A sea of changes await cruise passengers this year

Posted on 24 February, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Quantum of the Seas

Royal Caribbean worked with O3B, a company that brings Wi-Fi to developing countries, to launch fast, cheap Internet access on Quantum of the Seas. (Jonathan Atkin / PR Newswire)

By Dave Jones

Cruises Royal Caribbean International Mamma Mia! (musical) Dining and Drinking Lifestyle and Leisure Blue Man Group

Those are just some of the improvements you’ll find at sea in 2015. Along with getting bigger, ships are getting better, ushering in a new era of cruise ship as resort.

The insistence on formal attire and assigned seatings for dining has faded on some cruise lines. Today, you’re more likely to pack khakis than a tux or a ball gown, and meals are often on your schedule, not the ship’s.

The biggest change for the plugged-in passenger (and who isn’t connected these days?) is improved Internet access. At sea, access has been slow, expensive and not always reliable. Its sluggishness has kept travelers from uploading pictures efficiently (ouch, if you’re joined at the hip with, say, Instagram) and streaming videos.

Royal Caribbean worked with O3B, a company that brings Wi-Fi to developing countries, to launch faster, cheaper Internet access on Quantum of the Seas when it debuted in November, and the cruise line is rolling it out to Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. The line also worked with Harris CapRock in 2013 to improve the digital speed on the rest of the fleet as well as its Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises brands.

In the spring, Viking Cruises launches the Viking Star with complimentary Wi-Fi. Although a few lines have offered free Wi-Fi as a bonus for frequent cruisers or a benefit in certain suites, this oceangoing line will offer it to everyone. (Maybe hotels will take notice?) These developments should have a ripple effect throughout the industry.

As for a different kind of consumption, cruise lines are increasingly letting passengers enjoy outdoor dining. Most ships have long offered casual dining by the pool but, come night time, most options have been indoors, a missed opportunity for those who want to enjoy balmy evenings in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean.

In the last couple of years, Crystal Cruises has added outdoor dining venues to ships that were in dry dock, and Norwegian Cruise Line is offering open-air tables as part of the Ocean Blue restaurant. Viking also is creating open-air options.

Entertainment is changing too. On some ships, the curtain is coming down on variety shows. Stage shows on large cruise ships are more often defined by partnerships with land-based production companies. Norwegian, for instance, is working with Blue Man Group and Burn the Floor (ballroom dancing with a Broadway flair). Norwegian also has partnered with the Grammy Awards and offers performances by Grammy winners and nominees on some journeys.

You’ll find abbreviated versions of Broadway musicals too: Norwegian offers “Legally Blonde” on Norwegian Getaway and “Rock of Ages” on Norwegian Breakaway; the line plans to launch “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert” in October on Norwegian Epic. Royal Caribbean stages “Chicago” on Allure of the Seas, “Cats” on Oasis of the Seas and “Mamma Mia!” on Quantum of the Seas; it will launch “We Will Rock You” on Anthem of the Seas in April.

As perhaps the ultimate in improvements, you now have a greater number of cabin choices. In days past, you could specify inside, outside, balcony or a suite. Nowadays, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Cunard offer special “studio” cabins for single travelers who previously would have been assessed a single supplement for a solo spot.

If you’re in a lower-category cabin where space can be snug, some cruise lines are using technology to create a more open feeling. Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have LED screens designed to look like windows that show a view from the bridge so you can see what’s going on outside.

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Cruise Tip of the Week

Check on newest amenities before you book

If you’ve fallen in love with a cruise line’s newest features — say, the skydiving simulator or robot bartenders on Royal Caribbean or the Guy Fieri-branded burger bar on Carnival — be sure to confirm before you book that your ship has the latest and greatest. Sometimes — but not always — lines retroactively add the most popular new features to older vessels. Check before you pay your deposit.

Happy Sailing!

Preview 2015: Cruise

Posted on 6 January, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

The 4,200-passenger Norwegian Escape, due late in the year; it is one of two big ships that will be delivered in 2015.

The flood of cruise cabins sloshing around the Caribbean will finally ebb in 2015, bringing with it the prospect of higher pricing.

At Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) alone, Caribbean capacity next summer will be down 5% year over year, although it doesn’t begin to decline until after the first quarter.

In a conference call with analysts, RCCL Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said he expected a “noticeably better operating environment for the last nine months of 2015.”

Royal will have close to 70% of its total capacity in the Caribbean in the first quarter, officials said.

The moderation in supply growth is prompting more confidence about price increases at Norwegian Cruise Line, according to a report by Patrick Scholes, an analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Scholes said the company’s big addition for 2015, the Norwegian Escape, is being advertised at rates that average 10% higher than the rest of the fleet. The 4,200-passenger Escape, due late in the year, is one of two big ships that will be delivered next year, along with Royal’s Anthem of the Seas, also 4,200 passengers, in April.

To make room for bigger, newer ships, cruise lines in 2015 are divesting some of the older, smaller ships that no longer fit with the rest of their fleets.

In Royal’s case, that means the 2,350-passenger Majesty of the Seas will be transferred to RCCL’s Spanish-based Pullmantur brand in May. Built in 1992, the Majesty had only one deck of balcony cabins and looked increasingly out of place next to Royal’s newest ships.

Likewise, Celebrity Cruises has sold its remaining Century-class ship, the Celebrity Century, to a new joint venture in China that it formed with the Chinese travel mega-company Ctrip.com. The newly formed venture plans to begin operating the ship for Chinese passengers around midyear.

Other fleet departures in 2015 include the Holland America Line ships Statendam and Ryndam, which leave in November to begin sailing for P&O Cruises Australia, and the Seabourn ships Legend and Spirit, which will depart in April and May to sail for Windstar Cruises.

Princess Cruises will say goodbye to the 684-passenger Ocean Princess in 2015, after taking delivery of the 3,560-passenger Regal Princess this year.

River convergence

Another trend emerging in 2015 is the confluence of river and ocean cruising, starting with river cruise giant Viking Cruises, which is taking to the seas in April with its 928-passenger Viking Star.

Next year will also see the launch of Celebrity Cruises packages that bundle a European ocean cruise with river cruises provided by Amras Cruises on the Danube, Rhine, Rhone and Seine rivers.

Some of the most anticipated debuts next year will be in Asia, notably the arrival of the Quantum of the Seas in June in Shanghai, where it is scheduled to take up permanent residence to serve the Chinese market.

Carnival Corp.’s push into China has yielded a tentative deal to build a “world-class cruise ship” in China through a joint venture with the China State Shipbuilding Corp. and the Italian shipyard Fincantieri.

In the meantime, the deployment of Costa Cruises’ 3,780-passenger Costa Serena to Shanghai in April will give Carnival Corp. four ships homeported in China in 2015.

Back in North America, tighter air pollution rules for cruise ships that take effect on Jan. 1 will limit emissions of sulfur dioxide in the North American Emissions Control Area to 0.1% by weight, down from 1% previously. Cruise lines are complying by adding scrubbers that treat exhaust gases, a process that will unfold over several years.

The coming year might also see a quieter regulatory climate for cruise lines with the retirement of one of the industry’s most dogged critics, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D.-W.Va.).

Internet speeds at sea are poised to get faster with the rollout of new technology from Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Royal began testing midorbit satellites in the O3b network on several of its most modern ships, and it will make the service more widely available in 2015.

Carnival is using a hybrid of land and satellite links to quicken Internet speeds. It started with the Caribbean region in the fourth quarter and will be building out the needed infrastructure in Alaska in 2015.

Finally, there will be new leaders for several large cruise brands, including Drew Madsen at Norwegian, Michael Bayley at Royal, Orlando Ashford at Holland America and Christine Duffy, recently named to replace outgoing Carnival chief Gerry Cahill.

Guide to the New Ship Builds

Posted on 15 July, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

What’s next from the world’s largest cruise lines? Below is our annual list of ocean-going ships on order for major brands such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean, updated to include details of two new vessels recently announced by MSC Cruises.

As in the past, we include only ships from lines that market to North Americans, leaving out such operators as Germany-based Aida Cruises, which caters to the German-speaking market. We also have left off river cruise ships on order (stay tuned for a separate update on the topic).

For the coming year, the big story in cruise-ship building is the development of Quantum of the Seas, the first of a new class of vessel for Royal Caribbean that will boast several groundbreaking features. Also notable are the first ships from new linesPearl Seas Cruises and Viking Ocean Cruises (click through the carousel above for artist’s drawings of all three vessels as well as others on order).

Among the most complex traveling machines built by man, ocean-going cruise ships take years to construct, so any new orders placed in the coming months likely won’t be filled until 2017 at the earliest. We’ll continue to update this page as new orders are announced.

2014

Pearl Mist (Pearl Seas Cruises)
Passengers: 210
Maiden voyage: June 25
Notable: The first vessel of a new small-ship line

Costa Diadema (Costa Cruises)
Passengers: 3,700
Maiden voyage: Nov. 1
Notable: Largest Costa ship ever

Quantum of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 4,180
Maiden voyage: Nov. 2
Notable: First of a new class of ship for Royal Caribbean
See also: New Royal Caribbean ship to have gee-whiz ride

2015

Viking Star (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: April 11
Notable: First ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking
See also: New upscale line to launch in 2015

Anthem of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 4,180
Maiden voyage: April 22
Notable: Sister to Quantum of the Seas

Le Lyrial (Compagnie du Ponant)
Passengers: 264
Maiden voyage: May 9
Notable: Fourth in upscale line’s Boreal class series
See also: Next Ponant ship to have bigger suites

Norwegian Escape (Norwegian Cruise Line)
Passengers: 4,200
Maiden voyage: Oct. 29
Notable: A larger version of Norwegian Breakaway
See also: Norwegian unveils plans for “Breakaway Plus”

2016

Unnamed (Holland America)
Passengers: 2,660
Maiden voyage: February
Notable: First new ship for line since 2010
See also: Holland America orders new ship for 2015

Viking Sea (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: April 3
Notable: Second ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking

Viking Sky (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: June 24
Notable: Third ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking
See also: Fast-growing Viking orders two more ships

Unnamed (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 5,400
Maiden voyage: Mid-year
Notable: Third in the hugely successful Oasis class series
See also: Third Oasis class ship on the way

Seven Seas Explorer (Regent Seven Seas Cruises)
Passengers: 750
Maiden voyage: Summer
Notable: First new ship for luxury line since 2003
See also: New details emerge about Regent’s next luxury ship

Unnamed (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 4,180
Maiden voyage: Mid-year
Notable: Third in new Quantum class series
See also: Royal Caribbean orders another Quantum class ship

Unnamed (Seabourn Cruise Line)
Passengers: 604
Maiden voyage: second half of 2016
Notable: Seabourn’s largest ship ever
See also: New Seabourn ship to be line’s biggest ever

Carnival Vista (Carnival Cruise Lines)
Passengers: 4,000
Maiden voyage: Winter
Notable: First new ship for line since 2012
See also: Carnival orders new ships for 2016

Titanic II (Blue Star Line)
Passengers: 1,680
Maiden voyage: N/A
Notable: A replica of the famed Titanic
See also: Billionaire unveils plans for Titanic II

2017

Unnamed (Viking Ocean Cruises)
Passengers: 928
Maiden voyage: Early 2017
Notable: Fourth ocean-going ship for river cruise giant Viking

Norwegian Bliss (Norwegian Cruise Line)
Passengers: 4,200
Maiden voyage: Spring 2017
Notable: Second in line’s new “Breakaway Plus” series
See also: Norwegian Cruise Line orders another new ship

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,500
Maiden voyage: 2017
Notable: First in a new class of ship for MSC
See also: MSC Cruises to expand with new, larger ships

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,140
Maiden voyage: November 2017
Notable: First in the Seaside class of ship for MSC
See also: MSC Cruises orders two ‘revolutionary’ new vessels

2018 and beyond

Unnamed (Royal Caribbean)
Passengers: 5,400
Maiden voyage: 2018
Notable: Fourth in the Oasis class series
See also: Royal Caribbean plans another giant cruise ship

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,140
Maiden voyage: May 2018
Notable: Second in the Seaside class of ship at MSC
See also: MSC Cruises orders two ‘revolutionary’ new ships

Unnamed (MSC Cruises)
Passengers: 4,500
Maiden voyage: 2019
Notable: Second in a new class of ship for MSC

Major lines with no ships on order: Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Windstar Cruises.