Twitter chat at CruiseWorld touches on dream trips, ‘travel addiction’

Twitter chat at CruiseWorld touches on dream trips, ‘travel addiction’

By Rebecca Tobin
2013CruiseWorld_logo200x115FORT LAUDERDALE — The #TWchats on Twitter held in conjunction with CruiseWorld was one of the biggest TWchats to date, with 227 active contributors and a reach of more than 16 million impressions.

The chat played off of a concurrent session at CruiseWorld titled “Travel: An Addictive Industry,” and the chat asked tweeters when they had been bitten by the travel bug — and common warning signs that they were “addicted to travel.”

Ken Muskat of MSC Cruises and one of the participants on the CruiseWorld panel tweeted that you might be addicted to travel if “a half-packed suitcase lives permanently in your bedroom.”

“You’ve exhausted the pages of your passport with dozens of stamps,” tweeted @AtlasTrav_Molly. “Striving to get every page in your passport fully stamped,” Seabourn tweeted (the line later tweeted another sign: “booking a future cruise while you’re on a cruise!”)

Azamara Club Cruises CEO Larry Pimentel, one of the co-hosts of the chat, said he’d been bitten by the travel bug when his grandmother introduced him to National Geographic. “It wasn’t about going distances, but turning pages,” he tweeted.

@TravelMaestro tweeted that she inherited the travel gene from her mother, @ICoachTravel. “She opened [a travel agency] when I was in college, and I was hooked for life.”

Chats screen shotParticipants were asked to pick one ship for a ship inspection. Some participants found it hard to choose: “With so many new, exciting and innovative new ships debuting, who can choose just one?” tweeted Cruise Planners. And @avidcruiser wrote, “I’ve been on more than 100 ships. Maybe I’d opt to see more river cruise vessels.”

From the river cruise segment, both Guy Young, the CEO of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, and Viking Cruiseswere active on the chat.

When participants were asked to name their dream job in the travel industry, @uniworld_guy tweeted, “I already have my dream job working at @uniworldcruises.”

Many, if not most, of the participants seemed satisfied with their career path, another of the CruiseWorld panel discussion topics. “Like everyone else — living my dream job — except wish all my flights were first class — dreaming!” joked @JeanNewmanGlock.

The chat referenced the #FoodieChats community during a tweet that asked participants to name their favorite bar or restaurant at sea: @foodiechats retweeted @CruiseNorwegian‘s comment that “Ocean Blue by @GZchef on #NorwegianBreakaway is pretty spectacular.”

Sometimes the chat was serious, as when tweeters were debating locations for a dream cruise, land vacation or river voyage. (“Cruising through the South Pacific for months stopping at tons of tropical islands, then ending with New Zealand & Australia,” suggested @kidtravel.)

Or why booking through a travel agent was a smart idea. “Travel planning keeps getting more complicated, which is why the advice of an expert agent can make all the difference,” said Travel and Leisure. “Because of the added value and personalized service,” said @AvoyaTravel.

“We care,” @travellori tweeted. “That’s why.”

But often the chat took a lighthearted turn, such as a conversation between @AtlasTrav_Molly and @PrincessCruises, where the cruise line sought to convince the agent: “Haven’t you heard that calories don’t count on cruises?” “Gamechanger,” she tweeted back.

And in response to the question about a “dream cruise,” Holland America Line retweeted a comment from @VikingRiver: “Isn’t every cruise a dream cruise?”

“We agree!” @HALcruises said.

Norwegian Cruise Line has no plans for brand expansion

Norwegian Cruise Line has no plans for brand expansion

By Tom Stieghorst
2013CruiseWorld_logo200x115FORT LAUDERDALE — Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will stick with its core competencies and not acquire or start brands other than its flagship Norwegian brand, CEO Kevin Sheehan said at the CruiseWorld event on Friday.

Sheehan said he looked at several acquisitions after he came to Norwegian in 2008 but decided against them.

“I don’t want to create distractions for our team,” Sheehan said. “We have so many opportunities with our brand.”

In addition, Sheehan told travel agents that Norwegian is a variety of brands under one name. The Haven ship-within-a-ship luxury areas on Norwegian ships function as a luxury line, he said.

CruiseWorld 2013 Kevin Sheehan and Arnie WeissmannHe also cited a focus on solo cabins, family programs with Nickelodeon and the Pride of America ship in Hawaii as other brand-like experiences within Norwegian Cruise Line.

Sheehan said he is working hard to keep Norwegian focused on its own long-term future and goals, now that the company has become publicly traded. He said he would have preferred to go public later, but the private-equity owners needed some “affirmation” for their investors.

“I have always said to our investors, I know you are watching the next quarter, but I’m watching the next five years,” Sheehan said.

The next big event on Norwegian’s horizon is the arrival of Norwegian Getaway, which will sail from Miami year-round. Norwegian last had a ship sail seven-day cruises year-round from Miami 10 years ago.

Sheehan said he has tried to keep Norwegian’s ships consistently positioned to provide stability for travel agents, and that a limited number of ships left Miami as a seasonal market, until now.

Getaway is in the final stages of construction and is expected to arrive in New York in early February for a week’s duty as the Bud Light Hotel at the Super Bowl before coming to Miami for its maiden voyage.

Sheehan pointed out that Norwegian started the modern cruise industry in Miami 45 years ago.

“It’s just getting back to where we should have been all along,” he said.

Sheehan was the third cruise CEO to address CruiseWorld attendees, following talks by Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. CEO Richard Fain.

Norwegian Getaway to be Bud Light Hotel at Super Bowl

Norwegian Getaway to be Bud Light Hotel at Super Bowl

By Tom Stieghorst
The entity that has chartered the Norwegian Getaway during Super Bowl XLVI in February is Anheuser-Busch InBev, the beer giant, which will convert it into the Bud Light Hotel during the week leading up to the game.

“We are honored and proud that one of our world-class ships will be the center of Bud Light’s Super Bowl event,” said Norwegian spokeswoman AnneMarie Mathews.

Norwegian pushed back the inaugural sailing of the Getaway from Miami to accommodate the charter. The Super Bowl is being played in the New York area for the first time on Feb. 2.

Anheuser-Busch has created a Bud Light Hotel at four previous Super Bowls by buying a hotel’s entire inventory for the week. It redecorates the hotel with Bud Light logos, colors and souvenir items and creates temporary installations. Big-name entertainers such as Flo Rida and Stevie Wonder gave performances at the hotel during the most recent Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Guests will be VIPs invited by Budweiser. It is the first time a cruise ship has been designated as the Bud Light Hotel.