1/2018 www.cruisebusiness.com C R U IS E B U SIN ES S R EV IE W 1/ 20 18 H EA D LIN ES 20 17 – FO RE C A ST S 20 18 CRUISE BUSINESS REVIEW ?????? ? ? ? ? ? ? CARIBBEAN Getting back to business CARIBBEAN Getting back to business CHRISTINE DUFFY Talking Vista and beyond CHRISTINE DUFFY Talking Vista and beyond ENVIRONMENT Debating sustainable solutions ENVIRONMENT Debating sustainable solutions TUI CRUISES Looking forward to Mein Schiff 1 TUI CRUISES Looking forward to Mein Schiff 1 424x297 kansi.indd 1 19.2.2018 12.27 Untitled-2 1 19.2.2018 15.17
Follow the Sun SunStone currently has 10 vessels in its managed fleet, and has ordered four new INFINITY class vessels with options for an additional six. As the largest tonnage provider for the expedition market, SunStone offers vessels on charter to cruise companies, tour-operators and travel companies World-Wide. SunStone specializes in commercial management of passenger ships and is responsible for the buying, selling and chartering of the SunStone fleet. Embark on a never-ending exploration of the globe, with the direction and hands-on experience of SunStone Ships. Introducing INFINITY, a brand new class of expedition cruise vessels joining the SunStone fleet starting in 2019 Wherever Your Destination… SunStone Can Take You There. www.sunstoneships.com M/V OCEAN DIAMOND M/V OCEAN ENDEAVOUR M/V VICTORY II The Best Way To P redict The Fu ture Is To C reate It M/V SEA SPIRIT M/V OCEAN ATLANTIC M/V SEA ENDURANCE M/V OCEAN NOVA M/V OCEAN ADVENTURER M/V SILVER DISCOVERER M/V VICTORY I G U I D A N C E • I N N O VAT I O N • S E R V I C E 424x297 kansi.indd 2 19.2.2018 12.27 Untitled-2 1 19.2.2018 15.18
For superior service driven by the spirit of innovation, choose Blohm+Voss. Our team of experienced professionals aims to exceed expectations. We thrive on complexity, delivering timecritical services to the highest quality standards at a fair price. Blohm+Voss. Expect the exceptional. Exhibiting at Seatrade Cruise Global, 5-8 March 2018 Please visit us at our stand 229-21 T +49 40 3119-0 info@blohmvoss.com blohmvoss.com Your first port-of-call 3.indd 1 19.2.2018 9.59
4-5.indd 2 12.2.2018 9.32
4-5.indd 3 12.2.2018 9.32
6 Cruise Business Review 1/2017 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K CRUISE_Business_Review_210x297.pdf 1 08/02/18 14:01 6-9 sisa?lto?.indd 2 19.2.2018 11.39
CONTENTS MAIN FEATURES Cruise Business Review 1/2018 7 18 INTERNATIONAL CRUISE SUMMIT Alan Lam attends the International Cruise Summit, which traces the swinging pendulum between cruise ships and ports. 24 CARNIVAL’S DUFFY TALKS VISTA AND BEYOND Fran Golden talks with Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy about her first three years at the helm and preparations to introduce the brand’s 26th vessel. 38 DEVELOPMENT OF PORTMIAMI AND PORT EVERGLADES Allan E. Jordan traces the history of South Florida’s two major cruise ports as each mark their 90th anniversaries. 65 NEW SHIPS OF 2018 Kalle Id and Teijo Niemelä give a preview of the new ships being introduced in what is shaping up as a record year for newbuild deliveries. 76 HEADLINES 2017 – FORECASTS 2018 Kari Reinikainen glances back at last year and looks ahead to see what’s in store for the cruise business. CRUISE BUSINESS REVIEW 1/2018 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K CRUISE_Business_Review_210x297.pdf 1 08/02/18 14:01 6-9 sisa?lto?.indd 3 19.2.2018 11.39
TECHNICAL 50 Stakeholders debate environmental solutions 56 Arctech returns to cruise shipbuilding 86 Fuel-cell technology emerges 88 Three decades of Merima THE RITZ-CARLTON YACHT COLLECTION, SETTING SAIL IN 2019 Tillberg Design of Sweden is proud to present our most recent project, the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. The five star luxury hotel brand is teaming up with Tillberg Design of Sweden, to create an over the sea hotel experience that the guest on board will never forget. The ships will be small and intimate, carrying only 289 guests in 149 large suites all in luxurious Ritz-Carlton and Tillberg Design style. The first vessel will set sail in 2019, marking the first time a hotel brand goes to sea. Read more about our creative projects at tillbergdesign.com! TILLBERGDESIGN.COM E X T E R I O R A N D I N T E R I O R D E S I G N B Y HÖGANÄS · WROCLAW · MIAMI 6-9 sisa?lto?.indd 5 19.2.2018 11.39
TAIWAN KOREA THE PHILIPPINES XIAMEN HONG KONG HAINAN C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Asia Cruise Cooperation, a committed and resourceful alliance of Hainan, Hong Kong, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Xiamen, share the mission of promoting maximum growth in cruise tourism for partnering destinations and for Asia. Together, we provide a one-stop platform to support your development in Asia. We appreciate the importance of collaboration among ourselves as well as with our partners. The unwavering support of partnering destinations is our promise to you. Harness the opportunity and sail with us today. Being the only tropical island in China, Hainan has a first-class natural environment and features spring like climate, good air quality, sparkling sea water, beaches and tropical rainforests as well as the Li and Miao minority cultures. All these factors make this unique island into an ideal vacation paradise. Build a modern city on an ancient civilisation, put it at an intersection of cultures, and you get a place that is truly worth exploring. Dive into a festival, hike a mountain trail, catch a show, visit a temple, or explore a walled village. Hong Kong has something to offer every visitor. Fun awaits you in Korea, a peninsula surrounded by three different seas in Northeast Asia. Create special memories in a country where you can enjoy abundant tourism, delicious cuisine, and beautiful landscape with its 5,000-year-old history. What’s more, it is the epicenter of hallyu, Korean pop-culture, which has become popular globally. The Philippines is known for its 7,107 tropical islands with mega-diverse natural environment, rich cultural heritage, contemporary lifestyle and exceptionally warm people who will always make your stay more memorable and fun. Its top cruise destinations are Manila, Palawan and Boracay Island. Taiwan is a beautiful island blessed with an abundance of natural resources and cultural diversity. We’ve no doubt that our scenic beauty, street food and culinary scene, local folk traditions, and warm and welcoming people will make your stay in Taiwan a delight worth savouring. Xiamen, as the well-known seaside city, has great deal of seaside tourism resources, as known as the “Garden on the Sea”. At the same time, Xiamen is also one of the main China cruise homeport cities. KOREA HONG KONG HAINAN THE PHILIPPINES TAIWAN XIAMEN 10-11.indd 2 12.2.2018 9.33
TAIWAN KOREA THE PHILIPPINES XIAMEN HONG KONG HAINAN C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Asia Cruise Cooperation, a committed and resourceful alliance of Hainan, Hong Kong, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Xiamen, share the mission of promoting maximum growth in cruise tourism for partnering destinations and for Asia. Together, we provide a one-stop platform to support your development in Asia. We appreciate the importance of collaboration among ourselves as well as with our partners. The unwavering support of partnering destinations is our promise to you. Harness the opportunity and sail with us today. Being the only tropical island in China, Hainan has a first-class natural environment and features spring like climate, good air quality, sparkling sea water, beaches and tropical rainforests as well as the Li and Miao minority cultures. All these factors make this unique island into an ideal vacation paradise. Build a modern city on an ancient civilisation, put it at an intersection of cultures, and you get a place that is truly worth exploring. Dive into a festival, hike a mountain trail, catch a show, visit a temple, or explore a walled village. Hong Kong has something to offer every visitor. Fun awaits you in Korea, a peninsula surrounded by three different seas in Northeast Asia. Create special memories in a country where you can enjoy abundant tourism, delicious cuisine, and beautiful landscape with its 5,000-year-old history. What’s more, it is the epicenter of hallyu, Korean pop-culture, which has become popular globally. The Philippines is known for its 7,107 tropical islands with mega-diverse natural environment, rich cultural heritage, contemporary lifestyle and exceptionally warm people who will always make your stay more memorable and fun. Its top cruise destinations are Manila, Palawan and Boracay Island. Taiwan is a beautiful island blessed with an abundance of natural resources and cultural diversity. We’ve no doubt that our scenic beauty, street food and culinary scene, local folk traditions, and warm and welcoming people will make your stay in Taiwan a delight worth savouring. Xiamen, as the well-known seaside city, has great deal of seaside tourism resources, as known as the “Garden on the Sea”. At the same time, Xiamen is also one of the main China cruise homeport cities. KOREA HONG KONG HAINAN THE PHILIPPINES TAIWAN XIAMEN 10-11.indd 3 12.2.2018 9.33
12 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Publisher’s Letter HOW TO CONTACT ME ??? editor@cruisebusiness.com twitter.com/cruisebusiness youtube.com/cruisebusinessreview Ph ot o cr ed it: Ca ro ly n Sp en ce r Br ow n Marine ASSA ABLOY Hospitality www.assaabloyhospitality.com/marine Mobile Access 6-8 March 2018 Visit us at Booth # 3505 D uring the last 12 months, I have had the great pleasure to sail with several ultra-luxury cruise lines. The first was in January 2017 aboard Seabourn Cruise Line’s 450-passenger ms Seabourn Odyssey, which represented a new generation of ships for the line ten years ago. In the spring, I was aboard the inaugural cruise of Silversea Cruises new 596-passenger ms Silver Muse, and this past January, I sailed on Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 750-passenger ms Seven Seas Explorer – billed by the line as “the most luxurious cruise ship ever built.” All these cruise lines trace their history back 20 years or more. Compared to the contemporary and premium segments, though, the ultra-luxury lines have grown more slowly and ships have remained with their original brands longer than in the mass-market segment. For example, take a look at Crystal Cruises’ ms Crystal Symphony, which first entered service in spring 1995. The ship underwent a massive refurbishment recently, where one of the key projects was to actually reduce capacity to 848 passengers and offer larger suites. Seabourn, meanwhile, only a couple of years ago finally sold off its original trio of yacht-size ships, built in the late 1980s and 1992, to Windstar Cruises. Silversea’s original luxury vessel, the 1994-built ms Silver Cloud, still sails for the line – having been transformed into a 260-passenger luxury expedition vessel. Also in this segment is SeaDream Yacht Club with two 1984-built luxury yachts, the 114-passenger ms SeaDream I and II. Despite the age of its ships, the company earns awards and accolades year after year. Then there are the newcomers. Perhaps the most aggressive is Viking Ocean Cruises, famous for its river cruises in Europe and Asia. It has been only three years since the company entered the ocean market with the 930passenger ms Viking Star, but already it has introduced three more ships with six more in the pipeline. Viking is not touting itself as a luxury product, but it is unwavering in the uniformity of its ship design, service levels and amenities, such as featuring only cabins with balconies, providing free shore excursions in every port-of-call, serving free wine and beer during lunch and dinner and not charging for specialty restaurants or WiFi. Viking has clearly energized the marketplace. I n addition to Viking, new entrants are emerging in the luxury segment and with more hybrid products. Just as Silversea is already offering luxury expedition voyages, Australia-based Scenic Cruises is aiming for that niche as well. The company recently ordered a second 228-passenger newbuild from Croatia’s Uljanik yard. Another newcomer soon to enter the segment is The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, which will be able to leverage the name of the famous luxury hotel chain. The difference between traditional and expedition products also is diminishing among the legacy luxury operators. Seabourn has been operating in Antarctica for years, and Crystal is preparing to take delivery of its first newbuilt expedition yacht, the ms Crystal Endeavor, which is currently under construction at the MV Werften shipyard in Germany. Crystal has branched out into river cruising, too, and is in the planning stages of building new traditional cruise ships, now being referred to as the Diamond class. In the years to come, it looks like the luxury and ultra-luxury cruise markets will become not only bigger and busier, but more dynamic as well. Teijo Niemelä February 2018 ULTRA-LUXURY CRUISE MARKET DIVERSIFIES 12-13 pääkkäri.indd 2 20.2.2018 10.22
Marine ASSA ABLOY Hospitality www.assaabloyhospitality.com/marine Mobile Access 6-8 March 2018 Visit us at Booth # 3505 Untitled-1 1 19.2.2018 14.58
Building towards the Future CURAÇAO PORTS A U T H O R I T Y Werf de Wilde P.O. Box: 689 Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean Tel: (+599-9) 434-5999 Telefax: (+599-9) 461-3907 Email: info@curports.com Website: www.curports.com curports Port of Curaçao The recently completed Willemstad cruise infrastructure expansion enables the port to welcome the latest generations of cruise vessels. The project introduces the second mega cruise berth in the heart of Willemstad. Port Services CPA develops and manages all ports in Curaçao ensuring quality nautical services, safety and security in the ports in an environmentally responsible manner. With modern infrastructure and the experienced port cluster, the ports of Curaçao o?er maritime and logistical service excellence. Port services include: Nautical assistance Cargo & supplies Salvage Bunkering and provisions Surveys Under water services Ship repair and maintenance Transport Fresh water delivery Waste management Win a Cruise for 2 persons Introducing the second mega Cruise Berth C M Y CM MY CY CMY K ad-fullpage-cruise-industry-bleed-prepress-2017-2.pdf 1 12/20/2017 1:48:20 PM 14-15.indd 2 15.2.2018 7.14
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 15 PICTURE OF THE YEAR 2017 MSC Cruises, the largest privately owned and world’s fourth-largest cruise company, returned to growth mode in 2017. It introduced two new prototypes, both of which were larger than anything the company had operated before: In May, it took delivery of the 171,598 gross ton MSC Meraviglia from STX France, and in November, the 153,516 gross ton MSC Seaside from Fincantieri. The line’s current orderbook extends to 2026 and numbers 12 new vessels – including the larger Seaside EVO class signed for in November and a 200,000 gross ton LNG-powered prototype called the Global class – for a total investment of €10.5 billion. An eventful year for the line culminated in December, when the MSC Seaside was officially named by godmother Sophia Loren in PortMiami. Pictured from left are Captain Pier Paolo Scala, Sophia Loren and Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago. Building towards the Future CURAÇAO PORTS A U T H O R I T Y Werf de Wilde P.O. Box: 689 Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean Tel: (+599-9) 434-5999 Telefax: (+599-9) 461-3907 Email: info@curports.com Website: www.curports.com curports Port of Curaçao The recently completed Willemstad cruise infrastructure expansion enables the port to welcome the latest generations of cruise vessels. The project introduces the second mega cruise berth in the heart of Willemstad. Port Services CPA develops and manages all ports in Curaçao ensuring quality nautical services, safety and security in the ports in an environmentally responsible manner. With modern infrastructure and the experienced port cluster, the ports of Curaçao o?er maritime and logistical service excellence. Port services include: Nautical assistance Cargo & supplies Salvage Bunkering and provisions Surveys Under water services Ship repair and maintenance Transport Fresh water delivery Waste management Win a Cruise for 2 persons Introducing the second mega Cruise Berth C M Y CM MY CY CMY K ad-fullpage-cruise-industry-bleed-prepress-2017-2.pdf 1 12/20/2017 1:48:20 PM Ph oto cre dit : M SC Cr uis es 14-15.indd 3 15.2.2018 7.14
18 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 T hese were the questions central to the seventh edition of the International Cruise Summit (ICS), held in Madrid at the end of November 2017. As always, the fundamental issues relating to the global cruise industry immediately came under scrutiny. Inevitably, the major concerns over port CONFERENCE REPORT n EUROPE For years, ports in Europe have been begging cruise lines to call. With more ships and new players at sea, together with issues relating to over-tourism and congestion, has the pendulum finally swung in favor of the ports? Is it time for cruise lines to market themselves to the ports and destinations? By Alan Lam congestion and over-tourism in Europe were raised and deliberated. But against this background, a new dynamic between ports and cruise lines was also being explored. It was suggested that as the number of ships and passengers swell, there might be a case whereby the ports and destinaPh oto cre dit : Di sn ey Cr uis e Li ne MADRID CRUISE SUMMIT TRACES SWINGING PENDULUM Craig Milan 18-23.indd 2 12.2.2018 8.25
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 19 ? to go,” said Christian Böll , Managing Director Europe, Norwegian Cruise Line, “There are so many small destinations in Europe. We don’t always have to go to big places.” Indeed, Costa Cruceros’ recent decision to homeport one of its ships in Tarragona, Spain, is a fine example in support of this argument. This strategic move has benefitted all parties. “The numbers speak for themselves,” said Raffaele D’Ambrossio , General Manager, Spain & Portugal, Costa Cruceros. “We have had a very successful season in Tarragona. This is a longterm project for us. The move was the result of a long period of planning and collaboration among the line, the port, the destination, local tourism authorities and the municipality.” It bodes well for the future of this small Catalan port, added Josep Andreu , CEO of the Port of Tarragona, who noted that in 2014 the I think the pendulum has swung when it comes to the relationship between ports and cruise lines. – Craig Milan – tions would find themselves in a stronger position in their business relations with the cruise lines. Major cruise ports such as Venice, Barcelona and Dubrovnik have always had a strong hand to play. However, smaller ports now find themselves receiving increasing attention from cruise lines, too. Until recently, there had been an almost one-way traffic of ports marketing themselves to the lines. But the tide may be turning, as cruise lines have intensified their search for new destinations and new ports-ofcall. Smaller ports and lesser known destinations are now in vogue. MADRID CRUISE SUMMIT TRACES SWINGING PENDULUM Pendulum has swung “I think the pendulum has swung when it comes to the relationship between ports and cruise lines,” said Craig Milan , Vice President Itineraries and Destinations, Virgin Voyages. “Years ago, when the industry was building and growing significantly, there was excess capacity in many ports. So the ports were asking cruise lines to come. If you look at the dynamic of the business now, the shipyards are basically full until 2022, if not beyond. The question is: Where are all these ships going to go? I think it bodes well for many of the medium-size and growing ports to engage with the industry: Get them to come and visit their ports and consider a different itinerary option from what would normally be traditional marquee port itineraries,” he suggested. “We have to be creative on how we deploy our ships, in looking to where 18-23.indd 3 12.2.2018 8.25
In the future, Mediterranean ports will be very important to us – especially new ports. – Edie Rodriguez – ? port had only three cruise calls. “In the 2017 season, we had 37 calls in total – 20 of them were from Costa. Next year we expect 55 calls – 25 of them will be from Costa.” So, after the initial season, Costa is increasing its presence here. Has the pendulum completely swung in favor of these smaller ports? Should the cruise lines start marketing themselves to ports? “We have not quite reached that point yet,” said Ramón Hurtado , Global Product & Operations Manager, Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services. But perhaps a point of equilibrium has been reached where both parties are now equal partners. “The word I use is ‘partnership’,” said Giuseppe Carino , Vice President, Guest Experience & Onboard Revenue, Costa Crociere, “Partnering and building together.” However, all indications suggest that the ports’ position is strengthening. “In the future, Mediterranean ports will be very important to us – especially new ports,” said Edie Rodriguez , Americas Brand Chairman and Corporate Special Advisor, Ponant. “You’ve got smaller ports that are not known; you should make yourselves known. You have to be creative, re-channel and make sure cruise lines are aware of [you]. Ponant already goes all over the world. We don’t want to do the ‘same old, same old.’ With four more vessels coming in, you can do the math.” Moreover, the attitude of the cruise lines toward the ports seems to be softening, acknowledging their status as partners. “We want clear berthing policy,” said Miguel A. Reyna , Director, Commercial Development, Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. (RCCL), addressing the ports. “We understand this is two-way traffic. You will also expect us to honor our bookings. We want to create and maintain partnership.” Business case for cruising wAs the pendulum continues to swing in the direction of the ports, challenges will mount. Increasingly, the ports’ focus on operations and facility development is replacing their marketing efforts. And while major cruise ports and destinations face congestion and over-tourism problems, the challenges for smaller ports and lesser-known destinations will be quite different. Perhaps the biggest challenge of all is the inability of smaller ports to make a business case for cruising. “In Spain,” said Fernando Muñoz , Commercial Director, Port of Cartagena, “cruise is not a business for ports. The investment is so big that it takes too long to recover. We never see it as a business, but we think this [industry] is so important that we have to do something [about it].” This concern over return on investment is not limited to ports in Spain. “From Dover’s point of view, making a business case is difficult,” said Barbara Buczek , Director Corporate Development & Operational Businesses, Port of Dover. “It is difficult especially when there is no cancellation fee. Should anything happen, cruise ships could just go elsewhere.” In fact, for most of the bigger ports in Europe, cruise is only a marginal business. On a practical level, there is the issue of ships not fitting the ports. “There are still only a small number of ports that can host big ships,” said Belén Wangüemert , Associate Vice President & Managing Director Eurozone, RCCL. Once again the inability of port development to keep pace with increasing vessel size was highlighted. The sheer volume of passengers presents another challenge to smaller ports. “Sometimes the hinterland destinations cannot absorb the number of visitors the big ships are bringing in,” said Tine Nathalie Oelmann , Director Port Operations, Shore Excursions & Ground Operations, TUI Cruises. According to Costa’s D’Ambrossio, launching a new destination is a huge challenge. “Usually when you launch a new destination the distribution channel needs time to adjust, to learn how to sell it to the customers. Travel agents are more comfortable in selling products they already know.” Conversely, the destinations need time to adjust too. Tarragona did not even have Italianspeaking guides when the ms Costa neoRiviera first called. This had huge implications, considering the fact that the town’s main attraction was its Roman heritage. That was only part of Tarragona’s learning curve, said the port’s Andreu: “Unlike big ports, two calls in one day was a major event for us. We had a strategy, but Costa’s arrival changed all that. We had to rethink our strategy.” In other words, to think in the longer term is vital for smaller ports. Moderating ship size But in an era when over-saturated destinations are putting limits on ship size and big cruise ships are being blamed for over-tourism, there is a distinct trend emerging in the contemporary segment of moderating future ship-size growth. “I strongly believe in looking at the size of ships coming in the future,” said Norwegian’s Böll. “We decided not to follow the trend and build ever-bigger ships. We think this will give us more flexibility to go to more ports. For us, it is always important to be on top of the trend.” Added RCCL’s Wangüemert, “The more ports we can expand into, the more we can contribute to the economy of the wider communities. We need to have variety in terms of itineraries, and we need to have sustainability.” While the existing players are expandThe leading cruise port in the Mediterranean C M Y CM MY CY CMY K CRUISE BUSINESS REVIEW_2018_PBCN.pdf 4 29/1/18 15:26 20 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Christian Böll Edie Rodriguez 18-23.indd 4 12.2.2018 8.25
Cruise Business Review 3/2017 25 The leading cruise port in the Mediterranean C M Y CM MY CY CMY K CRUISE BUSINESS REVIEW_2018_PBCN.pdf 4 29/1/18 15:26 18-23.indd 5 12.2.2018 8.25
CANARY ISLANDS MADEIRA ISLANDS SPAIN AFRICA FRANCE UNITED KINGDOM PORTUGAL 20ªW 40ªN 20ªN T R O P I C O F C A N C E R CABO VERDE We are looking at four calls in seven days or six calls in ten days. So our pace is slower, more like as if you were on your own yacht. – Doug Prothero – ing, the ocean cruise industry is welcoming new players into the market, too. Among these are Viking Ocean Cruises, which eventually will have a ten-ship fleet, as well as Virgin Voyages, Scenic Ocean Cruises and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. These newcomers are arriving with smallto medium-size ships that can go to more ports, need fewer facilities and are more sustainable. In an era when more destinations are sought after and less social and environmental impacts are preferred, these players entering the market with clean slates might enjoy an advantage that will resonate with smaller ports and lesserknown destinations. Overall, the prospects for smaller cruise ports and lesser known destinations have never been better and will continue to improve. “We see a couple of new cruise lines coming into the fold; I am sure there will be more,” said Ponant’s Rodriguez. “The existing cruise lines are expanding. That means more ports [will be needed] in the future, [providing] more opportunities for us all.” Focus on differentiation Differentiation is still the buzzword of the industry. The new players are developing their products to be as different as possible from existing ones and from one another, aiming to offer completely new experiences to their would-be guests. “We are in the nascent stage of our business,” said Virgin’s Milan. “We start on a blank slate, [with] no legacy systems to deal with. We are developing our IT platform from the ground up. It is an interesting evolution from the start of this company. Richard [Branson] has stated publicly that he would not be caught on any of the existing cruise ships. He wanted to develop a cruise line he would want to be on. We are developing staterooms that will be different from anything that are out there. We are looking at entertainment in a totally different way. Virgin has its roots in music, which will play a big role in what we do onboard.” To offer a completely different experience is Virgin’s objective. “We are not just building ships,” continued Milan, “we are building a whole new brand. We are trying to create a sea change for all aspects of the cruise experience. We’ve changed terminologies: It is not a cruise; it is a voyage. Balconies are referred to as sea terraces; guests are referred to as sailors; and Virgin Cruises has been changed to Virgin Voyages. We are really trying to change from what the existing business is like. We think there is space for us to do something differently, and there is a market out there for people who want to see something different in a cruise experience.” Faithful to its name, the Ritz-Carton Yacht Collection aims to deliver an entirely new yacht experience to its would-be exclusive guests. This would seem to bode well for smaller ports. “We are really focused on a yacht-style experience, avoiding large ports as a rule,” said Doug Prothero , Managing Director, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. “That’s not to say we won’t go to them [large ports], but we are strategic about what day we arrive. Our focus is on smalland medium-size ports. We are looking for new ways to explore the destination and the region. That is at the heart of what we do.” Ritz-Carlton is starting out with a very strong brand, and its first revenue cruise will set sail in just under two years’ time. “Our itinerary style is different,” continued Prothero. “We are looking at four calls in seven days or six calls in ten days. So our pace is slower, more like as if you were on your own yacht.” Need for collaboration As the cruise industry’s focus switches to new destinations and new ports, cruise lines are becoming increasingly reliant upon local knowledge. “We are sailing out of our comfort zone,” reasoned Javier Marín , Director Itinerary Planning, Full Charter & Charter Flights, Pullmantur Cr uises. “From next year on, we are going to new destinations. We are looking to increase our portfolio of destinations,” he said. “It really is a collaborative process,” noted Ritz-Carlton’s Prothero. “We need the ports and partners to be resources to us – not just providing us with berths, but helping us with offering guest experience. That’s at the core of what we are working on right now.” The only way to ensure future success is to build enduring partnerships, emphasized Costa’s Carino. “Everything is about building an experience together,” he said. In the final analysis we are inclined to agree with Milan’s assessment that the future bodes well for smalland medium-size ports in Europe, especially as cruise lines – driven by demand – intensify their search for new destinations and source markets in an increasingly crowded cruise world. We are also reminded of what Kerry Anastassiadis , CEO of Celestyal Cruises, had said during the previous edition of ICS: “It is not if but when we will be coming to your ports.” What remains is for the ports to make a business case for investing in the cruise business. n 22 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Tine Nathalie Oelmann Doug Prothero 18-23.indd 6 12.2.2018 8.25
CANARY ISLANDS MADEIRA ISLANDS SPAIN AFRICA FRANCE UNITED KINGDOM PORTUGAL 20ªW 40ªN 20ªN T R O P I C O F C A N C E R CABO VERDE 18-23.indd 7 12.2.2018 8.25
24 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? Christine Duffy is President of Carnival Cruise Line, the world’s largest cruise line, a position she has held since 2015. Duffy is also the only woman on the six-person Carnival Corporation leadership team. She talked with Cruise Business Review’s Fran Golden as Carnival was preparing to introduce its 26th ship. Cruise Business Review: You are about to bring out the Carnival Horizon, sister ship to the well-received Carnival Vista. What were the must-haves on this ship? Christine Duffy: There are many popular features introduced on Carnival Vista that will be on Horizon. For instance, our IMAX theatre, the SkyRide and new dining concepts like Seafood Shack, which we’re rolling out to other ships. We’re excited to be introducing on Horizon a new food-and-beverage concept called Smokehouse Brewhouse, where we have partnered with [celebrity chef] Guy Fieri. There’s also an expanded Bonsai Sushi, which includes our first Teppanyaki restaurant. We’ve created a Dr. Seuss-themed waterpark for Horizon. With so many Carnival repeat cruisers, giving our guests options to choose a ship based on unique features, tailored to different demographics and psychographics, keeps it interesting. CBR: Will we see these types of features on other upcoming ships? Duffy: Vista and Horizon have unique features that won’t necessarily be on other ships. The third sister in our Vista class, Carnival Panorama, will have some changes, which we’re not ready to talk about. We’re also hard at work on our first XL ship, which will come out in 2020 and will be the first LNG [liquefied natural gas]-powered ship in North America. AIDA INTERVIEW n CONTEMPORARY CRUISING CARNIVAL’S DUFFY TALKS VISTA AND BEYOND CARNIVAL’S DUFFY TALKS VISTA AND BEYOND Cruises, Costa Cruises and P&O Cruises also have ships on this platform and the larger size of the ship allows us to introduce some new and exciting concepts. But we will also be sure to include many guess favorites onboard. For instance, our guests have come to expect a Guy’s Burger Joint when they go on a Carnival cruise, and, of course, our waterpark and ropes course, among other popular features. CBR: On the Vista class you introduced Family Harbor accommodations with a family lounge and Havana suites with private whirlpool access. Are Carnival passengers looking for upgraded accommodations? Duffy: We are taking advantage of everything we can do to add new features, refurbish and improve our ships across the fleet. In the dry-dock for Carnival Elation, we added balconies and re-did all the cabins, plus added new food-andbeverage spaces, and we updated most of the public areas onboard. Carnival Paradise is going into dry-dock this month [February] and will receive the same updates. While we don’t have opportunity for every ship to include spaces like Havana or Family Harbor, we do look at every ship and focus on making investments to keep everything fresh and exciting and take advantage of the available space. And we listen to our guests to incorporate what is important to them in terms of enhancing their vacation experience. CBR: The family market has been a growing segment for you. I assume families with kids remain a top target? Duffy: We are focused on creating an environment that gives people an ultimate family vacation at sea. We want to provide a great family vacation experience while, at the same time, providing options for people who aren’t traveling with children. At our Punchliner Comedy Clubs, for instance, the early shows are for people who want to bring their kids. The latenight show is aimed at adults. We carry the most passengers in the cruise industry, including 800,000 kids and more than a Christine Duffy surrounded with senior officers from various Fun Ships 24-29.indd 2 15.2.2018 7.17
24-29.indd 3 15.2.2018 7.17
26 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 million seniors, and we offer a true multi-generational experience that caters to all ages, from grandkids to grandparents. CBR: What attempts are you making to attract more millennials onboard? Duffy: I think for us it’s less about focusing on a specific generational group. I talk to a lot of people who love Carnival because that’s the cruise they went on with their parents when they were young. We are popular with millennials and even Gen Z because we are very social. There is a lot to do onboard Carnival. I feel really good that what we offer onboard is not unique to a specific demographic, but more to the psychographic of the guests – which for Carnival is for people who want a fun vacation. CBR: You’ve made some organizational changes at Carnival. Do you have plans for more? Duffy: We have a great team. We have brought in a lot of new people and promoted people that had been at Carnival into broader roles. Martin Landtman , who has been Senior Vice President and our Chief Maritime Officer for the past seven years, will be retiring in 2018, so we’re conducting a search for his replacement. I am a big believer that you need different leaders at different times. I think we always continue to look at what skills, talent and experience we need and make sure we fill the need. We brought in Chief Marketing Officer Kathy Tan Mayor , who has brought deep digital marketing expertise from outside the cruise industry. And, Kathy has a dual role as the cross-brand strategy leader across brands. CBR: You’ve done a lot of shuffling recently of your North America fleet. What are the hot spots? Duffy: We just opened our brand-new refurbishment of the Long Beach Cruise Terminal in February, and the Carnival Panorama will move there in 2019, expanding that market. Carnival Panorama will be the first new Carnival ship deployed on the West Coast in 20 years. The recent expansion of the Long Beach Cruise Terminal definitely made it easier for us to make that move. Cuba is certainly a destination where we have seen strong demand. Carnival Paradise will do five additional sailings to the island in 2018, and we’re working to see if we can continue to get more, but it’s challenging given the infrastructure and development required for Cuba to take more ships, larger ships. We just announced we are bringing Carnival Triumph back to Eastern Canada, and Carnival Miracle has been repositioned to Tampa and will be offering partial Panama Canal cruises. We’ve also been upgrading the sizes of ships doing our short cruises – we’ve moved some of our Conquest-class ships to shorter itineraries. CBR: What are the challenges destination-wise of bringing an LNG ship to North America? Duffy: We signed an agreement with Shell Corporation last fall, and they are building the barge that will provide LNG to both of our XL ships. We have not formally announced where XL will be homeported. While the fact that this is an LNG ship is a factor, also important – given the higher guest counts on those ships – is that we ensure the destinations we visit will be prepared to deliver the experience that our guests want on their Carnival vacation. As a corporation, we’ve developed ? Together we will turn the tide WASTEWATER PURIFICATION FOODWASTE TREATMENT GARBAGE HANDLING WASTE TO ENERGY CARBON CAPTURE www.scanship.no C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 210x297_20180213.pdf 1 13.02.2018 13:03 Christine Duffy with Holland America Line President Orlando Ashford, Cruise Critic Chief Content Strategist Carolyn Spencer Brown and Holland America Line Master Chef Rudi Sodamin at the last year's media event during the Seatrade Cruise Global convention Ph oto cre dit : Te ijo Ni em elä 24-29.indd 4 15.2.2018 7.17
Together we will turn the tide WASTEWATER PURIFICATION FOODWASTE TREATMENT GARBAGE HANDLING WASTE TO ENERGY CARBON CAPTURE www.scanship.no C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 210x297_20180213.pdf 1 13.02.2018 13:03 24-29.indd 5 15.2.2018 7.17
28 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 FULL CRUISE CONTROL WITH Sika? oor® Marine SOLUTIONS High-performance systems for acoustic ? ooring, primary deck covering, visco-elastic damping and A-60 ? re rated ? oating ? oors. SIKA SERVICES AG Tue enwies 16 · CH-8048 Zurich · Switzerland Phone +41 58 436 40 40 · Fax +41 58 436 55 30 www.sika.com/marine ports of call in various countries including Mahogany Bay [Honduras], Amber Cove [Dominican Republic], Grand Turk [Turks and Caicos], Half Moon Cay [Bahamas]. We are working on plans so these ports can accommodate the growing size of our fleet. We are also working with our other port partners to ensure our guests’ expectations are continually exceeded. CBR: What are your plans internationally? Duffy: We just announced Carnival Splendor, which has been cruising out of Long Beach, is going to Australia in 2019. We recently celebrated our fifth anniversary sailing out of Sydney, and we are excited about expanding our capacity in that market. We’ve been sailing in Europe as we bring a new ship out of the shipyard, and we’ll do this with Horizon. But we will come back to the U.S. after only a few Mediterranean sailings and have the Horizon in New York through the summer. Cruising out of New York gives us an opportunity to really showcase the ship and get people new-to-cruise interested. We do not have any announcements planned for Carnival Cruise Line in China. CBR: On the food-and-beverage side, you’ve recently been updating menus fleetwide – adding avocado toast at breakfast and falafel at the deli. Why the new focus? Duffy: Our culinary team is really amazing. I am personally a big fan of our new avocado toast. We’re making sure we’re offering what people want to eat today. The palate has broadened, and people are interested in trying new and different things. Also, we get a lot of international guests, and we’re focused on making sure there is food appealing to people from wherever they come. CBR: You recently signed basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal as Carnival’s “Chief Fun Officer.” What’s the message in the new marketing? Duffy: Our new brand campaign is “Choose Fun.” It resonates as a call to action for those thinking about their vacation. Who doesn’t want to have fun? When we started talking about a celebrity brand ambassador who personifies that, Shaq immediately came to mind because that’s just who the guy is. We just think he’s perfect for where we are as a brand. And the photo of me standing next to Shaq, showing our height difference, is pretty funny. n Carnival's newest hire is Shaquille O'Neal as "Chief Fun Officer" Christine Duffy touring the Carnival Vista with Senior Cruise Director John Heald 24-29.indd 6 15.2.2018 7.17
FULL CRUISE CONTROL WITH Sika? oor® Marine SOLUTIONS High-performance systems for acoustic ? ooring, primary deck covering, visco-elastic damping and A-60 ? re rated ? oating ? oors. SIKA SERVICES AG Tue enwies 16 · CH-8048 Zurich · Switzerland Phone +41 58 436 40 40 · Fax +41 58 436 55 30 www.sika.com/marine The Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports promotes the cruise industry and unites the ports of‘Mare Nostrum’ and its adjoining seas. www.medcruise.com 24-29.indd 7 15.2.2018 7.18
30 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? CRUISE NEW ORLEANS A JOURNEY & A DESTINATION It’s no secret that New Orleans is one of America’s most vibrant and exciting cities. So launch your cruise from the Big Easy! Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines sail weekly to destinations in the Eastern and Western Caribbean and Bahamas, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line returns in December 2018. Most passengers sailing from Port NOLA enjoy two vacations in one by staying in New Orleans before or after their cruise. • Aquarium of the Americas • 1,000+ 5-star restaurants • Historic French Quarter • Audubon Zoo • Swamp tours • World War II Museum • Antebellum plantation homes • World-class shopping and art • Steamboat excursions Cruise New Orleans and Enjoy 2 Vacations In 1 | portno.com W ith about 34% of global cruise capacity deployed to the region and a major chunk of the industry’s total revenue being generated from Caribbean operations, it is no surprise that the industry reacted quickly. According to Richard Fain , Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), the storms cost the group $55 million. It was the most expensive series of events in RCCL’s 45-year history. With nearly 150 sailings affected in the immediate aftermath, the violent nature of 2017’s Caribbean hurricanes accelerated potential climate-change-related challenges confronting the cruise industry. It also demonstrated the resilience of the business and what could be achieved through concerted efforts. Unlike geopolitical events elsewhere, the Caribbean recovered quickly thanks to cooperation and a well-coordinated response among industry stakeholders, such as those organized by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), which took prompt action to tackle the situation by launching a multimedia campaign called “The Caribbean is Open” aimed at influencing public perception. First of all, it was imperative to highlight the fact that most of the 50 ports throughout the region suffered litDESTINATION REPORT n CARIBBEAN CARIBBEAN OPEN FOR BUSINESS DESPITE HURRICANES The year 2017 was when the Caribbean, the original home of cruising, made headlines because of two major hurricanes – Irma and Maria – that devastated parts of the region. The cruise business was badly affected on a handful of islands, while others escaped unscathed. By Alan Lam tle or no damage from the hurricanes. Secondly, the ports that had been hit hardest, such as St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten and San Juan, were expected to re-open by the end of November 2017. Infrastructure-related repairs were quickly carried out and tours restored. Cruise ships were among the first to return to business in the Caribbean. By the beginning of 2018, less than six months after Irma and Maria hit, the Caribbean was declared “back on its feet.” Such is the importance of the cruise business to the region that, according to the FCCA, one single cruise season generates $2.4 billion for the Caribbean. The industry supports 55,000 local jobs. Following is a rundown of various Caribbean cruise ports and how they were affected by the storms: BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS – Both Irma and Maria hit Tortola, but the 80,000-square-foot Tortola Pier Park, which had been completed in 2016, sustained minimal damage to three buildings, the cabana and a few kiosks. Authorities immediately embarked upon a fast-track restoration program in an effort to restart the island’s vital tourism business. The facility re-opened on November 1, and by January 33 stores were operational. It is anticipated that most repairs will be completed and the number of stores in operation will double by April. Most cruise ships calling in Tortola dock at the Cruise Pier in Road Town. On December 6 and 7, Tortola welcomed the first two calls of its 2017-18 cruise season: The ms Marella Discovery and ms Marella Celebration, respectively, carrying a total of 2,800 passengers. On November 30 and December 1, the sister islands of Jost Van Dyke and Anegada received calls from SeaDream Yacht Club. There is still a lot of work being done. “The Tourist Board continues to work along with our industry partners and global agencies in communicating our progress to the global tourism marketplace,” said Sharon Flax-Brutus , Director of Tourism. Tortola Pier Park now comprises 16 kiosks, one cabana and 11 buildings, with the availability of shops and leisure activities within walking distance. Prior to the hurricanes, it housed 62 businesses offering food and beverage options, tourist information, offices, retail outlets, banks, medical services, car and bike rentals, as well as island activities. DOMINICA – Dominica was another affected island. It also is recovering St Barts was affected by hurricane Irma Ph oto cre dit : Ca ro lyn Sp en ce r Br ow n 30-37.indd 2 15.2.2018 7.25
CRUISE NEW ORLEANS A JOURNEY & A DESTINATION It’s no secret that New Orleans is one of America’s most vibrant and exciting cities. So launch your cruise from the Big Easy! Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines sail weekly to destinations in the Eastern and Western Caribbean and Bahamas, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line returns in December 2018. Most passengers sailing from Port NOLA enjoy two vacations in one by staying in New Orleans before or after their cruise. • Aquarium of the Americas • 1,000+ 5-star restaurants • Historic French Quarter • Audubon Zoo • Swamp tours • World War II Museum • Antebellum plantation homes • World-class shopping and art • Steamboat excursions Cruise New Orleans and Enjoy 2 Vacations In 1 | portno.com 30-37.indd 3 15.2.2018 7.25
32 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? quickly. On January 28, the ms Mein Schiff 3 of TUI Cruises became the first major cruise ship to call at the Roseau Cruise Ship Berth since the hurricanes, bringing with it about 2,000 passengers. But TUI was not the first line to return: On September 18, the sy Sea Cloud II of Sea Cloud Cruises dropped anchor at Purple Turtle Beach in Portsmouth, carrying 200 passengers. During the current 2017-18 season, the island expects calls by MSC Cruises, Windstar Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Line and more visits by TUI. Dominica has three cruise berths: Roseau Cruise Ship Berth is conveniently located along the Bayfront of the island’s capital Roseau; Woodbridge Bay Deep Water Harbour is located on the outskirts north of Roseau, about a 10-minute walk from the city center; and Cabrits Cruise Ship Berth is located in Portsmouth, an hour’s drive north of Roseau. By the end of January, the government of Dominica, through the Ministry of Tourism and Urban Renewal, had invested over $3 million on restoration, rehabilitation, upgrading and clean-up of debris left behind by Hurricane Maria. KEY WEST – Key West was closed to cruise calls after the entire length of the Florida Keys sustained a direct hit by Hurricane Irma, which rendered it a “ghost town,” as described by some visitors. Cruise ships were among the first to come back to Key West. Local officials originally envisioned a return to cruise business by October 20, the start of the town’s Fantasy Fest event. But only days after the storm, on Sunday, September 24, Royal Caribbean International’s ms Empress of the Seas docked at Key West’s pier. PUERTO RICO – Only days after Irma, cruise ships were back at San Juan. But Puerto Rico was among the hardest hit by the next big storm, Maria, which was the first hurricane of that strength to hit the island directly in 85 years. More than three months later, about 45% of the island was still without power supply. As of early February, damage was still widespread and intense efforts were underway to repair infrastructure and restore essential services. At press time, hotels, restaurants and casinos were gradually opening for business. San Juan’s cruise port was open and more than 60 shore tours were up and running. Incredibly, by mid-December, about 80,000 homeport passengers had embarked from San Juan, according to the Puerto Rico Tourism Commission, and 85,000 more embarked in January. In the month of January, San Juan received 27 cruise calls. ST. BARTS – St. Barts was badly damaged by Irma and was in no shape to receive cruise ships and tourists, but it Key West is back in the business Ph oto cre dit : Te ijo Ni em elä Grand Turk before the hurricanes 30-37.indd 4 15.2.2018 7.25
30-37.indd 5 15.2.2018 7.25
34 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 also was among those islands that recovered most rapidly from the disaster, partly because of its size. By January, all of its water, electricity and telecommunication had been restored and all roads were open. By the end of October, cruise ships were already calling. Within a month, 17 cruise ships had visited. ST. MAARTEN – Like St. Barts, St. Maarten was mauled by Irma and was closed to cruise business. RCCL immediately cancelled all its calls through late October, while Windstar Cruises cancelled its calls until March. But only three months after Irma, St. Maarten reopened for cruise ships. On December 4, the ms Viking Sea called at its port. A day later, the Marella Discovery sailed into its harbor. On December 17, the ms Grandeur of the Seas arrived. In just a short time, St. Maarten had come a long way in terms of recovery and pulled out all the stops to welcome back cruise visitors. The first returning ships were greeted with a welcome banner, a steeldrum band, stilt walkers, carnival queens and dancers. Ministry and port officials greeted the vessels and their passengers in person. On Christmas Day and Boxing Day, five cruise ships carrying 10,000 passengers called at the island. And on January 2, St. Maarten welcomed another 12,000 cruise passengers aboard three ships – the ms Disney Fantasy, Marella Discovery and ms Harmony of the Seas. ST. MARTIN – Occupying the northern half of the island it shares with St. Maarten, St. Martin suffered extensive damage brought about by Irma. Its recovery was equally swift as on the Dutch side. On December 4, the Viking Sea became the first cruise ship to call at the island since the hurricane, followed by the arrival of the Marella Discovery on the next day. TURK AND CAICOS – Home of Carnival’s Grand Turk Cruise Center, the Turk and Caicos Islands were hit by both Irma and Maria, with Grand Turk among the biggest casualties of the hurricane season. The response by Carnival and other stakeholders was instant and immediate, as they worked around the clock to carry out repairs. By early November, cruise ships were returning. This rapid recovery was mainly possible because the cruise pier did not suffer destruction, and the facilities in the cruise center building sustained only minor cosmetic damage. This is a cruise destination mainly visited by Carnival ships, and since November 4, a succession of vessels has called and continues to do so while recovery and upgrading work progresses. U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – The U.S. Virgin Islands was another territory badly hit by the storms. St. Thomas was devastated by Irma and was closed to cruise ships. In the immediately aftermath, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line cancelled their calls for October and part of November. As with most other cancellations, these planned calls to St. Thomas were replaced by calls to one or more Western Caribbean ports. The governor of the islands said their aim was to open for tourism by January. Indeed, the cruise ports in St. Croix – which was unaffected by Irma but significantly damaged by Maria – and St. Thomas are now both open. In January, cruise calls to these ports were about 90% of what they had been in January of the previous year, according to tourism authorities. GRENADA – Grenada was not affected by the storms. The island has a highly functional 375-meter (including catwalk) finger pier at its Melville Street Cruise Terminal. Its commercial pier at the Port of St. George’s is 335 meters in length. Cruise ships are berthed at both locations in the city. A new 3.5-acre cruise port is being developed on Carriacou, Grenada’s sister island. Phase 1 will be completed in the first quarter of this year. Thereafter, development work will move on to Phase 2, which includes the construction of a Welcome Center. The Grenada Ports Authority works closely with cruise lines on berth bookings. It operates a fair first-come/first-served policy on berth allocation. When there are more than three cruise ships in the port of St. George’s, tenders are used to transport passengers ashore. BAHAMAS – The Bahamas escaped significant damage from the hurricanes, and all of its cruise facilities are operational. Last May, Carnival Cruise Line and the Bahamian government reached an agreement to purpose-build a major cruise facility on Grand Bahama Island. The project, costing $100 million, will include a pier capable of accommodating two of CCL’s largest ships simultaneously. The facility will emphasize participation of local citizenry in the supply and sale of products and services including retail, entertainment, arts-and-crafts, food production, sports and fitness. It will have a significant economic impact on the communities of East Grand Bahama. Carnival has agreed to provide employment to qualified Bahamians as crewmembers aboard its ships. Central to this 226-acre development will be the construction of the Harbour Town, which will comprise a 20-bed hotel, an 18-hole miniature golf course, restaurants, shops, nightclubs, amphitheater, aquatic and other recreational and sporting facilities. The work is expected to be completed within 24 months of receipt of all relevant government approvals. JAMAICA – In January, the Port Authority of Jamaica contracted SeaWalk to build a floating pier at historic Port Royal, near Kingston, with the aim of offering an opportunity to visit this destination with minimal impact on its fragile environment. The installation is expected to be completed in early 2019. The SeaWalk floating pier, which will be manufactured in Europe, is capable of hosting very large vessels, but Port Royal is being marketed as a destination for smaller ships. In Montego Bay, the port authority is planning to expand both marine and shoreside facilities to handle the next generation of mega cruise ships. Jamaica's Falmouth ? 30-37.indd 6 15.2.2018 7.25
30-37.indd 7 15.2.2018 7.25
36 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 TORTOLA PIER PARK’S ‘STORY CONTINUES’ n In 2014, the vision of the government of the Virgin Islands – led by the British Virgin Islands Ports Authority – was to revitalize and enhance the current cruise terminal in the capital city, Road Town. The new development was envisioned to host larger classes of cruise vessels and to provide a seamless transfer of cruise passengers from these ships to the shores of the Virgin Islands. To realize this vision, the cruise pier was lengthened to 1,312 feet, widened to 60 feet and strengthened. In addition, a multi-million dollar cruise, retail and events space – namely Tortola Pier Park – was built along the waterfront edge on approximately five acres of land immediately adjacent to the cruise pier. Although the BVI had been favored by many travelers, the development of Tortola Pier Park was timely. It was important to upgrade the infrastructure of the port to meet the demands of the cruise industry. While the BVI are blessed with an abundance of naturally occurring sceneries and resources, it was pivotal for the destination to embrace the opportunity to grow and to develop the means of accommodating larger cruise ships. It was also vital to develop a complementary land-based facility that could create different opportunities for the population and boost the economy. Occupancy rate of 97% Now operational for almost two years, Tortola Pier Park is composed of 16 kiosks, one cabana and 11 buildings. Seven of these are two stories and another has a third floor, with the remaining four being single story. The new development provides a heightened cruise experience for guests, with the availability of shops and leisure activities within walking distance for passengers. Prior to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Tortola Pier Park attained a 97% occupancy rate, which included 62 businesses that were then operational. These businesses featured food and beverage options, tourist information, offices, retail shops, banking services, medical services, car and bike rentals as well as island activities. Due to the impact of the above mentioned hurricanes, three buildings, the cabana and some kiosks sustained damage from the storms. Since that time, the facility was re-opened on November 1, maintaining its 97% occupancy rate, and it now boasts 33 stores that are currently operational. It is anticipated that most repairs will be completed and the number of stores will be doubled by April 2018. As its restoration campaign #ourstorycontinues implies, Tortola Pier Park’s story continues with the availability of a unique shopping, dining and entertainment experience for all individuals, while maintaining the highest level of customer service. After every storm comes a beautiful story of hope, resilience and strength. As Tortola Pier Park continues to rebuild, everyone is invited to once again visit Tortola Pier Park – the premier choice for shopping, dining and entertainment for locals and visitors to the BVI. n ‘Culture change’ Recent events in the Caribbean have demonstrated that one of the major strengths of the cruise industry is the willingness of its stakeholders to cooperate with one another. The speedy recovery of the cruise business after the hurricanes is a tribute to this cooperation. The ability of the region to withstand the onslaughts of Irma and Maria suggests that cruise infrastructure in the region is solid and sound. Most piers and passenger facilities suffered comparatively less damage in some of the most badly affected areas. Technological developments and improvements in communication also played a big role in the region’s recovery. In addition, Irma and Maria only affected a small part of the vast Caribbean region. They did not touch the Western and Southern Caribbean, where some of the best-known cruise ports are situated including Cozumel, Falmouth, Harvest Caye, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Lucia and Barbados. Meanwhile, the weather-related events of the 2017 hurricane season have shown that a “culture change” – in the words of RCCL’s Richard Fain – has taken place in the worlds of tourism and cruising. According to him, people in general are now less deterred from traveling by events such as hurricanes and terrorism. The speed of recovery in the Caribbean, it seems, is a testimony to this development as well. n Ranked one of the top cruise ports in the world, Port Everglades offers the speed, service and efficiency to help your business sail smoothly — and your passengers smile wider. Visit porteverglades.net or call 800-421-0188. SMARTER, FASTER, FRIENDLIER • Our modern, efficiently operated terminals make transit a breeze. • We move passengers from curb to ship in just 15 minutes. • We’re fully scalable — accommodating any size ship or passenger volume. • Just two miles from FLL International Airport and minutes from world-famous beaches for easy access. • Our Harbormaster Office is a one-stop concierge open 24/7. • Year-round berthing is available. port.everglades | @porteverglades | PortEvergladesFL | port-everglades PEG858_Cruise Business Review FP Dolphin_mech.indd 1 2/13/18 3:48 PM Rainforest Adventures at St. Martin opened world's steepest zip line in November 30-37.indd 8 15.2.2018 7.25
Ranked one of the top cruise ports in the world, Port Everglades offers the speed, service and efficiency to help your business sail smoothly — and your passengers smile wider. Visit porteverglades.net or call 800-421-0188. SMARTER, FASTER, FRIENDLIER • Our modern, efficiently operated terminals make transit a breeze. • We move passengers from curb to ship in just 15 minutes. • We’re fully scalable — accommodating any size ship or passenger volume. • Just two miles from FLL International Airport and minutes from world-famous beaches for easy access. • Our Harbormaster Office is a one-stop concierge open 24/7. • Year-round berthing is available. port.everglades | @porteverglades | PortEvergladesFL | port-everglades PEG858_Cruise Business Review FP Dolphin_mech.indd 1 2/13/18 3:48 PM 30-37.indd 9 15.2.2018 7.25
38 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 S outh Florida’s ascendancy to the epicenter of the cruise industry began long before the modern cruise lines were born. Early in the 20th century, a group of daring visionaries and entrepreneurs began to dream of expanding the local business community and creating new industries to take advantage of Florida’s climate with its sunshine and warmth. Chief among these businesses they envisioned a winter tourism trade, but to realize this dream would require a strong transportation infrastructure. The coastal shipping trade along the United States’ East Coast brought the first visitors to Florida, helped by the growing railroad empires developed by Henry Flagler and Henry B. Plant . By the 1890s, these railroad tycoons had also developed fledgling shipping firms plying the waters between Tampa, Key West, Jacksonville and Miami, linking Florida to Havana and the Bahamas. However, unlike many of the world’s leading ports, South Florida did not have a good natural harbor. Undaunted by the geographic challenges, local community leaders leveraged Flagler’s political ties, and in 1912, Government Cut was completed linking Miami to the ocean and opening the harbor. South Florida’s cruising heritage Development of PortMiami and Port Everglades Today, South Florida’s identity is so closely tied to the cruise industry that it is hard to imagine the ports before the advent of the modern cruise ship. However, Florida’s relationship with cruising dates back long before the current industry leaders began to offer their 7-night cruises and fly-cruises. As PortMiami and Port Everglades each mark their 90th anniversaries, Cruise Business Review looks back at the development of these ports and their rivalry, which helped to build the modern cruise industry. By Allan E. Jordan PortMiami today Port Everglades today 38-42 .indd 2 12.2.2018 8.38
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 39 ? South Florida’s cruising heritage Development of PortMiami and Port Everglades steamer the ss Evangeline on winter pleasure cruises. However, instead of sailing from the new ports, she cruised from Key West calling at Panama, Jamaica and Cuba. The following winter the cruises were repeated, but this time sailing from Jacksonville. All that remained was to link these new cruise efforts with the emerging South Florida ports. After World War I, a flourishing trade developed with steamers such as the 1,700 gross ton ss City of Miami and the 3,200 gross ton ss North Land, maintaining overnight runs between Miami and Havana. However, sensing that the ports still lacked a proper infrastructure to maintain the shipping industry, the first of many efforts began to improve the facilities. In Miami, a $3 million project was undertaken in 1925 to dredge and widen the channel. Similarly to the north, the mayor of Hollywood was the driving force for a $6 million project to deepen the harbor inlet, widen the turning basin and build modern 35-foot piers at Bay Mable. Completed early in 1928, it is said that more than 85% of the residents of Broward County turned out to witness the dedication of their new port. At the same time, local women’s groups led successful efforts to replace the unpopular Bay Mable Harbor name with what they thought would be a “more dignified” name tying the port with “the agricultural and industrial growth and advancement of the entire section.” At first the name Port Florida was urged, but instead they selected Port Everglades seeking to emphasize the port’s proximity to the Everglades with the emerging citrus, dairy, cattle and poultry farm industry. Attracting larger ships Having completed suitable deep-water ports, both Fort Lauderdale and Miami were beginning to attract larger and more modern passenger ships. Several thousand Miamians turned out on Sunday, January 9, 1927, to see the Clarke Steamship Company’s ss New Northland steam up the Miami channel and to tour what was called “the most luxurious appointed ship ever to dock here.” Measuring 302 feet in length and able to accommodate 200 passengers, the ss New Northland started regular weekly service sailing between Miami, Palm Beach, Nassau and Havana, inaugurating Miami’s first regular cruises. The following winter, the ss New Northland sailed overnight to Nassau, and soon a small but growing cruise trade was developing. In February 1930, for example, the British liner ss Thirty miles to the north of Miami, another group of entrepreneurs was also looking for ways to spur the local economy through shipping. Fearing that they might lose business to Miami-Dade, the businessmen of Broward County were advocating for their own deep-water port. Straddling the border of the modern day cities of Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood lay Bay Mabel, a shallow lake separated from the ocean by a small, rocky strip of land. Here, they suggested, was the perfect spot for a large, man-made deep-water port. The Fort Lauderdale Harbor Company was formed, and in time, completed the Lake Mabel Cut creating Bay Mabel Harbor. First pleasure cruises Around the same time as these initial ports were being developed, the shipping industry was also starting to explore the potential of pleasure cruises. The Plant Line had experimented with the first local pleasure cruises, sailing its 1,780 gross ton ss Halifax between Tampa, Jamaica and Nassau in the winter of 1893. Then in 1913, the Plant Line – now owned by Flagler’s Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company (P&O) – decided to send its new 3,786-ton 38-42 .indd 3 12.2.2018 8.38
Premium Exhibition Services wulffentre.com | sales@wulffentre.com +358 10 6335 500 PAVILIONS SPACE RESERVATIONS STAND DESIGN PROJECT MANAGEMENT Wulff Entre provides a fully comprehensive range of trade show services including booth design and project management. Global Design Local Production. Helping companies across the pond with services that t (and won’t exceed) your budget! A few of the upcoming exhibitions we will be participating in include: W.E. can help you save your valuable time, and achieve a stressfree, lucrative and rewarding exhibition experience. ONS SMM WORKBOAT MARINTEC CHINA NOR-SHIPPING ...AND MANY MORE. SEATRADE CRUISE GLOBAL INTERSPILL APM SEA JAPAN OTC HOUSTON NAVIGATE POSIDONIA marintec ad.indd 1 2/7/2018 12:42:54 PM Arandora Star, operated by the Blue Star Line, arrived on an in-transit call during a cruise from England to the West Indies. Escorted into the port by a dirigible, Curtiss-Wright airplanes and small boats – and met by local dignitaries and even a 60-piece drum and bugle corps – the 15,000 gross ton liner was the largest ship yet to dock in Miami. Many of the 326 passengers aboard took bus tours to Palm Beach or around Miami, and the port proved so popular that the ss Arandora Star made additional visits starting in 1932. In February 1936, she made a two-day in-transit call with world-renowned Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw aboard. Port Everglades had also begun to build a strong in-transit cruise business, including regular calls by some of the liners of the United Fruit Line. Ships such as Cunard-Anchor Line’s ss Caledonia also made a number of calls to the port in the winter of 1932, as part of their Caribbean cruises from New York. The rivalry between Miami and Port Everglades continued, and in 1935, Port Everglades boasted of receiving Florida’s largest ship to date and the largest liner operating in the American merchant marine. A former trans-Atlantic liner that had once operated luxurious 130-day world cruises, the 24,000 gross ton Red Star Line’s ss Belgenland had become the ss Columbia of the Panama Pacific Line, operating Caribbean cruises with stops in Fort Lauderdale. Special trains from the Florida East Coast Railroad met the ship, transporting her 620 passengers for sightseeing trips in Miami and Palm Beach. Regularly scheduled cruises The mid-1930s also saw the establishment of more regularly scheduled cruises from South Florida. In January 1935, Canadian National Steamships brought its new “palatial white liner,” the 6,892-ton tss Prince David, to Miami, inaugurating sailings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to Nassau. With rates starting at just $20, passengers would enjoy, “shore excursions, entertainment, all sports…dining service a la carte” and could even take their automobiles to the Bahamas. Two years later, her sister ship the tss Prince Henry, under charter to National Tours, began weekly cruises from Miami to Havana and Veracruz, including overland tours to Mexico City. In the forerunner of the modern fly-cruise package, arrangements were made with the railroads for inclusive cruise-tours from cities including New York and Chicago. Fares started at just $95, and the 384-foot liner – able to accommodate 300 passengers – sailed every Sunday from Miami. Later sailing as the ss North Star for the Clarke Steamship Company, this same ship operated weekly 7-night cruises from Miami to Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba. After World War II, a new group of entrepreneurs began to drive the development of the ports. A businessman named Frank Leslie Frasier – with experience in the shipping industry including his banana business – stepped in, launching in January 1950 cruises aboard the former ss New Northland, now called the ss Nuevo Dominicano. Creating what would become one of the fabled names in Miami cruising, Eastern Shipping, Fraser started offering year-round cruises sailing from Miami every second Saturday to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Soon other competitors followed, including Arnold Bernstein , who before the war had operated Atlantic liners including the famed Red Star Line. Bernstein’s 6,000 gross ton ship, the ss Silverstar, started weekly cruises from Miami to Havana and Veracruz in January 1952. Its publicity boasted that the 420-passenger ss Silverstar “offers the latest in cruising comfort….Spacious sun deck and beautiful swimming pool… air-conditioned cavern ‘La Grotta’ for drinking and dancing to the rhythms of a famous Cuban band, cozy bars, card and writing rooms…all serve to make the cruise a pleasure to be long remembered.” With the cruise business firmly established, Fraser upgraded his operations – acquiring in 1954 the 5,000 gross ton ss Yarmouth and soon thereafter her sister ship the ss Evangeline. ? 40 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Evangeline sailing from Miami for Eastern Shipping during the 1950s Miami port early 1960s crowded with cruise and cargo ships 38-42 .indd 4 12.2.2018 8.38
Premium Exhibition Services wulffentre.com | sales@wulffentre.com +358 10 6335 500 PAVILIONS SPACE RESERVATIONS STAND DESIGN PROJECT MANAGEMENT Wulff Entre provides a fully comprehensive range of trade show services including booth design and project management. Global Design Local Production. Helping companies across the pond with services that t (and won’t exceed) your budget! A few of the upcoming exhibitions we will be participating in include: W.E. can help you save your valuable time, and achieve a stressfree, lucrative and rewarding exhibition experience. ONS SMM WORKBOAT MARINTEC CHINA NOR-SHIPPING ...AND MANY MORE. SEATRADE CRUISE GLOBAL INTERSPILL APM SEA JAPAN OTC HOUSTON NAVIGATE POSIDONIA marintec ad.indd 1 2/7/2018 12:42:54 PM 38-42 .indd 5 12.2.2018 8.38
Together, they would form the backbone of Eastern Shipping (later Eastern Steamship Company), expanding the Miami cruise market. By 1956, Miami was boasting that it was homeport to no less than five cruise ships, and just three years later, that 115,000 passengers had passed through the port. Yet Miami was also falling victim to its own success, with outdated and overcrowded facilities. The challenges of navigating the channel were also well-known years before the now famous 1972 maiden voyage grounding of Carnival Cruise Lines’ first ship, the tss Mardi Gras. In 1938, the ss North Star had a similar grounding at the east end of the channel, while that same year Canadian Pacific’s liner the ss Duchess of Richmond and Blue Star Line’s ss Arandora Star both had to anchor offshore due to squalls off Miami. Creating Dodge Island Responding to calls for improved facilities, in 1958 the Port of Miami first proposed an ambitious $20 million project to create a new 187-acre port in the middle of Biscayne Bay, built on the westerly part of two uninhabited scrub islands. Work began in October 1960 on the dredging and filling to create the modern Dodge Island facility, along with widening the existing channel and improving the turning basin. The new port was designed to handle three 500-foot cruise ships simultaneously, along with cargo and storage areas. While Miami was working to create its modern facilities, Port Everglades was quickly becoming home to a growing fleet of larger cruise ships. Grace Line, for example, added regular stops to the 13-night Caribbean itineraries of its newest ships, the ss Santa Rosa and ss Santa Paula. Hamburg Atlantic Line became one of the pioneers in 1961, when its ss Hanseatic was homeported in Port Everglades to be followed by Cunard Line’s Carmania. Costa Line also started Caribbean cruises from Port Everglades aboard its ms Franca C. and to the Bahamas on the ms Anna C., and introduced some of the earliest Florida air-sea cruise packages. In time, Port Everglades would become home to larger, more deluxe cruise ships from lines such as Sitmar Cruises, Home Lines and Holland America. Final elements in place The final elements for the modern cruise industry were in place by the late 1960s. Dodge Island was dedicated in June 1965, and that fall, an Israeli-flagged cruise ferry, the ms Nili, became the first to offer regular cruises from the new facility. Initially under charter to Frank Leslie Fraser’s sons, in the summer of 1966 Ted Arison assumed the Nili’s charter, setting in motion a wellknown chain of events leading to the formation of Norwegian Caribbean Lines and ultimately to the birth of Carnival Cruise Lines. “My first impressions of Miami and the port were reassuring,” recalls Knut Kloster , describing his fall 1966 visit to Miami. “I was impressed with Port Director Admiral Stevens and his plans for development.” Admiral Stevens’ vision drove the port’s development, including the construction of the cruise terminals that continue to be part of the port. Those terminals were completed in December 1968, just in time for the arrival of Miami’s newest generation of ships, including Norwegian Caribbean Lines’ 13,100 gross tons ms Starward and Commodore Cruise Line’s 11,000 gross ton ms Boheme. Successors to the older generation of cruise ships, these new purpose-built cruise ships would provide the springboard to building the modern cruise industry. Many more milestones lay ahead in the development of the ports’ cruise business. Nearly 100 years after the first ships, in fiscal 2017 PortMiami welcomed a record 5.34 million cruise passengers, while 3.86 million passengers passed through Port Everglades, ensuring that South Florida remains the undisputed leader in the cruise industry. All but forgotten, though, are the earlier pioneers that demonstrated South Florida’s potential as a cruise homeport and helped to attract many of the early visionaries who contributed to the birth of the modern industry. With both ports marking their 90th anniversaries, they can be proud of their long heritage and contributions to the cruise industry. n SOUTH FLORIDA TODAY Rising from its humble beginnings, South Florida is today the center of the cruise universe. The cruise industry contributed $7.97 billion to Florida’s economy in 2016 and over 149,000 jobs, according to a study from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). PortMiami remains the undisputed leader, handling a record 5.34 million cruise passengers in Fiscal Year 2017, while Port Everglades ranked as the third-busiest cruise port handling, 3.86 million cruise passengers in FY 2017. (Port Canaveral ranked second, handling 4.52 million passengers in 2017.) Both ports continue to grow with the cruise industry and the outlook is strong. “We expect an incredible year ahead,” says Juan Kuryla, Director of PortMiami, noting that the port is projecting 5.4 million passengers in FY 2018. “We expect to break that 6 million mark in FY 2019,” he says, adding, “That’s just 22 months from now.” To prepare for this next phase of growth, PortMiami is undertaking a broad range of infrastructure projects. Among these are expanding and enhancing Terminal F to become the home of the ms MSC Seaside and building the new Terminal A with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which will handle the world’s largest ships including the ms Symphony of the Seas. A new Terminal B is planned for completion in 2019 for Norwegian Cruise Line, and talks are underway with another cruise line for a new Terminal AA. PortMiami can currently handle up to eight cruise ships a day, typically with six large ships on the north side of Dodge Island and one smaller one on the south side. By 2019, the port will be able to handle up to nine cruise ships a day. Port Everglades currently has a total of nine cruise terminals. The port recently completed lengthening Slip 2 to handle ships up to 1,100 feet in length, while Carnival Corporation also recently completed a redesign and upgrade of Cruise Terminal 2 used by Princess Cruises. Cruise Terminal 25 will be closed for most of 2018 while it undergoes a more than $100 million renovation preparing it to accommodate the new ms Celebrity Edge, which is scheduled to homeport at Port Everglades beginning in December 2018. Both ports also have significant cargo operations and are continuing their long-range planning efforts to ensure that they continue to play a significant role in the future of the cruise industry. n 42 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Port Everglades in the 1960s with the Portugese liner and ss Hamburg in the background Miami's Dodge Island on Dec 1 1973 with ships of Royal Caribbean, NCL and Commodore 38-42 .indd 6 12.2.2018 8.38
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 43 By AnneMarie Mathews C ustomer focus and personalized solutions are what set CMI Leisure apart, according to President Dietmar Wertanzl . The company provides turnkey management and concessions services to some of the most uniquely demanding cruise line and adventure travel companies in the world. “We are the cruise hospitality experts and the preferred supplier for small expedition ships,” he explained. “We’ve been doing this for over 15 years, so we have a strong foundation and good infrastructure.” Wertanzl has been president of CMI Leisure since 2015, bringing a wealth of cruise and hospitality industry experience with him. Hailing from Austria, he began his career working onboard cruise ships, where he was Hotel Manager for Royal Viking Line; he was also the first Hotel Director on the ms Crystal Harmony. He made the transition to shoreside operations in 1991 after moving to Miami, where he was Vice President of Hotel Operations for INTERVIEW n SHIPMANAGEMENT EXPEDITION EXPERTS CMI LEISURE Celebrity Cruises. After a stint as Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Crystal, he got his first introduction to small-ship expedition cruising as Managing Director of Celebrity Xpeditions in the Galapagos Islands. From there, he became Chief Operating Officer at Tauck World Discovery and then was named president and CEO of Cruise West, a small-ship exploration cruise line that operated nine boutique ships. Prior to joining CMI Leisure, he was Executive Vice President, Hotel and Commercial Operations for FleetPro Passenger Ship Management, where he gained experience working with large and small luxury ships. Finding a niche He and his team of 15 in the company’s headquarters on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami have accumulated a wealth of knowledge, know-how and expertise operating expedition vessels. “We’ve found our niche,” he said. “Whether it’s Antarctica, Greenland, the Northwest Passage or the Great Lakes, we have eight ships under contract all up to 2,000 passengers; small ships are our sweet spot. Expedition cruising is growing in popularity,” he added. “It’s on everyone’s bucket list. In particular, we are seeing an increase in guests from China.” The company has had to adapt to better serve international guests by adding crew members who speak Chinese, as well as making modifications to food and beverage offerings. At any one time, CMI employs up to 700 crew members. In terms of challenges, Wertanzl said the logistics of getting provisions to the remote locations where the expedition ships operate is one of the more complex areas of the business. “A lot of planning goes into it, and we have great relationships with our suppliers, so we’ve been able to get all needed supplies to our vessels.” The company also has to take weather conditions into consideration. “You can’t take anything for granted,” he said. “There is one port in Greenland where the only way to get supplies in is via airlift. You have to be flexible.” An added challenge is limited storage space aboard the ships. “It really takes a lot of know-how, along with trial and error. We have the learned a lot and strive for continuous improvement.” New client ships This year, CMI Leisure is working with a new ship, the ms Victory II from Victory Cruise Lines. “Their second ship will be launching in June in the Great Lakes. We are very excited about it,” said Wertanzl. He is also optimistic for 2019 as the company will be taking on a newbuild from Aurora Expeditions in Australia. “We are operating a ship for them now and look forward to adding their new ship in 2019,” said Wertanzl. “Overall, the expedition market is growing as guests become more adventure-focused and more active. With that, we continue to see that our guest satisfaction is very good.” n Dietmar Wertanzl 43indd.indd 3 12.2.2018 8.39
44 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 By AnneMarie Mathews I t was just a little more than a year ago, in late 2016, that the former President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Kevin Sheehan made a return to the cruise industry by taking a majority stake in an ownership group called Paradise Cruise Line that purchased Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line (BPCL), which operates the cruise ship ms Grand Celebration on short cruises from the Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island. It was a family investment: Sheehan Sr. took over as Chairman, and his son, Kevin Sheehan Jr . (a former private equity investor), became involved in the day-to-day operation of the line as President. Joining them was Oneil Khosa , a cruise and shipping industry veteran, who acquired a minority stake in the ownership group and stepped in as CEO. The new team has made great strides in the short time since purchasing the line, starting with building an executive leadership team. “We handpicked the management team with leaders from both inside and outside the industry,” said Kevin Sheehan Jr. “The caliber of people has us well positioned for the future.” The management team includes former NCL Chief Marketing Officer Maria Miller leading marketing efforts; former NCL Chief Accounting Officer Dave Sprechman as Chief Financial Officer; Mai Meyaart , a travel industry veteran with stints at World Travel Holdings and American Express leading the sales team; and Richard Coombs from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. spearheading information technology. Onboard enhancements Several enhancements have been made to the line’s existing ship, the Grand Celebration, which departs every other COMPANY PROFILE n CARIBBEAN NEW OWNERS ON FAST TRACK AT BAHAMAS PARADISE day from the Port of Palm Beach. “We’ve made a lot of improvements and updated many areas,” said Sheehan Jr. “We are investing in the right places to put our money to work, including necessary upgrades like new televisions and stateroom improvements.” Public spaces also have received attention. New options include the addition of a specialty restaurant – Admiral’s Steak & Seafood – that serves a five-course gourmet meal, a specialty burger bar called The Bull and a new gelato and coffee bar. The casino was updated, making it larger with more slots and table games. An adults-only area, The Oasis, was created at the top of the ship. The team has really “hit the ground running,” according to Sheehan Jr. Late last summer – just about nine months into the new ownership – the line announced that a new ship, Costa’s ms Costa neoClassica, would be joining its fleet. In December, the company renamed the ship as the ms Grand Classica and said it would also be sailing from the Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island, in essence, giving the line daily year-round departures and becoming one of the largest providers of tourism to Grand Bahama Island. With the two ships, the line expects to carry about 500,000 passengers annually. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has also been supportive of the community. After Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit, it chartered the Grand Celebration for three months to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which used the ship to provide housing for first responders and National Guard members who were helping to rebuild the U.S. Virgin Islands. A gala event was recently hosted onboard to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen foundation, and the line partners with an organization that provides cruises to children battling cancer. As the company prepares for the arrival and launch of the Grand Classica in April, Sheehan Jr. said he is most proud of his employees. “Once we gave our team the ability to think on their own, everyone stepped up,” he said. He was particularly surprised by some of the legacy employees who had been with the former ownership. “They adapted quickly to a fast-paced model and brought many great ideas to us. When you give people the opportunity to show you what they can do versus directing them, it sets you up for the future.” Guest satisfaction up Guest satisfaction is up, and Sheehan Jr. credits the onboard team. “The crew does a fantastic job; turning the ship every other day is quite a challenging task,” he said. “The vast majority of guests coming off the ship say they are pleased.” The cruise line solicits comments from guests, and Sheehan Jr. and the leadership team take the feedback seriously. “While we get a lot of great comments, we also want to improve the experience, so we respond proactively when our guests point out things that didn’t meet their expectations.” At 52,900 gross tons, the Grand Classica is slightly smaller accommodations-wise and slightly larger and grander in its public spaces than the 47,000 gross ton Grand Celebration, according to Sheehan Jr. “The casino is larger and there are more restaurants – so we’ll have some new offerings that we may even weave into Grand Celebration in the future,” he said. Current plans are for the Grand Classica to begin sailing in late April. Sheehan Jr. said that Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has a unique niche in the Grand Celebration departs every other day from the Port of Palm Beach 44-45.indd 2 15.2.2018 7.27
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 45 NEW OWNERS ON FAST TRACK AT BAHAMAS PARADISE 2-, 4or 6-night resort stay in addition to their cruise. BPCL currently partners with four hotels, two of which offer allinclusive packages. With the addition of the Grand Classica, BPCL’s daily arrivals into Grand Bahama Island will allow for an overnight stay on the island, which Sheehan said he believes will be more popular with guests: “We make it convenient and easy for our guests to take a stress-free vacation, customized to the amount of time they have. Once you get to the Port of Palm Beach, we’ll take it from there with a curbside We do very short runs on a consistent basis. That’s not offered by anyone else. We are uniquely positioned in the Port of Palm Beach to get to Grand Bahama Island quickly. – Kevin Sheehan Jr. – cruise industry. “We do very short runs on a consistent basis. That’s not offered by anyone else. We are uniquely positioned in the Port of Palm Beach to get to Grand Bahama Island quickly.” He pointed to Grand Bahama Island as an underdeveloped tourism hotspot. “Grand Bahama Island has the infrastructure to handle a large volume of passengers, but they are often overlooked,” he said. “For us, we’ve been able to establish our presence, and it’s been a good development for all parties. With our second ship, we’ll be bringing more guests to the island and that brings jobs.” He said he is hopeful that with this consistent volume, the local hotels on the island will feel more comfortable investing further in their own development: “We hit the ground running with our Cruise & Resort Stay packages, that’s a differentiator for us. No other line offers guests the ability to cruise to a destination and then stay there overnight or for a number of days. It’s also an amazing revenue opportunity for the destination.” The line’s current Cruise & Resort Stay packages allow guests to book a valet. Guests board the ship and cruise overnight to Grand Bahama Island, and then we transfer them to the resort of their choice. After a relaxing stay on the island, they come back to the ship and cruise home.” What’s ahead for BPCL? “At the end of the day, other lines are building new larger ships with more bells and whistles,” said Sheehan Jr. “We have smaller ships, so we have to try harder to make sure there are no gaps in our customer’s experience.” He said he believes the company will help shine more light on Grand Bahama Island as a great destination and help introduce more people to cruising: “With our two-night getaway, it’s a great way for those who haven’t cruised before to sample the product and see if they like it. That will bring more people into cruising, which is good for the industry overall.” And will Bahamas Paradise be adding a third ship anytime soon? Sheehan Jr. said it’s not in the immediate future as the line is very focused on launching the Grand Classica, but he doesn’t rule it out. n Bahamas Paradise's leadership team: Kevin Sheehan Jr., Kevin Sheehan and Oneil Khosa The 1992-built Grand Classica will join the fleet this spring 44-45.indd 3 15.2.2018 7.27
46 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? INTERVIEW n EXPEDITION MARKET HAPAG-LLOYD’S NEW EXPEDITION SHIPS HAPAG-LLOYD’S NEW EXPEDITION SHIPS The brochures still had that typical smell from the printer when Karl J. Pojer, the CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (HLC), started his presentation at the posh Hyatt Regency Hotel in London. We already knew that HLC has two new luxury expedition vessels under construction at the Vard shipyard in Romania with outfitting to be done in Norway. Now, the project had gotten a lot more concrete with the introduction of two new brochures, one for each ship. By Mike Louagie In the coming years, we can expect at least 20 new expedition ships. As shipping companies we have a great responsibility, to the people and to the nature in which we cruise. – Karl J. Pojer – I ndeed in London, Karl J. Pojer presented the ms Hanseatic Inspiration. The week before, he did a grand tour of Switzerland, Austria and Germany to launch the catalog for the ms Hanseatic Nature. He explained why there are two different brochures for two identical vessels: “At Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, we already have a tradition of positioning our vessels on different markets. The Europa is for the German-speaking market, whilst the Europa 2 is a bilingual product for an international clientele. The same goes for the two expedition vessels; Nature will be exclusively in German, the Inspiration in English and German,” Pojer says. The first vessel will be delivered in April 2019, the second in October of the same year. The word “expedition” might sound adventurous, but as Pojer says, “there is no room for experiments.” In making this statement, he expressed his concern about the arrival of several new, sometimes less experienced players into the market of expedition cruising. “In the coming years, we can expect at least 20 new expedition ships. As shipping comrecord of exploration cruising aboard the ms Bremen (1990) and ms Hanseatic (1991). “The new ships are built according to three main criteria,” Pojer explains. “The new Hanseatics need to have an independent autonomy of 36 days. In Antarctica, you cannot go shopping ashore or bunker at the petrol station. Everything must be foreseen to be able to cruise for 36 days without supply and without the loss of quality. Secondly, the ships must be suitable for the most extreme weather conditions, with icy temperatures in polar regions and a combination of tropical heat and humidity on the Amazon river. Finally, the hull must have the highest ice-class [PC6] to be able to sail through pack ice without a risk.” An educational experience “It is a very luxurious product in combination with extreme destinations, and this comes with a high price tag,” says Pojer. “It is a pure luxurious product for people who are looking for a highly panies we have a great responsibility, to the people and to the nature in which we cruise.” Being inspired by nature doesn’t require fancy toys like helicopters and submarines, according to the CEO. And he certainly is not alone in his worry about the availability of an experienced crew, just to name a few distinguishing aspects of this niche business within the cruise industry. But HLC doesn’t have anything to prove in this regard, as it has established an impressive track nycruise.com What’s better than a cruise? A cruise + NYC NYCruise’s Manhattan and Brooklyn Cruise terminals are just a New York minute from all the city has to offer, including countless attractions, arts and culture, and amazing restaurants. Enjoy the best of both worlds with a preand/or post-cruise visit to New York City. 4840-NYC Cruise Cruise Business Review print ad.indd 1 1/29/18 11:05 AM Karl J. Pojer 46-49.indd 2 12.2.2018 9.28
nycruise.com What’s better than a cruise? A cruise + NYC NYCruise’s Manhattan and Brooklyn Cruise terminals are just a New York minute from all the city has to offer, including countless attractions, arts and culture, and amazing restaurants. Enjoy the best of both worlds with a preand/or post-cruise visit to New York City. 4840-NYC Cruise Cruise Business Review print ad.indd 1 1/29/18 11:05 AM 46-49.indd 3 12.2.2018 9.28
48 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 authentic way to discover very exceptional destinations. Our potential customers are eager to learn, are environmentally aware and have a great sense of responsibility. As such, most of our past expedition guests have become natural ambassadors for the region they visited.” HLC has a tradition of inviting aboard the best lecturers and scientists. From glaciologists to biologists and historians, these specialists turn the cruise into a highly educational experience. A special classroom named the Ocean Academy has been designed for the ships. It is conceived to give guests the opportunity to experience science the way they like, in various disciplines. An interactive media wall will display information on demand. The ship’s main classroom, however, will be the centrally located HanseAtrium. It is basically a lounge with a bar, which will be used for presentations, lectures, briefings and recaps. All 230 guests can fit in this venue. Respect for the environment All available modern technology will be employed to ensure a maximum of environmental friendliness. The ships will be powered by MGO with a maximum sulphur content of 0.1%, something HLC has always done in sensitive areas. There is an SCR catalytic converter to reduce NOx emissions by up to 95%. To save fuel, the hull shape is optimized and has TBT-free antifouling, and there is an energy-efficient PROMAS rudder with special propellers. “Every detail counts,” says Pojer. “The wastewater is bio-recycled onboard, and the Zodiacs will be electric.” Each ship will have 17 Zodiacs, some kayaks and paddleboards, too. Embarkation will take place via the marina at the stern. The CEO also says there is an option to use cold ironing for plugging into the local power grid when possible. The general philosophy of the excursions is based on a deep respect for nature and the environment as well. Boutique hotel and expedition ship in one For Antarctica, the number of guests aboard will be limited to 199. Normally the ships’ capacity is 230, but to comply with IAATO regulations of a maximum of 100 people per landing, the number is reduced. The new Hanseatics are built with 50% more open deck, “because being outdoors is so important.” The bow will have a special viewing terrace. “Guests might see things before the Captain,” Pojer says with a smile. A special feature will be extendible glass balconies on Deck 7. These will not only offer great panoramic views – including underfoot – but will also create a feeling of floating over the ocean. Each ship will have three restaurants with a total of 400 seats for optimized flexibility and free choice of seating. Apart from the main dining room, there will be one Bistro restaurant, which also offers the possibility of eating outside. One specialty restaurant with 44 seats will serve an original mix of Japanese creations and Peru’s modern, fashionable cooking. There will be six different types of suites and cabins, with the most remarkable feature being the illumination. “I wanted a ship without a single spotlight in the ceiling. Instead we’re going to have moodboards, which can be adapted to the guest’s feeling,” Pojer explains. Main cruising areas Although the new Hanseatic ships will be deployed worldwide, there will be four main cruising areas. First among these will be Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, with cruises of 12 to 20 days. Second on the list of destinations will be the Arctic and Greenland. Thirdly, the ships will visit South America and the Amazon. Potential customers need to understand the difference in an HLC expedition to this region, Pojer emphasizes. “We sail all the way to Iquitos, which is a long way further than the usual Manaus.” And finally, the fourth cruising area for the new Hanseatics will be the North American Great Lakes. Cruising to Chicago and Toronto is something that HLC has done in the past when the line operated the ms C. Columbus. It was the only cruise vessel of that size able to pass through the locks. “The new Hanseatics has been designed with these restrictions in mind,” Pojer points out, “which means we are very proud to be able to include this destination again.” n Artist's renderings of Inspiration clockwise from left: Balcony cabin; Specialty restaurant; and Ocean Academy Glass balcony 46-49.indd 4 12.2.2018 9.29
46-49.indd 5 12.2.2018 9.29
50 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 J an Kjetil Paulsen , Senior Advisor Maritime & Shipping of the environmental NGO Bellona Foundation, had the honor of opening the debate. “The cruise market boom puts pressure on our planet. When a new ship is delivered, we read that she is the most ecofriendly ship in the world. They all break records, but what will the total climate emission be for the cruise industry in the coming decennia?” Bellona has a vision of a sustainable and carbon-negative society and is solution oriented. “Cities have to cope with exhaust gasses and particle emissions, causing health issues. Nature is under pressure too,” Paulsen said. As a Norwegian, he's happy to see that the fjords might become the first no-smoking area in the world. A first step in this direction was the introduction of the electric-hybrid Vision of the Fjords passenger ferry. In April 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is expected to deliver a draft recommendation for global greenhouse gas emissions. Paulsen said he thinks that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will be implemented in case the IMO fails to come up with a solution. “If we don’t do something it will simply ruin the business,” Paulsen said, adding that “ships launched today will operate for the next 30-40 years. We have to take that into account. How will the regulators react? After the ECAs [Emission Control Areas], are we going to have some ZEZs [Zero Emission Zones] or FFFH’s [Fossil Fuels Forbidden Here]?” he asked. MARINE OPERATIONS n SUSTAINABILITY STAKEHOLDERS DEBATE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS During an “Immediasea” roundtable debate in London, several industry actors exchanged ideas about the environmental challenges created by the booming cruise industry. By Mike Louagie Ph oto cre dit : M ike Lo ua gie 50-54.indd 2 14.2.2018 9.19
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 51 ? BRAX SHIPPING +46 (0) 31 183200 www.braxship.com brokers@braxship.com Shipbrokers specialised in the sale and purchase of cruise ships and ferries/ropax TRUSTED WORLDWIDE Ship designs for special cruises KEY THEMES 2018 • Cruise ship construction and renovation • New and renewable forms of energy • Recruitment • Arctic know-how • Digitalization • Environmental technology and Maritime logistics • The NaviGate matchmaking Event NaviGate is a key meeting and recruitment event for the maritime industries. Commercialize your innovations, find the best partners or expand your markets – we are a match made in Turku! REGISTRATION TO MATCHMAKING EVENT NOW OPEN: https://navigate2018. b2match.io/ REGISTER AS A VISITOR: WWW.NAVIGATE.FI Free of charge for the pre-registered! Responsible corporate citizens Tom Strang , Senior Vice President, Maritime Affairs, Carnival Corporation & plc, was very clear in his comments. “Sustainability is core to Carnival. We are very committed to being responsiscrubber generates lower gas emissions compared to MGO. Strang also sees a renewal of interest in cold ironing. “We have 36 ships fitted with this, even if there are only two ports in Europe having shore power available. We’re happy to discuss, since it needs a significant investment.” He added that it doesn’t make sense if shore power is coming from a power station running on fossil fuels. “Hydro-powered energy from Norway makes more sense. At the end of the day, it is about what do you do to lower your emissions?” On the question of LNG (liquefied natural gas), Carnival has taken the lead in ordering seven LNG-powered ships. Its Project XL provides one platform across the group’s various brands. The first ship will go to AIDA Cruises as the ms AIDAnova at the end of the year. “LNG has the best emission profile of any fossil fuel,” Strang said. “LNG is the only fuel that meets all emissions rules post-2020, without abatement or additional equipment. It meets all the current and foreseeable requirements with the relation to the traditional pollutants. But we’re not saying it is the silver bullet; we’re not saying it is the solution to greenhouse gas emissions. It deals immediately with those local pollutants which are the key component of the criticism that we face as an industry today.” Emissions reductions are probably what we focus on most today. Top-two targets are carbon footprint and water and waste. These are the key elements that drive our investments. – Tom Strang – ble citizens, because without clean destinations we don’t have a product to sell. Emissions reductions are probably what we focus on most today. Top-two targets are carbon footprint and water and waste. These are the key elements that drive our investments.” Carnival has a website where the company’s performance can be traced (carnivalsustainability.com). The actual performance to date is ahead of schedule, with the exception of water efficiency. “We installed 161 exhaust-gas cleaning systems across 64 ships, and we believe that this technology works. It delivers a very good end product.” He pointed out that independent analysis shows that the use of HFO in combination with a 50-54.indd 3 14.2.2018 9.19
52 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? The Tesla revolution is coming to the seas. – Rune Thomas Ege – Need for innovation In a few months, Hurtigruten will launch its first “next-generation explorer ship,” currently under construction at Norway’s Kleven Yard. “It is important to stop seeing the cruise industry as one big whole,” said Rune Thomas Ege , Vice President Global Communications, Hurtigruten. “In Norway we see modern, fuel-efficient ships. But there are many 40-year-old ships, too. And when we look at the expedition cruise industry, we cannot say this segment is very adventurous towards technologic solutions. That’s about to change when we introduce our first battery-powered hybrid expedition ship. I don’t understand why hardly anyone else is following our example. It saves fuel, emissions and money.” Ege showed a picture taken in the Geiranger, where a blanket of ship smoke is hanging in the famous fjord. “This is a situation which nobody wants, although it is often the reality.” He said that the cruise industry needs to move faster than what it is doing today. “When we had our restructuration several years ago, it was decided no longer to use HFO, but only MDO. It costs us a lot of money every year. However, it is important to do something, rather than talk about it.” In addition to respecting the environment, Ege said he believes very strongly in developing destinations in cooperation with the local people. "Hurtigruten has developed a program where we use as many products from the places we call at. For instance, all the eggs come from one single local producer. By involving locals into the cruise product, we will create a better product to the benefit of all.” The Hurtigruten executive further said the company is seeing a shift in the kind of guests booking its expedition ships. “It used to be the so-called ‘bucket list’ people for that once-in-a-lifetime experience. Now we have more adventurers and repeaters, and the interesting thing is that more travelers are looking for sustainable operators.” Today’s exploration passengers are more engaged with the destination, Ege continued. When Hurtigruten held a fleetwide beach cleaning operation, the company got many calls from people once the news started to spread. “From all over the world, people asked us when they could book a beach cleaning cruise. They want to be a part of the solution.” Rather than having a theatre, the new expedition ships will have a science center where passengers will have the opportunity to learn. “This is the kind of direction the industry is taking now,” Ege said. He added that Hurtigruten is convinced the future is electric. With the new hybrid explorer ships and the many electric (hybrid) Norwegian fjord ferries, he might be have been right when he said: “The Tesla revolution is coming to the seas.” What comes next is under already under investigation, with Carnival's research and development teams looking at several options. “We are, for example, investing in a few fuel-cell research programs,” Strang reported. “We have been working on a lot of things – waste-heat recovery, HVAC, air lubrication, etc., which all help us to deliver that double-bottom line effect that we need. It reduces our consumption and the emission and helps us to be competitive,” he concluded. rolls-royce.com Propulsion systems optimised for the mission and the environment Rolls-Royce is widely recognised for its propulsion system solutions for a broad range of vessel types. These comprise propellers and thrusters, diesel and gas engines, stabilisers, rudders, steering gear, automation and control systems. We have a strong focus on research and development and our hydrodynamic research centre offers a unique resource which enables us to deliver system solutions fully optimised for the vessel’s operation. www.rolls-royce.com/marine C & P_ Pr op ul si on _1 _1 _0 12 01 8 Trusted to deliver excellence C & P_ Pr op ul si on _1 _1 _0 12 01 8 Trusted to deliver excellence ? Rune Thomas Ege Vision of the Fjords 50-54.indd 4 14.2.2018 9.19
rolls-royce.com Propulsion systems optimised for the mission and the environment Rolls-Royce is widely recognised for its propulsion system solutions for a broad range of vessel types. These comprise propellers and thrusters, diesel and gas engines, stabilisers, rudders, steering gear, automation and control systems. We have a strong focus on research and development and our hydrodynamic research centre offers a unique resource which enables us to deliver system solutions fully optimised for the vessel’s operation. www.rolls-royce.com/marine C & P_ Pr op ul si on _1 _1 _0 12 01 8 Trusted to deliver excellence C & P_ Pr op ul si on _1 _1 _0 12 01 8 Trusted to deliver excellence 50-54.indd 5 14.2.2018 9.19
54 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Hull & propeller deterioration “Jotun is very aware of its environmental responsibility. The sum of little improvements, step by step, creates important global benefits,” said Petter Korslund , Sales Director, Jotun HPS (Hull Performance Solutions). “The best example is deterioration in hull and propeller performance between dry-dockings. It currently accounts for around 1/10th of the world's fleet fuel costs. That is a 20 to 30 billion USD unnecessary fuel cost. Also, this deterioration increases the carbon emissions with 0.3%,” Korslund continued. “It is very important that both yard and shipowners choose the right ecotechnologies. It can dramatically improve the competitiveness and the environmental footprint. Hull blasting and coating certainly belongs to one of the ‘low-hanging fruits,’ much to the benefit of the owner. By using the standard ISO 19030 methodologies, the hull performance can be quantified. It is a way of measuring to see what needs to be done to get better results. You can learn from what you did before and apply it during the next dry-docking or even on the sister vessels. Jotun wanted to be a better supplier and created its own measurement method, known as JHPMM.” An important change is taking place at Jotun HPS, Korlslund said, from being a simple product-supplier company to a solution-oriented company. “From that perspective we can look back on an increased cooperation with other partners in the industry, such as the classification societies, etc. Owners have also changed their attitude. They ask which product is the best to improve the vessel's performance. It is no longer just a matter of price.” LNG best we have today Wärtsilä’s Juha Kytölä , Vice President Environmental Solutions, said he believes in fleet optimization, the efficient use of resources and connectivity to ports. For him, the issue of LNG as fuel is the story of “the chicken and the egg.” He is convinced that LNG logistics will be managed. “Engines are continuously being developed,” he said. “The efficiency is improving step by step, and we are looking at all possible power solutions such as LNG, hybrid, batteries, bio fuels, fuel cells, hydrogen and techniques as induction charging.” DNV GL’s Helge Hermundsgård identified several challenges for the cruise shipping world. “Ships affect the air quality [CO2, NOx, SOx, particulates] and the water [black, ballast]. Waste is an issue, as well as noise [exterior, underwater]. The impact on the destination should also not been forgotten.” A lot is being done to improve efficiency, he noted. “We see improvements in hulls, propellers, engines, energy efficiency, operations, etc., and more will come. Unfortunately, this doesn’t address the big challenge unless we are able to produce energy closer to a carbon-free or carbon-neutral way.” When comparing several potential solutions like batteries, hydrogen or synthetic fuels, Hermundsgård called LNG “the best we have today.” n Roald Amundsen is the first hybrid cruise ship Hurtigruten will add to its fleet in 2018. 50-54.indd 6 14.2.2018 9.19
Compliance – Control – Champions With compliance deadlines drawing closer, environmental and regulatory challenges continue to prevail. At gmec – the global maritime environmental congress, industry experts will exchange ideas about the newest technologies for ballast water management, emissions control, new fuels and the latest innovations being championed in passenger shipping. visit smm-hamburg.com/ gmec-trailer to watch our trailer check out the green route smm-hamburg.com/ green-route setting a green course 5 sept 2018 hamburg facebook.com/SMMfair youtube.com/SMMfair twitter.com/SMMfair #SMMfair linkedin.com/company/smmfair smm-hamburg.com/gmec in cooperation with 180201_GMEC_SMM_GreenRoute_AZ_210x297_RZ.indd 1 01.02.18 19:49 55-57.indd 1 14.2.2018 9.21
56 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 D uring the current decade, Arctech has specialized in icebreaking tonnage, but Esko Mustamäki explained that, about two years ago, Arctech saw that the boom for icebreaking tonnage was subsiding, and the company decided it was time to return to building passenger vessels, in particular cruise ships. The big question is, of course, can the yard make a successful re-entry into the market after an absence of 14 years? “If there’s one yard in the world that can do it, it’s us”, Mustamäki replied. ”We still retain experienced staff from our previous tenure as a cruise shipbuilder, both in the design and construction departments. Furthermore, we can make use of the extensive existing subcontractor networks in Finland and elsewhere in Europe.” Being located in the capital city is an added benefit. “It’s easier for us to recruit skilled new staff than it is for more remotely located yards,” Mustamäki said. Competitive edge “The capacity of the existing cruise shipbuilders is filling up, leading to long delivery times,” Mustamäki explained. “With us, the wait is much shorter. If you order a ship today, we can promise delivery in 2021.” In the current increasingly SHIPBUILDING n EUROPE ARCTECH RETURNS TO CRUISE SHIPBUILDING One of the most experienced and innovative yards to build cruise ships in the past, Arctech Helsinki Shipyard has set its course for a return to cruise shipbuilding. Cruise Business Review’s Kalle Id spoke with Arctech CEO Esko Mustamäki. environmentally conscious era, the yard also has a competitive edge: As Arctech delivered the LNG-powered icebreaker the ms Polaris in 2017, it has experience in building ships with this type of power plant and – most crucially – building genuine dual-fuel ships. While Arctech and expedition tonnage are an obvious match, thanks to the yard’s extensive experience in building icebreakers (over half of the world’s icebreaker fleet), Mustamäki stressed that the company can build ships for any market segment. The only restriction is the size of the yard’s building dock, which means the maximum size vessel it can produce is about 90,000 gross tons. “Even the big players in the cruise business have brands operating with smaller ships, so there will be demand for the size of ship we can produce in the future. The growth of the cruise market in China, and the resulting demand for additional tonnage, also works in our favor.” In terms of output, the Helsinki yard can produce “a little more than one” Panamax-size ship per year, or a larger number of smaller vessels. For instance, up to four ships of dimensions similar to the Stepan Makarov-class icebreaking supply vessels recently delivered can be built per year. Building the Ecoship Arctech received a flying start for its ambitions to re-enter cruise shipbuilding last summer, when a Memorandum of Agreement was signed with Japan’s Peace Boat charity organization to build the Ecoship, Peace Boat’s ambitious and innovative new concept for an extremely environmentally friendly cruise ship. When queried on the status of this project, Mustamäki indicated that Peace Boat is still working on securing funding. If and when a firm contract is signed for the Ecoship, it will be a worthy successor to Arctech’s previous innovative newbuilds. In addition to the Ecoship, there are many additional projects that Arctech has its eyes on as a potential builder. Mustamäki noted that while today, shipyards act more as assemblers and organizers of ships and innovative solutions come primarily from the subcontractors Esko Mustamäki Ph oto cre dit : Ar cte ch He lsi nk i Sh ipy ar d 55-57.indd 2 14.2.2018 9.21
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 57 (whereas in the 1980s, the Helsinki yard had a project department dedicated solely to creating innovative concept ships), Arctech has in no way abandoned its tradition of innovation. A marine innovation center is currently being developed on the yard’s premises, to be opened during spring 2018. At the center, Arctech will work with small, agile companies to create new ideas and refine these into practical solutions. The Helsinki shipyard was, historically, one of the most important cruise shipbuilders in the world. In the 1970s, they were among the first to produce purpose-built cruise tonnage. Later on, the yard produced many innovative solutions that have essentially achieved industry-standard status, such as the use of prefabricated cabin modules, the alloutside cabin ship (first realized in the form of the ms Royal Princess of 1984, which also popularized cabins with balconies) and the Azipod, developed in collaboration with the Finnish electronics company Strömberg (which, through various mergers, has today become a part of ABB). However, the yard was hampered in the early 2000s by its building dock being limited to Panamax-size vessels, with no possibility of expansion. With the growth in popularity of post-Panamax cruise ships, the yard’s then-owner Aker decided that after the completion of its last cruise ship in 2004, the Helsinki yard would specialize in the construction of car-passenger ferries, another type of vessel the yard already had extensive experience in producing. In 2010, with the formation of Arctech as a joint venture One of Arctech's biggest assets is the covered building dock (right), which allows for construction in controlled temperatures even during the Finnish winter Ph oto cre dit : Ka lle Id The Ecoship project for Peace Boat promises to put Arctech back on the track of building innovative passenger vessels Ph oto cre dit : Pe ac e Bo at between South Korea’s STX and Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), its focus switched to icebreaking tonnage. Now, the time is ripe to return to cruise shipbuilding. Overcoming sanctions In order to make it easier to build cruise ships for Western markets, Arctech is currently looking to expand its ownership base. As the yard is 100% owned by Russia-based USC, the sanctions placed on Russian-owned companies by the United States have, for instance, made securing funding difficult. Thus, late last year Arctech and USC revealed they were looking for a new European owner to take over a majority share in Arctech, thus doing away with the problems caused by sanctions. At the time of writing, negotiations on this front were still ongoing. But once the ownership issue is resolved, there is nothing to stand in the way of Arctech becoming a successful cruise shipbuilder again. n 55-57.indd 3 14.2.2018 9.21
58 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 A lthough being one of the newest companies in the cruise industry, founded only in 2014, the Columbia Cruise Services team has a history in the maritime leisure business dating as far back as 1985. In its short history, CCS has already built up an impressive portfolio of clients from the cruise, expedition and mega-yacht segments. To date, it has left its management footprint on no fewer than 35 cruise ships and 12 expedition vessels including the ms Queen Mary 2, ms Queen Elizabeth 2, ms Marella Discovery, ms Europa 2 and ms Seabourn Legend. The comp a n y ’ s speedy ascent in various aspects of cruise ship management is very much in evidence. There are an increasing number of cruise lines and yacht owners that entrust aspects of vessel management to CCS. As of February 2018, CCS has ten vessels under its care operated by Marella Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and FTI Cruises, and the list is growing. In December 2017, CCS was awarded the technical service contract for two more Marella vessels, the ms Marella Explorer and ms Marella Explorer 2, and as of 2019, CCS will be managing the entire Marella fleet. “The appointment of Marella vessels five and six to CCS did not happen by default,” said Olaf Groeger , Managing Director of CCS. “We are proud that we withstood the extensive tender process INTERVIEW n SHIPMANAGEMENT COLUMBIA CRUISE SERVICES TARGETS SMALL TO MID-SIZE LINES In a rapidly expanding market, Columbia Cruise Services (CCS) provides a range of comprehensive services to the cruise sector including technical, operations, crew, hospitality and project management. In its drive for excellence, the company aims to be the best in its field and a perfect partner for specialized segments of the industry. By Alan Lam and assure that we put all efforts into a successful continuation and development of our cooperation with Marella Cruises.” Serving small and medium lines Indeed it is not difficult to see why small and medium-size cruise lines choose CCS. “As a stand-alone company solely dedicated to third-party management of cruise vessels operating from Northern Germany, we are able to provide onsite and tailor-made services to our clients,” said Groeger. As it has evolved side by side with its clients, CCS’s market share has grown dramatically in a short time. “The cruise industry developed a lot since our establishment in 2014, and so did we,” said Groeger. “Starting off with services for three ships, our portfolio has expanded to ten in just three years of operations.” In an increasingly crowded world of cruise services, CCS dares to be different and has carved its own niche. “There have been several superlatives during the last decade in terms of passenger volumes and sizes of cruise vessels,” Groeger told Cruise Business Review. “By taking a look at yard orderbooks for the next five years, we see another emerging trend – specialization.” And it is upon this trend that CCS places a special emphasis. The increasing differentiation and specialization within the cruise industry have benefitted companies like CCS, since the segments they target are experiencing phenomenal growth both in terms of capacity and passenger numbers. “We serve our clients in the expedition, luxury and classical cruising segments,” said Groeger. “We handle vessels from 150 pax max up to 2,200 pax max. Our aim is always to exceed the client’s needs. We offer the full range of operational services. A dedicated fleet/vessel team is assigned to meet those customized expectations. Even our management system is modular and can be individually adjusted to the client needs.” One of the key strengths of CCS is that it offers specialized in-house technical expertise to its clients. Indeed, it is in the field of technical management that CCS Olaf Groeger 58-59.indd 2 14.2.2018 9.22
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 59 particularly excels; however, its expertise also extends to other aspects of vessel management. “This is one of our USPs,” said Groeger. “In each management segment, CCS offers cruise-industry experts with several years of experience. In addition, our clients benefit from our wide network of specialized partners and service providers.” Anticipating client needs In each area of its services, CCS attempts to mirror and anticipate the needs of its clients. In doing so, it has evolved into a perfect partner for the specific industry segments it serves. “CCS is the right partner for any cruise line which decides to concentrate mainly on marketing and sales activities or which would like to partially outsource operational tasks,” said Groeger. “We run the vessel operations in an inhouse style for the owners. Designated fleet teams are available 24/7. In addition, our partners can benefit from our economies of scale created within the Columbia Marlow group.” Indeed, the recent merger of Columbia Ship Management and Marlow Navigation, forming Columbia Marlow, has further strengthened CCS’s position in the cruise service sector and improved its economy of scale, which has always been a main concern among small and medium-size cruise operators. One of the major areas of focus for CCS is to help lessen the impact of poor economies of scale on the profitability of its clients. It offers two approaches or “important tools,” as it calls them, in this regard: A mutually agreed upon fiveyear plan, which offers financial security to its clients, and an anytime accessible live figure update service through its client portal, which provides fully transparent information on budgets and financial status. “An efficient vessel operation and a reliable financial planning is the key to success,” Groeger told Cruise Business. One critical aspect of achieving a better economy of scale is reducing costs. Crew management is one of the areas where CCS can help its clients to manage their budgets. “Owners are provided with fixed costs, thus ensuring easy calculation of crewing costs,” said Groeger. “The use of specialized crewing managers also provides the owner with an immediate increased pool of seafarers, thus ensuring their fleets/vessels are suitably manned.” On behalf of its clients, CCS can negotiate lower prices on a variety of crew-related costs, such as crew travel and port agency fees. As recruiting and retaining crew become increasingly difficult, especially for smaller cruise lines with limited resources, CCS can be a valuable partner. Turn-key solutions Although being a relative newcomer, CCS has established a firm foothold in the cruise industry. It seems to have accumulated a wealth of experience and competencies in a very short time. “CCS has the experience to supply any client with reliable financial planning, ensure safe vessel operations as of day one and a functional, customized management system,” said Groeger. “We offer the full project management lifecycle from the initiation phase over the planning, execution and closing phase. If desired, we can offer turn-key solutions through our professional in-house expertise.” Like most of its industry peers, the company adopts a flexible, customized approach to the provision of services. At the same time, it ensures that its standards meet what is required of the industry. “Our certifications [ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001 and OHSAS 18001] are an additional indication that CCS is operating in compliance with the latest regulations, and – as per best industry practice – so are our CLIA and IAATO memberships,” said Groeger. With its roots in technical management, which will continue to be CCS’s core business, it is now aiming at becoming an even better partner to the industry, as it continues striving to be the best. n From 2019, CCS will manage the entire Marella fleet 58-59.indd 3 14.2.2018 9.22
60 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? A s Regent Seven Seas Cruises prepared to mark its 25th anniversary in 2017, the company yet again helped to raise the standards by which luxury is defined. The new 55,254 gross ton ms Seven Seas Explorer entered service in July 2016 with amenities ranging from larger private balconies to a 4,400-square-foot Regent Suite with two bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a private solarium and even an in-suite spa with sauna and Jacuzzi. Accommodating just 750 passengers, the ship had the look and feel of a boutique hotel, featuring four specialty restaurants as well as intimate lounges, a culinary arts kitchen, a well-stocked library and a world-class spa and fitness center. The fourth ship in the fleet, the ms Seven Seas Explorer has subsequently lived up to her advance billing as “the most luxurious ship ever built” and demonstrates just how far the luxury segment has evolved. Luxury has become much more than just the appointments on a ship, says Jason Montague , President and Chief Executive Officer for Regent. “Regent has always been an innovator in the luxury space,” he explains. “Today, being at the forefront driving Regent Seven Seas The evolution of luxury cruising The cruise industry has a long heritage of luxury yacht-style ships, but it was largely an overlooked sector of the market as the modern business started to take shape. Only in the mid-1980s did new companies begin to re-introduce the high-end luxury experience. Today, Regent Seven Seas Cruises has emerged at the forefront of the segment with a reputation as an innovator, helping to define luxury at sea. Cruise Business Review explores the company’s roots and its growth in the luxury business. By Allan E. Jordan innovation means creating unique experiences and providing an outstanding experience from the initial contact throughout the cruise. Our guests do not want to worry about the details.” Regent’s origins, while dating back to the inception of the luxury segment, were very different from its competitors. When Sea Goddess Cruises was launched in the mid-1980s followed by Seabourn Cruise Line, their focus was on all-suite small luxury yachts. Around the same time, the Carlson Companies, a worldwide group of marketing, travel and hospitality companies including Radisson Hotels International, began exploring ways to leverage its experience. After exploring the acquisition of an existing ship or line, Carlson elected to partner with a cruise operator as the best means to expand into the cruise industry. Unconventional ship In May 1990, Radisson Hotels International announced a partnership with Diamond Cruise Ltd. of Finland, which in turn was a joint venture with investments from Radisson; investment firm Scudder, Stevens and Clark; Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines; and Finnish and Japanese banking and finance institutions. Together, they agreed to build a revolutionary new 18,400 gross ton cruise ship based on the unconventional SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) concept developed in the late 1930s. SWATH ships employ a dual hull with the power plant submerged in two pods, creating the perceived benefits of increased stability along with a quieter environment and reduced vibration. With dimensions of 420 feet by 103 feet, the hotel portion would comprise six passenger decks on a platform spanning the dual hull. There would be 177 luxury cabins (70% with private balconies) providing accommodations for 354 passengers, along with a lounge, casino, restaurant and large conference center. The marketing plan for the new Radisson Diamond Cruises would build on Radisson’s brand awareness as well as Carlson’s strength in the meeting and convention business. The company anticipated as much as 50% to 60% of its business would come from corporate meetings and conventions. As such, the deployment plan called for shorter 4-, 5and 7-night trips primarily in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Construction of the ssc (semi-submerged craft) Radisson International Registries, Inc. in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators info@register-iri.com | blog.register-iri.com | www.register-iri.com committed to the quality of the world fleet We are committed to upholding the values of safety, security, and environmental protection. This is evidenced through the quality of our fleet and outstanding port State control record as the only major international flag to remain on the United States Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 roster for 13 consecutive years. We achieve this goal through 24/7 service provided from 28 offices, staffed with experienced personnel, located in major shipping and financial centers around the world. Congratulations to Regent Seven Seas Cruises on Celebrating Over 25 Years Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ newest vessel Seven Seas Explorer was named in Monte Carlo by Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco in 2016. Pictured also President and COO Jason Montague, the ship’s Captain and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. President and CEO Frank Del Rio. Sister ship Seven Seas Splendor will join the fleet in 2020 60-64 .indd 2 15.2.2018 7.30
International Registries, Inc. in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators info@register-iri.com | blog.register-iri.com | www.register-iri.com committed to the quality of the world fleet We are committed to upholding the values of safety, security, and environmental protection. This is evidenced through the quality of our fleet and outstanding port State control record as the only major international flag to remain on the United States Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 roster for 13 consecutive years. We achieve this goal through 24/7 service provided from 28 offices, staffed with experienced personnel, located in major shipping and financial centers around the world. Congratulations to Regent Seven Seas Cruises on Celebrating Over 25 Years 60-64 .indd 3 15.2.2018 7.30
62 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Diamond began on March 5, 1991, at the Rauma Yards in Finland. She would be christened on the River Thames in London on May 28, 1992. While most people felt she had a futuristic look, others ridiculed the ship as looking more like a box or a building. Sea trials, however, proved the soundness of the concept, with vibrations measured at one-tenth those of a conventional mono-hull, and even in rough seas, the list was measured to be one-fifth that of a traditional vessel. Yet despite all the benefits of the design, the ship operated at about 12.5 knots, which would be her greatest handicap, along with a 26-foot draft. Onboard, the Radisson Diamond was outfitted to luxury standards. The design created unique wide spaces, such as a forward lounge with a wall of windows providing sweeping ocean views and a large, elegant grand dining room. However, Radisson Diamond Cruises began operations at a difficult moment in the cruise industry, confronting a weak global economy and the after-effects of the Persian Gulf War. A planned charter for the Barcelona Summer Olympics was canceled, and with a weak market for corporate meetings, the company’s focus shifted to independent travelers. Plans for two sister ships were quickly shelved. Despite all the challenges, within two years Radisson Diamond Cruises achieved financial stability. The Radisson Diamond was operating at nearly 90% of capacity and was profitable, but contrary to the original business plan, 75% of passengers were independent travelers. Management was continuing to look for expansion opportunities, but a Swedish joint venture for a new all-suite ms Kungsholm and negotiations with Kloster for the management of Royal Viking Line and Royal Cruise Line both failed. The goal was to add one to three more ships to the brand. During a dinner meeting in 1996, Radisson’s CEO Mark Conroy and Stein Kruse , then CEO of Seven Seas Cruises, each lamented the difficulties of operating a single-ship brand. During the course of the meal, the two executives outlined on the back of a napkin a merger plan. Kruse’s firm was operating the 8,282 gross ton ms Song of Flower. Built on the hull of a 1970s roll-on/roll-off ferry, the Song of Flower had entered service in 1986 as the 250-passenger ms Exploration Starship, a deluxe cruise ship operating in the exploration market. Three years later, Japanese investors acquired her, attempting to establish a luxury Western-style cruise operation in the Japanese market. When that failed, Kruse redirected the operation into the worldwide luxury cruise market. Staffed by Norwegian officers and crew, the Song of Flower became a popular small ship. Relaunching the brand The new Radisson Seven Seas Cruises was launched on January 1, 1995, operating the Radisson Diamond and the Song of Flower. It also would market the adventure cruise ships ms Hanseatic and ms Bremen. Encouraged by the strength of the combined organization, the new company expected $100 million in revenues. Radisson Worldwide Hospitality Group assumed full ownership of the cruise line in 1997, but continued to pursue a strategy of partnering with shipowners – finding an exciting opportunity with a French investment group that was building a 320-passenger deluxe ship designed to operate in French Polynesia. The ms Paul Gauguin was introduced early in 1998, and despite the logistical challenges of supplying the ship and transporting passengers to and from Tahiti, she proved very popular. As a result, Radisson’s original five-year charter ultimately lasted through the end of 2009. Foreseeing the developing opportunities in the sector at the time, management told the trade, “We are seizing the opportunities in the luxury market.” For this next phase of the development of the brand, the company found an experienced partner in V.Ships of Monaco, a ship management firm established by the Vlasov family, which had also owned Sitmar Cruises. V.Ships had recently acquired the hull of an incomplete Soviet navy ship and was working with the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa to complete it as a cruise ship. The machinery and superstructure were scrapped, and a new power plant was added that featured a versatile design that would make it possible for her to maintain trips such as Regent’s current world cruises. Outfitted with highend luxury appointments, the all-suite ship with accommodations for 490 passengers was introduced in the summer of 1999 as the ms Seven Seas Navigator. Luxury innovator Radisson Seven Seas Cruises was accelerating its growth. With projected sales of $183 million in 1999, the company was targeting the addition of three more ships. Even before the launch of the Seven Seas Navigator, V.Ships and Radisson had agreed to build a 720passenger and 46,000 gross ton ship in France. Launched in 2001 as the ms Seven Seas Mariner, she introduced new luxuries – among these being the first all-suite ship to feature private balconies for each of its staterooms. The partners had an option for a sister ship to be built in France, but also commenced negotiations in Italy that resulted in another order in 2000. Built at the Mariotti shipyard, this 42,363 gross ton ship, completed in 2003, would be the 700passenger ms Seven Seas Voyager. ? Radisson Diamond was built in Rauma, Finland in 1992. RIGHT: One of her unique interior features was the twodeck lounge facing forward www.portsdebalears.com Visitors can enjoy surrounded by the best conditions the outstanding sensations of the Balearic Islands thanks to the exceptional situation of our ports. The best image is represented by our islands seen from the sea. FOLLOW US P A L M A · A L C U D I A · M A H O N · I B I Z A · L A S A V I N A Within the Mediterranean Sea, our most valuable treasure A4 Cruceros Menorca ING.indd 1 21/03/13 12:11 Song of Flower departed the fleet in 2003 60-64 .indd 4 15.2.2018 7.30
www.portsdebalears.com Visitors can enjoy surrounded by the best conditions the outstanding sensations of the Balearic Islands thanks to the exceptional situation of our ports. The best image is represented by our islands seen from the sea. FOLLOW US P A L M A · A L C U D I A · M A H O N · I B I Z A · L A S A V I N A Within the Mediterranean Sea, our most valuable treasure A4 Cruceros Menorca ING.indd 1 21/03/13 12:11 60-64 .indd 5 15.2.2018 7.30
The line’s efforts to enhance the brand continued with the order of Regent’s first new ship since the 2003 introduction of the Seven Seas Voyager. A further $125 million revitalization program was also set in motion to “make sure the ships more than show well, but that they are kept fresh and up to date for a consistent brand,” says Montague. With the introduction of the Seven Seas Explorer in 2016, Regent successfully integrated a 40% capacity increase, while also maintaining its approximately 50% repeaters ratio. Meanwhile, Norwegian Cruise With each new ship, Radisson successfully raised its standards of luxury. Yet, to keep up with the continuing evolution of the luxury market, the line was also constantly refining its product. An extensive two-stage refurbishment was undertaken to enhance the Radisson Diamond; service upgrades included the introduction of butler service in the suites. However, to the regret of her many loyal fans, the Song of Flower was sold in 2003, and two years later, the Radisson Diamond also departed the fleet. The next steps would further solidify the luxury positioning of the line. The Carlson family, which had remained active in the brand, had begun to consider their long-term position. They were credited as being one of the forces behind the idea of creating a more inclusive pricing model that in time would become one of the line’s signature elements. They also recognized that the cruise operations had outgrown the Radisson brand image. Carlson considered dropping the Radisson name, or a possible merger with Crystal Cruises, before deciding in 2006 to rebrand the cruise line as Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The ships were now linked with the luxury Regent Hotels, a brand Carlson had operated since 1997. Reflecting the new branding, a further round of upgrades were undertaken on the ships and more innovative programs were created, including the first elements of a travel concierge to help guests customize their trips. Carlson, however, remained a multi-tiered travel and hospitality business where the cruise line found itself competing for investments. While addressing its own internal management and financial issues, Carlson was approached by several interested parties about acquiring the cruise line. Finally in 2008 – after sixteen years – Regent Seven Seas Cruises was sold to the New York-based investment firm Apollo Management, which already held stakes in Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises. With the support of Apollo and the newly formed parent company Prestige Cruises, Regent again strengthened its leadership in the luxury segment. The line commenced a $40 million overhaul for its ships and expanded its inclusive approach by adding complimentary shore excursions. “Including shore excursions was a defining moment,” says Randall Soy , Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Regent. “It gets passengers more immersed in the ports, creating more rewarding experiences.” Today, Regent also includes roundtrip business-class airfare and transfers for North American passengers on international sailings. Onboard, guests also enjoy free WiFi, unlimited beverages and open bars, and pre-paid gratuities included. 64 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 Line Holdings Ltd. had acquired Prestige Cruises, and with the increased financial strength – and even before the introduction of Seven Seas Explorer – an order was placed for a sister ship. Due for delivery in 2020, this newest ship will be named the ms Seven Seas Splendor. Twenty-six years Today, as Regent Seven Seas Cruises begins its 26th year, the brand is widely acclaimed for its leadership and vision. “The soul of the Diamond still influences our ships,” says EVP Soy, noting the number of staff who are with Regent dating back to the launch of the company. CEO Montague agrees: “Without the wonderful men and women of the company, the shipboard experience cannot happen. The staff and guests have all become part of the Regent family.” Recognized as one of the premier luxury cruise lines, Regent consistently works to enhance the passenger experience, and in the process, has raised the standard of luxury at sea. Looking back at all the changes to the brand from the revolutionary Radisson Diamond to the elegant Seven Seas Explorer, one marvels at the evolution of luxury cruising and anticipates with excitement what the future holds for this segment of the industry. n Seven Seas Mariner was the first all-suite/all-balcony vessel Rich decor onboard the Seven Seas Explorer Regent Suite is the largest accommodation in the industry Seven Seas Voyager joined the fleet in 2003 60-64 .indd 6 15.2.2018 7.30
Cruise Business Review 2/2010 39 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 65 During 2018, the cruise industry will bring a record number of new cruise ships into the marketplace. According to our estimates, there will be a total of 18 new oceangoing ship deliveries, and they are a diverse group – ranging in size from the 2,920 gross ton National Geographic Venture to the 228,081 gross ton Symphony of the Seas and serving market segments from the contemporary Carnival Horizon and Norwegian Bliss to the posh Scenic Eclipse and Seabourn Ovation. During the year we will also see the first LNG-powered cruise vessel, namely the AIDAnova, and the first powered by hybrid technology, the Roald Amundsen. In the next few pages, Cruise Business Review previews some of the new cruise ship platforms. PREVIEW 2018 Celebrity Edge was recently floated out at the STX France shipyard and will enter service during the last quarter of the year 65 .indd 1 19.2.2018 11.31
66 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? www.antti-teollisuus.fi | tel. +358 2 774 4700 I n purely physical terms, the new ms Mein Schiff 1 will be the biggest member of the TUI Cruises fleet when she enters service on May 11 in Hamburg. “At about 315 meters in length, the ship will be about 20 meters longer and one deck higher than the existing newbuilts,” TUI Cruises’ Godja Sönnichsen told Cruise Business Review. In addition to the extra deck, the upper decks have been completely redesigned, raising the ship’s gross tonnage figure to about 110,000. Besides being larger than the previous members of the fleet, the Mein Schiff 1 sports a revised livery and exterior design by the German company 3deluxe, which coordinated its work with Tillberg Design of Sweden, which in turn worked on much of the interiors. Fredrik Johansson of Tillberg Design lauded the work of 3deluxe, describing working with the firm as a “great collaboration” and the end result as being “more harmonious” than previous TUI Cruises ships. The enlarged size of the vessel means an increase in passenger capacity from around 2,500 to almost 2,900. Despite the added passenger numbers, the ship offers the high passenger-space ratio found aboard other vessels in the TUI fleet. Much of the increase comes in the form of additional suites: On the ms Mein Schiff 6 there were 14 suites, but the Mein Schiff 1 will have 38. More suites LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MEIN SCHIFF 1 In May, TUI Cruises will take delivery of its newest ship, the ms Mein Schiff 1, an enlarged and refined version of the four Mein Schiff 3-class ships already in the fleet. Cruise Business Review takes a sneak peek at what the new flagship of the TUI fleet will be like. By Kalle Id PREVIEW 2018 66-73 .indd 2 19.2.2018 11.30
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 67 The aft section of the Mein Schiff 1 has been completely redesigned compared to the older semi-sisters Ph oto cre dit : TU I Cr uis es The suite passenger only X-Sonnendeck 66-73 .indd 3 19.2.2018 11.30
68 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ? SUCCESS STORIES ON LAND AND SEA Technology and innovation The world’s most innovative marine technology is designed and built in Turku. have been placed above the bridge, where the suite area is now three decks high instead of two, and the aft section has been entirely redesigned to provide more suites on decks six through ten, with views of the ship’s wake. Tillberg Design participated in the master-plan work for this area – which Johansson described as “an interesting change” from the previous ships – and designed the new, second dedicated suite passenger lounge on deck six, the X-Panoramadeck. In addition to the new lounge and the X-Lounge found on the previous ships, deck 15 also offers suite passengers their own X-Bar. With more public rooms dedicated to suite passengers, the exclusive feel of the X-Lounge can be maintained even with the larger number of suite passengers. Redesigned dining areas Below the new suite areas aft, the Große Freiheit complex on decks five and six has been completely redesigned inside and out. The fenestration of the area is now much more extensive, letting in more light, and the TUI Cruises trademark glass “diamond” has been redesigned. Inside, the complex features different dining venues from the earlier sisters – with the exception of the popular Surt & Turf steakhouse, which has been a common feature of the space ever since the ms Mein Schiff 3. Other restaurants in the complex are now the Esszimmer, serving “home-style dishes” from Germany, and Manufaktur, of which no details had been released at the time PREVIEW 2018 Schau Bar The relaxation room of the spa area The Arena sports deck is now covered over 66-73 .indd 4 19.2.2018 11.30
SUCCESS STORIES ON LAND AND SEA Technology and innovation The world’s most innovative marine technology is designed and built in Turku. 66-73 .indd 5 19.2.2018 11.30
70 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 of writing. Tillberg Design’s Johansson explained the rationale of these changes: “Since the first Mein Schiffs, the habits and preferences of customers have changed. The Große Freiheit area is now more active and more casual, in keeping with today’s trends. In addition to the restaurants and bars, on the Mein Schiff 1 the area offers cooking classes, lounging and even a bit of retail.” Many other the changes to the Mein Schiff 1 pertain to the spa and wellness facilities, with the company describing the soon-to-be-delivered vessel as “a true sportsand wellnessship.” On the top decks, the spa and wellness areas forward on decks 11 and 12 have been completely redesigned with a different layout. Additional sportsand wellbeing facilities have been added on the new enclosed areas forward of the funnel on deck 15, while aft of the funnel is a new Hoheluft bar. The Arena, the sports area on deck 14 already familiar from the earlier sisters, has now been enlarged, enclosed and is outfitted for a wider variety of sports than before. Aft of the Arena, the Außenalster outdoor bar and grill has a different layout. Meanwhile, the restaurant complex on deck 12 introduces the new Fischmarkt waiter-service restaurant, which replaces both the GOSCH Sylt seafood restaurant and Hamami sushi bar found on the older ships. Further down on deck 5, the upper level of Neuer Wall shopping passage has been downsized to give way to the new Ebbe & Flut beer bar. Aft on the same deck, the new Ganz Schön Gesund bistro continues the theme of health and wellbeing, while the Schau Bar now has more space and an altered layout. Forward on deck four, the areas between the Theater forward and the TUI Bar amidships have a different layout: most notably, there are now a number of outside cabins on the port side, the LUMAS Bar familiar from the ms Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 6 has been enlarged, and the teenagers’ lounge and video games room has been given a different location on the same deck. An added feature in this area is the relocation of the hair salon here, having been up on deck 12 in the older near-sisters. The Atlantik dining room complex spanning decks three and four also has a different layout. In total, there will be twelve restaurants and bistros as well as 15 bars and lounges onboard. Maiden voyage “The maiden trip of the new Mein Schiff 1 will be a 6-night journey to southern Norway. The new member of the Mein Schiff family will explore the Baltic Sea until August 2018 and change direction towards the Canary Isles in September,” Sönnichsen explained. The high-yield regions of Northern Europe are a natural destination for the company’s newest ship, and a glance at TUI Cruises’ booking engine revealed that the ship would return to the same waters for the 2019 summer season, before sailing to North America to cruise from New York during the autumn. Just as this issue was going to print, TUI Cruises and Meyer Turku made public a memorandum to build a third ship of the Mein Schiff 1 design, tentatively to be named the Mein Schiff 7, in addition to the Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 already under construction at Turku. Delivery of the Mein Schiff 7 is planned for 2023.n www.koja.com advertorial A s part of its multi-million dollar investment program, Koja Marine – the Finnish-based manufacturer of air handling units (AHU) and systems – has recently opened its stateof-the-art Research & Development Center in the old AHU Assembly Hall. “Though it cost double the budgeted sum, we can now carry out our own delicate measurements that used to be done in outside laboratories. So instead of just updating our current facility, we thought why not build the best there is? So we did,” reveals Esko Nousiainen, Koja Marine Business Director. “We used our own know-how and decades of experience, and we also hired the best experts from outside the company to help design this unique testing environment. Now we have comprehensive test facilities to measure verified performance data of our products according to product standards in controlled conditions. In addition, we can test our products and systems in real operating conditions – either tropical or arctic – even at an early stage in a product development project. We have three reverberation and climate rooms for marine fancoil tests and a unique test arrangement for bigger air-handling units [up to 8m 3 /s] and heat exchangers,” comments Taru Lähteenmäki, Head of the R&D Center.“Feedback from customers and partners has been enormously positive,” adds Nousiainen, “They say there is nothing like it in the world.” Testing in real operating conditions “It is extremely important that we can test products in real operating conditions during the R&D projects. That is the fastest and only way to optimize products and systems for each application and utilize all the energy-saving potential. Also, very tight noise-level requirements requires acoustic performance tests even to the first prototypes to ensure that correct solutions are made and avoid unpleasant surprises in the final product,” says Taru Lähteenmäki. Consequently, immaterial of the weather outside or season, Koja Marine can test its AHUs to tailor the final product to customers’ needs. This includes the Oasis class, for which a contract was signed just before Christmas, and also for the Global class to be built at MV Werften in Germany. However, the importance of the -5 Celsius temperature needs explaining: “It is critical because at that temperature it is still cold enough to be freezing, but the air also still contains a lot of moisture,” explains Nousiainen. “If we went down to -20C [-4 Fahrenheit], most of the moisture has been frozen out and is snow.” Although corrosion may seem to be a problem in extreme circumstances, this issue has been overcome by the careful selection of materials. “We use the best stainless-steel quality there is – EN 1.4404/316L which is salt-resistant, like that which is Koja Marine invests in testing to the limit Koja Marine invests in testing to the limit found in sea moisture,” adds Nousiainen. As Nousiainen points out, freezing is a problem on large passenger vessels (like cruise ships) when thousands go to the shower at about the same time. “If it is -20C [-4F] outside, it is easy to imagine what is happening to the AHUs – they are all freezing, which must be countered by running the anti-freezing system to melt the ice or otherwise no fresh air can enter,” he explains. Moisture in the inlets is another problematic area. The solution is complicated, but Koja Marine has experience in the most extreme circumstances. “The S. A. Agulhas II was built in 2012 in Finland as South Africa’s polar research and supply vessel. It would sail 9,000 kilometers [5,600 miles] to the country’s Antarctic base. So its temperature design was for -50C [-58F]. When air is sucked in in those conditions, the ice created builds up on all metal parts and inlets are soon frozen and blocked. In these cases, we use special coils that we have designed and made ourselves to melt the ice and keep the inlets open,” declares Nousiainen, adding that now with the new R&D center, tailored solutions will be tried and thoroughly tested before installation. A big challenge Even so, future projects like those mentioned above represent a big challenge, he concedes, as the Global class ships are very large at 200,000 gross tons – though still not as big as the Oasis-class leviathans that have grown to 227,000 gt. For the two Global-class projects at MV Werften in which Koja Marine will be involved, the work will be done in cooperation with a triedand-trusted partner—albeit on a slightly different basis: “The huge turnkey contract includes the installation of everything in partnership with French firm ENGIE Axima. We have enjoyed working with them, which is now on a consortium basis. Previously we were working on the same projects, but with separate contracts. Then we decided that for this project, it would be better to do projects officially together.” Both for now and in the future, business appears good, and Nousiainen and Koja Marine view the situation in the cruise sector positively. “Our orderbook is strong, and we are now positioned to meet customers’ needs and timeframes even better with the new investment strategy bearing fruit. Certain customers and owners prefer to use our products, and we keep up with their ideas,” Nousiainen concludes. Overview of the R&D Center with three reverberation/climate rooms on the left, AHU testing system and ducting on the right All the data is collected in the high-tech control room in real time koja.indd 1 12.2.2018 18:39:36 OCEAN-GOING NEWBUILDING DELIVERIES IN 2018 CRUISE LINE SHIP NAME DELIVERY CAPACITY TONNAGE SHIPYARD Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Horizon March 3,934 133,500 Fincantieri Royal Caribbean Int’l Symphony of the Seas April 5,494 228,081 STX France Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Bliss April 4,004 167,725 Meyer Werft American Cruise Lines American Constitution April 175 4,000 Chesapeake Seabourn Cruise Line Seabourn Ovation May 604 40,350 Fincantieri TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 1 May 2,894 111,500 Meyer Turku MSC Cruises MSC Seaview June 4,134 153,516 Fincantieri Ponant Cruises Le Laperouse June 184 10,000 Vard Lindblad National Geographic Vent June 100 2,920 Nicholls Brothers Viking Cruises Viking Orion July 930 47,800 Fincantieri Scenic Scenic Eclipse August 228 16,500 Uljanik Ponant Cruises Le Champlain September 184 10,000 Vard Hurtigruten Roald Amundsen October 530 20,889 Kleven AIDA Cruises AIDAnova December 5,200 180,000 Meyer Werft Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Edge December 2,900 117,000 STX France Holland America Line Nieuw Statendam December 2,666 99,500 Finantieri Star Clippers Flying Clipper n/a 300 8,770 Brodosplit Mystic Cruises Ocean Explorer n/a 176 9,300 WestSea Viana PREVIEW 2018 The Mein Schiff 1 (with Mein Schiff 2 behind in the building dock) is nearing completion amidst Finnish winter Ph oto cre dit : M ey er Tu rk u 66-73 .indd 6 19.2.2018 11.30
www.koja.com advertorial A s part of its multi-million dollar investment program, Koja Marine – the Finnish-based manufacturer of air handling units (AHU) and systems – has recently opened its stateof-the-art Research & Development Center in the old AHU Assembly Hall. “Though it cost double the budgeted sum, we can now carry out our own delicate measurements that used to be done in outside laboratories. So instead of just updating our current facility, we thought why not build the best there is? So we did,” reveals Esko Nousiainen, Koja Marine Business Director. “We used our own know-how and decades of experience, and we also hired the best experts from outside the company to help design this unique testing environment. Now we have comprehensive test facilities to measure verified performance data of our products according to product standards in controlled conditions. In addition, we can test our products and systems in real operating conditions – either tropical or arctic – even at an early stage in a product development project. We have three reverberation and climate rooms for marine fancoil tests and a unique test arrangement for bigger air-handling units [up to 8m 3 /s] and heat exchangers,” comments Taru Lähteenmäki, Head of the R&D Center.“Feedback from customers and partners has been enormously positive,” adds Nousiainen, “They say there is nothing like it in the world.” Testing in real operating conditions “It is extremely important that we can test products in real operating conditions during the R&D projects. That is the fastest and only way to optimize products and systems for each application and utilize all the energy-saving potential. Also, very tight noise-level requirements requires acoustic performance tests even to the first prototypes to ensure that correct solutions are made and avoid unpleasant surprises in the final product,” says Taru Lähteenmäki. Consequently, immaterial of the weather outside or season, Koja Marine can test its AHUs to tailor the final product to customers’ needs. This includes the Oasis class, for which a contract was signed just before Christmas, and also for the Global class to be built at MV Werften in Germany. However, the importance of the -5 Celsius temperature needs explaining: “It is critical because at that temperature it is still cold enough to be freezing, but the air also still contains a lot of moisture,” explains Nousiainen. “If we went down to -20C [-4 Fahrenheit], most of the moisture has been frozen out and is snow.” Although corrosion may seem to be a problem in extreme circumstances, this issue has been overcome by the careful selection of materials. “We use the best stainless-steel quality there is – EN 1.4404/316L which is salt-resistant, like that which is Koja Marine invests in testing to the limit Koja Marine invests in testing to the limit found in sea moisture,” adds Nousiainen. As Nousiainen points out, freezing is a problem on large passenger vessels (like cruise ships) when thousands go to the shower at about the same time. “If it is -20C [-4F] outside, it is easy to imagine what is happening to the AHUs – they are all freezing, which must be countered by running the anti-freezing system to melt the ice or otherwise no fresh air can enter,” he explains. Moisture in the inlets is another problematic area. The solution is complicated, but Koja Marine has experience in the most extreme circumstances. “The S. A. Agulhas II was built in 2012 in Finland as South Africa’s polar research and supply vessel. It would sail 9,000 kilometers [5,600 miles] to the country’s Antarctic base. So its temperature design was for -50C [-58F]. When air is sucked in in those conditions, the ice created builds up on all metal parts and inlets are soon frozen and blocked. In these cases, we use special coils that we have designed and made ourselves to melt the ice and keep the inlets open,” declares Nousiainen, adding that now with the new R&D center, tailored solutions will be tried and thoroughly tested before installation. A big challenge Even so, future projects like those mentioned above represent a big challenge, he concedes, as the Global class ships are very large at 200,000 gross tons – though still not as big as the Oasis-class leviathans that have grown to 227,000 gt. For the two Global-class projects at MV Werften in which Koja Marine will be involved, the work will be done in cooperation with a triedand-trusted partner—albeit on a slightly different basis: “The huge turnkey contract includes the installation of everything in partnership with French firm ENGIE Axima. We have enjoyed working with them, which is now on a consortium basis. Previously we were working on the same projects, but with separate contracts. Then we decided that for this project, it would be better to do projects officially together.” Both for now and in the future, business appears good, and Nousiainen and Koja Marine view the situation in the cruise sector positively. “Our orderbook is strong, and we are now positioned to meet customers’ needs and timeframes even better with the new investment strategy bearing fruit. Certain customers and owners prefer to use our products, and we keep up with their ideas,” Nousiainen concludes. Overview of the R&D Center with three reverberation/climate rooms on the left, AHU testing system and ducting on the right All the data is collected in the high-tech control room in real time koja.indd 1 12.2.2018 18:39:36 66-73 .indd 7 19.2.2018 11.30
72 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 TH E B ES T GU AR AN T E E T H E MAR KET CA N O FF E R Quality & Service Guarantee DOBEL® Metalcolour Sverige AB Emaljervägen 7 SE-372 30 Ronneby Phone: +46 457 781 00 info@metalcolour.com Metalcolour A/S Agrovej 6 DK-4800 Nykøbing F. Phone: +45 5484 9070 info@metalcolour.com Metalcolour Asia Pte Ltd 17 Tuas Avenue 4 SG-639368 Singapore Phone: +65 9030 5157 info@metalcolur.com www.metalcolour.com K L A SI FI E D .s e JA N U A R Y 2 01 8 DOBEL® FILM LAMINATED METAL For Exclusive Interior Design Can you imagine a product so strong that it can be bent, stretched, stressed and used for years without any loss of performance or looks? DOBEL® F 105 allows designers to be creative in form while retaining both the functional and safety properties. The combination of strong and highly shapeable metal together with design features in foils gives a versatile material very suitable for exclusive interiors. DOBEL® F 105 is Approved according to IMO. pnr3265-annons_halvsida_Cruise Business Review_25jan_MC_infor.indd 1 2018-01-25 10:50 A IDA Cruises will take delivery of its first new-generation LNG-powered ms AIDAnova from the Meyer Werft on November 15, 2018. Guests will be able to experience the new flagship on a series of pre-premiere cruises before AIDAnova’s maiden voyage when she will leave Hamburg on December 2, 2018, heading for the Canary Islands. AIDAnova will be the first cruise ship in the world that can be powered entirely with environmentally-friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG). This reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80% and CO2 emissions by a further 20%. Perfect for winter cruises AIDAnova will be the largest cruise ship to-date in Carnival Corporation & plc fleet, and she will be followed by similar near sister ships to join Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises and P&O Cruises brands as well. The series of 183,900 gross PREVIEW 2018 AIDANOVA TO SAIL THE INAUGURAL SEASON IN THE CANARIES ton and 5,200-passenger vessels will be built on both Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany and Meyer Turku in Finland. Among the many features of AIDAnova is its glass-enclosed pool areas: The Four Elements exudes a real jungle feel. Surrounded by lush vegetation, guests can climb through the treetops or daydream in cozy, cushioned loungers. For the first time, there will even be three water slides on board. Adventure and culinary arts merge in the new Time Machine restaurant, where guests will enter a world full of wonders, craziness and surprises. During a time-travel dinner the boundaries between history and the future, reality and fantasy, and entertainment and culinary delights will blur in a magical way. Everything revolves and moves – waiters become magicians, conjuring up a delicious three-course meal. The Body & Soul Organic Spa aboard AIDAnova has an area of 3,500 square meters and offers more than 80 different treatments. For the first time, there are two private outdoor ? AIDAnova will be delivered in Bremerhaven on November 15, 2018 Four Elements 72-75 .indd 2 19.2.2018 10.03
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 67 TH E B ES T GU AR AN T E E T H E MAR KET CA N O FF E R Quality & Service Guarantee DOBEL® Metalcolour Sverige AB Emaljervägen 7 SE-372 30 Ronneby Phone: +46 457 781 00 info@metalcolour.com Metalcolour A/S Agrovej 6 DK-4800 Nykøbing F. Phone: +45 5484 9070 info@metalcolour.com Metalcolour Asia Pte Ltd 17 Tuas Avenue 4 SG-639368 Singapore Phone: +65 9030 5157 info@metalcolur.com www.metalcolour.com K L A SI FI E D .s e JA N U A R Y 2 01 8 DOBEL® FILM LAMINATED METAL For Exclusive Interior Design Can you imagine a product so strong that it can be bent, stretched, stressed and used for years without any loss of performance or looks? DOBEL® F 105 allows designers to be creative in form while retaining both the functional and safety properties. The combination of strong and highly shapeable metal together with design features in foils gives a versatile material very suitable for exclusive interiors. DOBEL® F 105 is Approved according to IMO. pnr3265-annons_halvsida_Cruise Business Review_25jan_MC_infor.indd 1 2018-01-25 10:50 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K MI_Cruise_Business_Review_191x135.pdf 1 08/02/18 14:03 72-75 .indd 3 19.2.2018 10.03
74 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 MKN Maschinenfabrik Kurt Neubauer GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49 (0) 53 31 89-207 km@mkn.de | www.mkn.eu MKN Galley Solutions TOP QUALITY ON BOARD Enjoy Cooking with FlexiChef and FlexiCombi. PREVIEW 2018 sun islands so that couples can enjoy a truly special wellness experience. Another completely new feature on board is the outdoor sport area with endurance training equipment and training space for morning yoga, Pilates and much more. The summer never ends at the Beach Club. This light-flooded multi-purpose pool area is full of Caribbean warmth and is protected by a membrane dome that lets the sun and vacation tan in, but keeps the wind and rain out. Twenty categories of staterooms The highlights on board also include 20 different types of stateroom. The new 73-square-meter Penthouse Suite extends over two light-filled decks. Its guests will be able to enjoy views through the panorama windows and on the 20-squaremeter sun deck. For families, Veranda Staterooms Deluxe will be available for the first time on Decks 15, 16 and 17 with loads of space, and right beside the Four Elements and the Kids Club. The suites with separate bedroom and a walk-in closet are large enough for up to five guests. The Junior Suites with a light-flooded conservatory are another new feature. The new single staterooms are available as Interior Staterooms or with a balcony. AIDAnova offers a total of 17 different restaurants and food outlets. Popular classics are enhanced by new trends from all over the world. Take the Street Food Strip for instance: At “Brot & Stulle” guests can enjoy tasty filled baguettes and rolls, while the “Scharfe Ecke” will be serving the currywurst. Or how about a doner kebab? The Street Food Strip is open almost 24/7 and we’re certain it’s going to be a huge hit. AIDA Cruises’ entertainment is being enriched with new formats that involve the guest even more than before. Surprising and unusual entertainment options produced exclusively by and for AIDA are sure to provide plenty of diversion. Those people who get all nostalgic when they hear Neil Young, or turn up the sound in the car when the Rolling Stones or the Kings of Leon are on, will love the new Rock Box Bar. Fans will enjoy the very finest live music in a cozy pub setting. Those who dare can become stars themselves at karaoke, or demonstrate their musical knowledge at the rock quiz. n Outdoor area of Body & Soul Spa Theatrium Beach Club 72-75 .indd 4 19.2.2018 10.03
www.portofturku.fi Turku is Finland’s oldest city, located on the southwestern coast right behind the unique Turku archipelago. The spacious port has five berths for cruise vessels. A dedicated cruise berth for smaller vessels and yachts is on the river bank just walking distance from the city centre. Turku is compact in size making it easy for visitors to explore a lot in one day – come and discover! MKN Maschinenfabrik Kurt Neubauer GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49 (0) 53 31 89-207 km@mkn.de | www.mkn.eu MKN Galley Solutions TOP QUALITY ON BOARD Enjoy Cooking with FlexiChef and FlexiCombi. 72-75 .indd 5 20.2.2018 10.11
76 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 JANUARY Celebrity Cruises, the premium market unit in the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) group, said it had entered into an exclusive partnership with Nate Berkus, naming him Design Ambassador for the brand's new Edge class, which would make its debut with the ms Celebrity Edge in late 2018. All Leisure Group, the privately held British company that owned boutique cruise brands Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery, collapsed as chairman Roger Allard blamed a perfect storm of geopolitical events in North Africa, the Middle East and the Black Sea region for what happened. FEBRUARY Swan Hellenic, the destination-focused, UK-based boutique cruise line, was acquired by Toronto-based adventure travel specialist G Adventures following the collapse of the line's former parent company All Leisure Group (ALG) in January. MARCH Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping company, announced that it was expanding the commercial maritime industry’s first and most technologically advanced Fleet Operations Centers with the opening of a new facility in Seattle. The company’s first Fleet Operations Center was built in Hamburg, Germany. A third center was expected to be added to the global network later in 2017, when construction was scheduled to be completed on a facility in Miami at the company’s headquarters. LOOKING BACK – THE YEAR IN REVIEW Top headlines January to December 2017 H EA D LI N ES 20 17 FO R EC A ST S 20 18 The Philippines welcomed Star Cruises on March 19 when the ms SuperStar Virgo arrived in Manila to begin her inaugural homeport deployment in the country. The occasion was commemorated with a special ceremony at Manila South Harbour, which was attended by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea from the Office of the President of the Philippines together with Secretary Wanda Corazon Tulfo-Teo from the Philippines Department of Tourism. MSC Cruises revealed new dining concepts that would be available to guests on the ms MSC Meraviglia and ms MSC Seaside. The ships were the first out of a total of 11 new megaships on order and due to come into service starting in June and December 2017, respectively. Viking Cruises announced the rollout of its new onboard Viking Resident Historian program, which launched on the ms Viking Star, ms Viking Sea and ms Viking Sky. The Viking Resident Historians were added to provide guests with a high-level historical and cultural education specific to their journey. Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism the Hon. Edmund Bartlett and Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook announced the Cruise Jamaica initiative, whose goal was to increasing cruise ship calls and new developments at the country’s cruise ports, hotels and attractions. Jamaica set a goal of reaching 5.0 million passengers by 2020, generating $5.0 billion in direct earnings and employing 125,000 Jamaicans. In 2016, Jamaica received 1.6 million cruise passengers and was projecting 2.0 million cruise passengers by the end of 2017. SunStone Ships Inc., the Florida-based passenger vessel tonnage provider, and China Merchants Industry Holdings Co. Ltd. (CMIH) signed a framework agreement for the construction of four expedition cruise vessels, with an option for another six. As part of the agreement, Ulstein Design & Solutions – part of the Norwegian shipbuilding group Ulstein – would provide design and equipment to the ships as a client of CMIH. Makinen, the Finnish contractor in the cabin and pubCuba attracted more cruise lines and cruise visitors during 2018 – including Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean and Viking Ph oto cre dit , all ph oto s: Te ijo Ni em elä 76-81 .indd 2 16.2.2018 7.30
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 77 ? lic space sphere, would establish a cabin assembly plant and interior workshop at the shipyard and be responsible for all interior spaces on the vessels. Figures from CLIA Europe showed that the number of Europeans who booked a cruise in 2016 amounted to 6.67 million, an increase of 3.4% over the previous year. The German market expanded by 11.3% and reached 2.0 million passengers, while in the UK the growth rate was 5.6% and the passenger count 1.89 million. In Spain, the growth was 4.2%, but CLIA Europe did not provide the number of passengers from that country. Figures released by IG River Cruise – an industry association based in Basel, Switzerland – showed that the number of passengers on river cruises in Europe increased by 2.7% to 1.36 million in 2016. The average daily rate rose by 4.7% to €149, while ticket sales rose by 3.1% to €448.7million. The Rhine attracted 35.5% of the passengers followed by the Danube with a 34.4% share, IG River Cruise said. MSC Cruises unveiled its fleetwide digital innovation program, MSC for Me, developed over the course of three years. Contributing to the project were more than 11 of the world’s leading digital, tech and behavioral science experts including Deloitte Digital, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Samsung, the company said. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., together with Miami-Dade County, broke ground for a new Terminal A at PortMiami, the company said in a statement. Terminal A will serve several Royal Caribbean International ships, including two of the world’s largest cruise ships – ms Allure of the Seas and the forthcoming ms Symphony of the Seas. APRIL Norwegian Cruise Line said that its premium all-inclusive concept being introduced in the UK and Scandinavia was a product change rather than a promotion. The new concept would cover all bookings in those markets, and there would be no charge added to the basic cruise fare. The concept was introduced in the UK and Scandinavia after being tested in Germany and France. Black Sea Cruises, a new Russian cruise operator, said it would start offering 6-night cruises in the Black Sea region using a 14,717 gross ton vessel that last sailed for an Israeli company. The first departure aboard the ms Knyaz Vladimir, built in 1971 in France as the Eagle for P&O Ferries’ service from the UK to Spain and Morocco, would depart June 11 roundtrip from Sochi to Novorossyisk, Yalta and Sevastopol in the Crimea. Viking Cruises announced it had signed on to sponsor National Geographic’s first fully scripted global anthology series, “Genius,” which in its debut season would tell the story of the 20th century’s most brilliant icon, Albert Einstein . The new premier partnership with National Geographic would be the latest in Viking’s ongoing support of enriching cultural programming. Royal Caribbean International made its inaugural visit to Cuba on April 23 with the newly revitalized ms Empress of the Seas as part of a 5-night sailing from Miami. “We’re thrilled to be a part of Cuba’s future, ushering in Royal Caribbean’s next big adventure with Empress of the Seas’ first visit to Havana,” said RCI President and CEO Michael Bayley. Royal Caribbean said it planned to base its first Quantum Ultra class ship in the Asia-Pacific region. “Set to be launched in spring 2019, the yet-to-be-named ship will be the next evolution of the groundbreaking Quantum class and will join her sister ships, Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas.” The announcement was made as Royal Caribbean unveiled its full roster of 2018-19 China, Singapore and Australia itineraries. Later the ship was given name ms Spectrum of the Seas. Celebrity Cruises said it had signed a two-year partnership with the Malala Fund, with the head of the charity chosen as godmother of the forthcoming Celebrity Edge. “With the shared commitment to diversity, inclusion and gender equality, the brand is partnering with Malala Fund whose mission is to secure 12 years of safe, free quality education for every girl,” the company said in a statement. On April 29, the expanded Panama Canal welcomed its first passenger vessel through the new locks – Disney Cruise Line’s ms Disney Wonder. “The original Panama Canal has been a cruise destination for many years,” said Panama Canal Deputy Administrator Manuel Benitez . “The historic transit marks the beginning of cruise lines being able to include the new locks as part of their itineraries, opening up additional transit options and allowing cruise passengers to witness first-hand this feat of modern engineering.” Global Ports Holding (GPH) announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. The company expected to raise a total of $250 million, of which $75 million would be in primary offering of shares, the company said in a statement. In the end it had to trim the figures, and shares fell sharply after it was listed in the following month. Several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries in the Caribbean after the hurricanes 76-81 .indd 3 16.2.2018 7.30
78 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 H EA D LI N ES 20 17 FO R EC A ST S 20 18 MAY The ms Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Cruise Line’s first ship to sail to Cuba, made her maiden call in the capital city of Havana on May 2. Norwegian Cruise Line executives were onboard to celebrate the voyage, including NCLH President and CEO Frank Del Rio and NCL President and CEO Andy Stuart . “Today is a momentous day for Norwegian Cruise Line, our guests and our travel agent partners, as we open our doors to Cuba’s natural beauty, warm people and historical treasures,” Del Rio said. Thomson Cruises in the UK, which later in the year was renamed Marella Cruises and is part of the TUI AG group, said it would operate a 14-night Northern Lights cruise to Norway from Southampton in October of 2018 – the first such cruise offered by the company – aboard the ms Marella Discovery, which would serve as its UK-based ship. Carnival Corp. signed an agreement to offer Alipay payment services aboard its cruise ship fleet in Asia including multiple ships in China. The partnership would enable Chinese guests sailing with Carnival brands in Asia to pay for onboard products and services using the convenience of China’s most popular mobile payment and lifestyle platform, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, a related company of Alibaba – the largest online commerce company in China – the company said in a statement. Fincantieri signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) – China’s largest shipbuilding conglomerate – and with Shanghai City’s district of Baoshan aimed at creating a cruise ship industrial park. The three parties, whenever it is technically and economically feasible, would engage in the creation of a hub mainly dedicated to cruise activities, as well as shipbuilding and maritime, within the development of these segments, according to the agreement. Fincantieri acquired a 66.66% stake in STX France, the French builder of cruise ships, from South Korean-based STX Offshore & Shipbuilding group for €79.5 million. The French government retained the remaining shares in the St-Nazaire based shipyard, whose portfolio also includes naval vessels. However, the deal caused resentment among French trade unions. Aurora Expeditions, Australia’s leading polar/adventure cruising company, revealed it would charter the first newbuilding SunStone Ships Inc. has on order in China. Aurora Expeditions said it would work closely SunStone to create a custom-designed ship that remains true to the company’s ethos and would be built to Polar Code specifications. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. announced the launch of a partnership with Alibaba Group. The two companies would leverage Norwegian’s expertise in vacation experiences along with Alibaba’s insights into the wants and needs of the Chinese consumer to deliver the cruise industry’s most-customized product for the local China market, the two said. Officials from Carnival Cruise Line and the Bahamian government signed an agreement for the construction of a new cruise port facility to be funded and operated by Carnival Cruise Line on Grand Bahama Island. The as-yet-unnamed port would be the largest purpose-built cruise facility ever constructed in the Bahamas. Features will include a one-mile stretch of beach, food, beverage and shopping outlets, a wide array of water-based amenities and other recreational facilities, Carnival said. JUNE Viking Cruises announced a new ocean itinerary that would allow guests the rare opportunity to explore the far north in Norway’s winter during a peak period for aurora borealis sightings. “Sailing between London and Bergen starting in January 2019, ‘In Search of the Carnival Cotporation & plc continued to develop new ports-of-call 76-81 .indd 4 16.2.2018 7.30
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 79 Northern Lights’ will establish Viking as the first U.S. cruise line to offer a full-length itinerary in the Arctic Circle in the winter season,” the company said in a statement. Hijos de J Barreras, the Spanish shipbuilder, became the latest newcomer to the expedition cruise shipbuilding sector when it won a contract for building a luxury cruise yacht for the Ritz-Carlton group, the U.S.-based luxury hotel company, to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2019 with a completion time of 30 months. The contract included the option of building a second and third vessel. JULY China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) launched a new business, CSSC Marine Service Co. Ltd, to coincide with the inauguration of its new logistic center within the Yangshang free-trade zone, the company said in a statement. The inauguration was marked with a ceremony attended by over 150 industry representatives from leading shipowning, managing and operating companies, along with key cooperation partners ABB, MAN PrimServ and WinGD. GE Power and Fincantieri achieved a milestone for the co-development of a new emission-control solution to reduce pollution in the marine industry. The solution, called Shipboard Pollutant Removal System, helps control emissions to be compliant with MARPOL’s more stringent emission limits that will be effective by 2020. The agreement, which followed a previous memorandum of understanding between the two companies in September 2016, was signed by Sandro De Poli , President and CEO of GE Italy and Giuseppe Bono , CEO of Fincantieri. Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) Pte Ltd. marked its 10th anniversary with a big celebration in Singapore at Clifford Pier, together with more than 150 trade, media, corporate and government partners from the region. The guests were treated to multiple display visuals and videos featuring the company’s pioneers and key milestones in Asia for the past 10 years, from the first ship ms Rhapsody of the Seas’ arrival in 2007 to the most recent homeporting of Asia’s largest cruise vessel the ms Ovation of the Seas in Singapore in 2017. Fosen Yard, based in Rissa, Norway, and Hantong Shipbuilding, China, agreed to form a joint venture for building ropax, roro and cruise vessels. The new joint venture will be marketed as Fosen Hantong and will utilize the technical, financial and market benefits of each party, the partners said. The southern port city of Fuzhou, in the province of Fujian, was named the fifth Chinese Cruise Tourism Development Pilot Zone (???????????), following Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Qingdao. This latest move by the Central Government was part of its recent “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Fuzhou also is regarded as a hub of China’s Maritime Silk Road network. The Finland-based technology group Wärtsilä was contracted to provide a comprehensive scope of solutions for three 2,800-passenger cruise vessels being built for Virgin Voyages, part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group of companies in London. The order included Wärtsilä engines, hybrid exhaustcleaning scrubber systems and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems. AUGUST Viking Cruises announced it had further expanded its portfolio of partnerships with premier cultural institutions, signing on to sponsor the U.S. tour of the acclaimed English boys’ choir, LIBERA, and the Ballet Sun Valley international festival. The company also extended its sponsorship of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl for the fifth consecutive season. Seabourn Cruise Line joined the Sabre travel marketplace, one of the largest e-commerce platforms connecting suppliers and buyers worldwide. The move allowed travel agents subscribed to Sabre to book the full inventory of Seabourn via Sabre Cruises, an intuitive booking capability within the Sabre Red Workspace. MV Werften, part of the Genting Hong Kong group, delivered the Crystal Bach – the first of four identical Rhine-class ships to be built by the shipyard – to Crystal Cruises, also part of the Genting group. The 135-meter-long/11.4-meter-wide Crystal Bach was designed for river cruising in Europe, carrying up to 106 passengers along the Rhine, Danube and Main Rivers through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland in 55 large suites, all designed to be above the water line with horizontal sliding windows. SEPTEMBER SkySea Cruise Line, the first contemporary cruise line specifically created for the China market, announced it would cooperate with Alipay to begin accepting mobile payments on the SkySea Golden Era. SkySea said it would also launch its ? MSC Seaside on the right was one of the new builds delivered in 2017 76-81 .indd 5 16.2.2018 7.30
80 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 H EA D LI N ES 20 17 FO R EC A ST S 20 18 new website not only offering direct booking, but also new features such as Quick Booking and Online Room Selection, bringing an improved booking experience. Pandaw Expeditions, the Singapore-Scottish river cruise company, said it would introduce its third ship in Laos on the Mekong River. “The double-decked vessel to be named rv Sabei Pandaw is designed to meet the navigational challenges of shooting the rapids in the Laos gorges with its shallow draft and powerful engines to ensure year-round passage,” the company said Azamara Club Cruises purchased P&O Cruises’ 2001-built ms Adonia, a sister ship to the ms Azamara Journey and ms Azamara Quest, with delivery scheduled for March 2018. The ship would be refitted at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast before joining the Azamara fleet as the ms Azamara Pursuit. A number of investors, including Hurtigruten, injected a total of NOK300 million in the Kleven Group, whose shipyard is building two expedition ships for the Norwegian passenger shipping company. Hurtigruten became a partner in a new investment company together with TDR (the UK-based capital fund that controls Hurtigruten) and an investment company of Petter Stordalen , the billionaire Norwegian hotel owner, which also has a stake in the expedition company. Cunard Line and P&O Cruises said they would return to running separate sales organizations following a short period operating under a multi-brand Partnership Team umbrella. The combined Cunard and P&O sales structure was to be split into two dedicated teams by summer 2018. A new Cunard UK sales director would be recruited and the overall headcount “significantly” increased, according to parent company Carnival UK. Silversea Cruises, the Monaco-based luxury line, unveiled plans for its first-ever ship lengthening. The turn-key transformation of the ms Silver Spirit would take place in early 2018 at Fincantieri’s Palermo shipyard. Starting in early March, the Silver Spirit would be lengthened by inserting a prebuilt 49-foot /14.9-meter midsection housing six Silver Suites, 26 Veranda Suites and two Panorama Suites. Technical upgrades also will be implemented. Norwegian Cruise Line said it was splitting its Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) business into two markets. The company said the move was the result of rapid growth in the UK in particular, which is second only to the U.S. for Norwegian as a source market. The EMEA region was being restructured into two distinctive markets: Continental Europe (CE) and Scandinavia; and the UK, Ireland (UK&I) and Middle East and Africa (MEA). These markets would be responsible for their own sales and marketing activities, with each reporting directly to Harry Sommer, Executive Vice President, International Business Development, for Norwegian Cruise Line. OCTOBER MSC Cruises launched a new video surveillance system offering even greater onboard security. In an industry first, MSC Cruises developed this highly-sophisticated advanced system in collaboration with global leaders in security technology Bosch and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. After a successful pilot phase of extensive stress-testing and continuous software upgrades, the intelligent video capturing and analysis system became operational on MSC Cruises’ flagship, the MSC Meraviglia. St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. Marten and San Juan were badly damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria. The industry launched a public-awareness campaign called the “Caribbean is Open for Business” to tackle misconceptions that the entire region had been badly devastated and that booking a cruise there should be avoided. Thomson Cruises, the UK’s third-largest cruise line, was rebranded as Marella Cruises. "The move comes at the same time as Thomson changes to TUI later this month. The rebrand will see the cruise line set sail towards new horizons with sleek, modern additions to the fleet, such as ms Marella Explorer next year, and exotic new routes in the pipeline," the company said in a statement. Celebrity Cruises unveiled a $400 million fleetwide upgrade program called Celebrity Revolution that would run over four years from 2019. All cabins were scheduled to be upgraded and refurbished aboard the company’s nine ships, which would include the fitting of 11,579 cashmere mattresses. Storage facilities would be improved in the cabins as well. A Retreat Sundeck and Retreat Lounge would be introduced for suite guests offering complimentary beverages, entertainment and “gourmet bites,” the company said in a statement. An Oceanview Café would be another new feature to be introduced aboard the line’s ships. Celebrity Cruises announced that same-sex marriages performed onboard its ships were legally recognized following a historic vote in Malta, where a majority of the Celebrity fleet is registered. The long-awaited referendum opened the door for Celebrity to legally recognize samesex marriages performed onboard and have the fleet’s captains officiate the ceremonies. NOVEMBER Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK-based destination-focused company, said it had reached its 2017 sales target 10 weeks before the end of the year. The company reported record demand for cruises in October, combined with early November sales that were 70% higher than the same week a year earlier. Sales and Marketing Director Justin Stanton said in a statement: “It is truly rewarding that, despite quite a lot of uncertainty in the economy, demand for our smaller, friendlier style of cruising is stronger than ever.” Genting Cruise Lines, a division of Genting Hong Kong comprising Star Cruises, Dream Cruises and Crystal Cruises, signed an agreement with Tint Tint Myanmar Group to jointly develop cruise facilities at MacLeod Island. MacLeod Island is a secluded paradise located in the Myeik Archipelago in southern Myanmar, listed as one of the top ten countries to visit in 2017 by renowned travel guides Lonely Planet. RCCL said that it was rolling out “an unprecedented wave of digital innovations touching every aspect of its business, charting a course for a world where travel frustrations have disappeared, erased by technology that is transforming cruise ships from stem to stern.” The new technologies would banish check-in lines at ports, equip crew members to anticipate guests’ needs, and enable giant cruise ships to sail through the water on a fuel-saving curtain of air, according to the company. Carnival Cruise Line said it had signed an agreement with Shell, the Anglo-Dutch energy producer, to be its supplier of marine liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power North America’s first fully LNG-powered cruise ships. Shell had previously been selected to supply LNG to Carnival group ships in Europe. “Under this framework agreement, Shell will supply Carnival Cruise Line with fuel for its two new LNG-powered ships expected to launch in 2020 and 2022 and to be homeported in North America,” Carnival said in a statement. 76-81 .indd 6 16.2.2018 7.30
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 81 Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines announced that three of its four ships – the ms Braemar, ms Balmoral and ms Boudicca – would undergo multi-million pound refits in preparation for the start of the 201819 season. The company’s fourth ship, the ms Black Watch, had previously been refurbished. Managing Director Mike Rodwell said: “We are very proud of our smaller, classic cruise ships and we recognize the importance of investing in ongoing upgrades to ensure that our guests can continue to enjoy them at their best. The refreshed Black Watch has been very well received by both new and existing guests so we are delighted that the rest of the fleet will also benefit.” DECEMBER Marella Cruises, the UK-focused cruise line in the TUI AG group, appointed Columbia Cruise Services (CCS) the technical management contract for its newest and largest ship, the Marella Explorer. As of 2019, Hamburg-based CCS would manage all of Marella Cruises’ six-ship fleet. Norwegian Cruise Line introduced the next generation of its booked-guest mobile application, the Cruise Norwegian app. Designed to be the ideal travel companion from time of booking to day of disembarkation, the new Cruise Norwegian app featured a multitude of functions helping to provide a stress-free vacation experience and allowing guests to make the most of their time on and off the ship, as well as to stay connected with friends and family onboard and back home. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., the world’s third-largest cruise shipping group, announced that it would move from the NASDAQ Global Select Market to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the company said in a statement. Genting Cruises Lines said Vice Captain Damir Rikanovic and Marina Team Leader Kurt Dreyer of Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Esprit were recognized with Certificates of Commendation by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at the 2017 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea held in London. Rikanovic and Dreyer were acknowledged for their bravery and selflessness in helping to save 12 French nationals – three children and nine adults – from a distressed catamaran off the coast of the Seychelles during stormy weather. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, which operates two-night cruises departing year-round from the Port of Palm Beach in Florida, said it would name its second vessel the ms Grand Classica and would refurbish its existing ship, the ms Grand Celebration, with new passenger amenities. RCCL’s GoBe digital travel company unit and Umapped, the Canadian collaborative B2B2C itinerary and experience platform for the travel industry, announced a key partnership to integrate GoBe tours and activities as part of the Umapped collaborative itinerary and experience platform. Through the strategic alliance, Umapped and GoBe would work together to enable travel providers and advisors using the Umapped platform to optimize their service and revenue potential. CMV Travel and Leisure Group Limited (CMV), the UK-based cruise shipping company, said it would deploy the 46,052 gross ton ms Magellan on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in winter 2019 to support the launch of Cruceros Marítimos Vacacionales, a new Mexican cruise brand. The ship’s Mexican Riviera cruise program would be aimed exclusively at the Mexican domestic market and would commence operations in February 2019 with an introductory winter season of eight 7-night sailings from Acapulco every Sunday and from Manzanillo every Friday through March. Color Group, the privately owned Norwegian company that owns the cruise and ropax ferry operator Color Line, said it might return to the Oslo stock exchange after a break of almost two decades. A listing would increase Color Group's ability to fund further growth projects, the company said, but added that no decision had been made regarding whether or not an IPO would take place. In the past, the company had aired plans about entering the deep-sea cruise sector. Fully owned by O.N. Sunde AS, an investment company, Color Group was estimated to be worth NOK11 billion to NOK12 billion . MSC Cruises said it planned to double its share of the UK market and would bring the 139,072 gross ton ms MSC Preziosa to Southampton in 2019. “MSC represents 10% of the [global] cruise market worldwide, and we need to reach 10% in the UK. We are currently just under 5%,” MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato was quoted as saying. The company aimed to become the leading international player in the British market within five years, he added. n Panama Canal welcomed more cruise ships through its new and old locks 76-81 .indd 7 16.2.2018 7.30
82 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 T he year 2017 will enter the annals of the cruise industry as a very strong one – even more so, given the fact that hurricane season in the Caribbean was the worst in a long time. However, it did not materially weaken the performance of the leading cruise companies, and the outlook for the present year remains encouraging. Carnival Corporation & plc – record revenues but not profits For Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping group, the 12 months to the end of November 2017 that formed its latest financial year marked a record in terms of volumes, but not in terms of net profit. The company’s ships carried 12.13 million passengers, which was an increase of 5.3% over the previous financial year, while the number of available lower bed days (ALBD) increased by just 2.9% to 82.30 million. Occupancy ratio remained unchanged at 105.9% of lower bed capacity. Financial year to November 30 All figures in millions of dollars Source: Carnival Corporation & plc H EA D LI N ES 20 17 FO R EC A ST S 20 18 While the final quarter and full financial year figures from the group did not include any surprises, the third quarter did as it included a noncash impairment charge of $392 million for ships, trademark and goodwill, driven by the company's decision to strategically realign its business in Australia. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), the industry’s second-largest cruise shipping group, had booked such a charge against its then fully owned Spanish unit Pullmantur in the past. While these charges were at least partially triggered by the challenging trading conditions Pullmantur faced at the time, they were also linked to the ageing vessels it operated. In case of the Carnival group, the Australian-based fleets of P&O Cruises (Australia) and Princess Cruises comprise mainly vessels built in the last millennium. The two remaining early 1990s-built vessels of P&O Cruises (Australia) must have been depreciated quite heavily (if not indeed written off altogether) in the books of the group. In the past, the large operators that account for a lion’s share of the industry’s newbuilding orderbook could offload ageing vessels to second-tier operators. However, very few such companies remain in business, and they certainly do not need to add capacity at a frequent rate. The sale of P&O Cruises UK’s ms Adonia to RCCL’s Azamara Club Cruises stands out as a significant transaction, but its importance lies in the fact that it removes a 710-passenger vessel from the fleet of a contemporary market operator and adds a third vessel to the fleet of Azamara, which has not grown since its inception several years ago. The sale of Carnival Cruise Lines’ 1987-built ms Celebration to a Florida-based company for use on 2-night cruises to the Bahamas as the ms Grand Celebration stands in sharp contrast to its sister vessel, the former ms Jubilee, which last traded as the ms Henna on the Chinese market and later went for scrap. ANOTHER STRONG YEAR IN RETROSPECT FOR LEADING CRUISE COMPANIES Seabourn is one of four Carnival brands to take a delivery of new ship this year 82-87 .indd 2 19.2.2018 10.17
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 83 ? The Carnival group, like many other cruise shipping companies, has a large orderbook of newbuildings scheduled for future delivery. As the second-hand market is virtually nonexistent, it seems inevitable that a large number of ageing vessels, which notably have few balcony cabins, will end up being sold for scrap in the years to come. Strong 2018 outlook In the larger scheme of things, Carnival President and CEO Arnold Donald could look to 2018 with confidence. "Despite booking disruptions from this year's multiple hurricanes, we are still heading into 2018 with a stronger base of business and higher prices than last year. We have numerous efforts underway to keep the momentum going in 2018 and beyond, from our innovative approaches to increase consideration for cruising, including our recently announced partnership with Univision, to the further roll-out of our state-of-the-art revenue management system. In 2018, we also look forward to the delivery of four new cutting-edge ships: ms Carnival Horizon, ms Seabourn Ovation, ms AIDAnova and ms Nieuw Statendam to further our strategic fleet enhancement program," he said in the Carnival group’s final quarter interim report. The company expects full-year 2018 net revenue yields in constant currency to rise approximately 2.5% compared to the prior year. The company expects full-year net cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD in constant currency to increase approximately 1.0% compared to the prior year. However, the price of oil – which plunged in late 2014 – appears to have bottomed out, and the Carnival group said forecasted fuel costs for the full-year 2018 are expected to increase approximately $117 million compared to the prior year, net of realized fuel derivatives, reducing earnings by $0.16 per share. “This is partially offset by favorable movements in currency exchange rates, which are forecasted to increase earnings by $0.08 per share,” the company said. The Carnival group expects full-year 2018 adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $4.00 to $4.30, compared to 2017 adjusted earnings per share of $3.82 Donald added, "We remain on track to achieve double-digit return on invested capital in 2018. We are committed to the continued distribution of cash to shareholders through increasing dividends, currently totaling $1.3 billion annually, and ongoing share repurchases, which have exceeded $3 billion since late 2015." Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. – double-double targets met The year 2017 was the strongest ever in the history of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), the second-largest cruise shipping group, as its 26.7% growth in net profit to a new record of $.163 billion significantly outpaced the 3.3% rise in revenues, which also hit a new record, at $8.77 billion. The strong figures also meant that the company was able to meet the targets of its Double-Double program that it had set in July 2015. It aimed at increasing the company’s Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) to double digits – it was 5.9% in the base year of 2014 – and doubling 2014 earnings per share, which came in at $6.08 per share compared to $3.39 in the benchmark year. The company’s ships carried 5.77 million passengers last year, a figure that was barely changed from the 5.75 million in 2016, while available passenger cruise days (APCD), the company’s chosen method to measure capacity, actually decreased by 2.4% to 36.93 million days. All figures in millions of dollars Source: RCCL "Our teams worked hard to achieve the Double-Double goals, and now they have done it," said RCCL Chairman and CEO Richard Fain . "Each of the brands performed excellently during the past year raising their guest satisfaction and employee engagement scores to new heights,” he said in a statement. Net yield growth accelerated to 6.4% in 2017 in constant currency terms from 3.9% in the previous year. “A combination of strong demand for our North American and European prodSymphony of the Seas will hold the title "world's largest cruise ship" when delivered 82-87 .indd 3 19.2.2018 10.17
84 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 ucts as well as our onboard offerings drove the impressive growth rate,” RCCL said in its 2017 result statement. Cruise costs rose by 2.0 % per APCD, excluding fuel, on a constant currency basis, mainly driven by investments in revenue-generating activities, relief efforts due to the hurricanes and payroll related incentives. The hurricane season in the Caribbean cost the company $55 million, but interestingly, it did not derail RCCL’s strong performance, reflecting Fain’s earlier comments that the public’s response to events such as natural disasters has changed over time. A sharp fall in bookings had resulted from news about events in the Caribbean, but bookings quickly recovered. In the past, it would have taken them a long time to do so. Looking ahead into 2018, RCCL expects net yields to increase in the range of 1.5% to 3.5% on a constant currency basis and 2.75% to 4.75% on an as-reported basis for the full year. "Our yields are increasing on top of an exceptional 6.4% net yield growth experienced in 2017," said Jason Liberty, Executive Vice President and CFO. Net cruise costs, excluding fuel, are expected to rise between 1.5% to 2.0% on a constant currency basis and 2.0% to 2.5% on an as-reported basis. “Taking into account current fuel pricing, interest rates, currency exchange rates and the factors detailed above, the company estimates 2018 Adjusted EPS will be in the range of $8.55 to $8.75 per share,” RCCL said, adding that the 2017 figure was $6.08. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. – fourth consecutive record result At the time of this writing, the full-year results of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH), the thirdlargest publicly listed cruise shipping company, had not yet been published. However, in light of its nine-month interims, it is obvious that the company will post record results for 2017 for the fourth year in a row. All figures in millions of dollars 2007-16 full year, 2017 Jan-Sep Source: NCLH “Strong operational performance across our core markets, bolstered by strength in European itineraries, where pricing has now exceeded the previous high watermark of 2015, drove third-quarter revenue and yield growth well ahead of expectations, despite the disruptions caused by weather-related events during the quarter,” NCHL President and CEO Frank Del Rio said in the company’s third-quarter interim result statement. On the financial front, the company redeemed its outstanding senior notes with a 4.625% coupon due in 2020 and amended its existing senior secured credit facilities by increasing and re-pricing its $750 million revolving credit facility. It also re-priced the approximately $1,412 million principal amount outstanding under its term loan A facility. The amendment increased the amount of commitments under the Revolver from $750 million to $875 million, while a new $375 million H EA D LI N ES 20 17 FO R EC A ST S 20 18 term B Logan facility due 2021 also added to the financial firepower of the company. The number of passengers carried aboard the group’s three brands barely changed; the figure was 1.756 million for the first nine months of 2017 compared to 1.762 million in the corresponding period the year before. However, the number of passenger cruise days rose by 4.7% to 13.819 million, while passenger capacity days rose by 5.2% to 12.811 million. Net yield recorded an increase of 5.6% in the nine month period year-on to $251.77. NCLH forecast 2017 full-year EPS to reach $3.90 compared to $2.88 in the first nine months of the year, although the figure would have hit $4.05 had the hurricanes in the Caribbean not caused disruptions to operations and upset bookings. The outlook for the present year remains encouraging. “Our booked position for full-year 2018 remains well ahead in both load and price compared to prior year across all three of our brands, despite booking headwinds caused by weather-related disruptions in the Caribbean,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Wendy Beck . “We continue to focus on further strengthening our balance sheet as evidenced by the success of our recent refinancing transaction. We are now within our targeted leverage range of three to four times with further meaningful de-leveraging expected in 2018 and beyond,” she said in the interim report. TUI AG – EBITDA growth continues to outpace turnover increase The cruise operations of TUI AG, the Hannover, Germanybased company whose shares are listed in London, enjoyed a strong financial year to September 30, 2017. The group controls 50% of the Germany-focused premium market brand TUI Cruises, while it is the full owner of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten, which offers luxury and expedition cruises, and Marella Cruises, which caters to the contemporary market in the UK and until the autumn was known as Thomson Cruises. Between the three brands, the group operates a total of 16 ships. All six of TUI Cruises’ vessels are owned by the Hamburg-based operator, while Marella Cruises owns one ship and has three on financial and a further two on operating leases. Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten owns three of its four vessels, while one is on operating lease. Revenues of the cruise operations of TUI AG increased by 15.9% to €815.0 million in 2017 over the previous year, but EBITDA outpaced this by a double rate, to €263.5 million and an increase of 38.0% year on in constant currency terms. TUI AG said the three brands had all performed well. TUI Cruises enjoyed a 1.2% rise in average daily rate, which amounted to €173, while Marella Cruises’ improvement was much faster at 8.3%, but the average rate of €131 per day remained well below its German peer, which on the other hand operates in a higher market segment. Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten’s average daily rate rose by 2.6% to €594, a high figure that is reflective of its luxury and expedition market base. TUI AG disposed of numerous non-core interests in the course of 2017 and said in its annual report that the company intends to re-invest the disposal proceeds mainly into its hotel and cruise businesses, thereby further growing and diversifying its portfolio and pursuing on average a target ROIC of 15% for new investments. By comparison, the cruise operations of the group delivered a ROIC of 19.9% in the 2017 financial year. The company expects turnover to increase by about 3% in the current financial year and EBITDA to outpace this by a growth of at least 10%. Net capital expenditures should amount to about €1.2 billion and relate mainly to the group’s cruise operations. 82-87 .indd 4 19.2.2018 10.17
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 85 Genting Hong Kong – one-off items reduce 2017 losses Genting Hong Kong, the listed company that owns Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruise and Star Cruises, will report much-reduced results for 2017 than in the previous year due to one off gains, the company said in a statement before publishing its 2017 financials, which were not out yet at the time of this writing. The group expects to record a consolidated net loss in the range of $240 million to $270 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to a consolidated net loss of $537 million, excluding the share of results of Travellers, for the year ended December 31, 2016, Genting Hong Kong said in a statement. Unlike the other leading cruise companies that publish their figures (Switzerland-based MSC Cruises does not), Genting Hong Kong has had a difficult string of years. The reduction in the forecast for 2017’s loss is mainly attributable to a one-off gain of $205 million in respect to the sale of shares in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and shares in The Star Entertainment Group Limited, and the absence of an impairment of $305 million on Norwegian Cruise Line Holding shares in 2016. Important and positive as this news is, the problem is that these are one-off items, and the company has clear challenges in its operating environment. It noted start-up losses for the Dream Cruises brand, which operates in the premium market segment and focuses on the Asia/ Pacific source markets, resulting from the arrival in Hong Kong of the World Dream and subsequent repositioning of the Genting Dream to Singapore in November 2017. Meanwhile, the luxurymarket Crystal Cruises brand continued its expansion into river cruises, which together with the launch of Crystal AirCruises also weighed on the accounts. However, the Los Angeles-based luxury company has other worries, too. “Crystal Cruises faces significant competition in 2017, as competitors have launched new luxury ships, leading to approximately 16% increase in berth capacity in the luxury sector,” Genting Hong Kong said in the statement. “The arrivals of new and large ships of competitors have caused smaller and older ships to relocate to ports where Star Cruises ships are positioned, creating downward pressures on occupancies and yields,” Genting Hong Kong said, adding that the situation is expected to improve as competitors have announced an approximately 18% reduction in capacity by the end of this year. Finally, MV Werften, the group’s German shipbuilding unit, recorded full-year start-up losses in 2017 as compared to eightmonth losses in 2016. “However, with the steel cutting for both the Endeavor Class and Global Class ships in 2018, MV Werften is expected to capitalize on the shipbuilding cost as part of the newbuild,” Genting Hong Kong said in its statement.n n Barring any unforeseen and dramatic events, the year 2018 should be a very good one for the cruise industry. All the leading companies have published upbeat statements regarding the future, the industry continues to invest in additional capacity and the new expedition and cruise-yacht sectors are vibrant and growing. The potential threats and concerns remain largely the same as in previous years. Geopolitical issues are probably a lesser concern now in the Mediterranean and Black Sea than in the recent past, but in the Far East they remain very much a consideration. As Genting Hong Kong said in its trading statement of January 2018, cruise lines are reducing capacity in China by 18% this year. This must be due to the combination of the relentless growth of bed supply on the Chinese market plus political tensions that have affected tourism. Genting lags The performance of Genting Hong Kong itself will be of growing interest in the coming year. Among the leading cruise ship operators that publish financial data, Genting is the only one that has not been able to stage a strong performance in the recent past. The fleet of its Asia/Pacific-focused Star Cruises contemporary market unit consists of older and smaller vessels than what its competitors employ in the region. However, the premium market Dream Cruises unit now has two large newbuildings that should start to deliver results in the near future. Crystal Cruises, the group’s luxury market unit, has revised the designs of both its expedition yachts and mainstream luxury newbuildings. While this must have involved a considerable cost, it is important to get the designs right before they go into production. The cruise industry describes itself as supply driven. If new capacity means rising profits, then Genting Hong Kong should benefit from the new Dream Cruises vessels, but otherwise, the company’s financial performance depends largely on obtaining better yields than it has so far delivered. Elsewhere, a concern that the cruise industry cannot ignore is mounting objections to the continued expansion of tourism, in many parts of Europe Another strong year looms, but familiar concerns remain in particular. A British longtime resident of Venice interviewed on the BBC in the autumn of 2017 described living in the city as being akin to residing in a theme park. His main argument was that there is little feeling of community left, as virtually everything in the city caters to tourists. Such perceptions are, of course, based on an emotional response. Facts and figures say that tourism in general and cruising in particular are a net plus for the destinations they visit. Whether counter-arguments based on reason explaining these benefits will change anti-tourism sentiment remains to be seen. Expedition goes luxe The 16,500 gross ton ms Scenic Eclipse of the Australia-based Scenic group will enter service this year, the first in a new class of upscale expedition yachts. Interestingly, in early February 2018 the company unveiled an order for a sister ship. This was significant on two accounts: Firstly, the company mentioned strong demand as a reason behind the decision to proceed with ordering a second ship. Secondly, companies in this sector of the cruise industry will have to re-think their strategy in terms of number of ships sooner rather than later. A single vessel, no matter how exciting, can only offer a limited number of destinations. In addition to the operational limitations, all land-based costs related to the cruise operations of the company will have to be supported by the revenue of a single ship. This overhead will not double on the introduction of a second ship. A fleet of consistently high-quality vessels must be of major importance to this sector in the future, as a mixture of old and new ships under a single brand is unlikely to emerge as a winning formula. It remains to be seen if this nascent luxury tier of the expedition and cruise-yacht segment will emerge as the new top echelon of the cruise industry. It is an interesting prospect, as some of these vessels in the pipeline are designed for the very top end of the market. This may have implications for the established luxury cruise brands and to their perception in the marketplace. n Norwegian Cruise Line holdings has extensively refurbished its fleet, including the Norwegian Jade Ph oto cre dit : Te ijo Ni em elä 82-87 .indd 5 19.2.2018 10.17
86 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 TECHNOLOGY n ENERGY FUEL-CELL TECHNOLOGY EMERGES FUEL-CELL TECHNOLOGY EMERGES “T his pilot installation demonstrates that fuel-cell technology is now firmly in sight of the cruise industry,” said Juha Koskela , Managing Director, ABB Marine & Ports, at the time. “Fuel cells have been the next big thing for 25 years, but now they are reality.” In February, Cruise Business Review caught up with Jostein Bogen , Global Product Manager, Energy Storage Systems, ABB Marine & Ports (ABB M&P), who is responsible for overseeing the development of fuelcell systems. Bogen commented: “Fuel-cell technology has matured dramatically, and the push for zero-emission power solutions is only getting stronger. Fuel cells have higher efficiency than a combustion engine, and the technology allows energy to be concentrated more densely than in petroleum fuels. And if you use renewables to produce the hydrogen, the entire energy chain is clean. For ABB, the future is electric power. In this scenario, ABB announced in November 2017 that it would deliver the first fuel-cell system to provide an energy source for a cruise ship. The system will be piloted on a Royal Caribbean International vessel. By Susan Parker the ideal ship would be hydrogen-electric. This would allow us to move away from combustion in 20 to 30 years, probably with a combination of batteries and fuel cells. Rules and regulations for marine applications need to be further developed, but this is the trend of the future, and it is really happening. It’s not just a vision anymore.” The pilot installation for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), including control, converter and transformer technology from ABB, will generate 100 kW of energy, and has been fully developed, marinized, assembled and tested by ABB M&P. The company selected an FCvelocity proton exchange membrane (PEM) pure hydrogen fuel-cell engine from Ballard Power Systems for its pilot system. The debut installation, which anticipates RCCL’s commitment to include emissions-free fuel-cell technology as part of the powering for its forthcoming Icon-class ships, was on display at the owner’s Sea Beyond event in New York in November 2017. How it works Fuel cells generate energy by exploiting an electrochemical reaction at the interface between the anode or cathode and the electrolyte membrane. They involve no combustion, converting fuel directly to electricity and heat. Hydrogen can act as a successful energy carrier. Fuel cells are highly efficient energy-conversion devices that produce clean, silent, reliable power for as long as a fuel is available – with emissions of hot water. While hydrogen gas is not found in nature in its pure form, it can be generated locally by electrolyzing water. Electricity is required to power this process, and if the electricity comes from renewable sources such as solar energy or wind power, the hydrogen produced is a 100% renewable zero-carbon fuel. This fuel can be stored to produce completely renewable power on demand. Hydrogen can also be produced by re-forming (separating it from) hydrocarbon fuels like natural gas, propane, or even diesel. “One of the most promising fuel-cell technologies is the proton exchange membrane fuel cells [PEMFC],” explained Mikko Kajava , R&D Senior Engineer, ABB M&P. “The PEMFC converts the chemical energy from hydrogen into electricity through an electrochemical reaction with oxygen, producing also water and heat. Fuel cells have higher efficiency than a combustion engine, and the technology allows energy to be concentrated more densely than in petroleum fuels.” Bogen, meanA fuel cell provided some of the power requirements for RCCL's Sea Beyond event Ph oto cre dit : cre dit Di an e Bo nd ar eff , In vis ion for RC CL , AP Im ag es Jostein Bogen Mikko Kajava 82-87 .indd 6 19.2.2018 10.17
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 87 while, talked further about the comparative benefits of different types of fuel: “The main benefit with using PEMFC that run on hydrogen is that it enables zero-emission operation. The PEMFC also has advantages in terms of physical size and technical maturity compared to other fuel-cell technologies. In addition, the relative cost is lower compared to other fuel-cell types and is declining due to high growth rate of this technology in other transportation sectors. In terms of bunkering and supply of hydrogen, we see similar challenges to those related to LNG [liquefied natural gas], such as the supply chain of hydrogen needing to be further developed. However, we do see some interesting developments with companies moving into hydrogen production and supply. Looking at the differences of using LNG and hydrogen as a marine fuel in general,” he continued, “we can note that when LNG is used as fuel for fuel cell, additional reformers need to be installed onboard a vessel to separate hydrogen from LNG. It also means that the vessel will have CO2 emissions based on the LNG usage and cannot benefit from green hydrogen produced from renewables, while it is available on a wide scale.” Designing a power plant ABB is presently involved in designing a power-generation plant including integration to the power distribution and propulsion systems, as well as the control and safety solutions for the entire power system. The company also is participating in research projects such as the EU-funded MARANDA project and the Norwegian MOZEEZ (Mobility Zero Emission Energy Systems) research program to demonstrate the feasibility of these technologies. Kajava went into more detail about the former, saying, “In the EU-funded MARANDA project, an emission-free hydrogen fueled PEMFC-based hybrid power train system is currently being developed for marine applications. The system will be validated on both bench tests and onboard the research vessel ms Aranda, one of about 30 research vessels in Europe. Special emphasis has been placed on air filtration and development of hydrogen ejector solutions for both efficiency and durability. In addition, full-scale freeze start testing of the system will be conducted,” Kajava said. “When research vessels are performing measurements, the main engines are turned off to minimize noise, vibration and air pollution that could disturb measurements. The 165 kW [2 x 82.5 kW AC] fuelcell powertrain [hybridized with a battery] will provide power to the vessel’s electrical equipment and dynamic positioning during measurements, free from vibration, noise and air pollution. One of the major obstacles for wider implementation of fuel cells in the marine sector is the lack of hydrogen infrastructure. To alleviate this problem, a mobile hydrogen storage container, refillable in any 350 bar hydrogen refueling station, will be developed for this project. This novel solution will increase hydrogen availability to the marine sector, and many others,” Kajava continued. “The project consortium consists of companies from the whole fuel-cell value chain, from balance-of-plant components to system integrator and end user. ABB Marine & Ports has the role of designing and delivering the power electronics that convert fuel-cell DC power to the vessel’s main AC distribution plant. The fuel-cell system will be tested in conditions similar to Arctic marine conditions before implementation on the target vessel. The project will increase the market potential of hydrogen fuel cells in the marine sector, which has long been lagging behind road transportation. General business cases for different actors in the marine and harbor or fuel-cell business will be created, and the impact in the entire industry should be notable. MARANDA will run 48 months total, concluding at the end of February 2021.” In terms of regulations, Bogen said, “We believe that the rules and regulations should be developed together with the key stakeholders, such as suppliers, integrators, yards and shipowners. The rules and regulations can be built on the experience and best practices used in fuel cell and hydrogen applications in other industries; however, adapted to the marine requirements. The key factors to be taken into account are hazards, risks and functionality, and the physical difference in the behavior of hydrogen versus other fuels being used, ie LNG, MDO, HFO. We believe that hydrogen is no more dangerous than other fuels; it’s just different.” Viking blazes its own trail Meanwhile Viking Cruises is blazing its own trail. In September 2017, it unveiled plans at the Norwegian Maritime Authority’s Safety at Sea conference for a liquid hydrogen-fueled cruise ship which would fly the Norwegian flag. If successful, this could establish a distribution network that would enable others to also use hydrogen as fuel. Viking Cruises envisions constructing a ship based on the same design as those already in service and under construction, such as the ms Viking Sun. Liquid hydrogen has not yet been used as marine fuel. One of the technical challenges is to maintain the fuel at minus 253 degrees to keep it from evaporating. Hydrogen is also a very explosive gas, and protection against gas leaks is an important part of the safety requirements for the fuel. A fuel cell will convert the hydrogen to electricity for propulsion and electric power onboard. Tender ships to carry the fuel to the cruise ship are also said to be part of this project. Norway’s Hurtigruten also is at the forefront of this emerging technology with its two newbuildings under construction at the Kleven Yards. The hybrid technology for ms Roald Amundsen and ms Fridtjof Nansen is planned for delivery in two phases. In phase one, auxiliary battery power will provide large reductions in fuel consumption related to “peak shaving.” This solution is to be installed on the first expedition ship scheduled for delivery in 2018. For phase two, larger batteries will be installed, enabling the possibility of fully electric sailing across longer distances and over longer periods of time. This will be used when sailing into fjords, while docked in port and in vulnerable areas allowing silent and emission-free sailing. Rolls-Royce aims to install this new technology in ship number two, which is scheduled for delivery in 2019. The goal of Hurtigruten is also to refurbish ship number one with the same technology. n 82-87 .indd 7 19.2.2018 10.17
88 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 T he story of Merima began in Helsinki back in the 1980s. Mauri Mäkiranta had been working for Finnish shipyards – first Valmet and then Wärtsilä – for several years, but wanted to start a company of his own. While he initially looked at furniture making, he was advised to do what he did best: outfitting ships. Together with Timo Nisonen , Mäkiranta founded Merima, a company that “supplies interior solutions for all kinds of ships.” The first ship that the company worked on was the buoy tender ms Utö, as a subcontractor for the Uusikaupunki shipyard. Early on, the firm’s main customer was Wärtsilä Marine, which went bankrupt when Merima was less than two years old. “Wärtsilä Marine owed a lot of money to us. This was a difficult SHIPBUILDING n SUBCONTRACTING THREE DECADES OF MERIMA Merima, the Finnish provider of turn-key deliveries for passenger and cruise ship interiors, turned 30 last October. Cruise Business Review’s Kalle Id spoke with Merima CEO and co-founder Mauri Mäkiranta about how the company has developed. time for the company,” Mäkiranta explained. In the end, in many ways the bankruptcy was a blessing in disguise: “With Wärtsilä Marine, we had only done installations. However, [the new shipbuilder] Masa-Yards wanted turn-key deliveries with Merima also supplying materials. This resulted in the start of our own production facilities.” At first, Merima’s factory was in Kerava, Finland, but in 1993 the company relocated to the Heikinlaakso district in Helsinki, where it remains today – although the premises have been expanded several times since 1993. The factory is also what sets Merima apart from the competition. “If something needs to be manufactured quickly, our professional staff can simply make it,” Mäkiranta said. More than that, Merima offers steel-toPremium Exhibition Services wulffentre.com | sales@wulffentre.com +358 10 6335 500 PAVILIONS SPACE RESERVATIONS STAND DESIGN PROJECT MANAGEMENT Wulff Entre provides a fully comprehensive range of trade show services including booth design and project management. Global Design Local Production. Helping companies across the pond with services that t (and won’t exceed) your budget! A few of the upcoming exhibitions we will be participating in include: W.E. can help you save your valuable time, and achieve a stressfree, lucrative and rewarding exhibition experience. ONS SMM WORKBOAT MARINTEC CHINA NOR-SHIPPING ...AND MANY MORE. SEATRADE CRUISE GLOBAL INTERSPILL APM SEA JAPAN OTC HOUSTON NAVIGATE POSIDONIA marintec ad.indd 1 2/7/2018 12:42:54 PM Merima celebrated its 30th anniversary in style last November in Helsinki Ph oto cre dit : M eri ma The Norwegian Getaway is one of the many ships that reflect Merima’s handwork Ph oto cre dit : Ka lle Id 88-90.indd 2 19.2.2018 10.31
Cruise Business Review 1/2018 89 Premium Exhibition Services wulffentre.com | sales@wulffentre.com +358 10 6335 500 PAVILIONS SPACE RESERVATIONS STAND DESIGN PROJECT MANAGEMENT Wulff Entre provides a fully comprehensive range of trade show services including booth design and project management. Global Design Local Production. Helping companies across the pond with services that t (and won’t exceed) your budget! A few of the upcoming exhibitions we will be participating in include: W.E. can help you save your valuable time, and achieve a stressfree, lucrative and rewarding exhibition experience. ONS SMM WORKBOAT MARINTEC CHINA NOR-SHIPPING ...AND MANY MORE. SEATRADE CRUISE GLOBAL INTERSPILL APM SEA JAPAN OTC HOUSTON NAVIGATE POSIDONIA marintec ad.indd 1 2/7/2018 12:42:54 PM 88-90.indd 3 19.2.2018 10.31
90 Cruise Business Review 1/2018 steel installation. “Instead of giving you just the visual, we provide the whole package from negotiations with architects to the surface materials and the technology beneath.” Merima also is at the forefront of developing modular outfitting, allowing for faster installation and quicker throughput of material. With such a complex operation, Merima requires a wide variety of skills from its workers and – naturally – project management is the key to success. “No two ships are the same. Even when working on a sister ship there are always changes. So the work is never boring,” Mäkiranta added. Family-owned, international in scope While Merima is a Finnish family-owned company – and Mäkiranta lauded the skills of Finnish shipbuilders – the company’s strategy has long been internationalization, with two-thirds of turnover coming from outside Finland and staff members coming from all over Europe. “Our challenge is, at the moment, finding enough skilled workers. To help with this, we’ve initiated a journeyman program where our more experienced workers pass on their knowledge and skills to their junior colleagues as they work,” Mäkiranta said. The reason why such skilled workers are in demand is, quite simply, the high demand for the company's services. Mäkiranta put it succinctly: “Merima has 30 years of experience, and our references speak for themselves.” According to him, Merima’s work can be found onboard a third of all cruise ships in service today as well as an impressive number of ferries. Currently, Merima is working on numerous projects around the world including expedition cruise ships and a number of other new-generation vessels, with no end in sight for the high demand. “The continuous growth of the cruise business also means continued growth for Merima,” Mäkiranta summed up. Mäkiranta’s co-founder Timo Nisonen retired two years ago. So what are Mäkiranta’s own plans? “I will stay on as the CEO for two to three more years. After that, my daughter Minna and son Mikko will take over. It feels good to hand over a successful company to my own children.” n Merima CEO Mauri Mäkiranta (center) with his children and the company's future leaders Mikko (left) and Minna Ph oto cre dit : M eri ma n Royal Caribbean International’s 2003-built ms Mariner of the Seas will return from China to the U.S. market. Before to her new deployment, the ship will receive $90 million refurbishment. Beginning in June 2018, cruise guests can enjoy 3and 4-night Bahamas escapes from PortMiami to Nassau and CocoCay – Royal Caribbean’s private island destination. Sky Pad is a brand new virtual reality, bungee trampoline experience on the Mariner. Guests will strap in and don their virtual reality headset to transport them to another time and planet to bounce over moon craters or compete in intergalactic games. The new experience is for guests of all ages and also can be enjoyed without virtual reality headsets, for those who prefer to look out over the ocean as they leap toward the sky. Mariner will see also the addition of several recent Royal Caribbean innovations, including The Perfect Storm, a duo of racing waterslides called Cyclone and Typhoon, and a glow-inthe-dark laser tag experience in Studio B, where friends and family can team up to play “Battle for Planet Z.” Mariner will also offer Puzzle Break: The Observatorium, a new escape room experience where competitors can put their minds to the test, working together to find hidden clues and solve a series of high-tech riddles to unravel a mystery. With only 60 minutes of play, the excitement builds with each tick of the clock. Guests also will have the chance to catch a wave with another added Royal Caribbean-favorite, the new 40-foot-long FlowRider surf simulator. The nightlife enhancements include The Bamboo Room, an all-new Polynesian-themed watering hole found only on Mariner. The retro lounge will heat up the ship’s already vibrant nightlife scene with its tiki-chic décor. On the culinary from Mariner will receive Jamie’s Italian, Starbucks and Ixumi Hibachi & sushi restaurant. n REFURBISHMENTS MARINER OF THE SEAS TO RECEIVE $90 MILLION MAKEOVER 88-90.indd 4 19.2.2018 10.31
Follow the Sun SunStone currently has 10 vessels in its managed fleet, and has ordered four new INFINITY class vessels with options for an additional six. As the largest tonnage provider for the expedition market, SunStone offers vessels on charter to cruise companies, tour-operators and travel companies World-Wide. SunStone specializes in commercial management of passenger ships and is responsible for the buying, selling and chartering of the SunStone fleet. Embark on a never-ending exploration of the globe, with the direction and hands-on experience of SunStone Ships. Introducing INFINITY, a brand new class of expedition cruise vessels joining the SunStone fleet starting in 2019 Wherever Your Destination… SunStone Can Take You There. www.sunstoneships.com M/V OCEAN DIAMOND M/V OCEAN ENDEAVOUR M/V VICTORY II The Best Way To P redict The Fu ture Is To C reate It M/V SEA SPIRIT M/V OCEAN ATLANTIC M/V SEA ENDURANCE M/V OCEAN NOVA M/V OCEAN ADVENTURER M/V SILVER DISCOVERER M/V VICTORY I G U I D A N C E • I N N O VAT I O N • S E R V I C E 424x297 kansi.indd 2 19.2.2018 12.27 Untitled-2 1 19.2.2018 15.18
1/2018 www.cruisebusiness.com C R U IS E B U SIN ES S R EV IE W 1/ 20 18 H EA D LIN ES 20 17 – FO RE C A ST S 20 18 CRUISE BUSINESS REVIEW ?????? ? ? ? ? ? ? CARIBBEAN Getting back to business CARIBBEAN Getting back to business CHRISTINE DUFFY Talking Vista and beyond CHRISTINE DUFFY Talking Vista and beyond ENVIRONMENT Debating sustainable solutions ENVIRONMENT Debating sustainable solutions TUI CRUISES Looking forward to Mein Schiff 1 TUI CRUISES Looking forward to Mein Schiff 1 424x297 kansi.indd 1 19.2.2018 12.27 Untitled-2 1 19.2.2018 15.17