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RCCL's Fain Offers Strong
Endorsement of Agents
Royal Caribbean Cruises
chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain today gave a resounding endorsement
to the travel agent channel as Royal's "absolutely dominant
way" of getting business going forward.
Goldstein said, "We truly
believe we have the best relationship with the travel trade in the
business and maintaining and strengthening relations [with travel
agents] is a high priority.
Grand Turk on track for
half million cruisers
With 229 calls scheduled for
2009, the Grand Turk Cruise Center is on track to handle a record
500,000 passengers in the coming year.
Grand
Turk Cruise Center can accommodate up to 6,000
passengers per day at facilities including a private beach, swimming
pool, shops, FlowRider surfing simulator and a Margaritaville-themed
bar and restaurant.
Disney offers order-ahead
baby supplies
Disney Cruise Line is teaming
with online retailer Babies Travel Lite to provide infant and toddler
supplies for delivery to staterooms starting March 15.
The service will enable families
to order from a selection of more than 1,000 brand-name products such
as diapers, baby food and infant formula in advance of sailing via a
link to Babies Travel Lite on the www.disneycruise.com site.
The new amenity complements the
baby supplies available for purchase on board, along with items like
bottle warmers and strollers that can be borrowed free of charge at
Guest Services.
RCCL to swap peak occupancy
for price integrity
In a significant revenue policy
shift, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it is willing to accept
slightly lower occupancy levels in order to maintain pricing integrity.
The practice of deep discounts to
fill the last cabins is not seen as the right way to go in the
current market, RCCL chairman and ceo Richard Fain said.
Brian Rice, cfo, said that while
load factors will likely decrease as a result, a ‘fundamental
change’ is not expected -- the occupancy rate will perhaps drop
a couple points lower than Royal Caribbean’s standard 105%.
Rice noted that when it comes to
‘developmental products,’ the company sees diminishing
returns when it slashes rates to fill every last bed.
Tax or pricing to blame for
Alaska ship exit?
Royal Caribbean
International’s plans to pull Serenade of the Seas out of Alaska
in 2010 sparked a debate about whether the head tax and stringent new
discharge rules are to blame.
Or is it simply pricing?
Maybe all of the above. RCI
thinks the ship can earn more elsewhere, a company official told the
Associated Press. He also cited RCI’s global deployment strategy
but said the $50 tax and other issues on the 2006 ballot measure were factors.
John Binkley, president of the
Alaska Cruise Association, told AP the tax could discourage cost-conscious
customers. And a tourism official said the discharge rules for
certain metals, such as copper, are unrealistically stringent and
tougher for ships than for local communities.
Caribbean most resilient,
Alaska weakest
Caribbean pricing, though down,
continues to show the most resilience, while Alaska trends are
hitting new lows, according to a just-released Wachovia booking survey.
Year over year pricing for
close-in bookings (under 60 days) has stabilized since December,
while trends for the second and third quarters are weakening across
the board, the survey found.
Caribbean pricing continues to
show the most resilience, generally down low single digits for
cruises of seven days and longer, and down 10% to 12% for cruises
less than seven days. US-sourced Europe cruise pricing is down low
double digits, with European-sourced sailings likely down mid single
digits, Wachovia said.
Extra Carnival calls push
Saint John to record
New Brunswick’s Port of
Saint John expects a record year thanks to six additional visits from
Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Triumph. These newly added calls
will push projected passenger numbers above 192,000, surpassing the
183,000 record set last year.
‘In a year of continued
economic uncertainty, this is very welcome news,’ said Capt. Al
Soppitt, president and ceo of the Saint John Port Authority.
‘When Carnival notified us that they needed to make changes to
some of their summer itineraries, we worked hard to accommodate our
major cruise client.’
As earlier reported, Carnival
Triumph will be the first vessel to call at the new cruise terminal
at Pugsley Wharf. The ship is booked for 26 visits.
Delta Queen is heading to Chattanooga
Ambassadors International, owners
of the historic Delta Queen, have chartered the vessel to Harry
Phillips, owner of Chattanooga Water Taxi and Fat Cat Ferry in
Chattanooga, Tenn., to act as caretaker.
Ambassadors said the
paddlewheeler will operate as a boutique hotel, preserved in its
current state and managed by Sydney Slome, owner of Chattanooga’s
StoneFort Inn. Slome purchased the historic inn from Phillips two
years ago.
Ambassadors said it continues to
search for a buyer to operate Delta Queen as an overnight vessel
while also pursuing a congressional exemption to enable the
82-year-old wooden vessel to resume service.
Delta Queen is a National
Historic Landmark and recently was nominated for inclusion on the
National Trust for Preservation’s 2009 list of America’s
Most Endangered Historic Places.
Carnival sales reps take
‘Polar Bear Plunge’
Members of Carnival Cruise
Lines’ sales team braved the icy waters of Maryland’s
Chesapeake Bay last weekend as part of the ‘Polar Bear
Plunge’ fundraiser benefiting Special Olympics.
Carnival was the official cruise
line sponsor of the annual event and provided ‘funnel hats’
shaped like the line’s signature winged smokestack along with
donating beach towels for participants to dry off after swimming in
the 31-degree water.
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