With 2008 nearly over, (wow, the year went fast!) I thought it might be a good time to recap some relevant cruise news from this year. These blurbs certainly do not represent all that has happened in the industry this year, but I thought they were interesting, and, well, it's my blog...
Norwegian Cruise Line Continues to Make Waves
Well, it looks like Norwegian will continue with the F3 project after the squirmish with the shipmaker, but now it's down to just one ship instead of several. NCL should take delivery in May, 2010, and I, for one, am quite interested to see what this new ship will actually be like. We've heard the rumors about the Ice Bar so I'd like to see if they're really going to go through with that idea or not. NCL America has cut its operation in Hawaii to just one ship, the Pride of America, after originally having three there, but the good news is that the operation is now actually profitable. NCL will also begin its new Bermuda contract in 2009 and both NCL and MSC get to battle it out as to who has the youngest fleet in the industry.
Seattle Overtakes Vancouver in Alaska Cruise Port Popularity Contest
It's now official, Seattle has finally outstripped Vancouver in the number of cruise passengers travelling through its port. However, Vancouver certainly has nothing to feel badly about. First, since it's illegal for one-way cruises to or from Alaska to start in Seattle (due to the ships' registry), these cruises all have to start in Vancouver. This also means more hotel business for Vancouver since many people arrive the night before their cruise sets sail. Secondly, Vancouver also hosts Regent Seven Seas, which is the most upscale and luxurious cruise line sailing in Alaska. Lastly, Vancouver still retains the highest number of actual vessel calls. Plus, it's a damn beautiful city. So take that, Seattle!
Holland America Line Retreats? To Where?
As previously reported, Holland America has come up with an innovative new Retreat area to be installed on several of its ships, including the Statendam, Maasdam, Ryandam, and the Veendam, and the Rotterdam. The coolest thing about these new Retreats is that people will be able to sit in lounge chairs in nine inches of water on either side of the pool, while the middle section of the pool will be sixteen inches deep. The tradeoff is that these Retreats are being put in where the old aft pool areas were, and apparently passengers are complaining because they said that the aft pool area was the best place to relax on the ship. I personally think it's an interesting idea, and we'll see what passengers say in the future, as maybe they'll think the Retreat is an even better place to relax than before.
Bermuda is Back and Better than Before!
I guess Hamilton, Bermuda lost its cruise business in 2008, but things will be different in 2009 thanks to Holland America. The line signed a contract with Bermuda to operate its 1,350-berth Veendam in weekly service between New York's Manhattan Passenger Ship Terminal and both Hamilton and St George's.
The agreement started out as a late summer and autumn season of 10 roundtrip voyages starting August 10, but this month it was extended to a full season of 24 cruises starting in April. As the Veendam will be the first of the Statendam class to get her new Retreat (see above), Bermuda passengers will be able to sit in their deck chairs in the pool, should they so wish. Now all they need are little floating trays to hold snack foods by their loungers.
For more information on these developments, see The Cruise Examiner and Cybercruises.com. To book any cruises on these lines to these ports or any other, please contact Sheila McPherson, Your Personal Cruise Specialist, at (630) 868-6719 or toll free at (877) 823-8597 or visit www.serenitycruising.com.
Showing posts with label NCL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NCL. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Kiss Those Annoying Fuel Surcharges Goodbye!
After Carnival Corporation announced last week that it was eliminating fuel surcharges for all of its cruises departing after December 17, 2008, the other major lines have quickly followed suit. Royal Caribbean International, parent company for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara; and NCL, parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line and Norwegian America, quickly announced they were also repealing fuel surcharges but the starting dates vary. I wasn't surprised that RCI and NCL followed suit so quickly, and I certainly think it's about time that these announcements were made, considering how the price of oil has changed in the recent months. To make it even better, Prestige Cruise Holdings, parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced today that they are joining the party and will be eliminating fuel surcharges for all voyages departing in 2009.
All the cruise lines have, of course, reserved the right to reinstate the fuel surcharges if the price of crude oil reaches a certain level. For more information on what that target price is, check each cruise line's website.
For passengers who have already paid for their cruise in full, the fuel surcharges will be refunded by shipboard credit. Those passengers who have not yet paid in full will have their outstanding balances adjusted.
Keep in mind, though, that cruise lines vary in how they will allow you to spend your onboard credit; some may not allow you to use that shipboard credit to pay for your gratuities, or to cover any spa charges. You also probably won't be able to exchange that onboard credit for cash in the ship's casino, either, so plan on running up quite a bar tab to use up your fuel surcharge onboard credit! If you've paid in full and are expecting an onboard credit and you want to know how you can use it, check with your travel agent or cruise line before you set sail.
Any way you look at it, this is great news and let's hope that we never see fuel surcharges added to cruise fares again!
All the cruise lines have, of course, reserved the right to reinstate the fuel surcharges if the price of crude oil reaches a certain level. For more information on what that target price is, check each cruise line's website.
For passengers who have already paid for their cruise in full, the fuel surcharges will be refunded by shipboard credit. Those passengers who have not yet paid in full will have their outstanding balances adjusted.
Keep in mind, though, that cruise lines vary in how they will allow you to spend your onboard credit; some may not allow you to use that shipboard credit to pay for your gratuities, or to cover any spa charges. You also probably won't be able to exchange that onboard credit for cash in the ship's casino, either, so plan on running up quite a bar tab to use up your fuel surcharge onboard credit! If you've paid in full and are expecting an onboard credit and you want to know how you can use it, check with your travel agent or cruise line before you set sail.
Any way you look at it, this is great news and let's hope that we never see fuel surcharges added to cruise fares again!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
NCL's Freestyle: Free to Be You and Me!
I just recently returned from a Seminar at Sea aboard the Norwegian Star, a beautiful ship in NCL's "youngest fleet in the industry". This was my first opportunity to experience NCL's signature "Freestyle Cruising" for myself, after hearing much about it through other agents and clients. I have been a fan of the dine-at-your-own-leisure-type experience offered by several cruise lines for many years, even though each line's system seems to work a bit differently. I enjoy being able to eat dinner early one night if I happen to be hungry earlier than my set dining time; or being able to relax for a while after a long day ashore and have a late dinner instead of having to rush to the dining room to be there on time for my seating. I also enjoy being able to choose with whom I'd like to dine, instead of having to sit with the same table-mates for the duration of my cruise. I'm all about choice, you see?
What I really liked about NCL's Freestyle program is that it truly IS freestyle. You get to choose when you want to eat, where you want to eat, and with whom you want to eat. Now, I knew this already as a cruise specialist, but to be able to experience it for myself really made me understand what NCL was aiming for when they developed this program. I really enjoyed the FREEDOM granted to me and I found the process to be very well-run. You simply pick which restaurant you'd like to dine in, whether it be one of the main dining rooms on the ship, or one of the many specialty restaurants on the ship (each of which charges a small cover charge); and you can either make a reservation, which is recommended, or you can simply walk in when you're ready to eat.
Reservations are only allowed 24 hours or less in advance, so that prevents people from picking the "best" or most popular restaurants for every night of the cruise, blocking others from getting a chance to dine there as well; and passengers are encouraged to actually keep their reservations, because failure to cancel with enough notice means a cancellation charge (the amount of the cover charge) being added to their shipboard accounts. Some people may balk at being charged for failing to cancel on time, but I think it's a smart idea. After all, if you reserve a table and don't show up, you could be preventing someone else on board from being able to dine there at that time.
For those of you who don't like to make reservations and prefer to just walk in to a restaurant and get a table, this can be done; just keep in mind that if you pick the most popular dining spot onboard at 6:00 pm, you may have to wait to get a table. I mostly live by the "fly by the seat of my pants" method, and usually wait to decide what to have for dinner until about 10 minutes before I want to actually EAT dinner, and the whole process went very smoothly for me. Our sailing was full and my traveling companion and I never had an issue getting in to eat where we wanted on a given night. We did make reservations a couple of times, but only about two hours or so before we wished to dine that evening; and several times we just walked in to a restaurant and were seated right away. It worked great.
If you didn't feel like actually sitting in a "restaurant" to eat, there was always the poolside grill, the buffet, the ice cream bar, and room service to keep you full. And, of course, the Blue Lagoon (sort of a diner) was a great place to sit and have a bite if you were just looking for something to do.
I really felt free on this ship, and my traveling companion, who enjoyed it so much, even booked her next cruise while onboard the ship! NCL's Freestyle cruising is a giant step away from the typical cruising experience, and it may not be for everyone. After all, some people really enjoy the set dining times, formal nights, and shuffleboard of traditional cruising; and that's wonderful that they do, as there is an air of elegance to it. But if you're a part of Generation X or you just enjoy doing things a little differently and at your own speed, then NCL might be for you. You really can be free to do what you want where you want and when you want -- at least for a week or so aboard a cruise ship!
Oh, and by the way, the food was pretty darn good and the entertainment was fantastic, too!
What I really liked about NCL's Freestyle program is that it truly IS freestyle. You get to choose when you want to eat, where you want to eat, and with whom you want to eat. Now, I knew this already as a cruise specialist, but to be able to experience it for myself really made me understand what NCL was aiming for when they developed this program. I really enjoyed the FREEDOM granted to me and I found the process to be very well-run. You simply pick which restaurant you'd like to dine in, whether it be one of the main dining rooms on the ship, or one of the many specialty restaurants on the ship (each of which charges a small cover charge); and you can either make a reservation, which is recommended, or you can simply walk in when you're ready to eat.
Reservations are only allowed 24 hours or less in advance, so that prevents people from picking the "best" or most popular restaurants for every night of the cruise, blocking others from getting a chance to dine there as well; and passengers are encouraged to actually keep their reservations, because failure to cancel with enough notice means a cancellation charge (the amount of the cover charge) being added to their shipboard accounts. Some people may balk at being charged for failing to cancel on time, but I think it's a smart idea. After all, if you reserve a table and don't show up, you could be preventing someone else on board from being able to dine there at that time.
For those of you who don't like to make reservations and prefer to just walk in to a restaurant and get a table, this can be done; just keep in mind that if you pick the most popular dining spot onboard at 6:00 pm, you may have to wait to get a table. I mostly live by the "fly by the seat of my pants" method, and usually wait to decide what to have for dinner until about 10 minutes before I want to actually EAT dinner, and the whole process went very smoothly for me. Our sailing was full and my traveling companion and I never had an issue getting in to eat where we wanted on a given night. We did make reservations a couple of times, but only about two hours or so before we wished to dine that evening; and several times we just walked in to a restaurant and were seated right away. It worked great.
If you didn't feel like actually sitting in a "restaurant" to eat, there was always the poolside grill, the buffet, the ice cream bar, and room service to keep you full. And, of course, the Blue Lagoon (sort of a diner) was a great place to sit and have a bite if you were just looking for something to do.
I really felt free on this ship, and my traveling companion, who enjoyed it so much, even booked her next cruise while onboard the ship! NCL's Freestyle cruising is a giant step away from the typical cruising experience, and it may not be for everyone. After all, some people really enjoy the set dining times, formal nights, and shuffleboard of traditional cruising; and that's wonderful that they do, as there is an air of elegance to it. But if you're a part of Generation X or you just enjoy doing things a little differently and at your own speed, then NCL might be for you. You really can be free to do what you want where you want and when you want -- at least for a week or so aboard a cruise ship!
Oh, and by the way, the food was pretty darn good and the entertainment was fantastic, too!
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