New San Francisco cruise terminal dedicated

By Tom Stieghorst

The Port of San Francisco is dedicating its new cruise terminal, which will accommodate longer cruise ships, in a Sept. 25 ceremony.

Situated on the city’s famed Embarcadero, Terminal 27 totals 88,000 square feet on two levels. An older maritime shed was demolished to make space for the terminal, which had a soft opening with the arrival of a Princess Cruises ship last week.

The new terminal comes with an overhead gangway for boarding passengers along the apron and shoreside power infrastructure to permit docked ships to shut down their onboard engines.

A three-acre triangular paved area between Pier 27 and Pier 29 has been developed as a ground transportation and provisioning area.

The existing terminal at Pier 35 will continue as a secondary terminal when there is more than one cruise ship in port.

The port currently gets between 40 and 80 calls a year. That is not expected to change, although the passenger count will grow because the ships docking at the pier are getting larger.

Redevelopment of Pier 27 has been in the works since 2007.

The finishing touches

The finishing touches

We've put the finishing touches to the brand new livery on the newest ship in our fleet; Britannia. She's the largest ship built for Britain and will be officially named in her glittering naming ceremony in Southampton in March 2015.

The bold new look on the bow features the world's largest contemporary version of the Union Flag, which required huge volumes of paint! In total, we needed 280 litres of red paint , 40 litres red for the shadow, 80 litres of blue, 20 litres of blue for the shadow and 160 litres for the big logo of P&O Cruises on the front of the bow.

Britannia will also have two distinctive blue funnels carrying an illuminated rising sun motif, which depicts the Oriental part of the Peninsular and Oriental (P&O) name on our coat of arms.

When working to full capacity, Britannia’s four engines will generate 62.4 Megawatts or 84,000 horsepower which is equivalent to the power generated by 168 supercars, allowing the 141,000 ton ship to cruise at a speed of 22 knots.

Biggest, newest ships can thrive in Europe, Asia: Goldstein

Biggest, newest ships can thrive in Europe, Asia: Goldstein

Goldstein - 'In the Mediterranean, Europe and Asia-Pacific, the largest ships can be viable and thrive'

Oasis of the Seas turning around in Barcelona this month and Quantum of the Seas going to China next year show that Europe and Asia can handle cruising's biggest and newest hardware. As Adam Goldstein, president and coo of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., put it: 'In the Mediterranean, Europe and Asia-Pacific, the largest ships can be viable and thrive.'

When Oasis of the Seas made its inaugural call at Barcelona two weekends ago, it generated three times the media response of anything the company has ever done in the region, Goldstein said. Apart from the publicity, the operations were impressive—a 'great accomplishment' by the Port of Barcelona. 

'It clearly shows Europe is capable right now of supporting the biggest ships in the world and the infrastructure exists to support Allure of the Seas for a full season next year,' Goldstein told Seatrade Med in Barcelona last week. 'We now have the opportunity to deploy our biggest and best new ships here. This bodes well for the Mediterranean.'

It's the culmination of a sequence of development. The current Oasis 'micro-season' paves the way for Allure's full season. Going step by step over time gives everyone the chance to acclimate.

'The infrastructure that exists to handle 6.4m passengers wasn't here 20 years ago,' Goldstein said. 'The fundamental capability to accommodate growth in the Mediterranean is available if there's adequate planning.'

From a source market perspective, Europe remains 'a mainstay of the business for us and the industry. We'd all like to see the macroeconomic situation in Europe be better than it is,' he added. However, the good news is that Spain is showing signs of recovery.

The market is growing, although at a slower rate. 'We're able to generate profitability here. It's really attractive to cruise in Europe. The business is doing well,' Goldstein told Seatrade Insider during an interview in Barcelona.

Last year cruises in Europe attracted nearly 1m non-Europeans, demonstrating resilience following the global recession.

And Asia is emerging as the third major cruise operating region of the world.

After the recent deal to sell Celebrity Century to China's Ctrip.com International, it's too early to tell how the relationship will develop. 'We're in discussions to see,' Goldstein said. 'They're already a producer for us. We hope to maintain and build the relationship.'

The fact that Quantum of the Seas will operate year-round from Shanghai is 'remarkable. It's an amazing development for the Royal Caribbean International brand and the company to so quickly have one of our newest ships operating in China.

'I don't think anybody foresaw something like this,' he said, adding that just 10 years ago, China was 'a gray spot on the map' for the cruise industry.

Next year Royal Caribbean will have four ships there, counting also Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Legend of the Seas.

Changes in Caribbean Cruise Capacity

How cruise lines and travel agents are handling fluctuating cruise capacity and prices in the Caribbean

Next year, Royal Caribbean will increase capacity in the region.

// © 2014 Royal Caribbean

The Caribbean remains the top cruise destination for North Americans — it is the closest warm-weather getaway for many U.S. travelers, and it is associated with fun in the sun, a dash of culture and a hefty dose of shopping. The region has also become a bargain hunter’s paradise, with fares down much further than the cruise lines would prefer.

The cruise industry attributes fare declines to a recent 12 percent increase in capacity, plus negative publicity that has mostly affected first-time cruisers and impacted three- and four-day cruises. The Feb. 12 edition of Bloomberg Businessweek published a story titled, “A Caribbean Crowded With Ships Means Discounts for Cruise-Goers,” describing the plight of the cruise lines with “a flood of new cabins to sell.”

Caribbean capacity will fall next year, although not to the degree that cruise lines had hoped. Robin Farley, an analyst with financial firm UBS, said that a 1 percent rise in capacity during the first quarter will be counteracted by a 3 percent drop the following three quarters.

Changes contributing to the fluctuation in stateroom totals include a lull in Norwegian Cruise Line’s aggressive newbuild program. The company will not have a delivery for 18-plus months between last February’s launch of Getaway and the debut of Escape, set for October 2015. Addtionally, Royal Caribbean International’s 5,400-passenger Allure, the largest cruise ship in the world, will leave the Caribbean next year to sail from May to October out of Barcelona, Spain. MSC Cruises has also rethought the announced year-round deployment of the 3,502-passenger Divina out of Miami. Instead, the ship will spend part of next year in Europe.

Royal Caribbean will see the highest overall capacity increase in 2015 at 7 percent and the highest Caribbean increase at 1.7 percent. The Caribbean growth comes from the 4,180-passenger Quantum of the Seas, which has special features that analysts believe will allow it to maintain premium pricing. The ship will sail in the region from November to May only, and this short stint is expected to keep prices up.

Cruise industry veteran Bob Dickinson, leaving his consultancy for Carnival Corporation in May, has for decades said that demand must grow in order for prices to grow, and that the first-time cruiser is of the highest importance. For some travel agents, low pricing has been a boon for bringing in first-timer cruisers and for up-selling onboard accommodations.

Lindsey Kunzer, team leader for Liberty Travel in Los Angeles, noted that promotions and deep discounts have helped make this booking season a good one.
“Though there may be less commission made per booking, there were more bookings brought in by these promotions,” Kunzer said.

Mark and Jason Jacobs, respectively CEO and president of TA4Life in North Potomac, Md., and Orange County, Calif., see that low rates and inexpensive airfare are helping expand the cruise market. The pair report that their agency is making a lot more revenue — though pricing is down, many clients are choosing higher categories of accommodations.

“The Caribbean was neglected for a while, as cruise lines pulled out and went elsewhere — mainly Europe — for higher per diems and pricing in euros,” Mark Jacobs said. “Now that airfares are prohibitive in Europe and cruise fares are lower, we’re seeing a real resurgence [in the Caribbean].”

Some agents have looked outside cruising for higher commissions in recent years. The Jacobs brothers began selling all-inclusive land-based vacations a few years ago, in addition to cruises.

“All-inclusives are skyrocketing, and we are getting commissions on air,” Jason Jacobs said. “We did see some loosening up on cruise line non-commissionables at the Vacation.com conference, and some indications that there may be more commissioning on shore excursions and air from the cruise lines.”
The brothers are also looking more to river cruising, where commissions are bigger.

If pricing slowly strengthens, agents and cruise lines will see whether or not the new cruisers attracted to discounted rates stick with cruising as a Caribbean vacation, as well as how the Caribbean stands up to competing cruise destinations.

A Royal Tablet Give away.

Windows Tablets

There's so much exciting things coming for guests to experience on Quantum of the Seas but there is a really big chance coming on Quantum of the Seas that benefits the people that make Quantum of the Seas function.

Royal Caribbean is rewarding each crew member on Quantum of the Seas with a free, personal Microsoft Windows 8.1 tablet with a suite of services and apps that is theirs to keep.

In fact, as the technology upgrades make their way across Royal Caribbean's fleet, every shipboard employee will get their own free Windows tablet.  In total, Royal Caribbean will give out 40,000 tablets.

All of this ensures crew members will stay connected with friends and family as well as have an opportunity to have one of the best technology options out there.

The tablets are 8-inch Windows-based tablets built by HEXA special for Royal Caribbean.

The tablets will feature services such as Bing, Skype, Office 365 and OneDrive. Rollout will begin in October and is expected to be completed by the end of December with every shipboard employee in the Royal Caribbean fleet receiving a tablet.

Royal's preview of Quantum draws praise

By Tom Stieghorst

PAPENBURG, Germany -- A little more than two months from completion, the Quantum of the Seas looms large over the flat north German countryside at the Meyer Werft shipyard here.

The powder-blue-and-white ship now has its basic structure but awaits all of its interior appointments plus a few special features such as the North Star observation arm, which has yet to be installed.

But the ship was complete enough last week for Royal Caribbean International to open it to a small group of reporters and about 50 travel agents for a sneak peek at the next big thing to sail the high seas.

Royal officials are increasingly confident that in the Quantum, they have a ship that will give the groundbreaking Oasis-class vessels, which the line introduced in 2009, a run for their money.

"I think you're going to have two reactions," Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain told agents a day before the three-hour tour of the 167,800-ton work in progress. "You're going to think the ship is magnificent, and you're going to say, 'It will never be done on time.'"

In fact, more than one agent agreed with Fain's assertion. managing director for Adelman Travel in St. Louis, said he had expected interior work to be further advanced and the ship to look less like a construction site.

The guts of the Quantum at this point are still raw insulation, naked steel, unfinished carpet and open pipe and cable runs. But several areas were finished early, including a few cabins, to give visitors a sense of the final product.

Detrick said one of his favorite features on the ship are the interior cabins, which offer floor-to-ceiling electronic views of the ocean. "The virtual balcony cabins are phenomenal," he said.

In an interview, Fain agreed, saying they were one of the innovations he's most pleased with.

"They just work," he said.
Agents had mostly praise and only a few reservations after traipsing through the Quantum in hard hats and boots while Fain described some of the vessel's signature elements to them.

"It was a very impressive reveal," said John Lovell, president of Vacation.com. "I love all the technology. It's really going to appeal to young people, especially the millennials that we're all trying to attract."

Atop the ship are two novelties that depend on view: the Ripcord by iFly skydiving machine and the North Star observation gondola. Sandwiched in between is the multipurpose SeaPlex, an indoor activities hub for everything from bumper cars to basketball.

"That's going to be a home run," Lovell predicted.

Others agreed.

"I see it as a space where parents and kids will come to play together," said Alex Sharpe, president of Signature Travel Network and a father of three.

Sharpe said the Quantum will buttress Royal Caribbean's reputation as the leader in innovation and deliver great value for the money.

"It's clear why the big Royal ships get the premiums they do," he said.

Sharpe said he's concerned that some of the features will be so popular that Royal might not be able to handle all the demand. The SeaPlex, for instance, will be catnip for meetings and incentive groups, he predicted.

Fain said his team was confident that everyone who wants to try something will be able to do so over the course of a seven-night cruise, although it might be harder to squeeze everyone in on short introductory cruises.

In admissions to the North Star, for example, attendants will give first preference to those who haven't done it, Fain said.

A significant change with the introduction of the Quantum will be the elimination of the main dining room in favor of four smaller, themed restaurants, each seating about 430 diners. A fifth complimentary restaurant with 128 seats will be reserved for suite guests.
"I'm very impressed with Dynamic Dining," said Uf Tukel, co-president of WMPH Vacations in Delray Beach, Fla. "Having those different themed restaurants, those are going to be stunning to look at."

Noting that dining at all five restaurants will be included in the cruise fare, he said, "Typically, they're the kind of experience that might cost more."

Although far from completed, the restaurants had certain features already in place, such as a striking pair of louvered lenticular screens that display photos of regional America in the American Icon Grill.

Food and beverage director Cornelius Gallagher also teased some of the more exotic dishes, including one at the experiential Wonderland restaurant that involves chocolate chili foam cold-fried in liquid nitrogen. When diners eat it, smoke comes out of their noses, Gallagher said.

The tour concluded with a preview of Two70, a three-story aft room that will showcase an innovative 3-D projection system and a sextet of 100-inch, robot-controlled video screens.

"The Two70 is just ridiculous -- tech-wise, art-wise, functionality-wise," said Andy Albright, president of National Agent's Alliance in Burlington, N.C., a life insurer that buys a large volume of incentive cruises. "It's unbelievable what they're going to get out of that room."

Paul Largay of Largay Travel in Waterbury, Conn., said the homeporting of the Quantum and its sister ship the Anthem of the Seas in New York, combined with some of the new check-in technology Royal has developed, will make them very convenient for his customers.

"That's a huge attraction just because of the logistical considerations," he said.

Largay said the various uses of technology on the ship were very impressive. "I think the general public is going to love that," he said. "They're going to wonder where it has been all their lives."

Of the ship overall, Largay said, "I think it is going to be a new standard." 

Fuel efficiency and floating on air

By Tom Stieghorst

It’s funny how visions of the future can be both wrong and right.

I had that thought after viewing a museum exhibit of designs by modernist Norman Bel Geddes, including one for a cruise ship.

Bel Geddes’ big idea was streamlining and in the 1930s, he turned out everything from vacuum cleaners to passenger buses with that teardrop profile meant to increase speed. His cruise liner — with room for 2,600 passengers — is a thing of beauty, although it looks as much like a submarine as a surface ship. The exhibit included side views showing how wind eddies swirled around the superstructure of the conventional ships of the time.

Today, however, it isn’t wind resistance that is the focus of cruise industry streamlining, but water resistance. And the object is no longer to be the fastest across the Atlantic, but to cut fuel costs.

That accounts for the bulbous projection at the bow of every cruise ship, an innovation that pushes water quietly aside and improves efficiency. Cruise ships in recent years have been slathered in silicon compounds or other coatings to make them shed marine slime and slip through the water more easily.

The newest streamlining idea is set to debut on the Quantum of the Seas, the first full test of an air lubrication system that uses microbubbles to provide a cushion for the ship to ride on.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) has tested the system in a small way on the Celebrity Reflection, but installed a full system on the Quantum as part of the ship’s technology emphasis.

The idea is to form and inject tiny air bubbles below the hull that reduce drag as the ship plows forward. Ironically for Bel Geddes, air is the instrument to provide extra cruise ship streamlining.

Other firms have tried this before, but Royal Caribbean has developed its own method of making the bubbles so that they’re small enough to be effective. It involves first heating the bubbles to shrink them, and then cooling them to prevent them from turning to steam as they hit seawater.

“We’re not only riding on air, we’re riding on air-conditioned air,” quipped RCCL Chairman Richard Fain, on a recent tour of Quantum in Germany.

The system — which only works when a ship is traveling at speed — could knock 7% to 9% off of propulsion costs, even taking into account the energy needed for heating and cooling, Fain said.

Livorno ramps up cruise berthing and dedicated terminals

PHOTO: ANNE KALOSH

Livorno displaying expansion plans at Seatrade Med 2014

Livorno ramps up cruise berthing and dedicated terminals

Livorno Port Authority and cruise terminal manager Porto di Livorno 2000 are planning to expand the Tuscany port’s cruise berthing and welcoming facilities.

Following the inauguration of a new 3,000 sq mtr cruise facility at Alto Fondale quay last November plus 11,000 sq mtr additional space, this season the terminal has been handling ships over 300mtr long and conducting partial and full turnarounds for up to 2,500 passengers, said Roberto Piccini, president and ceo of Porto di Livorno 2000.

The port also handles cruise ships at Porto Mediceo terminal for vessels up to 200mtr and 7mtr draft, and at Molo Italia pier, which can accommodate ships up to 350mtr with a 12 mtr draft on the southern side. However, this latter facility is mainly used for commercial shipping.

Dredging of the north side of Molo Italia is starting in the coming days he said, which will be completed at the beginning of 2015.

‘This will make space for us to move the remaining commercial shipping activities from Alto Fondale quay, enabling us to expand  the area dedicated to cruise activities.

With finished, Alto Fondale will offer a 750mr dedicated cruise berth capable of accommodating two ships up to 11.8mtr draft.

At the same time work will start on expanding the passenger and services facilities on the same pier,’  Roberto Piccini, president and ceo of Porto di Livorno 2000 cruise terminal told Seatrade Insider.

Additional berthing for cruise ships is now available at Quay 75 which has recently been dredged and can host cruise ships up to 260mtr long with a maximum draft of 8mtr’, said Livorno Port Authority general director Massimo Provinciali.

 ‘In 2016, Livorno Port Authority will also begin work on creating dedicated berthing for cruise ships at Calata Orlando quay (on the opposite side of Alto Fondale). Dredging and re-profiling the pier-head will allow vessels up to 350mtr long to safely manoeuvre for berthing’, said the Port Authority representative.

With the completion of these activities, Livorno Port will boast two cruise terminals and berths: one capable of handling up to three megaships simultaneously (two plus another on the opposite side), plus Molo Mediceo for ships up to 200mtr long plus one dedicated pier exclusive to cruise traffic.

Meyer Turku Shipyard starts operations, secures two more options from TUI Cruises

Meyer Turku Shipyard starts operations, secures two more options from TUI Cruises

Meyer Turku Shipyard

The Finnish state and Meyer Werft have finalised the purchase of the whole share capital of STX Finland Oy from STX Europe Ltd. The company's new name is Meyer Turku Oy. In addition, Meyer Turku and TUI Cruises have agreed on two new options, for Mein Schiff 7 and 8, for delivery in 2018 and 2019.

The acquisition agreement was announced in early August, subject to German antitrust authority approval. This has now been granted and financing with the commercial banks has also been obtained.

Meyer Turku is constructing Mein Schiff 4, scheduled to be delivered in May 2015, plus a further two more vessels ordered over the summer and due in 2016 and 2017.

Meyer Werft holds 70% of the shares whilst the Finland took a 30% stake through the Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, a fully government-owned investment company. The investors have injected fresh equity into the company.

'We now have a great chance to make the Turku yard strong again,' said Jan Meyer, ceo of Meyer Turku. 'It will not be easy; the competition in our market remains intense.

'Yet we found a strong and committed team in Turku,' he continued. 'In addition there is a lot of potential to learn from each other for the benefit of all our yards in Papenburg, Warnemünde and Turku. We just have to work hard on it and constantly improve our productivity. This is the only way to ensure that we can continue the great legacy of Turku yard for many years to come.'

Jan Vapaavuori, minister of economic affairs, expressed his satisfaction after the purchase. ‘The Finnish shipyards’ know-how is very important for the whole maritime industry in Europe. It is a high-tech industry. We have great expectations from our important investment in the Turku shipyard,’ he noted.

The Turku facility employs 1,350 people and concentrates in building cruise ships, car-passenger ferries and other specialized vessels.

Abu Dhabi Unveils Cruise Terminal Design

Video: Abu Dhabi Unveils Cruise Terminal Design

The concept design of Abu Dhabi’s planned permanent cruise passenger terminal was unveiled at Seatrade Med 2014, which took place from 16-18 September in Barcelona, Spain. The model was showcased by Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) following an international design competition and extensive industry stakeholder input.

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ADPC was at Seatrade Med with an Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) delegation in the emirate’s first dedicated ‘Cruise Abu Dhabi’ international promotion.

ADPC and TCA Abu Dhabi presented the new building concept, which was chosen following an international design competition, with the help of a scale model and a video ‘fly-through’ which shows the facilities and style of the new building. Ground clearance for construction of the terminal is underway.

Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi said prior to the Seatrade 2014: “This is the first time ADPC has promoted Cruise Abu Dhabi at an international event, all of the top cruise lines will be represented, along with thousands of people from the wider travel industry. 

This exhibition will be a good opportunity to mix with key decision makers, our new terminal plans are already attracting a lot of attention, demonstrating how very serious we are about developing this important market for the emirate.”

Click the Video below for a preview.

Russia Eyes Construction of Cruise Terminal in Pionersky

Within the framework of the international economic forum Sochi-2014, Russia’s FSUE Rosmorport and cruise company MSC Cruises  signed an Agreement of Intent in Sochi on September 19, 2014 to build an international sea terminal for servicing cruise and freight/passenger ships in Pionersky (Kaliningrad Region), FSUE Rosmorport said in a release.

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The document was signed by Rosmorport Director General Andrei Tarasenko, Kaliningrad Region Governor Nikolai Tsukanov and President of MSC Cruises and Grandi Navi Veloci Roberto Martinoli.

The Agreement lays ground for cooperation in designing, construction and operation of the terminal the construction of which should start in 2015.

The terminal, which is expected to cost USD 240 million to build,  is expected to aid to the improvement of tourist offer in the region.

The terminal would benefit from a unique geographical position in the Baltic Sea and, is thus, believed to attract many tourists.

Norwegian Escape itinerary eagerness after Keel laying ceremony

The Norwegian Escape Keel laying ceremony took place a few days ago, and as a result has now given people a renewed interest in looking at what itineraries are available for this new Norwegian Cruise Line ship once she enters service in October 2015.

The first of 86 blocks was laid down with a lucky coin being placed beneath this 400-ton block. This is a tradition that has gone on for yeas, and happens each time a new cruise ship has her Keel laid.

Norwegian Escape itinerary eagerness – With the Norwegian Escape progress now set to start ramping up because of hitting this milestone, we suspect that there has now been more people looking to see what the inaugural cruises are for this new ship, and how much they are likely to cost.

This information is available on Norwegian’s official page for their new ship, the Escape, which is the first Breakaway-Plus class vessel. While the choice may not be extensive at this time, you still have the option to sail to the Caribbean from Miami, although if you would rather cruise on her maiden voyage, then that will be from Southampton to Miami, Florida, US.

£2.4bn poured into Britain's coffers last year

Cruise news

: £2.4bn poured into Britain's coffers last year with more than 1 million passengers getting on boardIndustry's contribution to country's economy highlighted at Barcelona convention

Ship shape: the port at Southampton welcomes a cruise liner

The cruise industry contributed £2.4billion to Britain’s economy last year, with passengers spending an average of £80 a day each during visits to UK ports such as Southampton and Dover

Latest figures compiled by CruiseBritain show that in 2013 there was a 10% year-on-year increase in cruise embarkations, to 1.04 million, and a 20% increase in day visits, to 866,000. The spend includes crew expenditure, cruise line purchases, ship repair, and employee salaries.

“Cruise tourism is a valuable source of income to ports and destinations across Britain and is increasingly being factored into local and regional tourism,” said Daren Taylor, chair of CruiseBritain, speaking at the Seatrade Med convention in Barcelona.

In the Mediterranean, while other tourism sectors have seen no increase in performance, cruising has grown in volume by 43% since the global recession struck in 2008.

Across the region, there were 27 million passenger movements: 19 million in the Western Med, five million in the Adriatic, and – reduced by concerns over violence in the Middle East – three million in the Eastern Med.

Referring to the fact that most cruise calls to ports in Ukraine have been cancelled this summer, David Dingle, chairman of Carnival UK, said political conflict in the Black Sea area dates back centuries. “They are a fact if life we just live with,” he said.

A proposal to provide an alternative to dredging a new channel for cruise ships visiting Venice was submitted to the Italian government this week.

Lagoon show: a cruise ship sails past St Mark's Square in Venice

 

A £101million floating jetty, capable of handling up to five ships at a time, would be set up in the sea near Bocca di Lido, and passengers would be transported into the city’s cruise terminal by a large, environmentally-friendly catamaran.

Carnival’s David Dingle still believes the deep channel proposal to be the preferred option, and told Seatrade Med: “What we want is certainty, but we want to do the right thing by all the stakeholders in this debate.”

Seven of P&O’s Weirdest Cruise Cabins

Cruise cabins.

Pretty bog standard stuff aren’t they, with their narrow twin beds and just about enough room to swing a stowaway cat (or your glad rags for the black tie nights)?

If this is what you think then you haven’t cruised with P&O!

Not only does it have six classes of comfortable cabins to cater for those with modest budgets but high expectations right through to the money’s-no-object cash splashers; they also understands that not everyone’s part of a cosy couple (or a gruesome twosome)!

Lofty Heights

For the ultimate onboard (and offboard!) bragging rights, opt for a fabulous dual-level suite onboard Aurora – but don’t blame us when you get dirty looks from other passengers when you oh-so-casually drop going ‘up’ to bed into the dinner conversation (although it’s probably worth the extra money for this alone, just to see them try to hide their jealousy!)

Single and Sorted

Instead of making single passengers cough up for a bed they don’t need with the dreaded ‘single occupancy fee’, P&O prides itself on providing a wide selection of single cabins.

These aren’t in forgotten, hard-to-get to parts of the ship as if to underline your sorry singleton status mind!

There’s a choice of inside, outside or balcony cabins where you’ll have plenty of space to sit with a glass of bubbles and toast how fabulous freedom is!

P&O’s fantastic new floating fun palace Britannia has more single cabins than any other cruise liner – take that smug couples!

And it’s not just solo travelers who want their own space.

You may love your cruise companion to bits but it certainly won’t feel like it at 2am on the first night when you find out your bestie is a secret snorer!

Connect Four

Or two, or three. No we’re not saying the cabins come with board games.

Aurora, Adonia and Azura all have interconnecting cabins which are perfect for groups of friends who want to be together but not too together – they’re perfect for ducking in and out of each other’s spaces for a glass of wine, a gossip and a look at what you’re planning to wear that night but when it’s time for bed the doors can be firmly locked (yes, that’s right –we’re respectable Brits abroad!)

Plus, most of the interconnecting balcony cabins can also be joined up outside – who’s up for a private deck party?

Hubble Bubble

Is there anything more magical than enjoying a celebratory glass of champagne than in your own private bubble bath?

Baths are something we Brits take for granted but on cruise ships they’re as rare as a passenger who doesn’t overfill his plate at the buffet!

On P&O however, not only do the mini suites and suites have full-sized whirlpool baths, some of the best value inside cabins have baths too!

P&O, we salute you for your bath time democracy!

Image credit

All Hail the Accessible

All P&O’s accessible cabins feature wide doors, plenty of inside space to maneuver wheelchairs or mobility scooters and ramped access to balconies.

There are also wet room style bathrooms with grab rails and pull down shower chairs, meaning your cruise will be smooth sailing even if the weather’s rough!

Disabled cruisers should note that Adonia’s accessible bathrooms are smaller than the rest of the fleet.

Practical Magic 

“Go on then, I’ll iron your shirt if you make me a cuppa.”

This is usually a pretty humdrum sentence but on a cruise it’s actually a pretty special one!  As irons are a fire hazard they’re generally banned on all cruise ships but P&O is alone in trusting their mini-suite and suite customers to wield one!

OK, it’s not the most exciting perk but it sure is a handy one when it comes to getting those smart togs gala ready - as are the tea and coffee-making facilities that we Brits so desperately need when we wake up before we can even think about anything as complicated as getting dressed!

Why Google's designs on travel aren't good news for the big OTAs

by David Stevenson

by David Stevenson, FT columnist and Travel Weekly's City Insider

Is the travel industry going the way of publishing - unwillingly turned into a digital product which is under the effective control of a single dominant player, such as Amazon or Google?

Until fairly recently I'd have laughed out loud at this kind of techno babble suggestion.

Travel is quite clearly completely different from publishing and being honest I'd be a wealthy man worth many millions of pounds if I'd have pocketed a £1 from each and every person who said Google is coming after travel.

Well, truth be told Google hasn't actually done very much in travel to date and to compare its baby steps with Amazon's omnipotent control of the publishing sector has until now been frankly risible.

Yet over the last few weeks I've slowly started to change my mind. 

Big changes are afoot in the world of digital travel and we may eventually end up in a market place where Google has indeed built a dangerously powerful position.

My damascene conversion to the threat from Google has been prompted by a number of varying encounters and observations over the long summer months.

The first epiphany came via a friend in publishing who is trying at a very senior level to fight off Amazon's predatory pricing regime.

He observed - with a deep sigh - that all business battles are in essence a fight between brands and channels, all mediated by the customer's experience of both researching and then consuming a product.

In the good old days before the internet we physically shopped for product of course, and welcomed the choice and variety on the high street. In the new digital age the reality is very different.

We welcome lots and lots of brands producing varying products but in reality we actually only want a few channels to market and distribution.

No-one really takes pleasure in shopping in the digital 'mall' unlike the real world ones where there are nice coffee shops and fun places to visit and spend your money.

So the internet has the net effect of drastically reducing the avenues of distribution.

Book publishers thought the internet would be revolutionary and promising whereas what they've actually discovered is that everyone bar Amazon has failed to make a profit (and even they struggle) distributing the elusive 'content'.

So in simple language the internet eventually consumes its channels and produces one or two omnipotent distributors.

Amazon is quite clearly that channel in books, but what makes us think that Google could eventually offer up that role in travel?

Cue my next conversation with a major West Coast VC who is also a good friend and sadly for my first acquaintance a very happy investor in Amazon.

This  venture capitalists view is simple - Google wants to rip apart the existing model of digital travel (populated by all manner of OTAs) and create a new architecture with it and TripAdvisor at the top of the ecosystem.

And once it realises that its vision is slowly becoming reality it'll simply buy TripAdvisor - "I give it three years before it decides to spend a tonne of money on buying Trip".

But why on earth would Google want to own the world's dominant review site - one simple word should suffice, search. 
This elusive term - which means so many different things to different people - is being revolutionised by mobile which is turn opening up a land grab.

Google is determined to own lock, stock and barrel this mobile opportunity as  part of its strategy to own multiple channels to personalised data.

It's intuition is based on something I've been aware of for many years - travel is disjointed and profoundly annoying as a consumer.

Every day I look at my inbox and see multiple emails from the likes of Tripit asking me to organise my trips,

Hotels.com telling me about yet another private members only sale, Groupon shouting about some amazing local offer and TripAdvisor educating me about some of my favourite places.

In sum its confusing and disjointed and for the most part these emails end up in the deleted folder. But rather like the journalists who  use Google Alerts to keep them posted of all news about a favourite subject, what if Google could control all those flows of offers, and then personalise them to my own interests ? At minimum I'd let the message  into my inbox and may even be tempted to buy off its list.

This aggregation of research and search requires three essential components from a supplier :

a) I want it to inform me of the latest offers relevant to me
b) Tell me about products I trust, in places I like, supplied by people who I've used before or are recommended by friends 
c) Last but by no means least, some of us may also be interested in a constant social conversation about the product to help shape my friends views (though quite why anyone would actually want to do that is beyond me). This step may involve not only views but also content and video.

It's against this backdrop that a bunch of papers by US advisory firm Evercore stand out. Penned by Ken Seda and his colleagues these start to map out precisely what Google may be up to in the world of digital travel and search - and why the OTAs in particular have a great deal to fear.

The most recent report is from September and is entitled Google's Travel Plans in a Post-Atomic Era, but you should also make a point of reading the earlier Google’s Summer Online Travel Plans report from March.

Seda and colleagues think that Google has essentially decided to cross the rubicon and take on its big customers like Priceline and Expedia. These huge OTAs have been very reliable customers for the search giant but history teaches us that eventually Google decides it can do the job better .

Starting with a number of small scale initiatives  Google is pushing into the OTA territory, with products such as Limited Offers linked to Google's Hotel finder service.

Next up will come a yet to be branded 'captive demand platform' which will allow Google's hotelier customers the ability to upload their secret lists of loyal, valuable customers into the Google engine and then churn out very special rates to customers.

Finally all this will be connected back to Google Wallet, allowing the search giant to control the whole process of research and booking.

This activity opens up a number of possibilities  not least the rise of opaque pricing based on personalised information - a huge departure from the existing rate parity agreements signed with the OTAs, with the potential to push prices below the advertised price on Priceline and Expedia.

Key to this push by Google is the bait for hoteliers - they keep the customer lists and transactions and don't have to rely on the existing 'atomic' model managed by OTA merchants where between 15% and 25% of all revenues is taken as commission.

Data is now owned by the brand marketing channel, allowing them to aggressively market to their own private lists of customers.

According to Ken Seda at Evercore, the OTAs are going to lie down in this battle, with Priceline in particular fighting back by buying up specialist outfits such as Buteeq, HotelNinjas and Open Table - the game plan here is to effectively build another leg to the business allowing the OTAs to turn into white label customer intelligence and servicing propositions for hoteliers.

As these changes start to ripple through the industry I'd wager that we'll see some profound changes, not least for the rabble of OTAs scrapping around for business.

The key challenge is that the direct travel model is a classic 'middle man' squeeze waiting to happen. Technology teaches us that eventually the market finds a way to squeeze out the expensive middle man, even if they provide a valuable service.

Lurking beneath this push for market control is a cold reality - the OTAs who account 20% of travel ad spend while contributing to 8% of global bookings, and they simply charge too much. According to the Evercore analysts they reckon that Priceline and Expedia "charge hoteliers over 20% of each booking  on average (adjusted to account for just hotels), whereas Amazon and EBAY take closer to 13% and 9%, respectively)....".

Google is slowly but surely eying up this model and seeing a huge new market especially as mobile helps to redefine everything, almost instantly removing some traditional channel superiority.

This'll force the OTAs to plump for one of  three options - be the biggest and offer the most comprehensive selection (the Expedia model), start to look at white labelling and working with hoteliers to provide optimisation services (the fast emerging Priceline approach) or become the brand customers trust and base your product around search and knowledge via reviews (the Tripadvisor model).

And what of the implications for the rest of the travel sector ? The obvious issue here is that Google has woken up to the simple realty that all travel research is about search and that what helps us all search better is personalised, valuable information.

Cut the jargon and one simple fact jumps out - we all want to cut the time we spend online working out what to do next. 
Evercore cites a  Google Travel study presented to its Hotel Finder partners, which cited " that travellers spend an average 55 minutes to book a hotel and flight, visit 17 websites, and click 4 different search ads per travel search, with 90% of those travellers conducting the booking process over multiple screens. 

The point of its presentation seemed to be a need for a streamlined bookings path, one where Google can retain the traveller from Search to Research to Book".

And Google already starts off with an advantage - according to the Evercore paper again "22 billion hotel searches are performed on Google per month with 58% of travellers (64% of business travellers) beginning their travel experience on Google, according to Ipsos MediaCT/Google Travel Study.  However, there is some question as to how many of those that start their search on Google were actually led to a booking decision by Google”. 

My own slightly off-beat take on this is that most major existing travel businesses should give up thinking they can stop the Google juggernaut, back it in its fight against the OTAs and then build their own platforms on top of the search giants architecture.

And last but by no means least what happens to the poor old customer, befuddled by all the channels and brands?

Clearly the big game changer is mobile and the degree to which phones and tablets will become the main digital interface.

These relatively constrained devices will lend themselves to modern day equivalents of the old Compuserve walled garden i.e software based architecture that keeps the customer within the world of Google via browsing through Chrome and then paying through Wallet.

Or as Evercore's analysts put it "we see the integration of HPAs to Google Wallet, Maps and Now as creating a seamless travel experience for the user (from search, to research, to book  -- to travel and return)".

And just in case you thought this was all pie in the sky remember that according to analysts at Evercore, “10%-20% of all online-booked occupancy is [already] driven by Google properties, including Search and Hotel Ads (aka Hotel Price Ads).  Moreover, this measure roughly equals all OTAs combined".

My sense is that customers will happily live within these closed gardens because the net effect will be that prices - for most - will be driven down, not least by Google taking a hunk out of the OTAs revenues.

Sadly this downward pressure on prices will have two nasty knock on effects - more of that opaque pricing via personalised offers and a slow but steady move towards online forms of internet social stratification.

In the new world that is fast emerging, power will sit in the hands of those marketers with the right lists of wealthy travellers who also happen to be on the right loyalty card lists and have the right credit scores.