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Special Features
Headlines
Port News & Itineraries
Inside the
Industry
News from Worldwide
A source of invaluable
information.
The next 3 weeks are going
to be a scramble for WWTCA.
Cruise Trivia
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Special Features:
Coming up in November - The EIBTM Show in Barcelona, Spain -
doors open on November 28th and runs through November 30th,
closely followed by the SITE International conference also
to be held in Barcelona.
Get your
discounted entry pass here, also make make an appointment to meet our staff
on booth N650. To set up a meeting with any of our
team - click here.
Affluent Travelers pick their favorite
brands.
According to a recently publish survey of
consumers with an annual income in excess of $85,000,
22% responded that they plan to take a cruise or vacation
outside of the US within the next 12 months. Travel appeared
to be the most popular pastime compared to other choices the
respondents where given. According to the survey 23% had
taken a cruise within the last 12 months, with the most
popular cruise line being - Carnival Cruise Line.
Another survey, this one based on consumers with an income
in excess of $150,000 showed Holland America Line topped the
list of nine luxury cruise lines these consumer would
patronize in the next 2 years, with Cunard and Windstar in
second and third place.
Miami's BIG DIG?
As anyone who has cruised out of Miami will attest - the
final mile or so getting to the ship can be a long and
frustrating experience.
Currently being seriously discussed are several options to
avert a traffic grid lock. In reality only one seems
to make any real sense and that is the "Big Dig".
Florida Department of Transportation's wants
to build a $1.2 billion tunnel from I-395 on Watson Island
to the port. FDOT has put up $600 million for the project
plus another $225 million for operation and maintenance. It
wants the city and county to come up with $600 million. FDOT officials have done their homework and
have determined that a tunnel in the limestone under
Biscayne Bay is feasible. In fact, a tunnel is the least
environmentally harmful way to divert port traffic. Second,
they searched for the best method to build a tunnel safely
and for the least cost. Three experienced, foreign-owned
firms are poised to bid on the project, which will be
managed by FDOT. The holdup is whether the County
Commission, with a contribution of $50 million from Miami,
is willing to commit the $600 million. I guess, as usual, it
all comes down to the money.
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Austrian River Ship's - m.s. Sound of
Music
We recently posted Austrian River Cruises new ship the
"Sound of Music" to our web-site. You have to check this out
- the only river ship with a full spa and amazing decor.
River ship cruising for corporate programs have long
suffered from the perception that there is nothing to do
on-board and the clientele are all gray haired. Well,
forget that, finally, here is a new ship which offers modern
facilities and a spectacular spa, great itineraries and
amazing shore excursions, all of which can be customized to
fit even the most demanding clients needs. Check out
our
web-pages and then call us to book.
Headlines
Canada
Shipyard Wins Cruise Ship Order
Irving Shipbuilding
Inc. has won a contract from Pearl Sea Cruises of
Connecticut, an offshore affiliate of American Cruise Lines.
The order calls for an 87-meter (285 ft) 166-passenger ultra
luxury cruise vessel for delivery in 2008, and may see a
second, larger vessel with accommodation for 210.
Construction is expected to begin in March 2007. The first
ship will offer cruises around Atlantic Canada and up the
St. Lawrence River, followed by Caribbean cruises. Once the
second vessel is in operation, one will sail British Isles
and Baltic itineraries while the other will offer Atlantic
Canada and New England cruises.
Ambassadors
International, Inc. announced that it has acquired the
150-passenger riverboat, Columbia Queen.
The 2000-built vessel,
originally owned by Delta Queen Steamboat Company, operated
until 2002 when the line declared bankruptcy. Great American
River Journeys acquired the vessel in 2004 and refurbished
her for the April 2005 where she sailed Oregon's Columbia
River from Astoria to Lewiston, but ceased business
operations. Ambassadors will operate her under the name
Majestic America Line along with seven other US-registered
ships. Columbia Queen will be reintroduced in the summer of
2007.
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Holland America Line's OOSTERDAM suffers
azipod problems.
Arising from problems originating with the
ships port azipod the ship then suffered damage caused by
excessive engine room smoke. HAL elected to cut short
its Mexican Riviera cruise and arrived a day early in
San Diego for repairs to the pod ahead of it's October 14
scheduled departure.
Cunard Strikes A Pose
A bronze statue of Halifax native Sir Samuel
Cunard (who successfully introducing steamships on the North
Atlantic nearly two centuries ago), was dedicated on October
7: Overlooking the Port of Halifax, the tall statue depicts
Cunard standing beside a ship's telegraph. The project
received initial financial support from Cunard Line, as well
as, CN (Canadian National Railway), The Halifax Foundation,
The Halifax Port Authority, Secunda Marine Limited, The Bank
of Nova Scotia, and The Waterfront Development Corporation
and the committee members. Participating in the celebration
Sir Samuel Cunard's great, great, great, great grandsons
Benjamin and Samuel Paton.
Arison announces 2 new ships for Seabourn
In a surprise announcement at the SeaTrade
Show in Naples, Mickey Arison, Chairman of of Carnival
Corp. announces that it will build two new, ultra luxury
ships, with delivery in spring 2009 and 2010. The planned
ships will accommodate all guests in 225 luxury suites, 90%
which will feature private verandas. Estimated cost for each
ship is $250M or $900,00 per cabin.
Port & Itinerary News
RCI schedules
Australia/NZ sailings
Royal Caribbean International’s Rhapsody of the Seas will
sail a series of new itineraries to the South Pacific,
Australia and New Zealand as the ship heads for its recently
announced Far East deployment.
Click here for full details.
A new cruise
port in the Bay of Naples.
The port of Castellammare has come under the Port of Naples
authority’s management. Located just 60km south of Naples
and still within the Bay of Naples it is just five minutes
from Pompeii and also close to Sorrento. It is also linked
to Naples by a hydrofoil shuttle service. The port authority
plan to build a 150mtr long cruise berth at Castellammare
for handling medium-sized ships up to 900-1,000 passengers,
it is estimated that the facilities will be ready by 2008.
‘This is an exciting development for cruise traffic in the
area and a good way of relieving pressure from Naples,’ said
Erik Klingenberg, president of local shipping agents
association. Castellammare will have a strong appeal
to cruise line operators with medium-sized ships.
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SuperStar Libra returns to India this week
Star Cruises’ SuperStar Libra returns to Mumbai this week
for its second season of cruises from India. Beginning
Wednesday, a series of one-night voyages will kick off the
new program. The first destination sailing, to Goa, departs
on Oct. 23. Regular two- and three-night jaunts to Goa
and Lakshadweep respectively will be offered, along with
more overnight sailings aimed at introducing first-timers to
cruising. Star said it made changes to better accommodate
the market following its inaugural deployment in India, from
September 2005 to May 2006. This season, the company will
again provide vegetarian and Jain cuisine and use crew who
speak the local languages. India is an important
market for Star, ranking among the top three passenger
groups by country.
Indian Ocean Cruise
Line
As recently reported, Indian Ocean Cruises begins sailing
from Goa, India in October to the Lakshadweep Islands. Using
the 1965-built Ocean Odyssey (ex Eros, Jason Iason), Indian
Ocean Cruises will offer a two-week itinerary to 250
passengers around the southwest coastline of India, sailing
from Goa along the Malabar Coast to the Lakshadweep
Archipelago with a stop at Cape Comorin and Colombo, Sri
Lanka.
British Columbia
Ferry Services Inc. announced it has purchased a replacement
for the Queen of the North II.
Following the sinking
of the QNII in the Inside Passage on March 22, 2006.
the company has acquired the m/v Sonia (ex Amantioa
Korais) which was originally ordered by TTT Lines in 2001
although not completed until 2004. The m/v Sonia has
recently been sailing between Trinidad and Tobago and was
purchased at a cost of CAN$50.6 million.
Inside the Industry
US Costa
veteran Falco is leaving the Company
Joe Falco, VP Sales Development for Costa Cruise Lines-North
America, is leaving to accept a position as the head of
sales and marketing for a home development company based in
Southwest Florida. Falco began his career in finance with
Costa, moving up to CFO in 1994. Earlier this year he was
named to the sales role. ‘While I never envisioned leaving
Costa, the company where I’ve spent the majority of my
career and where many of my colleagues are like family, an
unexpected opportunity presented itself that I simply
couldn’t pass up,’ Falco said. Costa-North America president
and ceo Lynn Torrent called Falco ‘an integral part of
Costa’s success over the years.’ Falco will leave Costa at
the end of October, but will consult for the company until a
replacement is found.
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Royal Caribbean's current statement for Passports
Royal Caribbean's current statement for Passports. The
“Brand” is aware of the recent U.S. Government change in
U.S. passport policy. We are presently reviewing the
implications of that policy and possible effects it can have
on our guests, should anyone of them need to depart the ship
in a Caribbean, Mexican or South American port for any
reason and be required to fly home without a passport.
Until that determination has been made, our requirement for
a valid U.S. passport for anyone sailing with us and
returning to the U.S. on or after January 8, 2007 remains in
effect. Thank you for your understanding and patience as
we work through this issue.'
Another concern is that the Caribbean nations are meeting
and may decide that they want to put the cruiselines guests
on the same footing as airline guests (passports required).
Cunard Line
announced that Captain Paul Wright will be the first master
of the "Queen Victoria".
The "Queen Victoria"
is due for delivery December 2007. Captain Wright was
previously master of the Atlantic Conveyor, Cunard Dynasty,
Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Queen Mary 2.
Paul Shortall, a long
time fixture in HAL's Incentive and charter department has
left the company.
Paul Shortall in
conjunction with a colleague has started his own incentive
house - "The Paul Laurence Company".
We are
advised that he will focus on a mix of cruise and Irish
programs.
Le Compagne des
Isle du Ponant - have opened a US Office in Miami.
Ponant Cruises (the
United States arm) recently announced their operation would
be based out of new office premises in Miami, The US
sales operation is headed up by Doug Reimuth (ex-Crystal
Cruises) who effectively has replaced Daniel Nedzella who
was well known by many here in the US. Daniel
has retired from active sales and will be doing some
consulting work for various companies in the alumnae
industry. Worldwide will still be selling the companies
three ships here in the US to the Corporate market - Le
Levant is a 90 passenger motor yacht style cruise ship.
Le Ponant is a 64 passenger modern sailing ship and Le
Diamant (ex-song of Flower) is a 250 passenger cruise ship.
Kudos to Regent SSC
- wins best large-ship cruise line by Conde Naste readers.
In a recent polls
results of which where released on October 16th - Conde
Naste readers and the travel Agent industry voted RSSC the
best large-ship cruise line. This prestigious award
reflects the above ordinary cruise experience the Regent
team and their luxurious line up of ships deliver.
News from Worldwide
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Chicago's IT&ME Show continues to be the
premier US trade show from our perspective.
It was a busy time and for our team and
due to our excellent location on the show floor we where
able to meet a good number of friends and colleagues we had
not had the chance to catch up with for some time.
Over the years the show has changed in several ways, and now
appears to be almost a social gathering as much as a
business event. From WWTCA's perspective, it allows us
to have contact with many clients and suppliers who are
scattered not only across the United States, but also around
the globe. Gone are the days when deals where signed
on the trade show floor, but certainly many of the finishing
touches of deals in progress where finally put to bed at the
show.
A source of invaluable information
I recently looked over the number of cruise
ship inspections reports WWTCA has posted on their web-site
and was somewhat surprised to see that there are some 65
different reports available to our clients. Some of
these reports go back a few years and some are on ships that
have been refitted in the meantime, however, doing the
math's made me realize that our staff have spend over 325
days cruising on these ships, in terms of man hours that
equals 7,800 man hours based on 24 hrs per day.
Worldwide invests a lot of time and money in keeping up to
date with the cruise industry solely to benefit you, our
clients. While many companies send staff to inspect a ship
during a turn around day there really is on one way to know
what you are going to get and that is to cruise the ship.
Looking at various cruise ships while sitting at dock can of
course tell you what the ship looks like and maybe where
where your meetings or functions are going to be. But you
will only really know the quality of food, service and
entertainment by taking a cruise. You might even find out
that the room you thought would work great for your event is
used for Bingo and boy you can’t touch the Bingo room.
Of course we all know that there is no such thing as a free
cruise. While our South Florida location is more convenient
than most we still rack up the expenses of airline tickets,
tips, taxis, tours, entertaining and communication expenses
all of which can really mount up. Our policy of always
trying to provide one of our staff at embarkation on South
Florida cruises to be of assistance at the pier and with
pre-con meetings also takes quite a bit of time and money.
It might be surprised to you to know that many of the sales
professionals in the cruise industry have never sailed on
their direct competitors ships. Which should lead one to
ask, how do you know that your ship is better than their
ship. Now if your people don’t know the answer to that
question from first hand experience and your sales contacts
don’t know the answer, where are you going to turn for this
most important information.
All of us at Worldwide are proud of our record of ship
inspections, which we feel might be the best in the
industry. Our time and investment allows us to offer you
unbiased, first hand information on many, many ships. No
matter what size company you are we would dare say it’s an
investment in time and money that most cannot afford, or
want to make. We offer this knowledge and experience for
free to our customers.
The next 3 weeks are going to be a
scramble for WWTCA.
We have long waited for the opportunity to
show the Regent Seven Sea's Voyager to a group of our
top-end buyers, and finally the opportunity presented
itself. With much good will and generosity from RSSC -
Steve and Diana Bloss in conjunction with Regent's Mario
Villabos, will host a very special fam/site inspection for 9
of our buyers around the eastern Mediterranean.
Overlapping this by a few a days is the Carnival Elation
Site which is being hosted by Jim Huff, another great
opportunity to let our buyers experience the "new Carnival",
and as luck and timing would have it, overlapping the end of
this period, Jim Castle will be hosting a site on HAL's new
ship the Noordam. Not to be outdone, over the same weekend
as all going on, WWTCA's Jessica Castle is co-hosting a
group of golf aficionados to the PGA Tour Championship in
Atlanta in conjunction with Silversea Cruises. The
things we do for our clients.....
Be sure to check out everyone's cruise report
in our next issue - these reports will also be posted
directly to our web-site as they become available, sometime
around the first week on November.
Cruise Trivia
TITANIC Rivets
Weak?
According to UK press
reports, new evidence suggests that weak rivets allowed the
hull of TITANIC to "unzip", causing the liner to sink more
quickly from the collision with the iceberg on April 14,
1912. With stronger rivets, it is supposed that the liner
could have remained afloat long enough for more of her
passengers to have been rescued, however, she would still
have eventually sunk. The new evidence emerged from
experiments by two US metallurgists, showing that the
wrought iron contained 9 percent slag, which weakens metal
more than 3 percent. Further details were to be compiled in
a National Geographic Channel investigation.
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information on any of OUR ASSOCIATES go to our website or,
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