Tag Archives: shore excursions

The ‘horrible mess’ of shore excursions

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By Tom Stieghorst

Cruise lines are starting to see declines from one of their most important revenue streams, shore excursions. That was one of the admissions made by newly named Royal Caribbean International President Michael Bayley at a forum for agents onboard the Freedom of the Seas.

Bayley gasped in mock horror after asking the group of about 250 agents whether they sold Royal Caribbean’s branded shore excursions or somebody else’s. In unison, they chanted “Somebody else’s.” When he asked for a show of hands, well over half the group responded.

“You know, we do have to change the system,” Bayley said in a half-joking, half-serious tone. “It’s a horrible mess.

“We must spend more time talking about this than I don’t know what else,” Bayley added. “We’re always trying to find the right solution.”

Elliott Finkleman, owner of an Expedia CruiseShipCenter outlet near Ottawa, said both Royal Caribbean and travel agents could make more money if Royal paid a commission on excursion sales.

“You’re losing out because it forces me to sell alternate product,” Finkelman said. “I don’t want to spend a lot of time on shore excursions, going port by port, and get nothing back from that.”

Vicki Freed, Royal’s senior vice president of sales, trade support and service, said that the line does pay commission on group shore excursions and that guests with excursion tickets sold through Royal get first priority in getting off the ship at port.

And Bayley reminded agents that there are some risks with third-party providers.

“If they’re selling at lower prices, they’re paying these commissions, chances are they do not have the same liability coverage and they have not gone through the process of safety for the guest that we go through,” he said.

Bayley said excursions have always been an important part of the cruise revenue pie.

“We all have revenue streams and we all try to protect them,” he said. “We have seen an erosion over the past couple of years, and it’s pretty obvious where that erosion is coming from, after our show of hands.”

Princess partners with Discovery Channel parent for shore excursions

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Princess Cruises in early 2015 will introduce Discovery at Sea, onboard activities and shore excursions based on programming from Discovery Communications, the parent company of the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and the Science Channel.

Some of the integrations guests will experience are based on popular themes and programs such as “Shark Week,” “Mythbusters” and “Deadliest Catch.”

For example, the Shark Week at Sea activity will “challenge adults and kids alike, testing their knowledge of the ocean with trivia games.”

On shore, guests will see a destination’s native animals up close during Animal Planet tours. Guests will pan for gold in an excursion inspired by the Discovery Channel show “Gold Rush.”

“This is such an exciting partnership between our two companies because we are both passionate about exploring the world,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises.

Spending in U.S. cruise sector tops $20 billion

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By Tom Stieghorst
For the first time, the money spent in the U.S. cruise sector exceeded $20 billion last year, according to a CLIA study of the cruise industry’s economic impact.

That includes direct spending by passengers, crew and the cruise lines on items such as provisions, excursions, meals on shore and pre-and post-cruise hotel stays.

The $20.1 billion in direct spending mushrooms to a $44 billion economic impact when the effects of indirect spending and tertiary-level multipliers are factored in, the study says. In a separate study done for CLIA for the first time, researchers estimated the global cruise industry’s economic impact at $117 billion.

CLIA has commissioned an annual study of the cruise industry’s economic impact for at least a decade. This year’s 106-page report has in-depth data on spending, as well as state-by-state breakdowns for each economic category. As in the past, 10 states account for 80% of the economic activity in the cruise business, with Florida, California and Texas leading the way.

The number of passengers who traveled globally last year on North America-based lines rose 3.9%, to 17.6 million, CLIA said. The industry’s fleet, net of retirements, increased by 1 ship to 178 ships with a combined capacity of 338,505 lower berths,

An estimated 10.7 million U.S. residents took cruise vacations throughout the world, accounting for 61% of global passengers. Departures from U.S. ports totaled 9.96 million, a 1.3% decline, as more ships in the U.S. fleet operated outside U.S. waters, particularly in Asia, Australia and the Pacific islands.

Another significant finding in this year’s report is that employment generated by North American cruise lines has exceeded the level it reached before the 2008-09 economic downturn.

Jobs in the U.S. attributed to CLIA member lines (excluding river cruise lines) reached 363,393 last year, compared to 357,710 in 2008. The total plunged to 313,998 in 2009 and had only recovered to 356,393 by 2012.

When it comes to jobs directly held by cruise line employees, that total reached 147,898 last year, the study said. Cruise line employment peaked in 2007 at 158,376.