Last night, The Yachts of Seabourn, was awarded the Best Small Ship Cruise Line by Conde Nast Traveller Magazine's poll. This accolade comes on the heels of Seabourn also being voted the Best Small Ship Cruise Line by Virtuoso.
Not wanting to rain on anyone's parade, it is well known that I am not a big fan of polls, so for me to make too much out of the Conde Nast award would be suspect, at best.
HOWEVER, the Virtuoso award (noting I am not a member of Virtuoso's network, but Ensemble Travel's) does mean something because it is a measure of how travel professionals view Seabourn. Travel professionals formulate their opinions not by glossy brochures or stuffing ballot boxes, but by three major factors: (1) Client input...which is necessarily related to a travel agent in a very objective manner (for if something wasn't right we are the first to hear about it!); (2) Quality of the Product; and, (3) Service provided to the travel professional.
Virtuoso's CEO stated, when presenting the award, “Seabourn is noteworthy as they epitomize the best of the world’s largest service industry, travel and tourism, in their dedication to their clients. Not only do they excel in delivering life experiences, but they support everyone in the network in such a way that it elevates the entire travel profession." That pretty much sums it up.
When I have more information on the rest of the Conde Nast Traveller Awards, I will supplement this post. But in the meantime, consider that I, most certainly, am not the only one who believes that Seabourn provides a truly superior experience for everyone involved in making your cruise the best it can be.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
World's Largest Virtual Cruise Night
The cruise industry annually promotes the World's Largest Cruise Night as a way to kick off what is called the "wave season", when historically the bookings for the next year start in earnest. As we move further into the world of the internet, this year a virtual cruise night has been created.
You can find mine here: http://wlcn.cruising.org/goldringtravel. This page, which has videos from some of the cruise lines, will remain up and running through at least October 31st.
Enjoy.
You can find mine here: http://wlcn.cruising.org/goldringtravel. This page, which has videos from some of the cruise lines, will remain up and running through at least October 31st.
Enjoy.
Concerns: Apollo Management and Prestige Cruise Holding (NCL, Regent Seven Seas and Oceania)
I have hesitated to write about the effects of this poor economy on the cruise lines themselves because, in large part, we really don't know what the long term effects will be. While the issues of last minute discounts and more close-in bookings (ala post 9/11) on less than full ships are not beyond possibilities, the fact is that right now people who are cruising paid for their cruises before the bottom seemingly fell out and it is too early to really see what the next couple of months (post-election) has in store for us, the consumers and them, the industry.
Also, while some cruise lines are panicking, others are being creative and yet others are still figuring out what, if anything, should be done differently. So that too is not the focus on this post and speculating would not be fair or productive.
However, over the past three weeks there has been much in the industry news about NCL and Aker Shipyard having a "dispute" over Norwegian Cruise Line's new F3 ship. While Aker claims it has not stopped work on the first F3 (which is about 25% complete), it has been reported that they are now trying to sell the hull to other major cruise lines...and there is not much interest. Aker, though, has also stopped work on the second F3 ship.
Apollo and NCL have been silent claiming they do not discuss disputes or litigation. What has happened, however, is that their announcement of the new ship is not as clear in their taglines, mention of the F3 is all but absent from the NCL website, the F3 microsite has been buried (You you can still find it via http://www.f3.ncl.com/main.html.) and the person who was in charge of the PR for the F3, Susan Robison, has left NCL.
The word on the street is that Apollo has shut down the project as simply being too expensive. I think there probably is another, related, problem: Financing. Most entities like Apollo leverage their assets in order to obtain sufficient cash to improve products and then sell them off at a profit. If the product is losing value, or if a cash infusion will not increase its value, the desire to put money in drops. Banks and lenders - especially now - are not as willing to finance companies to put cash into a potentially unprofitable venture. Add to that the unexpected strength in the US dollar versus the Euro and some of the math turns upside down.
Here, the F3 ships have a radical - and unproven - interior design for a market that is being hit hard by the economic problems and, at least in the near future, probably are not going to be parting with as much cash on the holy grail of the mass market cruise business: onboard revenue. Add to that the downward pressure on pricing and the drop off in (long range) bookings, Apollo and its lenders have probably (my guess) said something along the lines of, "NCL's Hawaii plan seemed good, but we took a bath as it was unconventional and had unforeseen problems. NCL has lost over $350,000,000 in the last two years. Now we have a $1,000,000,000 (yes, one billion dollar) project which is now seeing cost increases (due to the loss in value of the Euro - the currency of the contract - as well as difficulties in creating the radical design elements) and we cannot assure a profit at higher prices with possible reductions in passenger loads...and NCL is bleeding cash flow as it is."
While that "magic" is playing out, the operationally pretty solid Oceania, through Apollo's Prestige Cruise Holdings (separate from NCL) is working hard to clean up the issues at Regent by increasing efficiencies on many levels and revamping the luxury line's ships from hardware to software to crew. We have seen the previously greatly publicized talk of a new ship for Regent being, quite obviously, pushed to the back...see the parallel here!...and, in its place, a $40,000,000 refurbishment of the Voyager and Mariner; leaving the Navigator for another day (if there is another day for that ship!) and there being talk on the street and some publications of the end of its relationship with the Paul Gauguin. Now, there is talk of the Voyager and Mariner refurbishments being scaled back as well.
I am not so sure these fiscally stringent moves are a bad thing. The concept of growth through huge increases in inventory has a great flaw: Not enough buyers of that inventory (i.e. cruise passengers). That, added to the cost of creating that additional inventory, can destroy a positive bottom line. So, Apollo and Prestige Cruise Holdings may just be saying that we would rather utilize what we have and utilize it well, possibly generating smaller profits, than growing ourselves (and our debt) right out of business.
I much prefer a higher quality product from a profitable cruise line than a less quality product from a cruise line trying to find its way out of a problem it created which, inevitably, would cause the passengers to pay more to get less.
It is going to be interesting to see how all this plays out.
Also, while some cruise lines are panicking, others are being creative and yet others are still figuring out what, if anything, should be done differently. So that too is not the focus on this post and speculating would not be fair or productive.
However, over the past three weeks there has been much in the industry news about NCL and Aker Shipyard having a "dispute" over Norwegian Cruise Line's new F3 ship. While Aker claims it has not stopped work on the first F3 (which is about 25% complete), it has been reported that they are now trying to sell the hull to other major cruise lines...and there is not much interest. Aker, though, has also stopped work on the second F3 ship.
Apollo and NCL have been silent claiming they do not discuss disputes or litigation. What has happened, however, is that their announcement of the new ship is not as clear in their taglines, mention of the F3 is all but absent from the NCL website, the F3 microsite has been buried (You you can still find it via http://www.f3.ncl.com/main.html.) and the person who was in charge of the PR for the F3, Susan Robison, has left NCL.
The word on the street is that Apollo has shut down the project as simply being too expensive. I think there probably is another, related, problem: Financing. Most entities like Apollo leverage their assets in order to obtain sufficient cash to improve products and then sell them off at a profit. If the product is losing value, or if a cash infusion will not increase its value, the desire to put money in drops. Banks and lenders - especially now - are not as willing to finance companies to put cash into a potentially unprofitable venture. Add to that the unexpected strength in the US dollar versus the Euro and some of the math turns upside down.
Here, the F3 ships have a radical - and unproven - interior design for a market that is being hit hard by the economic problems and, at least in the near future, probably are not going to be parting with as much cash on the holy grail of the mass market cruise business: onboard revenue. Add to that the downward pressure on pricing and the drop off in (long range) bookings, Apollo and its lenders have probably (my guess) said something along the lines of, "NCL's Hawaii plan seemed good, but we took a bath as it was unconventional and had unforeseen problems. NCL has lost over $350,000,000 in the last two years. Now we have a $1,000,000,000 (yes, one billion dollar) project which is now seeing cost increases (due to the loss in value of the Euro - the currency of the contract - as well as difficulties in creating the radical design elements) and we cannot assure a profit at higher prices with possible reductions in passenger loads...and NCL is bleeding cash flow as it is."
While that "magic" is playing out, the operationally pretty solid Oceania, through Apollo's Prestige Cruise Holdings (separate from NCL) is working hard to clean up the issues at Regent by increasing efficiencies on many levels and revamping the luxury line's ships from hardware to software to crew. We have seen the previously greatly publicized talk of a new ship for Regent being, quite obviously, pushed to the back...see the parallel here!...and, in its place, a $40,000,000 refurbishment of the Voyager and Mariner; leaving the Navigator for another day (if there is another day for that ship!) and there being talk on the street and some publications of the end of its relationship with the Paul Gauguin. Now, there is talk of the Voyager and Mariner refurbishments being scaled back as well.
I am not so sure these fiscally stringent moves are a bad thing. The concept of growth through huge increases in inventory has a great flaw: Not enough buyers of that inventory (i.e. cruise passengers). That, added to the cost of creating that additional inventory, can destroy a positive bottom line. So, Apollo and Prestige Cruise Holdings may just be saying that we would rather utilize what we have and utilize it well, possibly generating smaller profits, than growing ourselves (and our debt) right out of business.
I much prefer a higher quality product from a profitable cruise line than a less quality product from a cruise line trying to find its way out of a problem it created which, inevitably, would cause the passengers to pay more to get less.
It is going to be interesting to see how all this plays out.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
2008 Global Superyacht Forum (Amsterdam)
Every year there is the preeminent gathering of the superyacht industry in Amsterdam: The Global Superyacht Forum. (http://www.superyachtevents.com/gsf )This event, with over 650 of the top members of the industry, is held in conjunction with METS, the world's largest exhibition of equipment, materials and systems for the international marine leisure industry. (http://www.metstrade.com/home.asp).
I have the honor of just being confirmed as the legal expert on a panel discussing and debating the various ways in which interpretations and consistency of the rules for constructing superyachts would help improve the process of building and designing of these floating palaces.
For those with an interest in the highly technical world of superyacht construction (it isn't about the glamour you read about!), this is a rather hot topic, as this has been a very confused area of the industry. There has been great inconsistency between the various classification societies (such as Lloyd's, RINA and American Bureau of Shipping) and the ship's registries (the entities where you document/register your yacht), the governmental interests (such as MCA and the U.S. Coast Guard) and those who are trying to get the yachts built according to the ever evolving specification and regulatory schemes...and on time and on budget (the shipyards and owners).
With the drastic change in the economy I think this will be an extraordinary session as what, at least to me, has been a "who cares what it costs, they all have money" will necessarily have to take into account both the concept of economic costs for the regulations and the "not killing the goose that laid the golden egg".
Joining me on the panel will be ship surveyors from Lloyd's Register of Shipping, RINA, The Cayman Island Shipping Register, the MCA (UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency -the European regulatory gurus) and a shipyard.
I have the honor of just being confirmed as the legal expert on a panel discussing and debating the various ways in which interpretations and consistency of the rules for constructing superyachts would help improve the process of building and designing of these floating palaces.
For those with an interest in the highly technical world of superyacht construction (it isn't about the glamour you read about!), this is a rather hot topic, as this has been a very confused area of the industry. There has been great inconsistency between the various classification societies (such as Lloyd's, RINA and American Bureau of Shipping) and the ship's registries (the entities where you document/register your yacht), the governmental interests (such as MCA and the U.S. Coast Guard) and those who are trying to get the yachts built according to the ever evolving specification and regulatory schemes...and on time and on budget (the shipyards and owners).
With the drastic change in the economy I think this will be an extraordinary session as what, at least to me, has been a "who cares what it costs, they all have money" will necessarily have to take into account both the concept of economic costs for the regulations and the "not killing the goose that laid the golden egg".
Joining me on the panel will be ship surveyors from Lloyd's Register of Shipping, RINA, The Cayman Island Shipping Register, the MCA (UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency -the European regulatory gurus) and a shipyard.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Report: Regent Seven Seas to Cease Operating Paul Gauguin in 2009 - UPDATED- Renovations Announced
A reliable travel industry source is reporting this morning that Regent Seven Seas will be announcing that it is ceasing operating the Paul Gauguin at the end of 2009.
While I have heard this sort of news previously - believing it to be more of a negotiating tactic than anything else - the fact is that Grand Circle Travel owns the ship and with the departure of Princess Cruise Lines from French Polynesia it really has the market cornered. (True, Star Flyer is there and Silversea is offering its Prince Albert II for a limited period of time, but they put little dent in the year round market that Regent had tapped.) Therefore, it is not surprising that GCT may want the ship for itself.
When one considers the high cost of chartering, the high cost of airfares, the high cost of operations, etc. in French Polynesia, Prestige Cruise Holdings may have decided that in this economy it had better consolidate and focus on its core product.
UPDATE: In an apparent consistent twist, today (October 16, 2008) Paul Gauguin Shipping Limited, not Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced a $6,000,000 renovation of the ship. It will include the conversion of 26 Category D oceanview staterooms into balcony staterooms (done on the exterior, so the staterooms remain the same size), modifying Le Grill (the poolside dining area) and Le Veranda's (the alternative restaurant) al fresco dining area, recarpeting and upgrading the public areas/internet cafe and "refreshing" the staterooms (whatever that means). The work is to be completed during the late January - early February 2009 drydock in Brisbane, Australia.
Also, on October 10,2008 PGSL announced it has a new Executive VP of Sales, Roy Grimsland. "He will be responsible for driving product sales of the five-plus star, 332-passenger Paul Gauguin." Interestingly, Mr. Grimsland worked for Radisson Seven Seas "where he launched and drove sales of Paul Gauguin for seven years" according to Cruise Industry News.
I will update this as information becomes available.
While I have heard this sort of news previously - believing it to be more of a negotiating tactic than anything else - the fact is that Grand Circle Travel owns the ship and with the departure of Princess Cruise Lines from French Polynesia it really has the market cornered. (True, Star Flyer is there and Silversea is offering its Prince Albert II for a limited period of time, but they put little dent in the year round market that Regent had tapped.) Therefore, it is not surprising that GCT may want the ship for itself.
When one considers the high cost of chartering, the high cost of airfares, the high cost of operations, etc. in French Polynesia, Prestige Cruise Holdings may have decided that in this economy it had better consolidate and focus on its core product.
UPDATE: In an apparent consistent twist, today (October 16, 2008) Paul Gauguin Shipping Limited, not Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced a $6,000,000 renovation of the ship. It will include the conversion of 26 Category D oceanview staterooms into balcony staterooms (done on the exterior, so the staterooms remain the same size), modifying Le Grill (the poolside dining area) and Le Veranda's (the alternative restaurant) al fresco dining area, recarpeting and upgrading the public areas/internet cafe and "refreshing" the staterooms (whatever that means). The work is to be completed during the late January - early February 2009 drydock in Brisbane, Australia.
Also, on October 10,2008 PGSL announced it has a new Executive VP of Sales, Roy Grimsland. "He will be responsible for driving product sales of the five-plus star, 332-passenger Paul Gauguin." Interestingly, Mr. Grimsland worked for Radisson Seven Seas "where he launched and drove sales of Paul Gauguin for seven years" according to Cruise Industry News.
I will update this as information becomes available.
Friday, October 10, 2008
2009 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise on the Seabourn Spirit
I am pleased to announce that the 2009 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise will be on September 26, 2009 aboard the Seabourn Spirit. This is a really spectacular seven day cruise (roundtrip Venice) visiting Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia.
Embarking and disembarking in romantic Venice,Italy affords many options, both pre- and post- cruise; whether it be a gondola ride or a walk through St. Mark's Square or a visit to the Murano glass factory, there is so much culture and architecture to see and ambiance to soak up, the options are limitless.
The first port is Opatija, Croatia, the Riviera of Croatia with its walkways and cafés running along the water and wonderful seafood restaurants and upscale hotels right along the seafront. There are beautiful parks, extraordinary botanical plantings and, for those interested, paragliding.
The second port is Split, Croatia is a World Heritage Site with busy port, beaches, a walled palace and so much more. Suffice it to say, Fodor's calls this port "so spectacular and unusual that a visit is more than worth your time." Seabourn is offering a canoing trip that sounds quite enticing.
Next is Kotor, Montenegro, a UNESCO site, is one of the best preserved Medieval towns on the Adriatic. With beautiful overhanging cliffs it is an extraordinary vision. UPDATE: I will be offering a complimentary Ensemble Experience here. (Details are still being finalized.)
Triluke Bay, Croatia is up next; a protected cove for a Marina Day and to relax in incredible beauty with ancient villages, beaches, olive groves and such.
Koper, Slovenia is the fourth port where wine and cheese is at the fore with a number of unique options available including a visit to a local winery in an antique car or a walking tour with a wine and cheese tasting along the way. This is another ancient town with cobblestone streets and interesting shopping as well.
Back to Italy, as Trieste is our last port. This city is said to have a more Viennese than Venetian heritage with Slavic dialects and foods being most common. This medieval town has the largest seaside square in Europe. Just image the wine and culinary treats which await us there!
As a bonus, Seabourn has just priced this as a 50% off cruise for anyone who has previously sailed with Seabourn or any of the Carnival group of cruise lines. Add the additional discount (and added benefits - to be announced later) that Goldring Travel provides and this is a tremendous travel bargain both as to experiences and pricing.
I am also pleased that the demand to join our exclusive and small group for the 2009 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise aboard the Seabourn Spirit has been fantastic. With every person who enjoyed the 2008 Food & Wine cruise having booked for this one (and quite a number are making this their third one!), it is a testament not only to the added benefits of being part of the group, but the fun we have.
If you are interested, I would urge you to make your booking now for the cruise is quickly filling up. (Yes, even now!). And remember: The added benefits such as the Food & Wine Tasting, are exclusive to those who book with Goldring Travel. If you are interested, call me at (877) 2GO-LUXURY or email me at eric@goldringtravel.com.
Embarking and disembarking in romantic Venice,Italy affords many options, both pre- and post- cruise; whether it be a gondola ride or a walk through St. Mark's Square or a visit to the Murano glass factory, there is so much culture and architecture to see and ambiance to soak up, the options are limitless.
The first port is Opatija, Croatia, the Riviera of Croatia with its walkways and cafés running along the water and wonderful seafood restaurants and upscale hotels right along the seafront. There are beautiful parks, extraordinary botanical plantings and, for those interested, paragliding.
The second port is Split, Croatia is a World Heritage Site with busy port, beaches, a walled palace and so much more. Suffice it to say, Fodor's calls this port "so spectacular and unusual that a visit is more than worth your time." Seabourn is offering a canoing trip that sounds quite enticing.
Next is Kotor, Montenegro, a UNESCO site, is one of the best preserved Medieval towns on the Adriatic. With beautiful overhanging cliffs it is an extraordinary vision. UPDATE: I will be offering a complimentary Ensemble Experience here. (Details are still being finalized.)
Triluke Bay, Croatia is up next; a protected cove for a Marina Day and to relax in incredible beauty with ancient villages, beaches, olive groves and such.
Koper, Slovenia is the fourth port where wine and cheese is at the fore with a number of unique options available including a visit to a local winery in an antique car or a walking tour with a wine and cheese tasting along the way. This is another ancient town with cobblestone streets and interesting shopping as well.
Back to Italy, as Trieste is our last port. This city is said to have a more Viennese than Venetian heritage with Slavic dialects and foods being most common. This medieval town has the largest seaside square in Europe. Just image the wine and culinary treats which await us there!
As a bonus, Seabourn has just priced this as a 50% off cruise for anyone who has previously sailed with Seabourn or any of the Carnival group of cruise lines. Add the additional discount (and added benefits - to be announced later) that Goldring Travel provides and this is a tremendous travel bargain both as to experiences and pricing.
I am also pleased that the demand to join our exclusive and small group for the 2009 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise aboard the Seabourn Spirit has been fantastic. With every person who enjoyed the 2008 Food & Wine cruise having booked for this one (and quite a number are making this their third one!), it is a testament not only to the added benefits of being part of the group, but the fun we have.
If you are interested, I would urge you to make your booking now for the cruise is quickly filling up. (Yes, even now!). And remember: The added benefits such as the Food & Wine Tasting, are exclusive to those who book with Goldring Travel. If you are interested, call me at (877) 2GO-LUXURY or email me at eric@goldringtravel.com.
Carnival Brands Drop Fuel Surcharge For New 2010 Bookings- UPDATED
In a move that I felt was long in coming...as I felt was the drop in oil prices...Carnival Corp. has announced today that effective October 31, 2008 it will eliminate the fuel supplement charge on all new 2010 bookings on any of its lines (Seabourn, Cunard, Holland America, Princess, Carnival and Costa) and will, instead, institute a modest price increase.
If you have booked a cruise with a fuel supplement you may be entitled to an onboard credit dependent on the future price of fuel. Essentially, for any 2008, 2009 or 2010 cruise where a fuel supplement has been charged, if the price of light sweet crude oil on NYMEX (a primary oil trading exchange) remains below US$70 per barrel for 25 consecutive days ending 5 days before your cruise departs you will receive an onboard credit equal to the fuel supplement already charged. But if the price fluctuates above US$70 a barrel for even one day during the period, the fuel supplement remains. Put another way, starting 30 days before your cruise if the price stays below US$70 until at least 5 days before you cruise, you get your money back.
Considering that (a) most people just want to know the price of their cruise and do not care about the breakdown of the cost, and that tacking on a charge that has normally been included in the cruise price seems a bit offensive (even thought it was necessary), and (b) the cruise lines do not want to be seen as profiting from the unanticipated fall of artificially inflated oil prices, this reversion to the "old ways" makes a lot of sense. Hopefully the other cruise lines will follow.
If you have booked a cruise with a fuel supplement you may be entitled to an onboard credit dependent on the future price of fuel. Essentially, for any 2008, 2009 or 2010 cruise where a fuel supplement has been charged, if the price of light sweet crude oil on NYMEX (a primary oil trading exchange) remains below US$70 per barrel for 25 consecutive days ending 5 days before your cruise departs you will receive an onboard credit equal to the fuel supplement already charged. But if the price fluctuates above US$70 a barrel for even one day during the period, the fuel supplement remains. Put another way, starting 30 days before your cruise if the price stays below US$70 until at least 5 days before you cruise, you get your money back.
Considering that (a) most people just want to know the price of their cruise and do not care about the breakdown of the cost, and that tacking on a charge that has normally been included in the cruise price seems a bit offensive (even thought it was necessary), and (b) the cruise lines do not want to be seen as profiting from the unanticipated fall of artificially inflated oil prices, this reversion to the "old ways" makes a lot of sense. Hopefully the other cruise lines will follow.
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