Tag Archives: Carnival Spirit

Down Under overview: Cruise growing by leaps and bounds

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Down Under overview: Cruise growing by leaps and bounds

By Donna Tunney
InsightThe cruise industry in Sydney is in an extraordinary growth phase, and it doesn’t look like it will slow down, according to Chris White, chairman of Cruise Down Under, the cruise marketing organization representing the Pacific region’s national and state tourism agencies, regional ports, shipping agents and cruise operators.

In his recent year-end report, White said there were 214 ship visits to Sydney in 2011, up from 150 in 2010; that represents a 43% increase.

For the 2012-13 season, 264 ship visits have already been booked.
Sydney’s harbor is the only one in Australia with two dedicated cruise passenger terminals, he noted.

This winter, several ships will make their maiden visits to Sydney, including Costa Cruises’ Costa Deliziosa, Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Century, Holland America Line’s Zaandam and Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess.

February will be the high point of the cruise season, said White, with a new record of 33 ship visits, up from 27 for February 2011. Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth is one of the ships that will call at Sydney next month.

The Sydney Ports Corp., which develops and maintains the city’s facilities, is taking steps to improve the services and infrastructure necessary to sustain the city’s growth in cruise shipping. It is, among other initiatives, planning a significant upgrade at Sydney harbor’s Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay during the next couple of years, said White. And it will begin work soon on a $57 million terminal at White Bay, which is part of Sydney harbor where a temporary dock has been operating.

Meanwhile, said White, other developments are springing up in the Pacific region. The Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority, for example, has set its sights on luring more cruise ships by 2013. About 100 ships called in Papua New Guinea in 2010. Numbers for 2011 were not yet available.

“Papua New Guinea, the world’s truly last frontier, is waiting, beckoning to be explored and experienced. Every step in this uniquely diverse country of 800 different languages, tribes and peoples is an experience on its own,” said White.

A cruise port and terminal is located at Port Moresby, on the Gulf of Papua. Tourism officials are working to raise awareness of the destination with additional marketing projects and by attending major trade shows, such as Cruise Shipping Asia.

On the shore excursion front, Cruise Down Under recently announced a new product that might be an eye-opener to cruise passengers who visit Tasmania.

It’s a guided tour of the Coal Mines Historic Site, a former convict site, near Port Arthur.

“Located in a now peaceful bush landscape about 30 minutes’ drive from Port Arthur, the Coal Mines is a little known element of the great experiment in crime and punishment on which the Australian nation was founded,” said White.

Participants will explore the ruins of houses, barracks, offices and the underground cells of those who once lived and worked at the Coal Mines, a place where the “worst of the worst” convicts were sent for punishment.

Royal and Carnival Launch Campaigns

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Royal and Carnival Launch Campaigns

Both cruise lines plan for expansion in 2012

January 9, 2012

Carnival Cruise Lines is targeting the value of cruising in 2012. // © 2012 Carnival Cruise Lines

At the end of the year, two of the biggest players in cruising announced new initiatives based on the attraction of the sea, although they are focused very differently. Royal Caribbean International (RCI) is launching a new brand campaign centered on the relaxation, romance and adventure of the open waters, and Carnival Cruise Lines has opened a new advertising campaign that promotes the quality and value of Fun Ship cruises in comparison with traditional land-based vacations. Both campaigns began in December and will build throughout 2012.

RCI’s new message uses the imagery of a telephone/conch shell — dubbed the “shellphone” — with the tagline “The Sea is Calling. Answer it Royally.” The campaign is capitalizing on universal responses to the sea discovered through focus groups and quantitative research conducted in 16 countries around the world, stressing associations with getting away from the cares and responsibilities of land and taking to the open sea.

“We are tapping into the sea’s powerful, emotional force to reframe the context of cruising for consumers who don’t understand what a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation offers,” said Betsy O’Rourke, senior vice president, marketing for RCI. “‘The Sea is Calling’ is a global-scale campaign that will resonate with people no matter where they live, what language they speak, or whether or not they have cruised before. And we want vacationers everywhere to know that Royal Caribbean’s distinctive and innovative ships, personal service and breadth of destination experiences is how we ‘Answer it Royally.’”

Created by RCI’s lead advertising agency, JWT New York, in partnership with media agency Mindshare, the campaign is deploying globally throughout the new year after its official January launch. The Shellphone began appearing on Dec. 19 in major cities, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston and Miami.

Television commercials featuring everyday people interacting with the Shellphone (in 30-second and 60-second versions) began on Jan. 9, and consumers are invited to actively participate by indicating where in the world they would like to cruise and entering a sweepstakes at Facebook.com/RoyalCaribbean.

Carnival’s multichannel campaign launched on Dec. 26, and blends national and regional executions across television, out-of-home (billboards) and online media. The central theme of the campaign reinforces the notion that everyone deserves a fun, memorable vacation at a great price and that Carnival delivers on this promise with a unique onboard experience at an exceptional value. The Land vs. Sea campaign has a light touch, pitting the carefree fun of a Carnival cruise against the most common land-based vacations such as visiting relatives, camping and going to an amusement park.

“The value of a Carnival cruise is clearest when juxtaposed against a land-based vacation and to get our message out in a big way, we used humor and identifiable moments to reach out to the 80 percent of the population who has never taken a cruise,” said Jim Berra, Carnival’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “We believe that everyone has the right to an exceptional vacation at a great value, and this campaign will remind Americans that they don’t need to compromise, or break their budgets, in their pursuit of fun,” he added.

Research shows that many Americans are curbing expenses by taking vacations that are within driving distance. With a wide choice of close-to-home ports and a variety of short and long cruises that fit any budget, Carnival has an answer that allows consumers to minimize distance to the vacation and travel to new places at the same time.

One of the line’s priorities is reaching cruise rookies. For example, a 3-D billboard in Times Square will portray the beauty of a Carnival cruise ship on the Caribbean juxtaposed against the bustle of the city, with the phrase “Cruising From New York.” Other customized out-of-home elements will be featured in subway cars, atop taxis, on elevators and in prospecting displays.

Like RCI’s message, Carnival’s will unfold during 2012 in a variety of forms and venues.

Preview 2012: Cruise

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Preview 2012: Cruise

By Donna Tunney
Carninval LibertyEmerging from a challenging year that left cruise executives with furrowed brows, the cruise lines have already taken steps to shore up and protect their 2012 business.

Still, they can only take action based on what’s obvious at the moment.

They know, for example, that they don’t want to be forced to undertake costly redeployments of ships away from areas where geopolitical unrest spooks potential passengers, as it did in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa regions during the Arab Spring in 2011.

For next year, some of the major lines have reduced their capacity in that part of the world in favor of areas such as the Western Med, the Baltics and other cruising grounds in Northern Europe.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., for example, cut its brands’ deployments in the Eastern Med by 17%.

And cruise executives know that the stubbornly slow, at times spotty, economic recovery will draw down at least some portion of the traveling public’s discretionary spending. Agents already have seen some lines’ early responses to that in the form of widespread and deep early-booking discounts for 2012 among the upmarket and luxury segments.

For most, this is a new strategy to build a more solid foundation of advance bookings, coupled with the hope that they won’t have to discount again close to departure dates.

The deals include incentives such as 50% or higher discounts on published fares, free airfare, thousands in bonus savings per cabin and hefty onboard spending credits.

Ross Spalding, president of Princeton, N.J.-based Crown Cruise Vacations and its luxury unit, Crown Cruise Collection, recently observed: “It’s tight out there. People are being very careful with their money, and if the deal isn’t good enough, they’ll look elsewhere.” Moreover, he noted, the deals are not just for early 2012 or the summer season but well into next fall, too.

Azamara Club Cruises, for example, is trying to entice prospective passengers with 50% off published rates, air credits and prebooked shore excursions.

A ‘recalibration of thinking’

Azamara President Larry Pimentel has said that troubling economic data, coupled with lower home sales and the decline in home values, led to a new consumer sentiment: a “recalibration of thinking.”

The uncertainty in global markets, the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the potential for more civil unrest in certain destinations have led even the most senior cruise executives to avoid making strong predictions about business expectations for 2012.

Grandeur of the SeasCarnival Corp., in its Q4 report to analysts last week, said it had very little inventory left to sell on cruises departing in Q1 2012 but “significant” inventory in later quarters. Chairman Micky Arison predicted the industry would see a strong Wave season based on booking patterns of the last six weeks.

Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., parent of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara, said late this year that the volatility in the global markets is causing “angst for us and everybody else.”

In their Q3 conference call with analysts this fall, Fain and other RCCL executives flatly refused to provide any specific booking or yield predictions for 2012.

Overall, though, for the major lines at least, revenues have increased and yields have held steady or improved slightly, all signs that the cruise vacation market can hold its own even in a tough economy.

Other bright spots are also easing cruise executives’ concerns somewhat, among them the 2012 Alaska cruise season. Coming off of a very successful 2011 season, Arison recently declared, “We don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be as good in 2012.”

Retailer Bill Wodarski agreed. The owner of Above & Beyond Travel in Austin, Texas, recently said he’s been selling a lot of Alaska cruises for summer 2012. But while it’s one of his most-requested destinations, he also said he’s spending much more time comparison shopping for budget-conscious clients.

And several agents agreed that many clients are holding out for a bargain on advance registrations. Edith Salter of Tampa-based Bowen Travel Service said, “My clients continue to be very concerned about the economy. They’re not spending as much, not getting the oceanview cabin. But they’re still going.”

Renovations and newbuilds

Other encouraging signs for 2012 can be seen in the ambitious renovation projects that both Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Lines are undertaking.

Royal Caribbean embarked on the Royal Advantage, a $300 million project to bring Oasis-class innovations to more of the line’s fleet.

The revitalization plan, which began with upgrades to the Radiance of the Seas last spring and the Splendour of the Seas in November, will extend to the Rhapsody of the Seas next March, the Grandeur of the Seas in May and the Serenade of the Seas in November.

The revamps will continue in 2013 and 2014, when revitalizations will take place aboard seven more of the line’s vessels.

Carnival in 2012 will continue to expand its Fun Ship 2.0 project, a $500 million program to enhance 16 ships. Intended to “transform the Carnival vacation experience” through partnerships and new branded spaces, the line partnered with several big names for onboard branding.

New features will include Guy’s Burger Joint (a restaurant created by Food Network star Guy Fieri), RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Tequila Bar, BlueIguana Cantina, Alchemy Bar and EA Sports Bar. Also, comedian George Lopez will oversee the line’s comedy presentations.

The enhancements have been added to the Carnival Liberty and in 2012 will make their debut on the Carnival Conquest. They also will appear on the newbuild Carnival Breeze when it enters service in June and on other ships during the next three years.

Newbuilds typically generate a lot of consumer buzz about the cruise industry, and 2012 will be no exception.

In addition to the 3,600-passenger Carnival Breeze, agents will be able to sell several other new vessels next year.

Disney Cruise Line will debut the 4,000-passenger Disney Fantasy; Oceania Cruises will launch the 1,250-passenger Riviera; Costa Cruises will christen its 3,800-passenger Fascinosa; Celebrity Cruises will introduce the 3,000-passenger Celebrity Reflection; and MSC Cruises will welcome the 4,363-passenger Divina.