Oceania has decided to drop the 3-day call at Yangon, Myanmar, on Insignia's 16-night cruise from Dubai to Singapore. Much of Myanmar has been devastated by Cyclone Nargis last month.
The itinerary has been adjusted by adding a day here and there so the ship will still depart Dubai on December 4 and arrive Singapore on December 20. On the bright side, the revision now makes a 3-day excursion to the Taj Mahal possible. The down side is the excursion costs $1899.
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Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
From the Dominos Eat Your Heart Out Department
Another world record for Costa Cruises. This one has nothing to do with maritime matters, however. This one got a little attention for a company in a market where they aren't quite as well known as in many other parts of the world, but more important, the object of the world record went to feed Sydney's homeless.
It took 826 freshly-cooked pizzas, laid out on tables stretching more than 725 feet down the length of Norton Street in Leichhardt, known as Sydney’s "Little Italy," to break the record for the world's longest line of pizzas. It took 25 chefs, more than 1100 pounds of flour, 66 gallons of tomato sauce and 661 pounds of mozzarella cheese to accomplish the task.
And just how did they arrive at the number of pizzas to line up? Costa Classica which is now based in Asia, a prime cruise market for Australians, is 725 feet long, or 826 pizzas in length, apparently an Italian unit of measurement.
As soon as the world record was verified, the pizzas were collected by OzHarvest, for delivery to local charities to feed the homeless and disadvantaged. Costa also made a cash donation of A$10 for every meter (221) of pizza to another local charity fund.
It took 826 freshly-cooked pizzas, laid out on tables stretching more than 725 feet down the length of Norton Street in Leichhardt, known as Sydney’s "Little Italy," to break the record for the world's longest line of pizzas. It took 25 chefs, more than 1100 pounds of flour, 66 gallons of tomato sauce and 661 pounds of mozzarella cheese to accomplish the task.
And just how did they arrive at the number of pizzas to line up? Costa Classica which is now based in Asia, a prime cruise market for Australians, is 725 feet long, or 826 pizzas in length, apparently an Italian unit of measurement.
As soon as the world record was verified, the pizzas were collected by OzHarvest, for delivery to local charities to feed the homeless and disadvantaged. Costa also made a cash donation of A$10 for every meter (221) of pizza to another local charity fund.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Prince Albert Named in Monaco
With a snip of a ribbon yesterday (June 3, 2008) in Monaco, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco named Silversea's new expedition ship Prince Albert II.
The ship will enter service on June 12 with an expedition from London to the Arctic Circle.
The ship will enter service on June 12 with an expedition from London to the Arctic Circle.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sooner Rather Than Later
In this CND article we looked at the reason why a cruise ship is almost never delivered late anymore, and why so many actually enter service before the original inaugural date the cruise line sets. These "early" deliveries have created problems for cruise lines in that many people who book the inaugural don't just want to be one of the first to sail on the new ship, they want to be on the first sailing no matter when it is. It seems that never really occurred to the cruise lines. In the CND article we looked at why that detail escaped their attention.
Some cruise lines are now understanding that some of their customers want the experience of being on the inaugural cruise and they will change their date willingly to do it. Recently, when they decided to put their new ships into service early, both Princess and Celebrity have employed a solution that comes with a risk to them. For passengers on the inaugural sailing, they have made duplicate reservations on the new inaugural date giving them both same stateroom and their original fare. They then have allowed them a couple of weeks to decide which they want. Of course the risk for the line is that it moves them closer to the sailing dates knowing that they are holding one reservation that will certainly be canceled, and the closer they come to sailing date, the more risk there is to the line that it will be harder to sell the unused space.
CND heard from executives at both lines about how popular the decision has been with customers.
The complete article was published in the June 2, 2008, edition of Cruise News Daily.
Some cruise lines are now understanding that some of their customers want the experience of being on the inaugural cruise and they will change their date willingly to do it. Recently, when they decided to put their new ships into service early, both Princess and Celebrity have employed a solution that comes with a risk to them. For passengers on the inaugural sailing, they have made duplicate reservations on the new inaugural date giving them both same stateroom and their original fare. They then have allowed them a couple of weeks to decide which they want. Of course the risk for the line is that it moves them closer to the sailing dates knowing that they are holding one reservation that will certainly be canceled, and the closer they come to sailing date, the more risk there is to the line that it will be harder to sell the unused space.
CND heard from executives at both lines about how popular the decision has been with customers.
The complete article was published in the June 2, 2008, edition of Cruise News Daily.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Prepare Yourself to Get a Little Less from Your Travel Agent
Earlier this week, RCCL told travel agents they would be adjusting their commission structure for 2009 for all their North American brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity and Azamara. In the CND article we detailed the changes and the method, but the bottom line is that travel agents will either have to sell more to make the same commission level on each cruise they sell, or make less money on each one.
While this may seem more of an agency issue, it will affect the consumer. Royal Caribbean doesn't allow their agents to rebate, so it won't affect the price you pay for your cruise directly, but it will probably shrink the incentives agents offer, such as free travel insurance or an onboard credit, or even the elimination (or reduction in quality) of a bon voyage gift. It will also affect things at more service-oriented agencies simply because the agency has to sell more cruises to make the same money, they will have less time available for each client.
So far no other lines have followed RCCL's lead, but if they do, consumers will experience smaller rebates available on those lines thus increasing their bottom line price.
Details appeared in the May 30 edition of Cruise News Daily.
While this may seem more of an agency issue, it will affect the consumer. Royal Caribbean doesn't allow their agents to rebate, so it won't affect the price you pay for your cruise directly, but it will probably shrink the incentives agents offer, such as free travel insurance or an onboard credit, or even the elimination (or reduction in quality) of a bon voyage gift. It will also affect things at more service-oriented agencies simply because the agency has to sell more cruises to make the same money, they will have less time available for each client.
So far no other lines have followed RCCL's lead, but if they do, consumers will experience smaller rebates available on those lines thus increasing their bottom line price.
Details appeared in the May 30 edition of Cruise News Daily.
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