Cruise lines say visiting Cuba by ship is safe

Posted on 3 October, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Three big cruise companies with itineraries that include calls in Havana said their ships are a safe way to visit the island, even though the U.S. State Department is warning Americans against going.

The warning is in response to illnesses reported by diplomatic workers in Havana attributed to some sort of sonic weapon. The attacks, which began last November, are thought to have occurred in residences or in a hotel that houses diplomatic personnel on temporary assignment.

In response, the U.S. government has withdrawn most of its diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Because some of the attacks occurred at a hotel, the government also warned tourists.

The government of Cuba has denied any involvement in the attacks, an assertion that hasn’t been challenged by the U.S.

Carnival Cruise Line sails to Havana from Tampa with its Carnival Paradise ship. In a statement, it said that it would continue its cruises to Cuba for the moment.

“While members and relatives of the U.S. diplomatic corps have suffered illnesses apparently triggered by occurrences at the diplomatic offices or possibly their homes, none of the more than 475,000 other Americans visiting Cuba this year have reported similar health issues related to their visits,” the Carnival statement said.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), which also takes passengers to Havana from Tampa on the Royal Caribbean International ship the Empress of the Seas, said it was aware of the State Department warnings.

“Since the warning is due to the events that occurred in U.S. diplomatic residences and hotels frequented by U.S. citizens, we do not feel they pose a risk to our cruise passengers,” an RCCL statement said. “Our guests explore Havana on escorted tours and do not visit hotels.”

Norwegian Cruise Line, which visits Havana on its Norwegian Sky ship from Miami, said its cruises there continue to operate as scheduled.

“There have been no reported incidents involving tourists or other cruise ship passengers,” said a Norwegian statement that also noted incidents have been isolated to diplomats and government officials residing on the island. “Our shore excursions and tour locations have been thoroughly evaluated,” the statement continued. “We continue to believe that the best way to travel to Cuba is via cruise ship and look forward to continuing to offer our guests the opportunity to explore Cuba’s beauty, culture and friendly people.”

Asked about cancellations or a slowdown in Cuba bookings, a Norwegian spokeswoman said there was “nothing to note at the moment.”

Spokeswomen for RCCL and Carnival declined to comment on bookings.

Princess Cruises’ Ocean Medallion launch on schedule

Posted on 3 September, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

“It’s all about enabling the crew to give the guests what they want, when they want it, how they want it.” — Arnold DonaldSAN DIEGO — Carnival Corp. is on track to launch its Ocean Medallion on the Regal Princess this November, CEO Arnold Donald said at the ASTA Global Convention this week.

Donald spoke about the medallion and other topics at a general session.

“We’re marching full-steam ahead, and the beautiful thing about it is while it is technology for the guests, they won’t notice any of that,” Donald said after his address during the general session, calling the technology “effortless” and “comprehensive” for cruisers.

The Medallion is a small disc-shaped device that cruisers can choose to wear as a wristband or pendant or carried in a pocket, purse or wallet. Carnival plans to use it to offer personalized experiences, among other functions. The Medallion will function as a room key.

For instance, Donald said, a guest could walk into a bar and the bartender will know his or her name and the last drink they ordered. If, for some reason, they leave the bar before their drink is ready (his example was to see a whale appearing off the side of the ship during an Alaska cruise), the crew will bring their drink to them.

“It’s all about enabling the crew to give the guests what they want, when they want it, how they want it,” Donald said. “It’s a personalized, customized service for the guest, and that’s what the technology enables.”

Currently, employees are undergoing “very extensive” training to use the technology effectively. Donald said key staff members are working with Medallion’s development team, and “their jobs are going to completely be redefined” when they start using the technology.

To outfit a ship so it’s Medallion-ready, the entire vessel has to get sensors put in place. The Medallion itself works like a beacon, Donald said, and the sensors connect the Medallion with an intelligence system. Ships have to be outfitted with portals throughout the vessel, both inside and outside of cabins, where guests can interact with the Medallion if they wish (they can also set preferences via a smartphone).

From a physical standpoint, sensors need to be placed and wiring needs to be installed in dry dock, the CEO said.

The first Medallion sailing will be aboard Regal Princess this November, and other Princess ships are scheduled to follow. A rollout to Princess’ entire fleet could take a few years.

Donald said other brands could opt to install the technology once they “decide to push the go button.”

Carnival Corp ups full year revenue forecast on back of higher prices

Posted on 26 June, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

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Carnival Corporation’s cumulative bookings for the next three quarters are at higher prices than last year and concentrated in the core cruise markets in North America and Europe.

Adjusted net profits for the last quarter edged up by $8 million year-on-year to $370 million as revenues grew from $3.7 billion to $3.9 billion on the back of a 4% increase in capacity.

The figures for the three months to May 31 were boosted by a 5% improvement in overall cruise ticket prices for the parent company of brands such as P&O Cruises, Cunard and Princess Cruises.

The improved rates affirmed efforts to increase demand “by building positive word of mouth through the delivery of exceptional guest experiences as well as our innovative marketing and public relations programmes,” said president and chief executive Arnold Donald.

The company expects full year 2017 net revenue yields in constant currency to be up approximately 3.5%, better than guidance given in March of up by around 3%.

Chief finance officer David Bernstein said: “Since the end of February, booking volumes for the next three quarters have been running in line with the prior year at nicely higher prices.

“At this point in time, cumulative bookings for the next three quarters are ahead of the prior year, again, at nicely higher prices.”

Looking forward, Donald said: “We are realising sustained strength in booking trends across all core products.

“We are delivering on our strategy to grow demand in excess of measured capacity growth while leveraging our industry-leading scale resulting in increased return on invested capital.”

The world’s largest cruise conglomerate saw the delivery of Princess Cruises’ Majestic Princess, the first ship tailored for Chinese passengers, as well as the addition of AIDAperla to German brand, AIDA Cruises.

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AIDAperla.

Two additional Princess Cruises ships, Caribbean Princess and Royal Princess, were fitted with the technical requirements to switch them early next year to the Ocean Platform featuring Ocean Medallion, the interactive technology for passengers which will debut on Regal Princess in November.

Donald told analysts in a conference call: “We have and we’ll continue to create carefully engineered high-quality destination experiences that are uniquely tailored to our guest references from our private islands like Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay to the planned expansion of our cruise terminal in Barcelona to our most recently completed port destination Amber Cove, in the Dominican Republic.

“We’re providing exceptional guest experiences that enable our brands to capture a price premium. We have many more innovations planned in port development that we expect to rollout in the coming years.”

He identified “new destination opportunities” in Cuba, the Bahamas and China.

The company expects to benefit from growing populations, increasing wealth and developing countries in addition to increased spending by consumers on “experience versus products”, all of which are contributing to 4% annual growth expected in travel globally.