Fuel surcharge intrigue continues

Back in November when Carnival Corporation announced the retroactive addition of fuel surcharges to existing bookings, we knew, first, that the rest of the industry would follow, and second, that there would be eventual pushback from customers or regulators. Nobody likes making a reservation, paying a deposit, and then being told sometime later that more money is due.

Sure enough, other brands owned by Carnival (like Cunard, Holland America, and Princess) added the fuel surcharge retroactively to existing bookings and, shortly thereafter, so did Royal Caribbean (and its siblings Celebrity and Azamara).

Meantime one cruise line, Norwegian, stands out as taking the most consumer-friendly approach to skyrocketing fuel prices. They added a fuel surcharge only for new bookings. Good for them!

Which brings us to earlier this month, and the regulatory pushback from Florida's attorney general Bill McCollum. The cruise lines had gotten themselves in hot water in Florida in 1997 over the issue of "port charges," since when ports were skipped (say, due to inclement weather), the "port charges" weren't reliably refunded. This resulted in an agreement between the cruise lines and the state requiring clear explanation of charges that make up the fare.

Apparently when Royal Caribbean was approached by Attorney General McCollum about whether, by adding retroactive charges now, they had run afoul of that 1997 agreement, the cruise line thought his argument was persuasive enough to cave in. So last week Royal Caribbean announced they're going to give back the retroactive charges, and clearly disclose the charges on new bookings.

Carnival, though, is resisting the idea of a rebate. Yesterday, Carnival Corp. dug in its heels on its quarterly conference call with financial analysts, falling back on its fine print which it said had mentioned for some time the possibility of future fuel surcharges. The attorney general disagrees that this constituted adequate disclosure, and it will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. We're thinking that kicking sand at their home-state attorney general will probably not serve them well in the long term.

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Celebrity gives birth to Azamara, a new "deluxe" cruise line

It's rare for an existing cruise line to split itself in two, but that's exactly what Celebrity Cruises has done with its introduction of "deluxe" cruise line Azamara Cruises. "Azamara" is word invented for the occasion, from Romance language roots blue ("aza"), and the sea ("mar").

The new upscale cruise line will sail with two of the extremely popular midsize 700-passenger R-Class ships originally built for now-defunct Renaissance Cruises. One of these vessels, Azamara Journey, had been sailing already as Celebrity Journey and launched the Azamara brand in a re-inaugural voyage May 5. The sister ship, Azamara Quest, comes online in October.

Celebrity has emphasized that the Azamara brand stakes out a new "deluxe" territory between "premium" and "luxury" cruising. However, we would argue that the very successful Oceania Cruises, which has sailed with R-Class vessels since its inception in 2002, had already carved out this same niche.

Azamara Cruises President Dan Hanrahan, who also is president of Celebrity, said "Azamara Cruises is expressly designed for travel enthusiasts who appreciate what a cruise vacation has to offer, but are looking for something a little different, and a little more special. And what's special about Azamara Cruises is its distinctive combination of impeccable service, exceptional cuisine and off-the-beaten-path destinations, with truly immersive excursions."

Journey and Quest offer butler service in every stateroom and suite, as well as concierge-style amenities, including fresh-cut flowers, fresh fruit, Elemis toiletries, complimentary use of Frette cotton robes, two complimentary pairs of slippers, plasma TVs and plush European bedding.

The premium cruise lines like Celebrity have struggled for years to convince guests to pay a premium price over their "non-premium" competitors, so from the perspective of Wall Street, an effort like this one to deliver clearly enhanced benefits with separate branding, and command a higher per-diem price, will be most welcome.

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"Savor the Caribbean" with Celebrity culinary cruises

Celebrity Cruises' Millennium will host a variety of guest chefs and restauranteurs as part of the line's "Savor the Caribbean" series. Special events will include hands-on cooking classes, culinary-inspired shore excursions, and a Bacardi-sponsored class on how to make the pefect mojito cocktail. Two cooking classes are offered on each sailing and are limited to eight participants. Classes are an additional $59 per person.

The special culinary guests include Allen Susser, creator of "Palm Tree Cuisine"; Cindy Hutson, known for her fusion of South American, Asian, Caribbean, and North American cuisines; Chef Johnny Vinczencz, a Florida chef known for his Caribbean-influenced cuisine; and Norman Van Aken, owner of three restaurants and a past James Beard award winner.

The "Savor the Caribbean" series will be a part of the Millennium's seven-night Eastern Caribbean sailings from January 7 through March 4. The cruises depart Ft. Lauderdale and call at the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas. For more information on Savoring the Caribbean, visit SureCruise's theme cruise showcase.

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Renew your vows onboard Celebrity ships

Celebrity Cruises has announced a new wedding vow renewal program with two amenity packages available to cruise guests on all Celebrity sailings.

The "True Love Knot" package includes a ceremony officiated by the ship's captain onboard the ship, a certificate signed by the captain, recorded music, flowers for the bride and groom, photography, one photo of the couple with the captain, Champagne, two engraved Champagne flutes, cake, and breakfast delivered to the couple's stateroom.

The "Aisle to Isle" package includes a ceremony led by a shipboard officer, recorded music, Champagne, cake, a certificate, flowers for the bride and groom, and photography. Additional amenities, such as live music, receptions, and salon appointments may be added for an additional charge.

Renewing your vows is just another great reason for taking a cruise!

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Cruise ship Webcams and Bridgecams: cruise live from your desk!

The ongoing Internet-enabling of cruise ships now brings live cruising to your computer. Many ships offer near-real-time Webcams and Bridgecams with views from their ships' bridges and elsewhere onboard.

Admittedly, port areas aren't always the most scenic part of cruising, but every once in a while you'll get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, or the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, or picturesque Villefranche on the French Rivera. It's a fun diversion for any cruise lover.

Among cruise lines offering Webcams are:

• Princess Webcams
• Crystal Webcams
• CostaWebcams
• Carnival Webcams (Liberty and Valor only)
• Norwegian Webcams (select ship of interest, then Webcam option)
• Cunard for the QE2 Webcams and QM2 Webcams
  
• Royal Caribbean only on Voyager of the Seas Webcams
• Celebrity Webcams
  

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Hawaii advertising blunder lands Celebrity marketing department in hot lava

Celebrity Cruises' marketing department heads back to school for cultural sensitivity training after putting together a Hawaii cruising trade ad they really should have known would be poorly received in the islands.

King Kamehameha, who established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810, is a revered figure in Hawaiian culture and history. Imagine, then, the native Hawaiian community's dismay when it saw Celebrity's ad showing an iconic 1883 statue of the former ruler lifting a champagne toast to Celebrity.

Miami-based Celebrity Cruises, little sister of Royal Caribbean, has apologized for the misstep and has pulled the offensive ads, according to Celebrity spokesperson Lynn Marstenstein. The line will also publish advertisements in two of Hawaii's major newspapers apologizing to the Hawaiian people and enroll its top marketing staff in a cultural values and awareness training class to be conducted by the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association.

The Celebrity ad is just the latest in a series of misuse of Hawaiian cultural and intellectual symbols, according to the 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, a group of Hawaiian cultural practitioners. Improper use is not limited to travel ads, according to the group, which cited similar mistakes in movies and by local businesses.

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Celebrities cruise and lecture aboard Regent Seven Seas

Spending time with a favorite celebrity can really make a vacation magical, and now Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced their line-up of celebrity lecturers for the coming months. Among them are actor Ernest Borgnine, newscasters Judy Woodruff and Garrick Utley, political satirist Mark Russell, and songwriter Paul Williams. In addition, ocean explorer and conservationist, Jean-Michel Cousteau will sail aboard the April 15, 2007 trip from Monte Carlo to Tenerife.

The speakers are part of Regent Seven Seas' 111-day World Cruise activities. The full world cruise on Seven Seas Mariner, which lasts from January 9 to April 30, 2007, sails from Fort Lauderdale to Hong Kong via Rio de Janeiro and Capetown, South Africa and returns to Fort Lauderdale via the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean Sea. Of course, shorter segments can be booked too. If anyone needs an added incentive to sail on one of these unique voyages, the diverse array of celebrities are sure to make the trip interesting and enjoyable.

For more information on Regent Seven Seas Cruises and their World Cruise, contact SureCruise today.

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Cruise gift certificates launched by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity

Cruise gift certificates deliver sure-fire smiles on birthdays, anniversaries, or other special occasions. It's baffled us that many cruise lines haven't offered them. Apparently, Royal Caribbean and sister company Celebrity finally got the message, by introducing cruise gift certificates that can be purchased by consumers.

Their certificates, which come in denominations of $50, $100, $250, and $500, can be used towards the purchase of a cruise or for a shipboard credit, onboard purchases, spa services, drinks, and more. Purchased certificates can be delivered via email or by US mail. Contact SureCruise for further details or to purchase a certificate. Currently, certificates may only be purchased by US residents.

Royal Caribbean operates 19 cruise vessels that sail to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, and beyond. Royal Caribbean sailings range from three days to over three weeks. Celebrity Cruises has nine ships that sail to Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and around the world. Gift certificates for either cruise line may be redeemed through SureCruise.

Or, if you'd prefer a more flexible certificate that can be redeemed on just about any cruise line, SureCruise offers its own cruise gift certificate program as well.

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Celebrity Summit arrives in Alaska with dead whale on bow

Celebrity Cruises' 965-foot cruise ship, Summit, arrived at Seward, Alaska (the port of Anchorage) last week with a dead 25 to 30-foot whale pinned to its bow, according to an Associated Press report printed in the Seattle Times August 21. The Summit's crew, reportedly, were surprised when longshoremen working at the port spotted the whale.

Officials of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are investigating, but are quoted as saying it didn't appear the 2000-passenger vessel's crew did anything wrong. It was not immediately apparent if the whale, tentatively identified as a humpback, was alive when it was struck.

The whale was lodged on the bulbous portion of the bow that protrudes underwater in front of the vessel. A necropsy failed to make a cause of death immediately apparent; that determination may now take weeks or months.

Celebrity Cruises operates three ships during the Alaska cruise season, which covers May to September. Itineraries range from seven to eleven days and depart from Seattle, Vancouver, and Seward. The Summit, inaugurated in October of 2001, is the newest of the cruise line's Alaska ships.

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Cruise line cash targeted by two allegedly light-fingered employees

From the "what were they thinking" file, two cruise line employees stand accused of brazen thefts at Royal Caribbean and Princess.

In the first case, Maggie Moya, a fifteen-year veteran of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises was arrested on charges of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars she collected from her family, friends, and acquaintances for cruises she obtained from the cruise line for free. Moya admitted to selling the cruises for profit over the past two years, but witness statements indicate that she has been committing the fraud for over ten years.

The other case involves the former chief purser of the Sapphire Princess, Elisha Cuffe, who is accused of taking over $500,000 from the ship's safe, while it was cruising in Alaska, and hiding it in a cardboard box in her cabin. Ms. Cuffe, an Australian citizen and ten-year veteran with Princess Cruises, was arrested when the ship made port in Ketchikan. She was unable to raise the $39,000 bail and remains in jail. She says she had no intention of removing the money from the ship.

In the years we've been involved with the cruise industry, stories like these have been few and far between, so two in the same week were quite a surprise. Both cruise lines have issued official statements stating that they do not tolerate any form of criminal activity in their workforce or operations.

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Allegedly drunk cruise ship captain fired and charged

It's not just airline pilots any more. On Friday Celebrity Cruises fired Periklis Petridis, the captain of the Mercury, after his blood alcohol level tested as high as .181, four times the federal .04 limit for on-duty ship captains. Then, Monday, Captain Petridis, 46, was charged in Seattle's US District Court with operating a ship while under the influence, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison.

In addition to the .04 blood alcohol limit, federal law prohibits a vessel operator from drinking for four hours before going on-duty, and Celebrity policy extends that to eight hours.

The story began when the Coast Guard boarded the ship in Seattle Friday for a garden-variety inspection. When one of the Coast Guard officers detected alcohol on the captain's breath, four breath tests were subsequently conducted, all of them well over the federal limit. Celebrity immediately relieved Petridis of his command and he was taken into custody by the authorities. The ship sailed about 90 minutes late after a different staff captain assumed command.

His attorney, meanwhile, casts the situation as much ado about nothing, explaining that Petridis was not on duty at the time and wasn't scheduled to be on duty for hours. Hopefully the courts can sort out the truth.

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Bus crash kills Celebrity Millennium passengers in Chile

Twelve passengers from Celebrity's Millennium, on a privately arranged tour in Chile, died Wednesday when their bus encountered an oncoming truck on a twisting mountain road, and plunged off the road down a 300-foot ravine.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone whose lives have been touched by this tragedy," said Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises. "We are devastated. We will continue to do everything possible to assist our guests and their family members."

The ship's departure was delayed to permit medical and other staff from the ship to assist two surviving passengers being treated at a local hospital, and Celebrity flew family members of those injured and killed to Chile. The fourteen passengers on the tour were from New Jersey and Connecticut, part of a larger 64-passenger group sponsored by B'nai B'rith.

Media reports state that the Chilean tour company's license was pending approval, and therefore the bus was not authorized to transport passengers.

While it's impossible to eliminate risk in life, this incident highlights one good reason to shun independently arranged tours in favor of the frequently more-expensive ship-sponsored shore excursions: the major cruise lines' risk management departments are more likely to thoroughly vet the local operators and hold them to a consistently high standard of safety and service.

Details of remarks from Dan Hanrahan, Celebrity's president

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Royal Caribbean and Celebrity guests can check in onboard for homebound flights

For $10 to $20 per passenger, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises guests can check in for their return flights, and check their luggage, onboard the ship, saving about 45 minutes. Before passengers disembark, they are issued boarding passes and luggage claim checks, and their checked bags are transported securely to the airport.

Celebrity offers the service today for cruises ending in Vancouver, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, San Diego, San Juan and Seattle, whereas Royal Caribbean offers Vancouver, San Juan and Seattle. Future airports will be added subject to Transportation Security Administration approval.

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Dawn of a new Century

Celebrity Cruises has announced a major, $55 million makeover for the Century in April 2006, expected to take five weeks. The biggest structural change will be the addition of 314 verandas to current ocean view staterooms. The verandas truly are additions, meaning that the staterooms keep their existing square footage while gaining the extra balcony space.

Other cabin upgrades include 14 new suites, 10 new staterooms and an expanded number of upgraded-service-and-amenity Concierge Class staterooms.

New and improved public spaces will also be unveiled. A to-be-named elegant specialty restaurant will catch the trend of delivering truly gourmet fare to those willing to pay an additional fee. A spa cafe, like those on Celebrity's larger Millennium-class vessels, will deliver light and healthy spa cuisine.

A coffee bar modeled after Cova Cafe in Milan will please java junkies by day, while converting into a romantic, lamp lit wine bar at night. A new martini bar and outdoor bar, which will serve tapas during sailaway, round out the major additions.

Century will be returning to Europe in 2006, plus introducing shorter 4- and 5-night Caribbean sailings from Miami for the winter 2006/07 season. These itineraries go on sale shortly.

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Mermaid Pod problems cause Celebrity cancellation, again

We're having déjà vu. Celebrity Cruises announced this afternoon the cancellation of the June 3 sailing of the Summit from Vancouver due to Mermaid Pod mechanical problems, and the shortening by one day of the current, May 27, trip. A visit to drydock in Victoria is required to repair the "premature wear" in the ship's starboard propulsion system. The ship is expected to sail as usual on June 10.

The Rolls-Royce Mermaid Pod propulsion systems on Summit and the other Millennium-class vessels have proven to be so breakdown-prone that Celebrity filed a $300 million lawsuit against the manufacturer in 2004, amid daytime-TV-worthy allegations of known defects, deceptive and fraudulent marketing, and elaborate coverups.

Guests on the cancelled trip receive a full refund, of course, plus a free trip on a future cruise, which seems fair to us overall under the unfortunate circumstances. Those on the shortened cruise get a $300 onboard credit, reimbursement of airline change fees or hotel expenses up to $100, and a 25 percent discount on a future cruise.

Celebrity Press Release: Celebrity Cruises Cancels One Alaska Sailing, Shortens Another

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Four major cruise lines introduce advertised pricing rules

[2/6/2006: LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S PROJECT GENESIS CRUISE SHIP? CLICK HERE.]

So did you think you can always find the best pricing for cruises online? Not any more!

First Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (which is owned by Royal Caribbean), and now Carnival and Norwegian, have announced new policies that are songs from the same hymn book. All four have announced that any publicly advertised cruise pricing must be the cruise line's officially approved rate, whether on the Internet, newspaper, radio, or anywhere else.

While Carnival and Norwegian will still allow a travel agent, once on the phone with a customer, to rebate some of their commission back to the customer, in effect lowering the cruise's price, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity went a step further to say that rebating itself is forbidden--that all customers must actually pay the company-approved price.

The impact to you, the customer? At least where Norwegian and Carnival are concerned you may be able to get a better price when you call a travel agency, than the price you see advertised online or in your newspaper or from the cruise line itself.

And with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity the situation is mayhem. Travel retailers forbidden from giving back cold, hard, cash are instead offering everything from free merchandise, to free insurance, to free hotel stays, to free champagne, in a quest to gain your business. Plus there are undoubtedly those who rebate behind the back of the cruise lines by mailing consumers a post-cruise check, although these agencies risk being cut off by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity altogether if discovered. One of Royal Caribbean's stated goals was to reduce consumer confusion, whereas more confusion has been the result.

Up until now, big-boy travel agencies earning more lucrative commission rates from these cruise lines advertised better pricing than their smaller competitors, since they could afford to give some of their higher commission back to their customers. Within the travel agency community there has been a lot of animosity toward these "rebaters" under the socialistic logic that the "little guy" and the "big guy" should be on a "level playing field." Although I can see the popular appeal, the last time I checked, this is not the way the real world functions. The irony is that the mega-agencies can afford to build entire departments to manage new value-added programs, like lining up free pre- and post-cruise stays at hotels, that the "little guy" will never be able match.

Frankly the populist angles of the cruise line press releases are a smokescreen. They can't come right out and say so, since travel agents currently sell the vast majority of cruises, but the cruise lines are trying to cut their payments to travel agencies. Which is 100% reasonable, given that these public companies' obligation is to deliver the highest possible return to shareholders. With larger travel agencies earning as much as twice the commission of smaller ones, by moving market share from larger agencies to smaller ones, the cruise lines save a pile of dough. Plus, now the cruise lines' own direct-to-consumer sales departments won't be in the embarrassing position of offering an "official" price on a cruise only to have it undercut by a mega-agency.

Another red herring served up by the cruise lines has been a stated concern that Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith, sitting down for dinner on the ship, might compare pricing and discover that the amount they paid was very different for a similar accommodation--due to travel agent rebating.

While Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Smith may well have an experience like this, travel agency kickbacks are unlikely to be the culprit. This is silliness for one big reason. Anybody who's bought an airline ticket is well aware that pricing varies wildly depending on when you bought it. The same holds true for cruise tickets, and in fact cruise line pricing yield management systems--that adjust fares as often as several times daily--had their genesis in that same airline technology. The amount of variance in pricing that a travel agency could introduce is absolutely trivial compared to the fluctuations driven by the cruise lines' own pricing techniques.

It will certainly be fascinating to see how this trend develops!

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