Come next year, Carnival customers who sail from Jacksonville and Tampa are each going to have an additional itinerary to choose from when the line begins to offer new 7-day eastern Caribbean itinerary options approximately once a month.
Details appeared in the complete Cruise News Daily article on June 25, 2010.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Governor Signs Bill to Reduce Alaska Head Tax
Alaskan governor Sean Parnell signed the bill yesterday which reduces the state's head tax. If the state would pass the reduction, the cruise industry earlier agreed to drop their lawsuit against the state which was seeking to have the tax struck down entirely.
There are two key reductions included in the bill. One reduces the tax charged on each passenger ticket from $46.00 to $36.50. The other credits passengers for head taxes charged by Alaskan ports, such as Juneau and Ketchikan, which do not share in the state tax. Since most itineraries call at both those ports, for most people it will mean a further $15 reduction. The reductions will become effective on November 1, 2010.
Parnell supported the tax cut, which the cruise lines wanted, saying that since 2009 when cruise lines began to reduce capacity, there was a sharp decrease in the state's visitors, in both 2009 and 2010. He said the state lost more than 260,000 visitors, $420 million in direct and indirect spending, and up to 5,000 jobs.
The relatively small decrease (resulting from the tax cut) in the total price of an Alaskan vacation probably won't move much consumer demand, but it will move cruise line profitability, at least to the lines' way of thinking. (See our earlier articles.)
For this reason, the cruise lines wanted the reduction in the tax. In any business, including tourism, you have to appease the customer, and the cruise lines are the state's customers. They are the ones who decide how many ships come to Alaska and ultimately, therefore, how many visitors can cruise to Alaska.
But still, the state may be setting themselves up for a disappointment.
From comments in the media, it seems the governor and citizens are expecting berths taken out of the market to be restored. Deployment schedules are already set for 2011, so it's too late to see any restoration next year, but 2012 deployments are now being finalized, and they seem to be anticipating more ships then.
The cruise lines only agreed to drop their lawsuit against the state in return for the head tax reduction. There were never any promises made with regard to capacity. There are many more issues to be addressed in Alaska to make the industry as profitable there as they are elsewhere.
As noted in Carnival Corp's earnings call this week, with the reduction in capacity, the pricing of their cruises to Alaska is much stronger, which is what the lines want.
If they were to add capacity, it would probably only serve to weaken the pricing again. Alaska, therefore, may not get more visitors out of the deal, which is what they were hoping for.
The cruise lines may, however, show their gratitude for the tax cut in a less measurable way - by not cutting capacity further in 2012.
This article appeared in the June 25, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.
There are two key reductions included in the bill. One reduces the tax charged on each passenger ticket from $46.00 to $36.50. The other credits passengers for head taxes charged by Alaskan ports, such as Juneau and Ketchikan, which do not share in the state tax. Since most itineraries call at both those ports, for most people it will mean a further $15 reduction. The reductions will become effective on November 1, 2010.
Parnell supported the tax cut, which the cruise lines wanted, saying that since 2009 when cruise lines began to reduce capacity, there was a sharp decrease in the state's visitors, in both 2009 and 2010. He said the state lost more than 260,000 visitors, $420 million in direct and indirect spending, and up to 5,000 jobs.
The relatively small decrease (resulting from the tax cut) in the total price of an Alaskan vacation probably won't move much consumer demand, but it will move cruise line profitability, at least to the lines' way of thinking. (See our earlier articles.)
For this reason, the cruise lines wanted the reduction in the tax. In any business, including tourism, you have to appease the customer, and the cruise lines are the state's customers. They are the ones who decide how many ships come to Alaska and ultimately, therefore, how many visitors can cruise to Alaska.
But still, the state may be setting themselves up for a disappointment.
From comments in the media, it seems the governor and citizens are expecting berths taken out of the market to be restored. Deployment schedules are already set for 2011, so it's too late to see any restoration next year, but 2012 deployments are now being finalized, and they seem to be anticipating more ships then.
The cruise lines only agreed to drop their lawsuit against the state in return for the head tax reduction. There were never any promises made with regard to capacity. There are many more issues to be addressed in Alaska to make the industry as profitable there as they are elsewhere.
As noted in Carnival Corp's earnings call this week, with the reduction in capacity, the pricing of their cruises to Alaska is much stronger, which is what the lines want.
If they were to add capacity, it would probably only serve to weaken the pricing again. Alaska, therefore, may not get more visitors out of the deal, which is what they were hoping for.
The cruise lines may, however, show their gratitude for the tax cut in a less measurable way - by not cutting capacity further in 2012.
This article appeared in the June 25, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.
Medevac from Norwegian Pearl, Crystal Serenity's Perfect Score, Changes to Carnival's Air/Sea, and CDF Going to Brazil
CND subscribers also read about a medevac from Norwegian Pearl in Alaska yesterday ... Crystal Serenity achieving a perfect score on its annual Lloyd's Register audit, a standard much more important in the industry than the more familiar CDC rating ... changes to Carnival's air/sea program ... and RCCL's CDF brand serving Brazilian customers instead of French this winter.
Details of these items appeared in the "Other Things You'll Want to Know" column in the June 25, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.
Details of these items appeared in the "Other Things You'll Want to Know" column in the June 25, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Choice Air Gets More Choices as "Mystery Air" Is Discontinued
The three Royal Caribbean brands in North America (Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity and Azamara) recently introduced Choice Air for their air/sea passengers, but effective July 1, the program will offer two additional options, and the standard air/sea program (where you don't know your exact flights until close to departure) will then shortly be discontinued.
When the change is completed, the brands' air/sea programs will have changed completely.
Details appeared in the June 24, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.
When the change is completed, the brands' air/sea programs will have changed completely.
Details appeared in the June 24, 2010, edition of Cruise News Daily.
Cruising for Art
Cruise ship art auctions have been making headlines recently when a major lawsuit was brought against one of the largest auction firms in the business after customers began complaining that the artworks they purchased were fakes. That firm was recently booted off one major cruise line.
So how can you be sure artwork you purchase aboard a cruise ship by a "name" artist is genuine? How about if you have the artist there to vouch for it personally? On some upcoming Princess cruises, you can do just that.
The complete article appeared in the June 24, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.
So how can you be sure artwork you purchase aboard a cruise ship by a "name" artist is genuine? How about if you have the artist there to vouch for it personally? On some upcoming Princess cruises, you can do just that.
The complete article appeared in the June 24, 2010 edition of Cruise News Daily.
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