Carnival's Circle C

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES is also continuing its push for the family market by introducing an onboard program targeting the 12- to 14-year-old set called Circle C, which fills the age gap in Carnival's youth-oriented programming (Camp Carnival is for younger kids and Club O2 is for 15- to 17-year-olds). Circle C, which is overseen by a trained staff, includes facilities with a dance floor, movies and music videos screens and gaming pods with video games; activities will include basketball, ping-pong, water games and nighttime pool parties. Facilities are in place on the Carnival Legend, Pride, Victory and Valor, and the rest of the fleet will be outfitted in stages by 2010.

Continue Shakeup at Carnival

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES saw a continued shakeup in its top ranks. Maurice Zarmati, a 36-year veteran of sales at Carnival Cruise Lines, was named president and CEO of Costa Cruise Lines North America, another Carnival Corp.-owned company. Zarmati assumes his new role at Costa on March 31, where he will be responsible for sales and marketing efforts for Costa's North and Central American regions. The Costa role was most recently held by Lynn Torrent, who left Costa to join Carnival Cruise Lines as its senior vice president of sales and customer service. Roberto Martinoli, Carnival's executive vice president of operations, meanwhile told the line he would leave on March 7. Martinoli is moving back to Monaco and returning to the consulting business.

CARNIVAL CORP. is also losing an executive: Jack Anderson, vice president of marketing for Carnival Corp. and the executive director of the World's Leading Cruise Lines, a marketing identity for Carnival's North American cruise brands, is retiring at the end of March. He has been with Carnival Corp. since 1999; prior to that he spent 25 years with Carnival Corp. brand Holland America Line.

Bye Bye Pride of Hawaii

The Pride of Hawaii, owned by NCL, sailed its final cruise from Honolulu last week, a 5-night trip to Los Angeles, where it entered a 6 day wet dock to transform her into the Norwegian Jade. NCL America's Pride of Hawaii left the Hawaiian waters and gave up it's U.S.-flag status in hope of better yields in the European cruise market this coming summer. The newly named Norwegian Jade is slated to arrive in Barcelona on March 13 and will undergo another wet dock, where NCL said it would add a casino to the ship and she begins her first Europe cruise March 30.

Is Fuel Surcharges Legal?

THE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL is investigating the legality of cruise line fuel surcharges, after more than 150 consumer complaints were filed with the attorney general's office since November. The office is reviewing whether the charges were properly and legally administered, and if cruise lines can retroactively impose a fuel surcharge on passengers. The cruise lines cited record-high fuel costs before instituting the charges in November; Carnival Corp.'s six North American brands added a charge of $5 per person, per day, on all sailings departing after Feb. 1, and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and NCL Corp. shortly followed suit, each with different policies.

New Celebrity Solstice

THE CELEBRITY SOLSTICE will boast 10 restaurants when it debuts in November. Some of the eateries will be designed by Adam Tihany, who created some of New York's best known restaurants, including Per Se, Jean Georges and Le Cirque. Tihany designed the Solstice's two-level Grand Epernay dining room with a two-story wine tower; the Tuscan Grille steakhouse; and the casual Oceanview Cafe and Grill on the ship's lido deck. The ship's menus, meanwhile, were created by Celebrity's Vice President of Food and Beverage Jacques Van Staden, who previously headed kitchens in Las Vegas and Washington. Van Staden is also redesigning the menus on the rest of the Celebrity fleet.

Independence Being Scaped

THE INDEPENDENCE made its final departure from a U.S. port last week: The 57-year-old ocean liner left its berth in San Francisco en route to a scrap yard in Asia. Norwegian Cruise Line, which bought the vessel for a reported $4 million in 2003, sold it to an interim purchaser, which has renamed the ship the Oceanic and is sending the ship to Singapore to be sold for scrap. NCL bought the Independence along with the United States, another U.S.-flagged ocean liner, in 2003, but the Independence was said to be in worse shape than the United States. The Independence is a sister ship to the Constitution, an ocean liner that sank while being towed to Asia to be scrapped in 1997; that ship had also been renamed the Oceanic.

Princess New Disembakation

PRINCESS CRUISES said it streamlined its disembarkation system by giving passengers a letter the day before the end of the cruise telling them where and when to meet depending on their return air arrangements. A crew member will wait with them in their assigned room until it is time to escort them to the gangway. In some ports, passengers can opt for express disembarkation if they choose to carry their own luggage off the ship as part of the first group to leave. The new disembarkation process complements Princess' early embarkation program, the line said.

Carnival Names Sr. VP of Sales

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES named Costa Cruises executive Lynn Torrent as its senior vice president of sales and guest services. Torrent replaces Vicki Freed, who resigned from the post at Carnival after almost 30 years with the line to take the top sales position at Royal Caribbean International. Torrent is currently president and CEO North America for Costa. She previously served as vice president of marketing for Carnival Corp., the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa, where she worked with Gerry Cahill, who was Carnival Corp.'s CFO before becoming CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines last year. Torrent starts in her new role March 3.

MSC Double Caribbean Presence

MSC CRUISES will double its presence in the Caribbean next winter when it brings the MSC Orchestra to the region in January 2009. The 2,550-passenger, 92,400-ton Orchestra is currently the line's newest and largest vessel; it will operate seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale between Jan. 2 and April 25, 2009. The MSC Lirica will continue to operate 10-day trips to the southern Caribbean. Richard Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises USA, said that the Orchestra's arrival in the Caribbean market would be the beginning of MSC's "real presence" in North America.

You know what that means... More Interline Discounts for the Caribbean with MSC Cruises.

Princess expands Chef's Table Program

PRINCESS CRUISES will expand its Chef's Table dining program to most of its fleet over the next few months, citing positive reception on the Emerald Princess, the Crown Princess and the Caribbean Princess, where it is currently available. The $75 per person meal offers guests a dining event that begins with appetizers and cocktails in the ship's galley and then continues with a custom-designed, multi-course tasting dinner paired with wine in the main dining room with the ship's executive chef. The meal can be reserved by up to 10 passengers per night. It will debut aboard most vessels in the fleet in early 2008, with the exception of the line's smaller ships, the Tahitian Princess, the Pacific Princess and the Royal Princess.

RCI expands Smoke-Free Areas

Royal Caribbean announced today they will make all staterooms & suite non smoking. So starting January, you will have to step outside on the balcony, designated Bar/lounge areas, or the outer decks.

According to Royal Caribbean, "violations of the smoking policy will result in cleaning charges to the guest's onboard account". WELL... I don't smoke but did you have to state it like that? The defend their policy as part of their new contemporary approach to healthier lifestyles for their guest. And it doesn't hurt that, SURVEY SHOWS ... "Strong support of the new smoking policy"

So there you have it.

Open Seating Test on RCI

Royal Caribbean International has confirmed it will be testing the the open seating dining concept on the Freedom of the Seas from October 14 thru December 16. The flexible dining program is in response to Holland America's "As you Wish" open seaing on their ships. Holland will expand the concept to fleet wide over the next year. Holland America like Princess will still have the traditional seating on some of the restaurants.

I personally think the flexible dining is here to stay. Some people will still prefer traditional set dining hours but there are many people, like myself who like the flexible concept.

Carnival's CEO Retires

Carnival Cruise Line's President and CEO, Bob Dickinson announced that he will retire at the end of the year. I was completely surprised by the annoucement. I met Bob in 1995 at a Cruise Convention, that day we had some of the most inspirering conversation which shaped my career in the industry. Bob Dickinson is one of the cruise industry most recognizable and influential executives. We will miss him.

"I have been blessed to have had a long, fun-filled career helping to build Carnival and the cruise industry," Dickinson said. "I'm still having fun so giving all of that up has been a very difficult decision, but I'll be 65 next month and have been pondering this with my family for some time. I look forward to working with Gerry who will inherit what I believe is the most talented and dedicated management team in the cruise industry."

Dickinson's boss for some time, Carnival Corp. Chairman and CEO Micky Arison, said: "Bob has truly achieved legendary status in the travel industry. There is simply no other travel industry executive who is as well known and respected as he." Arison called Dickinson "one of the most influential people in the development of the modern-day cruise industry" who will be missed "not only by everyone here at Carnival, but by travel agents, his competitors and the media who loved his often humorous sound bites."

Gerry Cahill will assume the responsibility of President and CEO immediately "so that there is an ample transtition period," the company said David Bernstein, Carnival Corp.'s vice president and treasurer, will become the company's CFO, also effective immediately.

New Cruise Line - Azamara

Azamara Cruises - is the new deluxe cruise line launched by parent company Royal Caribbean earlier this year. They have two - 710 passengers ships, the Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest. If you get a chance to experience this cruise line you should. Prices for Interliners are reasonable especially right now, since the general public does not have much awareness of this new cruise line.

InterlineRates.com has a Bermuda Cruise from Newark starting at $599, they are going fast though. While I was writing this blog two of them sold out. WOW

Check it out at InterlineRates.com