A new era of cruise tonnage replaces an old one

Celebrity Cruises' Xpedition, which has the look of its time: More portholes than private balconies, for example. Photo Credit: Daniel Romagosa/Celebrity Cruises

by Tom Stieghorst

Back when I first started writing about cruises, in the mid-1980s, one of the things that really excited me about the job was the modern new cruise ships being built in places like Finland and France.

They were getting bigger, fancier, with terrific new amenities and style. It was a pleasure to be able to describe them to readers who at that time probably didn't know what the new ships were all about.

But there were other ships that I toured, older tonnage that still had a niche in the industry. I remember a lot of Greek ships that were way past their prime; Scandinavian car ferries converted to cruise duty; and ocean liners that were years out of date.

I was reminded of those days recently while touring Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Flora, which is nearing completion at a shipyard in Rotterdam. It is the first ship purpose-built for the Galapagos Islands and looks like it will be a dream to sail.

The Flora is a new standard for an area of the globe that has been getting by on older tonnage for a long time. Galapagos-based ships include Celebrity's own Celebrity Xpedition, which was built in 2001 for Sun Bay Cruises and acquired by Celebrity in 2004 when it began cruising there.

The Xpedition has the classic look of ships of its era: more portholes than balconies, for example. It carries 96 passengers compared to 100 for the Celebrity Flora, but at 2,842 gross tons, it is only half the size of the 5,739 gross-ton Flora.

A rendering of the Celebrity Flora, an example of the new standard in cruising, which will replace the Xpedition in the Galapagos.

To be sure, seeing the wildlife in the Galapagos is the major focus of any cruise there; the hardware is secondary. But if you can go in style, comfort and, indeed, luxury, why not?

One of Celebrity's quasi-competitors in the Ecuadoran islands is going through a similar transition with its product. Next year Silversea Cruises will introduce the Silver Origin in the Galapagos and retire the Silver Galapagos, which was once part of the original, 1990s-era, Renaissance Cruises fleet of 100-passenger ships.

These new ships are going to raise the bar for the other licensed vessels, many of them small, that offer cruises in the Galapagos -- much the same way that the Carnival Fantasy and Sovereign of the Seas prompted some changes for the Chandris family when it was sailing classic ships like the Britanis out of Florida. John Chandris eventually concluded that was a hopeless strategy, and he started Celebrity Cruises to focus on newly built ships such as the Celebrity Horizon. Today, Celebrity survives and thrives as a division of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which bought it in 1997.

Silversea Cruises has also joined the RCCL stable, by virtue of a sale of a 67% interest last year. One of the first things RCCL management did after the purchase was to announce a new Silversea ship for the Galapagos.

The two RCCL ships are going to set a new benchmark for cruising in the Galapagos and may spell the end for some of the less contemporary vessels in that market.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Focused on Target Markets

Working for both the Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises brands, Chris Allen, vice president of deployment and itinerary planning, said that itineraries are designed to fit the target audience and guest demographics of each brand, supporting their (brand) pillars.

“We work very closely with the leadership groups of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity to ensure that the itineraries fit with their brand. It is a very collaborative approach,” he added.

“We also look at the revenue potential – tickets, onboard and shore excursions – and balance that against key costs. Fuel continues to be the largest expense. Ultimately we look at what the guest experience will be.

“If guests have a great time if they want to come back, and if they tell their friends, then we have been successful.”

“We are looking as far as 10 years out,” he continued. “Before we even order a ship, we have an idea where that ship will be deployed.”

The planning function ranges from minute details to the big picture. “Our team can go from the granular level, like should we depart St. Thomas at 5:00 or 5:30 pm and should we go to St. Maarten or St. Kitts. We go from that level of details, making $10,000 adjustments, to a billion dollar chessboard where we move Oasis-class ships around, and where we are going to place our future new buildings,” he explained. “We are looking at the broad, strategic decisions as well as the micro decisions.”

Among new developments, this spring, Royal Caribbean will be launching Alaska service with the Ovation of the Seas, which will be dividing her time seasonally between Alaska and Australia.

Later this spring, Royal Caribbean will be introducing the Perfect Day at Cococay, after a $200 million transformation of its private island destination in the Bahamas.

“We expect to have 14 ships calling and 2 million guests at CoCoCay for the 2020-2021 season,” Allen said. “We are leveraging Perfect Day throughout the Caribbean for our entire portfolio of itineraries, whether ships are sailing from Southeast Florida, Tampa, Port Canaveral, Galveston, Baltimore or Cape Liberty. All those ships will have the opportunity to call at Cococay.”

Royal Caribbean is also upping its game in the short cruise market, with the Mariner from Port Canaveral and the Navigator from Miami, as well as the Independence seasonally from Port Everglades.

For Celebrity in 2020, the new Apex will first sail a brief season out of Southampton before spending the summer in the Mediterranean on mostly seven-night cruises, alongside the Edge, which will have a core program of 10- and 11-night sailings.

“We are expanding the choices and variety of cruises for Celebrity,” Allen said. “Also in the Mediterranean will be the Infinity and the Constellation, and this means one more incremental ship for Celebrity in Europe in 2020.

“Because the Constellation and Infinity are smaller, a lot of their itineraries are concentrated around Venice given the capacity limits there preventing larger ships from calling.”

In Northern Europe, Celebrity will sail the Reflection and Silhouette for the summer.

This fall will see Royal Caribbean returning to the Eastern Mediterranean, calling in Kusadasi, Haifa and Ashdod, and both brands are slated to be back with more calls in 2020.

On the other side of the globe, the new Spectrum of the Seas is being based year-round in Shanghai, while the Quantum moves to Tianjin for the summer season and to Singapore for the winter. “Having these ships in China reinforces our position in the market and region as other brands have vacillated on their position,” Allen said.

“We have also experimented with expanding our itineraries out of China. When we first started up the average cruise length was a little more than four nights. Over time we have added seven- and eight-night cruises, reaching the east coast of Japan and also Vladivostok. By opening up more ports, we are broadening the appeal of our itineraries in the region both for first-timers and repeat cruisers.”

Celebrity is also building up its capacity in Australia for 2020-2021 with the Eclipse to be based out of Melbourne and the Solstice from Sydney.

“The itineraries speak to the different target markets for each brand,” Allen noted.

Royal Caribbean Cuts Steel on Fifth Oasis Class Ship

PHOTO: Royal Caribbean steel cutting of a fifth Oasis Class ship. (photo via Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean International celebrated the steel cutting of a fifth Oasis Class ship Wednesday with the new vessel scheduled to be delivered in 2021.

The steel cutting ceremony took place at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The new ship will combine the seven-neighbourhood concept her sister ships feature with a lineup of dining, entertainment and technology experiences.

The Oasis Class took the cruise industry by storm with the introduction of Oasis of the Seas a decade ago and again with the introduction of Symphony of the Seas in 2018.

Earlier in April, Royal Caribbean officially took delivery of the 26th ship in its fleet, Spectrum of the Seas, in a ceremony held in Bremerhaven, Germany. The first in the Quantum Ultra class of ships, Spectrum will homeport from Shanghai starting June 2019.

The cruise line also made headlines earlier this month when Royal Caribbean received approval on a deal that would allow the construction of a new office and parking garage near the site of the cruise line’s older facilities in Miami.

Virgin and Emerald To Bring Sustainability to the Seas

Virgin and Emerald To Bring Sustainability to the Seas

Virgin Voyages and Emerald Brand have announced a sustainability partnership to deliver a tree-free and plastic-free experience on board the Virgin ships. The partnership begins on the Scarlet Lady, setting sail in 2020. 

Virgin Voyages said it is among the first of major cruise lines to ban single-use plastic. Their goal is to fully embed sustainability into their business model through their operations and the sailor (guest) experience itself.

 In addition to replacing single-use plastics with reusable items, Virgin and Emerald will deliver a so-called tree-free experience through the ship's disposable paper products. Bath tissue, facial tissue, hot cups, paper towels, and napkins will be made from 60% to 100% tree-free material.  According to a prepared statement, these products are made with unique technology that uses the by-product of agricultural crops that are typically burned or wasted, in place of trees.

The partnership underscores the level of impact both companies are seeking to make. Jill Stoneberg, director of sustainability and social impact at Virgin, stated: "We have really ambitious goals here so no decision is taken lightly. Everything down to seemingly simple changes in our supply chain is made with the intention of giving sailors the absolute best experience while continuing to change business for good.”

"Driving change to solve the issue of plastic waste and deforestation has been embedded in our company's ethos since my father founded our group over twenty years ago,” added Ralph Bianculli Jr., managing director of Emerald. 

Emerald's team of environmental experts, said to be known as the Eco-Squad, will help Virgin measure and communicate the environmental footprint reduction that has resulted from the switch to Emerald’s products. The Eco-Squad will also provide solutions for continuous improvement throughout the supply chain.

Alaska Marine Pilots Concerned About Royal Princess' Maneuverability in Alaska

PHOTO: Royal Princess. (Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises)

The Southeast Alaska Pilots Association (SEAPA) is concerned with how well one mega-cruise ship will be able to manoeuvre the state this season.

Marine pilots from the association tested the limits of four mega-ships – the Norwegian Bliss and its sister ship, Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas and Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess – that will be visiting southeast Alaska through virtual reality.

While the Ovation of the Seas will be the largest ship to ever visit Alaska, the marine pilots were far more concerned with Royal Princess.

“Overall the simulations (for the Royal Princess) produced serious challenges in the wind and current conditions common to Southeast Alaska,” the pilots wrote in a report.

Apparently, the Royal Princess doesn’t do well at low speeds especially with its standard propulsion system which uses propellers and rudders. Azipod propulsion is used in the three other ships.

Keir Moorhead, an engineer who teaches at California State University Maritime Academy explained, “With Azipod-style propulsion, the propeller is actually on a pod below the ship, and what you can do is rotate that pod.”

“At any given moment, you can rotate a propeller 360 degrees to give you thrust in any direction,” Moorhead said, indicating that it allows big ships to manoeuvre in tight spots at lower speeds.

The SEAPA suggests that Royal Princess doesn’t attempt to pass through the Tongass Narrow, which is only 220-meters-wide, at more than 15 knots of wind (though there is a 7-knot speed limit for this area). With little room to manoeuvre through this pass to get to Ketchikan port, the cruise ship could have some trouble.

In response, Princess Cruises' vice president of fleet operations, Keith Taylor said, “While we appreciate SEAPA’s (Southeast Alaska Pilots Association) efforts to date, we believe the model they used to assess this ship requires further refinement. There are three Royal Class ships operating safely around the globe, in many challenging navigational areas.”

While it doesn’t appear that Princess Cruises is too concerned, hopefully, all goes well on Royal Princess' first visit to southeast Alaska on May 13.

14 Cruise Ships Received a Perfect 100 Health Score

PHOTO: Disney Fantasy by Disney Cruise Line. (photo via Marina113 / iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)

According to the CDC, 14 cruise ships earned a perfect health score during their surprise inspections in the last year.

The ships can be found among 10 different cruise lines and include Celebrity Summit, Rhapsody of the Seas, Norwegian Gem, Disney Wonder, Seabourn Quest, Viking Star, Auroa, Disney Fantasy, Noordam, Sea Princess, Disney Dream, Amsterdam, AIDAVITA and Emerald Princess.

All cruise ships that sail to or from the U.S. must undergo a surprise health inspection by the VSP or Vessel Sanitation Program.

Everything from the medical facilities to the swimming pools, portable water systems, child centres, rooms, ventilation systems and common areas of the ship are inspected.

There are 44 items on the VSP’s checklist, so to get a score of 100, the cruise ship had to receive perfect scores on every single item.

Alternatively, a score of 85 or below is considered failing which occurred with the following ships: Ocean Insignia, Ocean Dream, Silver Spirit, Safari Endeavor and Le Boreal.

MSC Unveils Stunning Multiple Ship Miami Terminal

MSC Cruises has announced details of what it said is a new highly-innovative cruise terminal at PortMiami that will support its expanding presence in North America and in the Caribbean

As per the terms of the agreement, which has today received approval from the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, MSC Cruises will design, construct, operate and maintain a large building that hosts two cruise terminals (AA and AAA) as well as two berths.

The PortMiami terminals will be capable of hosting two mega cruise ships at the same time, allowing the MSC to conduct two turnaround operations simultaneously, handling up to 28,000 passenger movements per day.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises Executive Chairman, said: “With another 13 cruise vessels due to join our fleet in the next eight years, our ambition is to have our most innovative ship classes represented at PortMiami, bringing a wealth of choice to our North American as well as international guests.

“In particular, the new terminal – which will be one of the most innovative the industry has seen – will ensure that we can provide our guests an enhanced end-to-end high-quality experience while both embarking and disembarking, thus adding to their ability to fully enjoy every moment of their vacation.”

Work on the new terminals is due to commence in early 2020. MSC Cruises currently estimates that the work will be completed by late 2022, at which time it will transfer all its PortMiami operations to the new Terminal, according to a statement. 

Norwegian Joy Departs Drydock Bound for Alaska Market

Norwegian Joy Departs Drydock Bound for Alaska Market

The Norwegian Joy is out of the drydock in Singapore and heading for the West Coast ahead of her debut into the booming Alaska cruise market.

After a year-and-a-half in the Chinese cruise business, the ship has been Westernized and will sail from Seattle for the summer season.

MJM Marine was appointed as the main outfitting contractor by Norwegian Cruise Line for the refurbishment of Norwegian Joy as the company played the lead role in the design, manufacture, installation and project management of the interior refit of the ship.

While work began in early March in China, the ship's Pacific crossing will be a working event with no guests, with interior renovations set to conclude later this month as the ship reaches Seattle.

Among new shows for guests will be Footloose along with the aerial acrobatics show, Elements, and the wine-tasting comedy, Wine Lovers: The Musical.

Photos: Singapore Cruise Society

Oasis of the Seas was hit by a crane in a dry dock near Freeport in the Bahamas

Oasis of the Seas was hit by a crane in a dry dock near Freeport in the Bahamas

A crane has collapsed onto one of the biggest cruise ships in the world leaving eight people injured.

The Oasis of the Seas was in dock in the Caribbean when the crane crashed into the £1billion vessel causing the huge 228,225-tonne liner to list.

A construction crane came down and smashed into the stern of the boat, which has a capacity of 6,300 people, into the area its AquaTheatre is located.

The four-deck luxury liner which is the fourth largest in the world was in dry dock near Freeport in the Bahamas when the accident happened on Monday at around 1.45pm local time.

A video of the aftermath was posted on YouTube and has been viewed more than 6,000 times.

One dock worker could be heard in the footage saying: 'I was right there on the dock. I just missed by the grace of God. Big accident.'

The only crew were on board the liner at the time and no guests were present.

All the eight injured people are thought to be dockyard workers, but none are thought to be in a life-threatening condition.

A spokesman for Royal Caribbean which owns the liner said: 'We are responding to a construction site incident at the Great Bahamas Shipyard, where Oasis of the Seas is currently in dry dock.

'We are accounting for the whereabouts of all site personnel. We are aware of damage to the dock structure and to construction cranes. We are assessing damage to the ship.' 

The ship, which had been based at Port Canaveral, Florida, was undergoing routine maintenance on Grand Bahama Island, Royal Caribbean officials said.

Nearly 500 people were struck down with norovirus on board the Oasis of the Seas in January and the huge cruise ship had to change course and head to its home port at Port Canaveral in Florida.

When the ship launched in 2008 she was the largest cruise ship in the world. 

Explorer Dream Debuts With New Look

Dream Cruises has a third ship in the Explorer Dream, which debuted back into cruise service with a stunning new livery last week following a huge refurbishment.

The 2,000-guest cruise ship went from Star Cruises as the SuperStar Virgo to Dream Cruises, Asia's only premium cruise brand.

A summer season sailing from Shanghai and Tianjin is scheduled for the ship, followed by a winter in Australia and New Zealand.

Among major changes to the ship was the installation of an exhaust gas scrubber, and the Palace, Dream's ship-within-a-ship suite concept.

The new hull artwork by New York-based, Chinese artist, Kuri Huang continues the brand’s signature mermaid brand icon as the hull painting beckons viewers to ride upon “Waves of Dreams” in a whimsical and colourful ode to exploration and discovery, the company said.

Chinese designer Grace Chen will christen the ship in April in Shanghai.