Tag Archives: Europe

Royal Caribbean Int’l reducing Europe deployments

Posted on by
Reply

Royal Caribbean Int’l reducing Europe deployments

By Johanna Jainchill
Royal Caribbean International will reduce its ships deployed in Europe next year to eight, down from 12 in 2012.

This year, the cruise line will operate nine of its 22 vessels on the Continent; 2014’s one ship reduction will be the Vision of the Seas, which will operate in Northern Europe this year but not next. Royal Caribbean has not yet announced the vessel’s 2014 deployment.

In Europe next year will be the Liberty of the Seas, the Navigator of the Seas, the Serenade of the Seas and the Splendour of the Seas in the Mediterranean, and the Independence of the Seas, the Adventure of the Seas, the Brilliance of the Seas and the Legend of the Seas in Northern Europe.

Next year’s Northern Europe cruises opened for booking this week; the line’s Mediterranean cruises go on sale March 28.

Take-off for Google Flight Search in UK

Posted on by
Reply

Take-off for Google Flight Search in UK

by Lee Hayhurst
by Lee Hayhurst

 

Google has rolled out Flight Search in the UK as part of a first move into international markets.

The product, which is the result of Google’s controversial buyout of software firm ITA, has been live in the US since September 2011.

Its speed and ability to search for flights according to a diverse range of criteria has made it the source of much speculation, although Google has not rolled it out as quickly as expected.

However, today’s launch in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands with local pricing and in eight languages ends speculation that Google has reined in its ambitions for Flight Search.

The main difference between the US and UK product is the absence of a commercial unit that sits at the top of natural search results.

Google said it was assessing this before deciding whether or not to include this in its international version.

Other than that the non-US version is an exact copy, the Google spokesman saying it was aimed at people in the early stages of research when they do not know where they want to go.

Using a map-based interface, Flight Search allows users to filter their results based on how much they want to spend and flight time.

The biggest omission for the European market is the absence of Ryanair and easyJet, although Google said negotiations were ongoing.

In terms of fulfilment partners, Google has struck deals with a number of European intermediaries including Bravo Fly, Budget Air and fly.co.uk.

The Google spokesman said: “These are big markets. The plan with all our products is to go global as quickly as we can.

“With something as complex as flights there are a lot more partners to negotiate with. This is the first market beyond the US, but logic would suggest there are more to come.”

The task of expanding cruising globally

Posted on by
Reply

The task of expanding cruising globally

By Tom Stieghorst

*InsightThe biggest challenge for the cruise industry over the next decade may be the cultural one.

As cruise lines peer into the future, their prospects more than ever depend on countries where cruising is unfamiliar as a vacation option. The good news is that few people outside of North America have been on a cruise, meaning there’s plenty of potential for growth. But in many countries it’s still too early to tell if cruising is going to be a long-term hit with vacationers.

Cruising is largely an Anglo-American vacation. When the number of people who have cruised is measured against total population in various countries, the top four markets are the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. In all of these countries, more than 2% of the population has cruised.

*TomStieghorstGermans also appear to love to cruise.  Some of Carnival Corp.’s best performing ships sail for German brands.  The number of cruisers from Germany could overtake the total from the U.K. within five years, CLIA President Christine Duffy recently forecast.

Next comes Italy, home to Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises, but it produces only 4% of the world’s passengers, notes a report from Stivel Nicholas analyst Steven Wieczynski. By comparison, according to Stivel Nicholas, Germany accounts for 6% of global passengers, and North America accounts for 75%.

“While passenger counts from the other major European markets, including Italy, Spain and France, continue to grow, overall market penetration remains subdued,” he wrote in a recent report.

In Asia, many Japanese travel abroad, but relatively few go cruising. Although Princess Cruises is taking another stab at developing the market in Japan, some cruise executives say the idea of a cruise hasn’t taken root in that country.At a recent cruise conference in Hong Kong, Carnival Asia CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the penetration rate for cruises in Japan is 0.08%, compared with about 3.4% in the U.S. In China, it is even lower, at 0.04%.

To their credit, Carnival and other cruise companies are investing significant sums to experiment in Asia to figure out what kind of cruise might appeal to residents there.

The potential for gaining even a small part of the 80 million Chinese who traveled abroad last year is too tempting for the cruise lines to pass up. The challenge will be creating a cruise for the non-Anglo world that translates well into the local vacation culture.