Carnival Corp unveils new generation ‘green ships’

Posted on 16 June, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

By Phil Davies

Carnival Corp unveils new generation 'green ships'

The first giant cruise ships to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) – claimed to be the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel – have been ordered by Carnival Corporation.

The four new vessels – part of a previously-announced multi-billion dollar order for nine new ships between 2019 and 2022 – will also feature a revolutionary ‘green cruising’ design.

Each of the four next-generation ships will have a total capacity of 6,600 passengers, feature more than 5,000 lower berths, exceed 180,000 gross tons and incorporate an extensive number of ‘guest-friendly’ features.

A major part of the innovative design involves making much more efficient use of the ship’s spaces, creating an enhanced onboard experience.

Each new ship will be specifically designed and developed for the brand and the passengers it will serve.

Two of the ships will be built for German line AIDA Cruises at Meyer Werft’s shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Additional information about the ships, including which new ships will be added to each brand, will be made available at a later date, the group said.

The four new ships will be the first in the cruise industry to use LNG in dual-powered hybrid engines.

LNG will be stored onboard and used to generate 100% of power at sea. Using LNG to power the ships in port and at sea will eliminate emissions of soot particles and sulfur oxides.

Meyer Werft will build the other two ships at its yard in Turku, Finland.

Carnival Corporation chief executive, Arnold Donald (pictured), said the contract is consistent with the company’s measured capacity growth strategy to replace ships with less efficient capacity with newer, larger and more fuel efficient vessels over time.

“We are looking forward to executing on the next step in our fleet enhancement plan,” he said.

“At a cost per berth in line with our existing order book, these new ships will enhance the return profile of our fleet.

“These are exceptionally efficient ships with incredible cabins and public spaces featuring a design inspired by Micky Arison and Michael Thamm and developed by our new build teams.”

Arison is chairman of the board of directors for Carnival Corporation and Thamm is chief executive of the Costa Group, which includes AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises.

Donald added: “It will be exciting to see our shipbuilding team bring these new ships to life. Every step of the way, our focus is on designing state-of-the-art ships that provide a vacation experience our guests will love, and we are putting all of our creative energy and resources into making sure we achieve that goal.”

Thamm said: “These ships will expand our leadership position for the Costa Group, the market leader in all the major European markets.

“These will be spectacular ships designed specifically for our guests who sail on our Costa Group brands.”

Bernard Meyer, chief executive of Meyer Werft, said: “In past years, we have built seven highly successful ships for AIDA Cruises. We are honoured that Carnival Corporation has entrusted us with the implementation of this ambitious shipbuilding program, and we look forward to building these four magnificent ships.”

Carnival limits bottled beverages at embarkation

Posted on 11 June, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival Cruise Line said it will put new limits on the type and quantity of beverages that passengers can bring with them when boarding a cruise.

Effective with cruises departing July 9, passengers will no longer be able to bring beverages packaged in bottles, with the exception of a single bottle of fine wine or champagne.

Beverages packaged in cans or cartons, including sodas, waters and juices, will be permitted but limited to 12 or less brought aboard in carry-on luggage.

Carnival said it was making the change because bottled beverages have become a main method for smuggling unauthorized alcohol onto ships.

In recent years, some passengers have started bringing multiple cases of bottled water onboard. Inspecting the contents of the bottles is slowing down embarkation, Carnival said. Passengers who smuggle liquor are more difficult to monitor for excess consumption, Carnival said.

Incidents of bad behavior on cruises have often been traced back to smuggled alcohol, the cruise line said.

Concurrent with the policy change, Carnival said it will lower the price of bottled water on its ships to $2.99 per 12-pack if pre-ordered and $4.99 once the cruise begins. Current prices are around $12 per 12-pack, with higher per-bottle prices for individual bottles.

The pre-ordered 12-packs will be delivered to a customer’s stateroom, Carnival said.

Carnival will also restrict the size of coolers that can be brought aboard to 12x12x12 inches. It said screening and movement of large coolers through embarkation is an impediment to the boarding and security process.

Carnival said it doesn’t expect the changes to result in any net new revenue.

The policy change has been under consideration and review for many months, and Carnival said that it was confident it had arrived at a permanent solution.

“We sincerely apologize for any disappointment these changes may cause,” wrote senior director of solutions and special services Arlene Marichal in a letter that will go out to booked passengers explaining the change. “However, we firmly believe this will result in a safer environment while also improving the embarkation process and the overall guest experience. ”

Cruise suite classes help lure luxury clients

Posted on 19 May, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Norwegian Star Suite, photo by Dave Jones

Royal Caribbean International is the latest cruise line to develop a suite class, extending the privileges that come with upper-level stateroom bookings beyond the four walls of the suite itself.

Suite guests now constitute a special class on brands ranging from deluxe Cunard Line and Celebrity Cruises to mass-market players such as Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and, soon, Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean president Michael Bayley told travel agents attending the Vacation.com annual conference onboard Oasis of the Seas that Royal is working on a Suite Class package of amenities and will roll it out sometime in 2016.

Bayley said the general idea was to make it an all-inclusive product, though Royal spokesman Harrison Liu said the exact list of all-inclusive elements is still being determined.

Bayley was president of Celebrity Cruises when that line conceived its suite class. The category became operational last month on all Celebrity ships except the Xpedition.

Suites have always been larger, nicer and more expensive than ordinary cruise staterooms. What is new is the effort to make areas outside the suite itself exclusive to suite guests and to generally raise the level of service, value and privilege that go with suites.

Celebrity’s new suite class, for example, includes a 120-seat restaurant, Luminae, reserved exclusively for suite guests.

Those in higher category suites, such as Celebrity suites and above, have exclusive access to Michael’s Club, a lounge that was originally a pub-style venue on Celebrity ships.

And in top quarters — Royal, Penthouse, and Reflection suites — guests get more perks including a free premium beverage package, unlimited specialty dining, free unlimited Internet access and a minibar restocked daily with beer, soda and water.

Suite class on some brands, including Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises, includes segregation from the rest of the ship in an enclave of cabins behind a key-card access point.

The top suites on Celebrity Cruises’ newest ship, the Reflection, also have this feature.

Beth Butzlaff, managing director of cruise at the Virtuoso luxury consortium, said that the spread of suite class is mainly a result of non-luxury cruise lines trying to retain their top-shelf customers.

“I think it’s a trend because all these premium [lines] aren’t trying to pretend to be luxury, but they all have luxury travelers,” Butzlaff said, referring to passengers who are susceptible to pitches from lines higher on the luxury food chain.

Keeping guests loyal by carving out areas of the ship where they can congregate with other luxury customers is an attempt to forestall such defections.

“It’s been successful, from what we can see,” Butzlaff said.

Another factor has been the growing recognition of the revenue brought in by the highest-value passengers on a ship.

The Loft Suite on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.

“The premiums are finding this type of client is more loyal, they spend more onboard, they obviously book the higher suites and they take more shore excursions, so the investment they’re making is going to pay off,” Butzlaff said.

A third wrinkle is the growth of multi-generational travel and the desire of some customers who would typically go on small, luxury ships to travel with extended families.

Suite classes respond to that. Butzlaff said The Haven or SeaPass, a gold-colored version of a key card now used by Royal Caribbean for suite guests, “accommodates that luxury client [who] is wanting to travel with their families and still have a luxury experience.”

As to whether the addition of suite class perks gives cruise lines cover for raising suite prices, Butzlaff said it wasn’t clear.

“There’s different models for different lines,” she said. “With these suites, there is some comparison with the luxury lines as far as price, but the value is still very strong.”

Travel agents can make lucrative bookings from suite products, so the spread of the suite class concept is a boon for agent commissions. Butzlaff said the suite class idea goes back at least as far as the 2004 introduction of Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2, which resurrected the liner concept and its formal class structure.

Cunard offers Grill Class on its ships, which gives suite customers access or priority seating at its Queen’s Grill and Princess Grill restaurants and associated lounges. On Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, Cunard offers suite guests an outdoor courtyard area for exclusive al fresco dining.

Around the same time, Norwegian began building a separate suite section on its ships that eventually came to be called the Haven. The concept has been picked up by MSC as the MSC Yacht Club starting in 2008 with the launch of its four Fantasia-class ships.

On MSC, the concept includes a separate lounge, pool area, bar, concierge reception area and restaurant, as well as a private entrance to the ship’s spa. Royal Caribbean has built increasingly elaborate suites as its new ships bulked up and passenger counts rose.

The 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Sea and Allure of the Sea offer Royal Loft Suites, duplex accommodations that are a feature of Cunard and some other luxury lines. Already, Royal offers an exclusive concierge lounge to senior-suite guests on most ships and a private area of the pool deck to suite guests beginning with Voyager-class ships and those built afterward.

It also provides private breakfast and lunch seating in specialty restaurants on Voyager- and Freedom-class ships, as well as a separate restaurant on Quantum-class ships, with plans to add them to Oasis-class ships.