Tag Archives: carnival

The race to build the world’s biggest cruise ship is over

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Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas
Can we call it now?
The race to build the biggest cruise ship ever is over, I think.
And the winner is Royal Caribbean International.
Will anyone ever build a cruise ship bigger than Royal’s Oasis-class ships, the fourth of which was delivered last week? It might happen, but the evidence suggests that it won’t. The reason why I think not is that many cruise companies, including Royal itself, have had a chance to design something bigger since the Oasis of the Seas first took to the oceans in 2009.
No one has.
Of the 36 cruise ships over 120,000 gross tons delivered since 2009, none are bigger than the 228,081-ton Symphony of the Seas, which is on its way from the shipyard in France to Barcelona, Spain, where it will begin seven-day cruises on April 7.
Of the 43 cruise ships over 120,000 gross tons on order or about to be delivered, none are bigger than the Symphony.
Those orders include ships for nearly every major cruise operator besides Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., including Carnival Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Walt Disney Co., MSC Cruises and Genting Hong Kong.
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MSC Seaside.
Each had an opportunity to design the new biggest cruise ship in the world. The closest will be Dream Cruises, which is building a pair of 204,000 gross ton Global class ships for delivery in 2020 and 2021.
Royal Caribbean also has had two chances to top itself but has designed the smaller Quantum class at 168,666 gross tons and the upcoming Icon class at 200,000 gross tons. Royal is still cranking out Oasis-class ships the next is due in 2021. So perhaps when it is finished with that class, it will design something bigger.
For decades, the biggest cruise ship in the world was the 70,327 gross ton Queen Elizabeth 2, which reigned for 21 years from 1967 to 1988 when the 73,192 gross ton Sovereign of the Seas de-throned it.
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RMS Queen Elizabeth 2nd
Thereafter, in the 20 years from 1988 to 2009, a series of newbuilds followed that each topped the last in size. Now there has been a nine-year lull. To match the QE2’s longevity as No. 1, the Symphony of the Seas would have to be the biggest until 2039.
Maybe that won’t happen. There’s always economies of scale to be reaped by building bigger, although the evidence seems to suggest that beyond 5,500 passengers, operators reach a point of diminishing returns.
But for now, long live the Symphony of the Seas.

Carnival to Launch Four New Craft Beers on Horizon

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From left: Edward Allen, vice president of beverage operations and Colin Presby, brewmaster

Carnival Cruise Line announced that it will offer four new craft beers that will be brewed aboard the new Carnival Horizon which is set to debut this April.

The beers were developed by brewmaster Colin Presby and will be offered at Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse|Brewhouse, a new dining concept.

The announcement was made by Presby and Carnival Vice President of Beverage Operations Edward Allen at a traditional keg-tapping ceremony held aboard Carnival Vista last weekend.

The new beers are:

ParchedPig Smoked Porter – brewed with in-house smoked malt, this robust, full-bodied beer offers big and bold flavours and notes of molasses and hickory smoke, providing the perfect complement to Smokehouse|Brewhouse’s BBQ favourites.

ParchedPig Farmhouse Ale – this lightly hopped beer is distinguished by its blond colour, fruity and complex character with mild spice notes that balance the brew’s dry finish.

ParchedPig Toasted Amber Ale – highlighted by its rich amber colour and notes of toasted caramel and biscuit, this beer is well balanced, smooth and highly drinkable.

ParchedPig West Coast IPA – the embodiment of a traditional West Coast India Pale Ale, this hoppy, intense beer is loaded with bitterness with a bright flavour profile and distinctive aroma of citrus and pine.

“Smokehouse|Brewhouse is a unique culinary concept and we’ve created four fantastic brewed-on-board craft beers that not only showcase different tastes and brewing styles but also serve as the ideal accompaniment to the venue’s delicious array of barbecue offerings,” said Presby.

Smokehouse|Brewhouse will also offer up a rustic, down-home décor as well as a variety of Fieri-designed favourites, all smoked “low and slow” using the chef’s signature rubs and spices.

Carnival devotes more resources to travel agents

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Carnival Paradise

Carnival Cruise Line will carve out four new sales territories in fast-growing areas of the country, each to be headed by a business development manager.

At the same time, Carnival made other changes to its sales structure, including the formation of a program to focus management attention on independent agents.

The four new territories are Boston and Rhode Island; Jacksonville, Fla.; western Texas; and the four corners region that includes parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Carnival also highlighted the formation of a new groups desk that was inaugurated earlier in October. The desk is designed to provide additional technical support for travel agent questions related to group bookings, Carnival said. It can be reached at (800) 327-5782.

“We created these new sales regions and the independent agent program to provide added business development support for travel partners,” said Carnival vice president of sales and trade marketing Adolfo Perez. “The growth in these geographies and the independent agent channel, combined with our recent preferred supplier agreements with Travelsavers/Nest, Signature, and Ensemble, make this the right time for us to expand our field team resources.”