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")

A little late but....Royal Caribbean Launches Newest ship….Allure of the Seas!!

Earlier this month RCI (Royal Caribbean International) launched Allure of the Seas on her maiden voyage to the Caribbean. While I will try not to make this to long today, I will try and give some small tidbits of information and some commentary here. Allure is the largest passenger ship in history, even larger then her identical sister ship the Oasis of the Seas (but only by 50 millimeters I think it was LOL!) and 5 times the size of Titanic. She can carry over 6,000 passengers and over 2000 crew members on each cruise.

Above photo "Pictures of the Allure of the seas boat as she docked in Labadee, Haiti" by flickr member "Nathan & Raquel"

She has 7 “neighborhoods”, like her sister, Oasis.
They are…
---Central Park, with real plants and trees running down the center line of the ship, sporting shops and restaurants. Photo at left "Launch of Royal Caribbean International's newest ship Allure of the Seas. Central Park." by flickr member "new cruise ships"
---The Boardwalk, a large open outdoor space at the aft end of the ship, modeled after different ocean side boardwalks around the world like the famous Santa Monica pier here in California. It has several restaurants, stores, bars, and handmade wooden carousel, rock climbing walls and at the stern of the ship; an Aqua Theater with original diving and acrobat shows.
---The Royal Promenade, a large shopping and entertainment arcade that has become something of a staple on newer RCI ships, runs down the center of the ship below central park. It has restaurants, shops, bars (including one that acts as an elevator between The Royal Promenade and Central Park) and even a couple of parades that happen several times during the cruise.
---Entertainment Place, an area that includes Studio B, Allure’s ice rink which features ice shows, Comedy Club, Jazz lounge, The Casino and the Amber theater, Allures main theater with shows like Chicago and a RCI original “Blue Planet”.
--- The Pool and Sports Zone, with several different pools, including a beach like pool that gets gradually deeper as you walk, a zip line that zips you 9 stories high above the Boardwalk area and 2 Flowriders: Serf simulators. It also features an large adult only space at the front of the ship over the bridge which has a light buffet by day and a Brazilian Churrascaria restaurant by night, 2 levels of out door lounge space and 2 whirlpools that hang over the side of the ship.
---The Youth Zone featuring several different areas for different age groups including a nursery for babies, the theater and a science lad.
---The Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, which features a large fully equipped gym and a large luxurious spa.

Photo at right "Boardwalk 3" by flickr member "Gelinda"

The ship is beautiful and seems to be doing very well already. She’s identical in almost every way to her sister Oasis but does have some key difference, for example the Boardwalk on Oasis features a seafood restaurant, The Seafood Shack, where as on Allure there is a Mexican Restaurant, Rita’s Cantina, in its place. This was done to attract more people to the Boardwalk area which apparently was under-performing on Oasis. There are also some other small differences such as Oasis does not have the Brazilian restaurant mentioned above, Oasis features “Hairspray” as its headlining show where as Allure has “Chicago”, Allure has the first Starbucks at sea (STARBUCKS IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD I TELL YOU!), Allure has a hot dog eatery absent on Oasis, the look of the Boardwalk has been changed and there is one other difference on Allure that I am not so keen on.

A few months back, RCI teamed up with DreamWorks Animation Studios. Doesn’t sound too bad at first…you can have Shrek, Puss In Boots and Po play with the kids in the kid areas which they (the kids) will love. But it’s not like that here… and this is RCI’s one and only big fail with Allure so far, in my opinion. DreamWorks characters are everywhere. The Ice show is “How to Train Your Dragon on Ice” (Great movie BTW), the parade that goes down the Royal Promenade is DreamWorks filled (from what I have heard), DreamWorks movies are shown, the characters are walking around and the thing that bothered me the most was Princess Fiona as the Allures Godmother. Don’t get me wrong, The DreamWorks movies are good, I am just not crazy about them being all over this ship.

Disney Cruise Lines does the same thing on their ship but I don’t know…Shrek doesn’t seem quite as loved or as endearing as Mickey Mouse does he?

But besides that I have no major gripe with Allure of the Seas. She’s beautiful, great and I desperately want to sail on her!!! She and Oasis really are great ships and both together, in my opinion, offer a unique and great cruise experience.

I am hoping to write another article on the Oasis class ships, in which I will go into more detail about the ship, soon so keep reading!

Above photo "Sunrise at 6:45 am off the coast of Ft Lauderdale, Florida aboard Allure of the Seas." by flickr member "jazzybeatles- Joe DeRenzo "

Cunard’s Newest ship, The Queen Elizabeth…

Last month Cunard took delivery and put into service its newest ship the mv Queen Elizabeth, named after the original RMS Queen Elizabeth of 1940.

Before I go on, I actually all ready wrote an article on the subject, that I never got around to posting on here. Here it is….

“”Last week Cunard (hehe…..I love Cunard!!!) took delivery of their newest ship, the “Queen Elizabeth”. Now let me say here, right now before anything else is said, that I LOVE Cunard with passion! They are my favorite Line and are by far the greatest in the world with a history that spans over 170 glorious years! (If anyone says their line is better kick them in the shin…hard). My favorite ships in history are Cunard ships, like my all time favorite, The Glorious, The Beautiful, The Perfect, The Way Better Then The Normandie (though she was great too), The Incredible, The Sexy…The R.M.S. QUEEN MARY!!!! Cunard is great…I love them.

Ok now, that being said, I have to admit I am somewhat divided on this ship. First there is the part of me that loves all ships no matter what. They are all beautiful in their own way (yes….even Norwegian Epic). Looking at the current pictures of this ship’s interiors I have to say they look pretty nice and no doubt this ship will do well for Cunard and their parent company Carnival Corp. From a purely ship-critic stand point there is nothing really to complain about, but from a Shipgeek stand point and that of a die hard Cunard-geek I have to say I have some problems with this ship.

My problems are thus… First of all, the name, the name Queen Elizabeth is very significant and historical for Cunard. Two of their greatest ships (and two of the greatest ships in history) have held that name, the original Queen Elizabeth of 1940 (sister ship of the Queen Mary) and the very very famous QE2 (Queen Elizabeth 2). That doesn’t seem like it should matter but it does. Those 2 ships were both unique and beautiful. They were important. This new ship on the other hand is not really on the same level, it is 11th in a long line of Carnival Corp. ships of the same design, the Vista Class (which includes the beautiful Queen Victoria), and is really just another cruise ship. Now there is no problem with that, I love even regular cruise ships, I also really like the Vista Class but considering the history behind the name and the company I would have hoped for something a bit more special then this. Above picture "Queen Elizabeth and Waverley" by flickr memeber "andywsx"

Another problem I have with it is the interiors. Like I said above they are actually pretty nice but there is still on problem I have with them….they are practically carbon copies of Queen Victoria’s interiors! Now, again, don’t get me wrong, I love QV (Queen Victoria) and her interiors however I do have a big problem with them being copied over to the QE. When QV came out, Cunard said her interiors recalled old ships like the Lusitania or the Mauretania and was “Edwardian” (like the Titanic for you non-shipgeeks) in her style. Now the QE on the other hand, Cunard says is styled in the same way the original Queen Elizabeth was,…as an art deco ship. But if the interiors are basically copies of QV’s Edwardian interiors (with really minor modifications) then how can the ship be art deco? Really, looking at the pictures there is only one room on the ship that stands out to me as art deco, the main dining room, but even there its really more of an 1980’s art deco then one meant to recall that of the 1940’s QE.

One other problem I have, and I admit this is more petty then anything, is I find her rather unattractive. The Vista Class is actually quite lovely; QV for example is very good looking. This new ship though has a large structure on top above the bridge and a built up stern (to allow for more cabins and therefore more revenue) which in my opinion gives her a resemblance to Norwegian Epic (poor Norwegian Epic has set the standard for ugly in the industry).

I think, had Cunard given this ship another name like Caronia, Mauretania, or any of the other names from Cunard’s past fleet, this ship wouldn’t bother me. I guess to put it simply I just don’t find it worthy of its name or the history behind it. If you’re not a shipgeek you probably would not understand. I know Cunard is a business and has to do what make the most sense for their guest and their business but still I can’t help but feel this way.

Cunard’s flag ship, the RMS Queen Mary 2 or 2004, holds one of the most important and historical names in Cunard history and indeed, maritime history as a whole and in my opinion she is totally worthy of it. She’s a beautiful and unique, one off design. She’s an actual Ocean Liner (as opposed to a cruise ship, depending on your definition of an ocean liner), she sail the historic transatlantic route between England and New York and she actually is Art Deco like her beautiful predecessor the Queen Mary. She’s proof that a new Queen Elizabeth could have been really special. The Picture above shows the difference between Queen Victoria's profile and Queen Elizabeth's

Well now that I have had my rant…I have to say that I do, in fact, like the QE. She’s a perfectly nice ship, one that I would not hesitate to sail on or hesitate to encourage others to sail on. I am sure Cunard will be very happy with her. I am also sure that many loyal Cunard passengers will enjoy her. Hopefully I will be able to get aboard her someday…maybe if I am lucky, when she comes out here to Los Angeles in a few months on her Inaugural World Cruise!! Wink wink Cunard!!””


….Ok there you have it but now that its been a month since I wrote this and a month since this all happened, I have new things to say about this ship.

First of all I have to admit that even though I stand by everything I said in my above article, this ship has started to grow on me (I have never been able to resist a ship in Cunard livery). The more I see of this ship the more I notice little things about her that I like, Little differences between her and her sister Queen Victoria and little details that Cunard has added or changed on her. I won’t go into detail but I will say that I really do hope to someday sail on this ship and I really really hope that I will somehow be able to visit this ship when she is here in Los Angeles and then write about that visit... *WINK WINK CUNARD!!

Here are some links for you….

http://www.cunard.com/Ships/Queen-Elizabeth/
http://www.cunard.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Queen_Elizabeth

Norovirus at Sea

I know this probably seems like an odd thing for someone who wants to support the cruise industry, to write about. Certainly, Norovirus on cruise ships is not a nice topic for the cruise industry, but I feel that to make this blog as credible as possible, I have to write on all subjects concerning the industry, good and bad. Otherwise, I will only be giving you a biased cruise centric blog that will not help you to be well informed.

Every year, thousands of cruise passengers become ill onboard cruise ships with an illness called, “Norovirus”. Norovirus is a gastro-intestinal illness that is transmitted through contact with an infected person, or through drinking fecal contaminated water. As the second most common illness in America, it causes nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and generally makes you feel rather sick. It lasts for several days but usually, you only really feel the symptoms for about 24 hours.

Obviously, this is an uncomfortable subject for the cruise lines who would much rather not speak of it at all. Every time there is an outbreak aboard a ship, news outlets go on and on about the “cruise ship virus,” “hundreds sick,” and all the dangers of sailing. On top of that, there are several organizations and people running websites that would lead you to believe that all of this sickness is a real threat to the industry, and to the traveling public. Some websites go on, and on, and on about how cruise lines do not care about their ship’s cleanliness, or the safety and health of their passengers, and therefore do not take steps to prevent sickness onboard, and then try to cover it up when it does happen. That doesn’t even make sense. According to them, cruise ships are breeding grounds for horrible diseases, and a danger to society.

Let me say it loud and clear….DO NOT LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE! At least get the facts and both sides of the story before you decide one way or another.

I know it probably sounds like I am cheerleading for the industry (maybe just a little…
;] ) but still the facts are thus. Yes many people get sick on cruise ships, (several thousand every year get Norovirus on ships) but lets stand back and look at the big picture. According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represent the cruise industry, the industry will carry 14.5 million people this year alone…now compare that with the few thousand people who actually get sick….its not even one tenth of one percent of the total number of cruise passengers.

Bottom line…though, yes it can sometimes seem like people are getting sick left and right, the fact is that’s not the case. You are unlikely to get Norovirus onboard a cruise ship, so don’t be afraid of cruising. You’re more likely to get Norovirus at the grocery store, or from your children contracting it at school, or anywhere else.

As you probably noticed, above I said that Norovirus is transmitted through drinking water contaminated with fecal matter…in fact, this is the primary way the sickness spreads, as well as by human contact, and through airborne particles.

Now I am sure you are probably wondering about the water supply on cruise ships….the above statement probably has you worried that when you drink water on a cruise ship, you are drinking poop water filled with disease and death.

Again, let me try and allay those fears. On a cruise ship you are not drinking poop water, in fact, the water you are drinking is very clean, never been drank before, water. Drinking water, and toilet/waste water are on separate systems that cannot be mixed so do not worry about that. The water you drink at your house isn’t even as clean.

Outbreak investigations by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, have shown that Norovirus on cruise ships is transmitted not by water, but by person to person contact. In fact, a ship’s water supply has never been implicated in one of these investigations.

Now I imagine you are wondering why this would be...why would Norovirus spread differently on a ship, than on land? Well the reason is really quite simple if you think about it. On land, people are spread out over a larger area and there is much less person to person contact. On a ship, the opposite is true. You have thousands of people in a much smaller space where its inevitable that there will be more contact between people and, yes…when it’s there (which it usually isn’t), transmission of different illnesses, like Norovirus, through human contact, or by touching something a sick person has handled.

Also, something else worth pointing out, is when a cruise passenger becomes sick onboard, they will be quarantined in their cabin for the remainder of the cruise, or until the ship’s doctor determines that they are no longer contagious (bummer for them). On top of this, every time there is an outbreak, the ship’s crew will thoroughly sanitize the ship and implement increased sanitation measures, such as making sure passengers sanitize their hands before entering any restaurants.

In conclusion…fear of contracting a sickness while on a cruise should not keep you from cruising, nor should it taint your opinion of the cruise industry. It’s pretty unlikely that you will ever get sick on a cruise. Is there a chance you will? Of course there is! But when are you ever going to be completely safe from that chance? Never. No place is completely safe from sickness.

Always remember to use common sense when traveling anywhere though ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS! And do your part to make sure you and the people around you do not get sick. Be smart, be clean, be courteous and you will be fine.

So take a cruise and go without the fear of getting sick.

(Above photo by flickr member "StGrundy ")

For More information you can look here....

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/norovirus/norovirus.htm