminal. From here, I was able to see the QE come up the main channel through the fog and dock at the terminal. It was beautiful and I was totally ship geeking out!! (photo at right- "Queen Victoria" by flickr member "Voyager One")

There was only one problem I had. For some reason, it had been decided that the QE would use one of the lower terminals. Let me explain…the cruise terminals at the Port of Los Angeles are arrange in a ‘L’ shape. Two berths are parallel to the main channel, the other terminal and berth is perpendicular to the channel (you see it in the beginning sequence of “The Love Boat”) and it’s perfect for ship spotting as there is a small park and boardwalk located across the slip from it. This later terminal is where I wanted the ship to dock but alas, they docked at the other lover terminal. This terminal isn’t horrible for ship spotting as there is a long walkway that has a good view of the ship but it does put more distance between the ship and you not to mention a large parking lot and a chain link fence. As it turns out, the Sapphire Princess and the Norwegian Star ended up taking the 2 other berths.

As you know, I have my problems with the Queen Elizabeth but seeing her in person was great. I have to admit I am really starting to like this ship (even though I stand by all I have said before) and have never been able to resist a ship in Cunard color. She’s still not as good looking as her sister the Queen Victoria but she’s not as bad as she looks in some pictures. After looking at her pretty much all day she departed from LA in the dark as me, my family (who I dragged along with me) and some other shipgeeks watched.

Next day, it was the Queen Victoria (my favorite of the two)!!! For the sake of keeping this article at a shorter length I shan’t go into the details of the day. I think it will suffice to say, that the day went pretty much like the day before had gone…she docked at the wrong terminal (Disney Wonder got the one I wanted for QV), I geeked out and she was beautiful! I should also mention that despite that fact that the QV had been to Los Angeles before, this was my first time seeing her, which made it very special to me. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch her sail out as I had to get back up to Pasadena but I am sure it was beautiful!!

The only thing that would have made the weekend better was if Cunard had allowed me to visit!!




Royals New Ship?

Speaking about RCI’s better then expected results for the 4th quarter of 2010 and the year as a whole, Richard Fain Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean also stated that RCI is working on a new class of ship.

In his own words…

"I know the question, when will you be ordering another ship is out there, and
it's waiting to be asked -- it almost always is," said Fain. "I have previously
confirmed that while we look forward to a period of slower growth, we do not aim
to stagnate."

“It will probably be the start of a new a series, which
would incorporate our latest learnings about efficiency and about guest
amenities.”

“We’ve been working intensively on developing a design that
reflects our innovative spirit but in an efficient package and we think we are
near an acceptable outcome,”

Of course, the online cruise and ship geek communities like Cruise Critic or my favorite Cruise Talk at Travel Server, have been buzzing with speculation and predictions about this new class of ships. Everyone is sure that the ships will be smaller then the Oasis class (that is pretty much what Fain said) but can’t seem to agree on just how much smaller. Some are predicting ships around 180,000grt and others are predicting a more modest 120,000 to 130,000grt ship. Some speculate that these ships will not have all the bells and whistles of the Oasis Class or the Freedom Class, others say that these amenities (like the Boardwalk or Central Park on Oasis) can and should appear on these new smaller ships as they are what RCI is know for.

If I can throw my own predictions into the mix here… Personally I think that RCI will or should go smaller with this new class; maybe around 110,000 to 130,000grt in size. I also think that while many of the newer features on RCI ships should be retained, I think these ships should be toned down slightly. My reasoning for these ideas is this…I have read many reviews and opinions that have said they would like to see smaller ships from RCI. For many, the Oasis, Freedom and even the Voyager class are just to large for them, they prefer the likes of the panamax (the largest size that can fit in the Panama Canal) Radiance Class ship. A class of ships sized in between the larger classes and the smaller classes in RCI’s fleet could at like a bridge or stepping stone, for people transitioning to the larger ships. A smaller ship also has more versatility then a larger ship. It can serve more destinations and be put to work on up and coming markets, for example, Australia or Asia. Also some destinations like Alaska, Hawaii or other Caribbean destinations, are more suited for smaller ships (if you can call 120,000grt small).

What ever comes out, I am sure it will be great! RCI are know for their newbuilds. Its very exciting!

Oceana’s New Ship!

Oceana (a luxury line) just put its first new ship, the Marina, into service this past week. Oceana is a relatively new cruise line, started in 2003, and up until now has only had 3 “R” Class ships which were built in the early 2000’s for the now defunct, Renaissance Cruises. A few years ago Oceana ordered a duo of new ships for the line. These new ships would be larger and hold more people then the original ships but were still heavily related to them.

A few days ago, Oceana hosted a naming ceremony for the ship at its home port of Miami. The ship was christened by Entertainment Tonight star Mary Hart. After this the ship set off on a preview cruise with travel agents (which are responsible for the vast majority of Oceana’s bookings) and invited guests. So far the ship looks good (maybe a little dated looking in some areas, but that works for Oceana’s passengers) and the reviews are really good.

The United States has been bought…

The world famous Ocean Liner, the SS United States, has recently been bought from its previous owners, NCL, by he United States Conservancy, a group dedicated to the future career and preservation of this American flag ship. (photo at right - "The SS United States coming in" by flickr member "Captain Zenith ")

The sad thing is that most American’s have never heard of this ship, their flagship and Ship of State, the United States (also know as the Big U). They don’t know of its unique mark on the USA’s history, they don’t know of its career or the way it came to symbolize a powerful post WWII United States to the rest of the world.

The United States Conservancy and I would love to change that.

Short history of this ship…
After WWII, the US wanted to build a passenger liner to serve on the North Atlantic and compete with Brittan and France for the passenger trade. The ship was to be safe, reliable, fast…like really fast, and comfortable. On top of this, seeing the way the glorious Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth heroically served the allied forces during WWII, delivering hundreds of thousands of troops to the front, the US wanted a liner that could do the same in a time of war.

The answer to these demands was the beautiful United States, our nation’s new Ship of State. Setting sail on her maiden voyage on July 4th, 1952, she shattered all previous transatlantic speed records (……the Queen Mary’s speed record…-_-…). After that she went on to have a successful but short career. She carried many of the worlds most elite on almost every voyage and never once did she have any kind of mechanical failure delay her. Throughout her career she was an icon of American ingenuity, innovation and power. However due to the emergence of clumsy jet travel, transatlantic travel by ocean liner began to decline. Because of this, the United States Line (her owners) decided to with draw her from service and lay her up. After that she was passed from owner to owner having all her interior fittings removed until eventually she was bought by NCL with the intention of putting her back into active service in Hawaii. These plans never materialized for many reasons and as such the Big U remained laid up in Philadelphia. Through the last few years the United States Conservancy has worked tirelessly to insure that this ship is preserved and protected. In 2009, NCL announced that it was taking bids for the ship which of course attracted the scrap yards. In response to this the Conservancy ramped up its fund raising in effort to by the ship themselves. Luckily due to the generosity of some people and NCL, the Conservancy was able to reach an agreement with NCL where the Conservancy would buy the ship for only 3 million…even though this was less then the bids from scrap yards.

This past week the transaction became final and the SS United States is under the owner ship of the Conservancy. Now comes the real challenge…the Conservancy only has a limited amount of time to raise money and come up with a viable way to save this historic ship. Keeping up a ship is not cheap and to say that this will be a difficult undertaking is a large understatement. But I sincerely hope that they will succeed…this ship is too important for it to just be scraped or laid up forever. It’s a symbol of our country and needs to be saved. I would encourage anyone reading this to donate to the cause or do anything you can to help the Conservancy in this important effort.
PLEASE LOOK HERE... http://www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/

Anyways, sorry it has been so long since I have written on here. I haven’t forgotten about this blog or my readers (who apparently now number in the thousands :D ).
Hope by the time you finish reading this really really long article that I have the next one ready for you. I currently have 3 other ones in the oven.

Stay tooned!!

Above photo- the SS United States (top) passing her fleetmate the SS America (bottom) in New York City.

California Cruising

With my recent article about Carnival and the exodus from Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California, I thought it might be interesting to talk a little bit about cruising out of California, and what I think should happen in the future as far as California cruising and destinations go.

First, why is California having these problems?

Cruising from California is failing for a number of reasons. First, there is the violence in Mexico. People are scared to travel there (at least this side of Mexico) even though Mexican officials and port officials, as well as the industry, point out that the touristy areas are not affected or dangerous. People don’t see it that way and the numbers reflect that (apparently).

Secondly, the infamous Swine Flu (da da da daaa!!) also bit into the Mexican Riviera cruise passenger numbers. When the outbreak first occurred, the cruise lines moved ships from the Riviera to California and Canadian coastal cruises that went up to Vancouver and Victoria, BC and San Francisco. This affected many passengers and the bottom line for the cruise lines, as some people just cancelled their cruise altogether. (Funnily enough some people actually really liked the altered itineraries).

Thirdly, Southern California’s economy is sluggish at the moment. With the recession hitting CA pretty hard (haha!! we are still richer then all you puny other states! Just playing!!!) and even if the ships are sailing full, this causes problems for the industry as the sluggish economy drives down cruise prices in the region, and subsequently, profits.

Fourthly, a problem that port officials here in California like to point out, is that Mexico has failed miserably to market and advertise its ports and the uniqueness of each one. Because of this many people are just not really interested in the ports on the Mexican Riviera because they know nothing about them or why they would be a good cruising destination.

Fifthly, I think there is a lack of choices on this side of the continent. Out here we have the big 3 mass market lines…Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and NCL. Other than that, lines usually only sail really short seasons here, or just stop in on their way to Alaska, Panama or Asia. Carnival, RCI and NCL are all great, but what if you want a Cunard or Celebrity Cruises experience? You’re out of luck.



The last problem I will list here today is destinations, and the things limiting them for the west coast. You see, one of the biggest problems facing the cruise industry in California is a lack of varied itineraries. On a 7 day cruise out of California, you have the Mexican Riviera and that’s pretty much it. You can go to Hawaii, Costa Rica, Panama or Canada but all those cruises take longer then a week, and in the case of Hawaii, you can’t even cruise from CA to Hawaii without first stopping in Mexico or Canada, according to federal law. That law is also the reason you don’t see cruises of the west coast.

Which brings me to what the future should hold for CA, in my opinion…

This law should be changed. California has many coastal cities like, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Pismo Beach, Monterey, Eureka, San Simeon or San Francisco that would benefit greatly from cruise business. The problem with this is the Jones Act; a federal law that requires that foreign flag ships stop at a foreign port between traveling from one US port to another. Back in the day of ships being the only way to get around, this was done as a way to give American Shipping companies an edge over foreign competition. Forcing foreign ships to first stop in a port out side the US meant that foreign ships could not keep the same schedules that American ships could, and it also meant that they could not service routes like New York to Florida, or California to Hawaii.

Back in the day this might have been a good idea, but now-a-days it’s a problem in some cases…this is one of them. Cruises from L.A. up the California Coast could be really popular and could generate millions and millions of dollars for the local economies of the cities cruises would go to. Not to mention it could help turn around the cruise industry on the west coast by giving more options to the cruising public and the industry. It could also open up cruising to Hawaii and give more options in Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Most cruise ships are flagged in foreign countries like the Bahamas or Panama or England so all these good ports are, for all intents and purposes, cut off.

Like I said in my last article though, I think the California based cruise industry will start to pick up again soon. Maybe in 2012! The port of Los Angeles is investing over one billion dollars into the surrounding area and into a new cruise terminal as a way to attract more ships and cruise lines. Southern California is a great place and it would be a real shame for cruise ships to keep leaving here. Also like I said, California is one of the largest cruise markets in the country, behind FL, and it would make little sense to leave CA.

We will have to see what the future hold for California. I think it’s going to be good! Maybe a Cunard ship will be based out here all year round!! AHHHH!!!! Dream come true!

P.S.- My Dearest and most beautiful Cunard,
Please let me visit next week!!!!! PLEASE!!!
I love you always and forever!
Yours forever…
- Mark

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")