BA names first Dreamliner routes

By Phil Davies

British Airways is to start new Boeing 787 Dreamliner services to Toronto and Newark after receiving the first in a fleet of the new generation aircraft.

The Toronto service is due to start from Heathrow on September 1 replacing 767s and 747s on the route followed by Newark, currently served by 767s and 777s, on October 1.

The airline’s first 787 touched down at Heathrow yesterday following Thomson Airways becoming the first UK carrier to take delivery of the 787 earlier in the month.

The aircraft was welcomed to Heathrow by Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent company International Airlines Group.

He said: "The 787 is a tremendous, innovative aircraft which sets new standards for environmental performance and operating efficiency and I'm sure British Airways' customers will love it," said Walsh.

"The 787 will become a mainstay of the British Airways fleet over the next few years."

BA will configure the 787 with 214 seats - 35 in Club World, 25 in World Traveller Plus and 154 in the World Traveller cabin.

The aircraft is the first of 24 Dreamliners BA has on order. Additionally, IAG recently announced that it will convert 18 options to firm orders for BA, subject to shareholder agreement.

Twelve of these will be extended range 787-10s, meaning that BA will operate the entire 787 family – the 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10.I

Boeing vice president of European sales Todd Nelp said: "The delivery of the first of BA's 787s is an exciting milestone for Boeing and British Airways.

"The 787 is the most technologically advanced and fuel-efficient commercial jetliner in its class. Its improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and cleaner cabin air will offer BA's passengers an unparalleled flying experience."

Disney Cruise Line tops J.D. Power satisfaction survey

By Tom Stieghorst

J.D. Power & Associates has ranked Disney Cruise Line tops for consumer satisfaction in its first-ever survey of the cruise industry.

Disney scored well ahead of the pack. Four other cruise lines were bunched together. But their satisfaction index scores placed Royal Caribbean International second, followed by Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises.

Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines rated below the industry average score for satisfaction, J.D. Power said.

The survey found 18% of passengers reported experiencing at least one problem on their cruise.

"Many cruise lines in the report have very high levels of passenger satisfaction, well above the report average; however, for more than a year, the overall industry has been dealing with a lot of negative news affecting customer perceptions, expectations and trust," said Ramez Faza, senior account manager of the global travel and hospitality practice at J.D. Power.

"To raise the bar, the industry must focus on meeting the needs of the nearly 20% of passengers who experience a problem with their cruise line experience," Faza said. 

Carnival to leave Norfolk in 2014

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines is shuffling several of its ships in 2014, and one result is that Norfolk, Va., will no longer serve as a cruise ship homeport.

The Carnival Glory will stay in Miami year-round after November. It had been originating cruises in Norfolk in the spring and fall seasons out of a $36 million terminal opened in 2007.

The switch would leave the terminal largely unused by the cruise industry. Glory became the only ship homeported in Norfolk after Royal Caribbean International relocated a ship from Norfolk to Baltimore three years ago.

Carnival's decision to keep the Glory in Miami also means it will not return to Boston, where it is currently offering a series of voyages through July.

In other deployments, the newly refurbished Carnival Sunshine will only stay in New Orleans for the upcoming winter, rather than year-round. It will move to year-round sailing from Cape Canaveral in April 2014, bumping the Carnival Dream to do seven-day cruises from New Orleans full time.

The Carnival Liberty, currently based in Miami, will shift in April to do year-round five- and eight-day Caribbean cruises from Cape Canaveral, as well.

The Carnival Pride moves from Baltimore to Tampa for seven-day cruises from December 2014 to April 2015, replacing the Carnival Legend, which departs from Tampa for Australia next August. 

Defining adequate compensation

By Michelle Baran

Massive flooding in Central Europe earlier this month deprived many river cruise passengers of the journey they had paid for, leaving many of them very disappointed and looking for proper compensation. But that begs the question: What kind of compensation is proper?

At least one group of passengers expressed their unhappiness by forwarding to members of the media an email exchange between them and their cruise line in which the passengers requested a full refund for a river cruise they claim was severely damaged by the flooding.

“We missed Koblenz, Speyer, Rudesheim and all the castles along the scenic Rhine River Gorge — which was our primary reason for choosing this particular cruise,” they wrote. “We had a wonderful visit to Marksburg Castle, but it took a multihour bus ride there and back to do so. We paid for eight days on a boat, not partial days on a bus and missed itinerary points. … We did not get what we paid for.”

In this case, the river cruise line explained that because the rains and floods were a force majeure, or act of God, beyond the company’s control, the passengers were not granted a full refund for the disrupted cruise. Instead, they were provided with a future cruise credit.

Whatever the outcome of this individual case, it was certainly one of many individual customer service disputes that each river cruise line had to resolve on a case-by-case basis.

And while the email exchange brought to light the fact that a number of passengers were unhappy with how the crisis was handled, the situation was just as disappointing for the river cruise companies, which lost untold millions of dollars when they were forced to cancel or shorten cruises. And those losses will continue as the companies honor future cruise credits.

While some travelers clearly felt that river cruise companies came up short in terms of customer service and crisis management, the fact is, the cruise lines and passengers alike suffered losses in the path of Central Europe’s surging rivers.

High waters force American Queen to alter itineraries

By Michelle Baran

The 436-passenger American Queen will alter its July 5 and 13 itineraries, previously scheduled to operate between St. Louis and St. Paul, Minn., due to high water levels on the Upper Mississippi River, the American Queen Steamboat Co. said on Wednesday.

Severe downpours struck across the Midwest on Wednesday, according to news reports.

Because of the resulting high water levels, the two affected itineraries will now sail between St. Louis and Cincinnati, calling on Chester, Ill.; Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Paducah, Henderson and Louisville, Ky.; and Madison, Ind.

The July 4 precruise hotel stay in St. Louis remains as scheduled at the Hilton St. Louis. The Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza will now serve as the precruise hotel on July 12.

“Delivering a safe, predictable cruise itinerary for our guests is a priority, and sometimes river conditions are outside our control,” American Queen Steamboat Co. President and COO Ted Sykes said in a statement. “We recognize the need to cruise on the Ohio River for our first two July 2013 itineraries and will then return to our regularly scheduled itineraries.”

Guests booked on the July 5 or 13 sailings have the option to rebook a 2013 cruise with no additional fee or stay on their altered itinerary and receive a $500 future cruise credit per stateroom.

Travel lacking expertise in technology consulting, claims Codegen

Travel firms are often badly advised about their travel technology needs by advisors who are not sufficiently technically minded, according to one leading supplier.

Codegen, which supplies its Travelbox solution to travel companies including Virgin Holidays and Monarch Group among others, believes a lack of strategic strategy is why a lot of travel IT projects go wrong.

Bharat Patel commercial director at Codegen, said too often firms are blinded by the science and lose sight of the strategic control of the technology project they are working on.

He said: "Where a lot of these projects go wrong is the buying decisions are made by the directors but the actual decisions are made on the ground floor.

“This leads to a strategic divergence between the project’s intentions and what is actually implemented.”

Patel said there needs strong strategic control to ensure an IT project doesn't just become a replication of an old system.

Monarch Group distribution director Stuart Jackson told Travolution how it is using the implementation of Travelbox to underpin a fundamental transformation in how the organisation operates and a modernisation of its various divisions.

Patel said: "If you bring an outsider in with some technological savvy they will be able to make the right decisions with you. You see so many poor consultants who are features-led.

“For Monarch using Travelbox means they can choose the way they approach their business. The benefit we had working with Monarch was their consultants were not entrenched in a way of working.”

Codegen believes it is now reaping the rewards from its decision to base its technology on the Linux open source platform from the outset when it was established in 1999.

Patel said the firm came from outside of the industry and although there was initial resistance to its approach the web and Java has now come to dominate more traditional forms of travel IT architecture.

“We started off with a standard version based on open source because all our guys did not like Microsoft. They also wanted to be independent, they did not want to be tied down to a particular vendor,” he said.

With the stability and power of Oracle sitting behind Codegen, it believes it has the ability to scale up and has done tests to give it the confidence it can cope with large numbers.

Patel said Codegen has a very clear focus on research and development at its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka where it employs nearly 200 people, including a number of PhD students.

“A lot of people build technology based on what they learn, but we test out new technology. Our R&D is active 24/7, whether it’s client-led or not

“We work very closely with universities. They can implement what we are doing in their research. You have to be a true technology person to understand the latest technology, you need academic people to go into research papers to find out what this is all about.”

Codegen says its technology is particularly suited to large tour operators and that it gives them the flexibility to operate as a traditional package supplier but also more dynamically creating product and offers on the fly.

The Travelbox system can sit behind all divisions bringing efficiencies in terms of product loading and better more integrated management information.

A recent innovation known as Wide Search allows the user to switch seamlessly between various booking flows, whether that’s traditional packages, pre-packages or flexible packages, allowing agents to tailor trips without moving between systems.

Wide Search is helping Codegen to hone its mobile offering which uses artificial intelligence aimed at generating more relevant, personalised offers for its customers’ customers.

The firm is also looking to exploit voice search and the new generation HTML5 interface as mobile continues to establish itself as a vital channel for travel firms.

“We want to be in a position to be there when the next big thing comes along,” said Patel. “People are becoming more adaptable to technology. The whole mobility side has opened up a lot of avenues. We have devices around us all the time now.

“Business are still 80:20 when it comes to technology and innovation – they want to make sure they protect their core business first. They do not want to be the pioneer. CodeGen brings strong basics and does the pioneering for them.

“New entrants come in with a technology background and some marketing and sometimes they fall down because they have not got the travel experience.

“We see ourselves as innovators and innovators are looking beyond today, they are not stuck looking at the present because if you do that in the IT world you will never survive.” 

Carnival CEO Steps Down and Carnivals Recovery Period.

Arison steps down as CEO of Carnival Corp.; remains chairman

By Tom Stieghorst

Micky Arison will give up the job as CEO of Carnival Corp., but remain chairman of the cruise company his father founded 40 years ago.

Carnival said Arnold Donald, a board member for the past 12 years, will become CEO effective July 3.

"I have been discussing this with the board for sometime now and feel the timing is right to align our company with corporate governance best practices and turn over the reins after 34 years as CEO," Arison said. "Arnold is an exceptional professional with extensive experience in organizational leadership who will bring a fresh perspective to the company."

Arnold has been an senior executive at Monsanto Corp., and founded and led Merisant, a company whose products include tabletop sweetener brands Equal and Canderel.

He also is former president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, a professional network and leadership forum for African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies. 

Carnival Corp.'s Frank talks recovery period for Carnival brand

By Tom Stieghorst

A full recovery at the Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) brand will take two to three years, Carnival Corp. Vice Chairman Howard Frank said in a call with Wall Street analysts.

In discussing Q2 results, Frank presented an analysis of yields both including CCL and excluding CCL, the way Carnival had previously done for Costa Cruises after the Costa Concordia accident. In answering a later question, however, Frank said the two were different situations and markets.

He said the two- to three-year full recovery period was based on consultants who looked at two negative events outside the cruise industry as models. "Their view is that although we're a very different industry, it's likely we will follow the same pattern."

The impact of the Carnival Triumph and subsequent incidents tied to CCL ships will reduce Carnival Corp.'s 2013 results by about $388 million, Frank said, including $124 million for canceled sailings, $210 million in lower revenue yields, and about $54 million in vessel enhancements and extra marketing.

Frank said the extra marketing would come in three areas: funds directed at travel agents, including cooperative advertising; social media; and possibly more TV ads. In the fall, Carnival will look at marketing for particular brands, he said.

Frank explicitly thanked travel agents during the call. "Many of our travel agent partners have been very supportive during this challenging period, and for that we are very grateful," he said. 

Carnival's impact on the public's perception of cruising

By Tom Stieghorst

Since the engine fire on the Carnival Triumph in February, the industry has been closely monitoring the public perception of cruising and whether the industry has come under a cloud.

Did the problems experienced by a single Carnival Cruise Lines ship taint perceptions of the entire cruise experience?

There’s more evidence in Carnival Corp.’s second-quarter financial results that the perception of a problem with cruising has mostly affected Carnival’s flagship product. 

Carnival said that, excluding Carnival Cruise Lines, bookings for the next three quarters are up, and at higher prices.  That means that Princess, Holland America Line, Cunard Line and the rest of the Carnival stable have been more than holding their own since March.

Competitors such as Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line likewise do not appear to be struggling with lower prices, according to Wall Street analysts.

When Carnival Cruise Lines gets thrown into the mix, however, Carnival Corp. bookings are behind last year, and at lower prices.  Regrettably for Carnival Corp., and perhaps the industry, if Carnival Cruise Lines isn’t healthy, the conversation about cruising suffers. 

It should be noted that two Harris Interactive polls, one in March and a follow-up in May, found that perceptions about quality, trust and intent to purchase for seven cruise brands were down across the board, albeit with Carnival Cruise Lines scoring lowest.

It is hard to square the poll results with the financial results, except to say that the poll is a measure of what people say, and booking data is a measure of what they actually do.

The financial results say that, except for Carnival Cruise Lines, there’s more demand for cruises this year than last. If Carnival Cruise Lines can heal itself, however, the whole industry will undoubtedly benefit.

Battle of the Cruise Ship Horns.

Battle of the Cruise Ship Horns.

By Dave Jones

Cruise ship often blast their horns on leaving port, or when passing one of their sister ships, Princess Cruise latest ship the Royal Princess had her horn play the theme to 'The Love Boat'; click on the Love boat image to view.
(or follow this link; http://youtu.be/dbUqofMcsG4)

Disney Cruise ships also have a musical horn but as you would expect Disney do it with their particular style and brand, not only do they pump out one tune but have a wide range of Disney film hits, the link attached to the image below is one of the most funniest around, watch the whole clip and it will perk up your day.
(or follow this link; http://youtu.be/aQDGG51Qq3I).


Enjoy.
p.s. Sorry for the You Tube adverts.

Brake fault forces 787 into emergency landing

By Phil Davies 

A United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner was forced to make an emergency landing due to a problem with its brake system.

United said that the unscheduled landing occurred on a US domestic flight yesterday.

"United flight 94 from Houston to Denver returned to Houston Sunday due to a brake indicator issue," the airline said.

"Following standard operating procedures, as a precautionary measure, the flight landed in emergency status.

"The aircraft landed safely at 11.58am and our maintenance team is conducting a review of the aircraft."

A Boeing spokeswoman said the problem with the braking system forced the plane "back to base," without giving details of the malfunction or how long it might take to repair it, Sky News reported.

United said a Dreamliner on its way to Tokyo from Denver was forced to land in Seattle last week as a precaution.

The incidents came as Thomson Airways became the first UK airline to introduce the new generation aircraft into service.

Thomson launches flights with 'world's most-modern' aircraft

By Ian Taylor

Thomson Airways launched commercial services with the Boeing 787 on Friday, taking 290 passengers from Gatwick to Mahon, Menorca, on the Dreamliner’s maiden UK-operated flight.

Dave Burling, UK managing director of Thomson parent Tui Travel, said the 787 added a key piece to the company strategy of offering upmarket ‘differentiated’ holidays.

The aircraft will be deployed from next month on services to Cancun and Orlando and later to Thailand, Mauritius and the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Burling said: “The Dreamliner is important in differentiating our long-haul holidays. The flight is a bigger part of a long-haul holiday.”

He added: “We are very confident with the product at the other end.” Burling revealed Thomson opened 35 exclusive or differentiated properties in May.

The company describes two-thirds of its mainstream hotel product as ‘differentiated’, a proportion Burling said would increase. More than 90% of hotels in the programme are exclusive to Thomson.

The state-of-the-art Dreamliner is touted to transform long-haul flying because of its fuel efficiency and range, and the comfort it offers passengers.

Thomson Airways had planned to launch its summer 2013 long-haul programme with the 787 on May 1, but only took delivery of the first of its eight Dreamliners at the end of May.

The aircraft was grounded worldwide in January following a battery fire and only resumed flying last month.

Thomson will launch its long-haul 787 programme on July 8 with flights from Glasgow to Cancun and Manchester to Orlando. Gatwick flights will start the following day and services from East Midlands at the end of July.

The airline will add flights to Phuket in Thailand this winter – the first direct flights to the island from the UK – and to Mauritius and Puerta Vallerta in Mexico next summer.

The company has yet to announce plans for other destinations, but the 787 is capable of flying non-stop from the UK as far as Hawaii.

In the meantime, many passengers on Thomson Airways flights around the Mediterranean will get to experience the aircraft as the airline uses short-haul flights to familiarise its crew.

Those aboard on Friday and Saturday had been told in advance they would fly on the 787, but passengers on future short-haul flights will only find out at the airport.

The pilot, Captain John Murphy, told passengers: “This is a historic day for Thomson Airways. You are the first to fly on the 787 in the UK.

“We’ve been modernising our holidays and flights, and the 787 is the most modern aircraft in the world.”

Carnival sues Alabama shipyard where Triumph was towed

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Corp. has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the shipyard in Mobile, Ala., where the Carnival Triumph was towed in February after its engine fire.

The suit says deteriorated and inadequate mooring bollards failed during a rainstorm on April 3, allowing Triumph to break free of the pier and damage other vessels and structures. Triumph itself also sustained "significant" damage, the suit says.

The suit seeks at least $12.6 million in damages from BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards Alabama Property Holdings LLC. Attorneys for BAE Systems have not yet filed a response.

Also named as a defendant in the suit is Bernadette Johnson, wife of John "Buster" Johnson, a worker who drowned when the Triumph broke free. She had sued Carnival on May 29, the suit says.

In the suit, Carnival seeks a declaration that it is not liable for injuries or damages from the incident.

Carnival said it has claims or expects claims from the Signal Ship Repair shipyard on the Mobile River and from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, whose dredging ship was hit by Carnival Triumph.

Royal Princess a subtle entry in ship size war

By Tom Stieghorst

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- When cruise lines get the chance to grow these days, they don't take the opportunity for granted. With each new class of ships, the stack of decks lined with balcony cabins seems to multiply. Not willing to cede anything to rivals, lines must compete in the size war or get left behind.

Princess Cruises has delivered its first new ship design in 10 years with the Royal Princess, and it is chock-full of spaces that Princess describes as the largest ever for its brand.

But the Royal Princess doesn't reach for spectacle as readily as some competitors. For example, although the atrium area, the Piazza, is bigger than on the class that began with the Caribbean Princess in 2004, it is still only three decks high.

The buffet restaurant, Horizon Court, has been expanded to seat more than 1,100, and some of its space is given to a pastry shop that turns out baked goods morning, noon and night.

The Royal Princess' theater is the largest in the fleet, seating 925, but it looks smaller than theaters on similar-size ships.
The adults-only Sanctuary space is also 20% larger than on other Princess ships, and the Lotus Spa has more treatment rooms than its predecessors, but neither feels gargantuan.

Only the 34-by-20-foot screen for Movies Under the Stars calls attention to its size. It is 30% larger than on any other Princess vessel and is the largest such screen at sea.

Of all these areas, the standout is the Piazza, a beautifully executed forum surrounded by appealing restaurants, bars and other areas that will draw guests.

Notable are two semicircular bar areas nested one above the other. The larger one, Bellini, on Deck 6, takes its name from Venice's signature peach-and-prosecco cocktail. The smaller, Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar, on Deck 7, serves sushi, oyster shooters and other "a la carte ocean treasures."

Also bordering the Piazza is Crooners, a 1960s-style martini bar; Alfredo's, the 121-seat Neapolitan pizza restaurant; and the ship's photo gallery, updated with touch-screen face-recognition technology to make it easier for guests to find and manipulate photos.

All of these surround an elegantly crafted room fashioned in tan-and-brown marble and translucent onyx-like materials, pulled together with gold trim and illuminated with rose-colored lighting.

Part of the reason the Piazza works is that guest-service functions, such as the purser's desk and shore excursion station, have been relocated to a mini-Piazza in an adjacent lobby.

The Royal Princess has its own take on several ideas that have worked on other ships for other lines.
Its acclaimed "over-the-edge-of-the-ship" feature is Seawalk, which bows out 28 feet from the side of the ship on the 16th Deck, affording passengers a look down through Plexiglas panels to the ocean below (and to a number of midship passenger balconies, as well).

The Seawalk's port-side counterpart is the Seaview Bar, which also extends beyond the ship's lip, but not so far as to make anyone on a bar stool nervous about the location.

The Royal Princess is catering to an upper premium clientele with the addition of its first-ever concierge lounge for suite guests and the expanded adults-only Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary has a number of cabanas for rent, an idea used by Celebrity Cruises' Solstice-class ships. It costs $15 for a half day and $25 full day even to gain access to the Sanctuary.

Adjacent to the Sanctuary is the Retreat Pool, open for free to all adults but rimmed by cabanas, which rent for $50 per half day, with picnic lunches starting from $40.

Another revenue generator that has been expanded is the Lotus Spa, where the thermal suite has tripled in size and the number of treatment rooms has grown to 18, including two designed for couples.

The conference room in previous ships has been ditched for Princess Live, a 280-seat TV studio where some form of entertainment is scheduled throughout the day. It will be interesting to see if Princess Live can draw enough guests to make it a viable space.

One of the best ideas on the ship was to line its corridors with photos submitted in a contest by past passengers. Many are terrific. Putting bars next to related restaurants, such as Vines wine bar adjacent to Sabatini's Italian restaurant, also makes good sense.

It was hard to judge the new dancing waters fountain and larger Music Under the Stars area on the Royal Princess because of several nights of dreary weather here.

Another new area that works is the shimmering Chef's Table Lumiere, a 12-seat private table in the middle of the Allegro dining room, surrounded by a lighted curtain.

Less successful is the ship's gelateria, another first, where the silky texture and vivid flavor of true Italian gelato is missing. Baked goods from the Pastry Shop were not bad, but less special than one might have hoped.

Of the 3,560 passengers Royal Princess can carry at double occupancy, nearly 2,800 will enjoy a balcony. There are 36 suites, 314 minisuites and 720 "deluxe balcony" rooms, a new category with more space and a smattering of suite-style amenities.

One nice improvement is electrical sockets spaced farther apart to accommodate multiple plugs. But the bathroom toilet paper dispenser is rather awkwardly placed and a metal cover makes it hard to use.

The Royal Princess will spend the summer cruising in the Mediterranean before relocating to Fort Lauderdale for a winter Caribbean season. 

Channel surfing on the Royal Princess

By Tom Stieghorst

The Royal Princess sailed all night to the Channel Islands, and I woke up to disappointment: Our day ashore in Guernsey had been cancelled. It was a fine, sunny morning, but the winds were over 30 knots. Tendering from the anchorage would be too dangerous.

Now I had unscheduled day at sea.

What to do?

I decided to check out something new to a Princess cruise that, until now, I didn’t think I’d have time for. It was the line's in-cabin, on-demand TV system. 

Princess executives are very excited about it. According to Rai Caluori, executive vice president of fleet operations at Princess, the line had been searching for a long time for a system that satisfied all its requirements.

The result is a simple-to-use library of TV shows and movies along with live television channels, music stations and information like local weather and a map of the ship’s position.

It also carries Princess’ own programming, such as "The Wake Show," a rundown of ship and shore activities delivered by cruise director Ron Goodman in an entertaining talk-show format.

TV options include news, sports and dozens of comedies and dramas, but the real treasure is the movie channel. There are 26 entries in the “just added” category alone, and more in the comedy, action, romance, drama and family channels.

I brought up “The Three Stooges” at first, but I didn’t have the patience to get through the opening, so I exited and tried “Searching for Sugar Man,” a documentary about a long-lost musician that hooked me immediately.

Halfway through I paused for lunch. When I came back, I simply hit resume and started watching again.

So for clients who worry about bad weather or unexpected itinerary changes, or simply have extra time on their hands, the Royal Princess has a new answer.

Add it to the list of positive things to say about taking a cruise.

River cruise lines lose millions of dollars to European flooding

By Michelle Baran

River cruise lines last week began to unravel the tangle of dozens of canceled cruises and hundreds of rebookings and refunds they have had to issue in the wake of some of the worst flooding in Central Europe in decades.

The lines also started to take stock of the millions of dollars in losses they incurred as a result of the flooding.

An uncharacteristic level of rainfall at the start of June caused water levels to surge throughout parts of Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

The rains forced local populations to evacuate, threatened to submerge cities and created a logistical nightmare for river cruise lines that were forced to cancel cruises and alter itineraries along the Main and Danube rivers as well as along the Main-Danube Canal.

“This is the worst flooding that we have experienced in the 20 years we have been operating river cruises,” said Guy Young, president of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection. “This historical flood and the impact on our cruises has certainly been an anomaly.”

Young estimated that Uniworld will be forced to write off more than $5 million in lost revenue due to the flooding, which he said affected seven Uniworld vessels and 16 departures, with five cruises having to be canceled.

The challenge has been not just dealing with the constantly changing situation on the rivers and the affected vessels and passengers but also with the financial fallout of having to re-accommodate and rebook hundreds of passengers while also offering them refunds and future cruise credits.

As of June 13, Avalon Waterways had canceled eight departures since June 1 and made several additional itinerary changes. Most of Avalon’s European fleet was affected in some way by the flooding, which in turn had an impact on approximately 1,000 Avalon travelers at the height of the flooding, according to Patrick Clark, Avalon’s managing director.

But that’s just the start of the problem. Not only are canceled cruise departures lost revenue (affected passengers were offered a full refund), but all the river cruise lines are offering passengers additional compensation, generally in the form of a $500 future cruise credit.

For cruises that were not canceled but sailed an altered itinerary, the company had to either add more land arrangements or swap in accessible sites for destinations made unreachable by high waters. River cruise companies have said they offered some measure of compensation for passengers on altered itineraries.

Avalon also offered to cover passengers’ air change fees and said it was protecting agents’ 10% commission on the canceled cruises as well as full commissions on re-bookings.

“The accounting is the last piece of our puzzle,” said Clark.

“Our approach is to make the right decision for customers,” he added. “If we made those decisions well, we know that the customers and their agents will come back to us.”

Since Viking River Cruises has the most river cruise ships sailing Europe’s inland waterways, the flooding also caused it to do the most juggling. As of late last week, the company had canceled 13 sailings and modified 25 itineraries.

“There is a financial impact anytime we have to cancel a sailing,” Richard Marnell, senior vice president of marketing at Viking, wrote in an email. “With the 2013 season nearly sold out and vibrant sales already for the 2014 season, Viking’s breadth provides the ability to withstand such an impact.”

Viking might be able to withstand the financial impact, but Marnell’s statement indicates another dilemma: where to put all these passengers who now need to rebook their river cruise.

“The biggest challenge will be re-accommodating passengers on a similar cruise this sailing season,” he said. “We’ve experienced such high demand for the 2013 sailing season that we may not be able to reschedule passengers until November or December, or even until the 2014 season.” He added that for affected passengers, 2014 itineraries will be protected at 2013 prices.

Tauck, too, was concerned about lack of available inventory to re-accommodate affected passengers, according to Tom Armstrong, Tauck’s corporate communications manager. Tauck has canceled five cruises on two ships, which affected approximately 450 passengers.

With hundreds, perhaps thousands, of passengers on the prowl for a new river cruise to take, it’s no wonder that river cruise line A-Rosa, based in Rostock, Germany, sent an email to the trade last week offering up its product as an alternative.

“Some may view it skeptically when a vendor offers assistance, as it may be interpreted as capitalizing on the misfortune of others,” David Morris, president of David Morris International, which represents A-Rosa in North America, wrote in an email. “That being said, one primary reason for sending this is that most river boats this summer in Europe are completely sold out, leaving your clients with little or no alternatives.”

Consequently, A-Rosa is offering river cruise passengers displaced by the floods preferential fares on several departures, is waiving single supplements and is offering a $500-per-cabin credit on any 2014 A-Rosa sailing.

“We sincerely hope that your clients are minimally affected by the current floods and hope you can find suitable alternative plans with the river boat company you booked originally,” Morris wrote. “If you cannot, we are here to help.”

As the flooding appeared to slowly recede last week, the devastated areas of Central Europe have begun planning recovery. At least 21 people were killed in the floods, according to news reports, and the economic toll of the deluge in Germany alone is likely to reach about $16 billion, according to global rating agency Fitch Ratings.

As the cities along the rivers begin to rebuild, the river cruise companies are declaring that the worst is over. At press time, Viking had estimated that most cruises would sail with minimal impact beginning June 15 and expected all cruises after June 21 to operate normally. Avalon, too, said sailings over the next few weeks should see minimal impact.

“The floodwaters have been receding rapidly,” reported Rudi Schreiner, president of AmaWaterways, which did not cancel any sailings but saw seven ships and 14 departures affected by the floods. 

Schreiner, too, estimated that water levels and cruises should return to normal within the next week.

Cruise incidents haven't put customers off, research shows

Recent issues in the cruising industry haven't put customers off, as new research shows there are significant opportunities for travel agents to capitalise on cruise holidays.

Research by Amadeus revealed the media coverage of negative issues with cruises has had little impact on perceptions of cruises.

More than 40% of those polled said the coverage of incidents such as Costa Concordia and sporadic outbreaks of norovirus had not put them off cruising. A further 8% weren't aware of any media coverage of issues on cruise holidays.

Of the 2,000 UK adults surveyed, 8% said they may book a cruise holiday in the next 12 months.

The Caribbean was the dream destination for most when asked where they would most like to go on a cruise holiday from a set list. More than a fifth of people (21%) opted for the Caribbean, 15% said the South Pacific and Australia and 11% said the Mediterranean was their choice. A third of people asked said waking up in a new place almost every day attracting them to cruises

In addition, 32% of those polled said they would be tempted to go on a cruise holiday if they were of lower or comparable cost to an all-inclusive holiday. Four in ten people said they perceive cruises as too expensive and additional costs such as drinks and tipping were of concern to some.

Rob Sinclair-Barnes, director of marketing for Amadeus UK and Ireland, said: “These findings should make for very pleasing reading for the UK’s travel agents and cruise providers, as they show there are enormous opportunities to sell cruises in 2013 and beyond.

“However, there are still plenty of opportunities for cruise providers and sellers to communicate the various offerings more effectively: there’s still a perception that cruise holidays are for the older traveller, and that they’re expensive – despite sustained efforts by the industry to broaden its appeal to a younger clientele, where value for money is a key criteria." 

Carnival exec foresees rebound

By Tom Stieghorst

SOUTHAMPTON, England — The vice chairman of Carnival Corp., Howard Frank, said smoother seas are ahead for the world's biggest cruise company.

Carnival has been buffeted by weak demand and negative publicity since February when an engine fire on the Carnival Triumph made headlines.

Prices for Carnival's flagship brand have since dropped 15-20% in the estimation of some Wall Street analysts.

Interviewed here prior to the naming ceremony of the Royal Princess, the latest Princess Cruises ship, Frank said, "I think we've bottomed, from the standpoint of the business."
Frank said weekly surveys of consumer sentiment commissioned by Carnival are also starting to get better. That is at odds with a recently released Harris Interactive poll that showed continued erosion in consumer sentiment about seven cruise brands.

Frank said Carnival's survey asks different questions and is more current than the Harris data from May. But he said the recovery will be gradual.

"I don't think that you turn the Costa situation or the Carnival situation around overnight," he said.

"Some of it is just time," he added. "We've had a number of incidents."

The $735 million Royal Princess was named by the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, in a pierside ceremony documented by 110 media representatives, Princess officials said.

"We're pleased to provide a good news story for the industry," said Jan Swartz, Princess’ executive vice president of marketing.

Carnival Triumph returns to duty!

Carnival Triumph returns to duty!

The Carnival Triumph has successfully undergone repair-work following its ill-fated engine failure and subsequent problems in Alabama, and is now ready to return to active duty.

Extensive work was required to address damage caused by the engine room fire that left 3,143 passengers and more than 1,000 crew stranded for five days without power in February.

Originally, this work had been scheduled to take place at the BAE Shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. However, the ship ran into further problems here, undergoing extensive exterior damage after a freak storm caused the vessel to break free of its moorings and drift into a dredger.

Following these various setbacks, the Triumph was moved to Grand Bahama Shipyard in May, where it could finally undergo the repairs that were required.

As well as being fixed up, the vessel has also been equipped with new emergency power capabilities to avoid a repeat of the February incident, when Carnival came under severe pressure from the cruise industry press after passengers stranded on the ship were left without running water.

It has also been fitted with improved fire safety technology and new operating redundancies that were developed as part of the $300 million (£190 million) fleet-wide review that Carnival carried out after the Triumph incident.

According to Seatrade-Insider, Carnival also took the opportunity while the ship was out of action to give it a bit of a makeover as well, with enhanced dining and bar venues, including a new Guy's Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, Alchemy Bar and EA Sports Bar.

Upon returning to Galveston in Texas today, the Triumph will now resume its schedule of cruises to Cozumel and Progreso in the Caribbean.

But while the ship may look as good as new, it appears that passengers have not yet forgiven and forgotten. In fact, a recent poll of US adults by Harris Interactive indicated that people are less trusting of major cruise lines than they were before the Triumph incident. Unsurprisingly, faith in Carnival Cruises appears to have been shaken the most.

How do you feel about the state of the industry and its major players following the Triumph debacle?

Nisha at Sea 

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, names Royal Princess

By Tom Stieghorst

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- Under a gray but rain-free sky, a crowd of several hundred witnessed the official naming of the Royal Princess, the newest Princess Cruises ship, by British royalty. Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, was the godmother. (Click here or on the photo to view images from the event.)

The duchess snipped a cord that sent a magnum of champagne to break on the bow of the ship and triggered a blizzard of blue and white confetti.

The 3,560-passenger ship received a blessing from the Right Reverend Tim Dakin, Bishop of Winchester, who asked God for his "blessing on all who sail in her."

The ship's captain, Tony Draper, assisted the duchess, bowing slightly and asking, "Your highness, will you name my ship?"

Dark clouds had threatened to move the christening indoors, but by 11:30 a.m. London time, they had lifted enough to allow the planned dock-side pageantry to go forward.

The entertainment included the Pipers of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, and the Royal Marines Band Portsmouth, as well as contemporary singers Natasha Bedingfield and Kerry Ellis.

As is customary, many of the British women in the audience were decked out in hats and feathery headpieces called fascinators for the occasion. 

Carnival Sunshine metamorphosis was ambitious and complicated

By Tom Stieghorst

The teens are such an awkward age.

Cruise lines, having gone on a building spree in the 1990s, now find themselves with a generation of ships that are too young to scrap but too old to be fully competitive with the latest newbuilds.

One solution to that dilemma emerged last month from the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, where Carnival Cruise Lines sent its 17-year-old Carnival Destiny to be rejuvenated.

After more than two months in drydock, what emerged was a ship so transformed that it had to be given a new name: Carnival Sunshine.

Since May 5, the freshly scrubbed 101,000-ton ship has been doing nine- and 12-day cruises in the Mediterranean. In November, it will transition to its year-round home in New Orleans.

The $155 million makeover was the industry’s most ambitious in more than a decade. It involved 3,000 workers putting in 2 million hours of round-the-clock labor, first to demolish much of the old ship, then to fit it with all the features of Carnival’s Funship 2.0 package.

“This is the most aggressive refit ever attempted in our industry,” Christian Compton, Carnival’s project director for conversion, said in a video documenting the 73-day project.

Complicating the agenda and extending the length of the drydock was Carnival’s decision in March to add $300 million of contingent power and other upgrades fleetwide to make its ships more reliable. Because it was already in drydock, Sunshine was one of the first two ships to get the upgrade.

That added 24 days to its stay in Monfalcone, Italy, and required Carnival to cancel two initial cruises. The Sunshine also came out of the drydock with several of its signature features incomplete and a group of cabins that needed further work to be ready.

On the June 7 cruise, a small number of passengers were bumped and their cabins turned over to contractors who were still finishing parts of the ship. Carnival gave the displaced passengers full refunds and an additional free cruise.

Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said the enhancements complicated what was an already ambitious time frame.

“Needless to say, there were some start-up issues which have largely been resolved,” Gulliksen said.

The Carnival Sunshine is not entirely new. The hull and much of the technical equipment are left over from the Destiny, the world’s largest cruise ship when it was delivered in 1996. But its public spaces have been brought into the 21st century.

Since the Destiny debuted, alternate dining venues have mushroomed on cruise ships everywhere. A notable change to Sunshine is the lineup of new bars and restaurants.

Full-service alternates to the main dining room include Asian, Mexican, Italian and steakhouse offerings. Passengers can also visit a shake shack, a 24-hour pizzeria, a burger joint and a coffee-and-pastries shop.

Dinner at the Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse is $35. Charges at the other venues vary, with some charging for dinner but not for lunch.

The expanded bar lineup includes the RedFrog Pub and its poolside adaptation, the RedFrog Rum Bar; the Blue Iguana tequila bar; the Latin-themed Havana Bar; the EA Sports Bar; the cozy Library Bar; and the Alchemy Bar, which specializes in trendy “molecular” cocktails.

Many of these have been retrofitted onto other, older Carnival ships, but the Sunshine is the first vessel to have all of them together.

The Sunshine also boasts Carnival’s first three-deck version of the adults-only Serenity area, which offers parents and childless guests a place to retreat to for a break from the kids. Carnival introduced the Serenity area to its ships in 2007, 10 years after Carnival Destiny’s debut.
Another big change in cruise ship design since then has been extra emphasis on sports. The upper deck of Carnival Sunshine is crowded with courts, courses and table games, including pool, ping-pong and foosball.

The water entertainment is also more highly engineered than it was back in the Destiny’s early days. The Sunshine includes an expansive water park with 40 interactive features, a gigantic drenching bucket, five different slides including the new racing-themed Speedway Splash, and a 334-foot-long Twister slide, the longest on any Carnival ship.

In addition to the public spaces, Carnival also raised the capacity of Sunshine, bumping it from 2,642 to 3,006 by putting another 182 cabins onto the ship.

By making the Destiny over, Carnival not only brought many of its newbuild features to an older ship but did so at about a quarter of the price it would have paid to build a new, 3,000-passenger ship.

One unanswered question is whether this is a model for the future or a one-off project. The largest previous refit in recent times was the 2005 stretching of Royal Caribbean International’s Enchantment of the Seas, which added a 74-foot segment and 151 staterooms to its midsection, after cutting the ship in half. Although the $60 million project was seen as successful, Royal did not repeat it.

Carnival has several ships in the Destiny class, including the Victory and Triumph, which received much unfavorable publicity after its February engine fire. Several cruise observers, including social media commentator Lin Humphries, have suggested that an overhaul and renaming of the Triumph could retire a “tarnished name.”

Asked about a possible overhaul of other Destiny-class ships, Gulliksen said, “At this point, there have been no announcements of any large-scale refurb projects.”

Travel agents in New Orleans, where the ship will take up residence in November, said they are seeing interest in the ship.

Bob Wall, owner of Vacations at Sea, said he had not done much in the past month to promote the Sunshine because of the issues surrounding the Carnival Triumph, but he has nonetheless sold one or two cruises.
“We think it will do well here,” he said.

Pat Daly of Cruise & Vacation Specialists in Metairie, La., said, “Most of the people here are very familiar with Carnival. They’re pretty excited that we’ll have a new ship.”

Breakaway Brings New York to High Seas

Largest ship to homeport in Manhattan sails to Bermuda, Bahamas

By Marilyn Green

The christening ceremony, with celebrity baker Buddy Valastro, star of TLC's “Cake Boss,” as master of ceremonies, featured the Rockettes cutting a long yellow ribbon to break the champagne bottle against the Peter Max-painted hull of the ship.Where does Sponge Bob Square Pants rub elbows with the Rockettes? Onboard the new 4,028-passenger Norwegian Breakaway which launched last month. On May 8, the godmother Rockettes, the Nickelodeon characters and the cast of five-time Tony Award-nominated “Rock of Ages” joined “Burn the Floor,” The Second City, Howl at the Moon and blues master Slam Allen for the ship’s launch.

The $840 million ship, which sets the pattern for the upcoming Norwegian Getaway (January 2014) and two later ships known as Breakaway Plus, launched a number of changes from Norwegian Epic. The unusual bathroom design on Epic has reverted to a conventional bathroom, and the Studio staterooms for solo passengers have been reduced by half. In addition, 28 spa balcony staterooms and 20 spa mini-suites offer soothing decor and complimentary access to the Thermal Spa Suite. The main dining room configuration has been replaced by three restaurants: Taste, Savor and the Manhattan Room, the last with its preview of Burn the Floor, which is offered in full in the theater. For more drama, a fireworks show is set off on the next-to-last night of each cruise.

Some of the changes on Breakaway are New York-specific, like the Sabrett’s hot dog stands and the Ice Bar with sculptures of the New York landmarks: the Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building and Statue of Liberty. Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian’s president and CEO, who grew up in New York, said he envisioned Breakaway as both a ship for New Yorkers and for those who want a New York experience at sea.

In addition to all its New York echoes, Breakaway claims 27 restaurants. Among the no-fee ones are the three main dining rooms, the two pool bars and grills, O’Sheehan’s Pub (24 hours), the Garden Cafe buffet, the coffee bar in the atrium and room service, with the exception of pizza delivery, which carries a $5 charge. Specialty restaurants with varying fees, include longstanding Cagney’s Steakhouse, La Cucina and Shanghai’s Noodle Bar. And, although the Geoffrey Zakarian Ocean Blue has a charge of $49, it also has a take-out window where patrons can buy lobster rolls and crab toast a la carte for much less.

With all of the references to “walking the plank,” passengers may have thought “Pirates of the Caribbean” was being enacted onboard the Breakaway. The buzz was about Sky Trail, a ropes course definitely not designed for those with a fear of heights. Among its features are a bungee trampoline, a zipline and an eight-foot-long plank that extends above the lifeboats located 10 decks underneath. If that wasn’t enough in the thrills and chills category, the Aqua Park has five colorful multi-story waterslides, including a pair of free fall slides in which a trapdoor opens under your feet and you fall 250 feet into a loop; there’s also The Whip, where two passengers compete on a twisted course.

Breakaway was hailed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the largest cruise ship ever based year-round in the city, where she will join the 2,394-passenger Norwegian Gem, which also sails year-round from Manhattan. The Breakaway is sailing to Bermuda on 22 one-week cruises until October, when she will offer cruises to the Bahamas, Florida and the Southern Caribbean out of New York.