Tag Archives: North American market

MSC Meraviglia Arrives in NYC for Year-Round Sailings

Posted on by
Reply

MSC Cruises MSC Meraviglia arrived at its new homeport in New York at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal from where it will sail year-round cruises, according to a press release.

This marks the first time that MSC Cruises has deployed a ship in New York for year-round sailings as part of efforts to strengthen its presence in the North American market.

The MSC Meraviglia will offer sailings ranging from six to 11 nights. Itineraries include: 

  • The Bahamas and Florida – Seven to 11-night cruises with calls in Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida; Nassau and the cruise line’s private island Ocean Cay, The Bahamas; Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico.
  • Bermuda – Five and six-night voyages from Kings Wharf in Bermuda starting in August.
  • Canada and New England – 10 and 11-night sailings with calls in Newport, Boston and Portland in the U.S. and Saint John, Halifax, Charlottetown, and Sydney in Canada.

For international guests, MSC Cruises offers “Stay & Cruise” packages with an option to stay up to three nights in the city before embarking on the cruise.  Guests can choose among several hotels including the Hotel Riu Plaza Manhattan, Hotel Riu Plaza Times Square and the Park Central Hotel.

Additionally, guests can look forward to a free guided tour through Manhattan before embarking on the ship.

Norwegian Joy’s Onboard Revenue More Than Doubles in Alaska

Posted on by
Reply

Norwegian Joy’s Onboard Revenue More Than Doubles in Alaska

Norwegian Joy in Seattle

The decision to move the Norwegian Joy from China to the North American market has been successful for Norwegian Cruise Line.

“The redeployment of Norwegian Joy to Alaska resulted to a profound improvement to her profitability, especially in the top line driven by more than doubling of her onboard revenue generation,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO, on the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ second-quarter earnings call.

The decision to pull the ship from China came in 2018, as part of the company’s strategic itinerary optimization initiative which also included its entry into new European homeports.

The North American launch of Norwegian Joy generated over $2.5 billion media impressions and further elevated Norwegian Cruise Line’s already the preeminent position in the all-important growing and high-yielding Alaska market, Del Rio said.

“We are extremely pleased to not only see her garnering the high pricing she rightfully deserves but also to see her deliver a customer experience that ranks her first in guest satisfaction for the Norwegian brand, driven by the high-tech and industry-first innovation onboard.”

Next year is shaping up to be even stronger for Joy in North America.

“And I may add that we won’t have the challenges of selling Joy, a very large ship, in a very abbreviated eight-, or nine-month booking cycle like we did this year when we announced her departure from China,” Del Rio explained.”We have a regular (18- to 24-month) booking cycle in front of us.”

According to Andy Stuart, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, Joy is ahead in the pricing of the vessel she replaced in the Alaska market.

Bullish on Alaska, the growth will grow with the Norwegian Sun joining the market in 2020, sailing seven- to 15-day cruises from Seattle.

“We believe the Norwegian Sun Alaska deployment will generate yield that will approach, if not be equal to what she was commanding in her Cuba deployment led by strong onboard spending,” Del Rio said.

Royal Caribbean: New Experiences at Sea and on Land

Posted on by
Reply

The Symphony of the Seas

Introducing the Symphony of the Seas in the North American market in November, Royal Caribbean International President Michael Bayley said that the features on the new ship will be introduced on the 2009-built Oasis, the first ship in the class, when she goes into a two-month drydock in Europe this year, and then on the sister ship, the 2010-built Allure, next year. “Through our Royal Amplified program the Oasis and the Allure will re-enter service with literally all the services and features we have on the Symphony,” Bayley said in a press conference aboard the Symphony.

With the continued growth of the industry, Bayley said it is important to attract more first-time cruise passengers. However, as they often start by taking a short cruise they are not experiencing the best that the industry has to offer.

“We have been using our old ships to convince people to start cruising,” he explained. “We are now changing that strategy by upgrading our short-cruise ships. As a result, we have seen a strong increase in demand.”

In May, Royal Caribbean expects to introduce its Perfect Day concept on CoCoCay. Redoing its private out-island in the Bahamas, passengers will find a state-of-the-art water park in addition to beaches and a variety of water sports offerings.

“Perfect Day has been designed after feedback from our guests,” Bayley said. “We asked them what would be their perfect day. The sweet spot is multi-generational travel – there will be something to do for all ages, whether they want ‘thrill or chill.’”

The United States generates about 55 per cent of Royal Caribbean’s total business, according to Bayley, who added that Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific are also huge markets for the brand.

As for ship deployment, he said that is based on the business viability of each market.

But despite the Symphony being the world’s largest ship at 228,081 tons and literally a destination by herself, while also receiving a top net promoter score, Bayley said that one of the biggest drivers selling cruises are destinations. “People want to go somewhere and explore,” he added.

“But as we plan our future with bigger ships and new onboard features and services, destinations must also plan their future, and sometimes they can do better. We are open to partnering with destinations to help them in their development. Today, we are looking at some 50 port projects around the world.”

The Symphony’s arrival in the Port of Miami coincided with the introduction of Royal Caribbean’s new Terminal A. Resembling the shape of a ship, the sleek terminal will homeport the Symphony and the Allure.

Up to now, Miami has handled about 750,000 passengers a year for Royal Caribbean. With the new terminal, the cruise line hopes to boost that number to 2 million passengers a year.

This year Royal Caribbean will also be introducing the new Spectrum of the Seas in China, while the Ovation redeploys to Alaska.

At press time, Royal Caribbean had five more ships on order, including the Spectrum of the Seas, slated to enter service this spring; another Quantum-class ship in 2020; another Oasis-class vessel for 2021 delivery; and the first of the new Icon class of LNG-fueled vessels in 2022, with a sister ship following in 2024.