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Crown Princess UPDATE
Princess Cruises said that human error was
responsible for the strong listing the Crown Princess
experienced on July 18 following its departure from Port Canaveral,
Fla. In a statement, Princess Cruises President Alan Buckelew said
that it would be “inappropriate” to further comment on the
cause of the incident while an investigation is underway.
“We can appreciate there may be concern as
to the cause of this incident, and questions about whether it could
happen again,” Buckelew said. “However, we can confirm that
the incident was due to human error and the appropriate personnel
changes have been made. We want to unequivocally emphasize that we
would never operate an unsafe ship, nor would the U.S. Coast Guard
allow a ship to sail that had any safety issues.”
In last week’s incident 240 people were
injured and 94 were hospitalized. Princess said that all but one has
been released and that none of the injuries was life-threatening.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Bermuda authorities
cleared the Crown Princess to depart New York July 22 on a revised,
seven-day Caribbean sailing. Princess said it sailed with about 3,000 passengers.
Commodore Warwick bids farewell
Cunard Line Commodore Ron Warwick stepped from
ship to shore to helicopter after a special retirement party in the
port of Southampton.
The Commodore and his wife Kim were cheered and
applauded during a standing ovation from 250 guests at the farewell
lunch held yesterday on board Queen Mary 2. A lone piper led the
couple from the ship’s Britannia Restaurant as they made their
way to the gang way – their route lined by officers and crew of
the Cunard flagship. As they arrived on the quayside a helicopter
specially chartered by Cunard landed next to the port’s Queen
Elizabeth II terminal ready to fly Mr and Mrs Warwick to their home
in Somerset.
The Warwick’s helicopter took off and
circled Queen Mary 2 as officers, crew, guests and passengers lined
open decks waving their farewells. The ship’s whistle sounded
repeatedly during the fly-over.
No plans for fuel surcharge
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. continues its
hedging strategy and a variety of conservation initiatives to cope
with steep fuel costs, but no passenger surcharge is planned.
Costa Crociere is testing a fuel surcharge in
Europe following the implementation of surcharges by Crystal Cruises
and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
‘We will watch what anyone does. But so far
we have seen fuel surcharges as a temporary solution at best,’
said Richard Fain, chairman and ceo of RCCL. ‘At this point,
we’re not pursuing that,’ he added.
Royal Caribbean’s fuel savings initiatives
include the limited use of biodiesel on gas turbine ships. The fuel
is made from vegetable oil feed stocks such as soy bean and palm oil.
‘In our test, it’s even cleaner than
the fuel we’ve been burning in our gas turbines,’ Fain
said. Biodiesel also produces lower nitrogen oxide emissions than
conventional fuels.
The company recently contracted for the
installation of diesel generators on its gas turbine vessels, with
the first installation scheduled for April 2007.
Other initiatives include restructuring
itineraries and the use of LED lights and reflective window film treatments.
Europe, Alaska strength for RCI, Celebrity
Despite softness in the Caribbean and Bermuda
during the second half of 2006, Alaska and Europe are performing well
for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.
‘Alaska and Europe continue strong. The
slowdown is primarily in the Caribbean and Bermuda,’ RCCL
chairman and ceo Richard Fain said. ‘On-board revenues continue
to be very robust, which helps balance some of the potential weakness
on the ticket side,’ he added.
2007 bookings are coming closer in, but the same
level of inventory is booked now as last year at this time, Fain said.
Despite pricing pressures in the Caribbean,
Freedom of the Seas is performing ‘beyond our expectations,’
according to RCI president Adam Goldstein. The company poured $7m
into introducing the ship. In service for seven weeks now, Freedom is
‘everything we hoped it would be,’ Goldstein said.
No hit from Mideast conflict
Are Mediterranean cruise sales being hurt by the
war raging between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon?
No, said Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises.
‘We watch this very closely. We haven’t
seen any fall-off in Med bookings as a result of what’s going on
in the Middle East,’ Hanrahan said.
The World is sold out
The final few residences aboard the 165-home The
World have been purchased, completing the sale of the ship’s
inventory, management company ResidenSea Ltd. announced today in New York.
The ship is now owned by its residents, free and
clear of any debt, according to the company. ‘We are delighted
to announce this major milestone for the ship and our residents,’
said ResidenSea president James St. John III.
The World was launched in 2002 and 18 months
later its owners collectively acquired the vessel. The ship now has
109 residents, some of whom own more than one unit.
While original inventory sales are complete, 14
re-sale units are currently available at prices ranging from $800,000
for a studio to $7.2m for three-bedroom, 3,400-square-foot home, said
Nikki Upshaw, svp sales and marketing for ResidenSea. Re-sale
availability is expected to continue at about 5% to 10% of inventory
at any given time.
Also, the rental program operated by ResidenSea
will continue to offer stays of a minimum of six nights, ranging from
$1,200 to $5,000 per residence, per night, including most meals and
beverages, port charges, gratuities and taxes. The rental program has
been vital to achieving sold-out status; almost a third of current
owners rented first, Upshaw said.
Upshaw said the median age of owners is 52. Most
are entrepreneurs who are still working and use The World as a
holiday home. About half are Americans and 40% are Europeans.
Miami sets workshop on port access
Access to the Port of Miami, including funding
for a $1bn tunnel that would help ease traffic and congestion
downtown, is the theme of a port-sponsored workshop on Aug. 8.
'This workshop is of importance to the entire
industry including the cruise segments,' said Hydi Webb, the port's
cruise marketing manager. Acting port director Bill Johnson
will play a key role in the proceedings. Miami-Dade County officials
and representatives from several cruise lines are expected to
participate, along with cargo operators, stevedoring firms and other stakeholders.
MSC extends ‘Kids Sail Free’ offer
MSC Cruises USA extended its ‘Kids Sail
Free’ holiday offer on the North American market to nearly all
of its Winter 2006-07 Caribbean season sailings.
Under the promotion, youngsters 17 and under
sharing a stateroom with two full-fare-paying adults go free on MSC
Lirica and MSC Opera on nearly all of the ships’ roundtrip
cruises from Fort Lauderdale.
St. Petersburg mega-project is underway
Work is underway in the Russian city of St.
Petersburg on a massive $1bn commercial and residential development
at Vasilievsky Island that will include new cruise and ferry facilities.
A new port channel and basin are being dredged, and seven berths for
passenger ships are planned.
Cruiseman Shorts
Legend of the Seas will become the first
Royal Caribbean International ship sailing in Europe to get a bedding
makeover as part of the line's bedding programme that will be rolled
out on all ships by the end of May 2007.
Cruise Lines International Association
(CLIA) announced that a record number of cruise lines have scheduled
"Down Under" Australia/New Zealand itineraries during the
2007/08 season. Cruise companies offering itineraries in this region
include Celebrity Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line,
Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises.
Princess Cruises has announced its 2007-08
lineup of Caribbean itineraries and the entry of new vessels into
this region. Cruisers can choose from vessels ranging from 680 to
3,100 passengers, sailing itineraries that vary from week-long
getaways to 16-day explorations of the Caribbean's less-known
locales. The new Emerald Princess will make her debut in the
Southern Caribbean on 10-day voyages from Ft. Lauderdale. The
intimate Royal Princess also offers a unique holiday option
with an unusual 16-day Southern Caribbean Sojourn that sails
roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale and includes three new ports of call
for Princess -- Samaná, Virgin Gorda and Bequia
Passengers aboard Carnival Pride aren't on
the beaches of Mexico this week as they planned. When they checked in
at Los Angeles last Sunday, they found they were going to Canada instead.
Tropical Storm Emilia was what was standing in their way of getting
to the Mexican Riviera.
A young American woman was reported missing from Royal
Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas and is presumed to have gone
overboard sometime early Tuesday while the ship sailed between
Civitavecchia and Naples. The woman was last seen about
12:30am on Tuesday by her parents' in their stateroom where she
planned to sleep. Her sister reported her missing about 7:30am on
Tuesday when she couldn't be located.
UPDATE: A Florida woman who
disappeared while on a cruise ship sailing along the coast of Italy
is dead, relatives said. Details surrounding the death of Elizabeth
Kay Galeana, 22, have not been revealed, but foul play was not
suspected, according to her brother. "Obviously our
entire family is devastated by the loss of Elizabeth," her half
brother, Brian Evans said in a statement. "While we are awaiting
the completion of the investigation into this tragedy, from what we
know at this time, we do not believe Elizabeth's death was a result
of any foul play." The family did not elaborate on how
they knew Galeana was dead.
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