Exciting Excursions for Cruise Passengers in Dubai

The cruise season is now underway in Dubai and the destination is featuring some exciting excursions for passengers.

Take a look at the Top 3 below:

A thrilling night Helicopter flight around the skyline of Dubai featuring the world's tallest building "Burl Khalifa"

Visit to a paradise private Sheik island in Al Maya in Abu Dhabi

Camel Park chocolate factory which now has permission to export in Europe

The Cruise spotlight is on the Gulf as the Seatrade Forum that will take place from 9-11 December at the 5 Star Hotel, Rosewood in Abu Dhabi.

dnata cruise Manager Jasem Zalton will be speaking at the event and is expected to reveal a number of exciting new excursions within the Gulf for 2014 including the above picks.

Tipping on Board is Out of Hand

As it turns out, tipping on board has started to get out of control.

Tipping is more alive than ever since, apparently, it sustains the Crew of major Cruise Ships, according to a revelation made by the US Government as part of its plans to regulate the cruise industry.

Recently, Jane Greene, a lover of cruising, reported that on her last Cruise trip, she found a surprise charge on her final bill which included a hefty and automatic tip for the crew.

Take Oceania's policy as an example:

• Each Guest occupying staterooms must daily pay gratuities of $14.50. 
• Plus, an 18% service gratuity automatically added to all beverage purchases, spa services and dinner at its signature restaurant, La Reserve.

As if this wasn't enough, most of the Crew do not consider gratuity a tip making you feel obligated to ante up once again. By the way, a gratuity and a tip are more or less the same thing.

When this Guest Greene contacted Oceania for an explanation, she was advised that this is the cruise line's tipping policy. Many Cruise Lines adopt a similar policy, however the concerning issue here is the freedom of the Guest to choose how much they pay and whether the service was to their expectations.

In balance, gratuities must be considered for Crew and Cruise Lines should be able to suggest how much and even add them provisionally to the account (a full explanation much be given). However, passengers also must be able to agree or disagree with the amount, considering the level of service they actually received. Moreover, passengers should have the right to cancel or reduce the amount automatically selected. If Cruise Lines do not permit this, they have to change the name of the word gratuity or tip as the meaning is different. Moreover, passengers should then also be asked to sign a disclaimer that they agree with such a charge on board.

If the US authorities start taxing tips and regulating them, passengers will learn that on US ships tips are forced meaning the costs on board are significantly higher. This will disadvantage US Cruise Lines over European and International alternatives, especially as passengers become ever more Tip Savvy! Certainly US Cruise Lines are far more aggressive when it comes to Tips compared to their European counterparts and the situation is getting out of hand, which could impact on the future repeaters of the Industry.

To close, in the grand scheme of things adding such automatic gratuities in such a forced way, may well impact the On Board Revenue in the medium to long term and passengers may start to implement a tighter lock on their wallets affecting profitability. After all what goes around comes around!

A British Cruise Passenger dies onboard

A British cruise passenger died while he was onboard the M/V Thomson Dream Cruise ship en route to Tortola, British Virgin Islands on December 3.

David James Hughes, 59, who was travelling with his wife complaint of difficulty breathing, however the cause of death is yet unknown.

Police officials said that the case is being treated as a sudden death.

The M/V Thomson Dream cruise ship was carrying 1500 passengers that arrived in Road Town on Monday.

European Maritime Industry Steadily Growing

The growth of the European Maritime Industry has become a steady phenomenon as the European summer fleet will include 11 new ships this year, including 3 ships re-entering service for new operators according to the data compiled for the Cruise Lines International Association in Europe.

The number of new destinations, new lines and new ships operating in Europe this year confirm the development of the Cruise Industry.

Based on the data CLIA has put together, 96 ships have sailed back to European waters from their winter routes in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Asia, bringing the total number of ships in the European sea area for the summer to 200.

These cruise ships are part of 65 lines and serve at least 530 destinations, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic.

Cruise Passenger Arrivals Dropped Significantly in Bermuda

According to the most recent statistics, the total number of visitors in Bermuda decreased by more than 12% for the 2nd quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of last year.

Visitor arrivals dropped by 4% in the 1st quarter of the year and the reduction has been growing even bigger outreaching 12%.

The number of air arrivals in the 2nd quarter of 2013 was quite close to last year's, however cruise and yacht arrivals fell significantly.

With regards to the same period, cruise passenger arrivals dropped by 17% with liners making 22 fewer visits in the second quarter of this year than last year, while the number of yacht arrivals was 43% lower.

Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell said that the massive reduction in yacht arrivals had very much to do with the fact the biennial Newport to Bermuda race was not held this year

Furthermore, trying to explain the decreased cruise passenger arrivals, Mr Crockwell stated that "this decline was exacerbated by the cancellation of four further calls due to the cancellation of the Emerald Princess prior to the completion of the Heritage Wharf repairs, and three cancellations due to a fire on the Grandeur of the Seas."

Costa Concordia Salvage

Two years after the Costa Concordia flipped over the coast of Tuscany, engineers would attempt today to salvage the disastrous cruise ship, which lays half-sunk and crushed over the reef. The accident caused the death of 32 people out of  the 4.200 passengers on board while many others suffered severe injuries. 

Now the goal is to pull out the ship without causing any damage to the environmentally protected waters of Giglio Island.

What is considered to be the challenge and the difficult part of the engineers is towing it away in one piece, as a 115.000 ton vessel in its spot may damage the area. This historic process is going to be divided in two steps: parbucking and re-floating. The steps are said to be really difficult and risky, as the attempt has never been tested out in such a large vessel.

According to the Italian Government, this process is expected to take from at least 8 hours to 2 days! However, the process, scheduled to start earlier today, has been delayed due to weather difficulties.

Royal Caribbean International launches new Penguin Ahoy! app for consumers

 

 Royal Caribbean International has launched a new app for consumer download called Penguin Ahoy! Available for free in the Apple App store, Penguin Ahoy! can be played on iPad’s and will shortly be available for iPhone’s.

The concept of the game is that a cheeky little Penguin has snuck onboard a Royal Caribbean ship with the goal being to make sure he does not get caught. The user is encouraged to avoid sprinklers, dodge basketballs, and slide under inflatables to keep the penguin running for as long as possible without being caught by the crew.

Players of the game and past guests will notice many familiar features from Royal Caribbean’s ships including the FlowRider surf simulator, Rock Wall, H2O zone, ice skating rinks, mini golf courses, sports courts and more.

Easy to play with simple touch and swipe controls, users can also invite and compete with their friends to see who can collect the most coins, cupcakes, special powers and gain extra lives. How far can you run? Are you the best? Download Royal Caribbean’s new app and find out.

The promotional trailer can be viewed below:

For more information and to download please visit https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/penguin-ahoy/id684261127?mt=8 or search for Penguin Ahoy! on the Apple App store.

World's Biggest Ship goes through Suez Canal for First Time

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, on its way to Northern Europe, made its very first transit through the Suez Canal on August 9th . 

A few days afterwards, the first Triple-E vessel which is the world's largest ship, passed through Gibraltar and got closer to its final destination, Rotterdam.

The ship is scheduled to reach the port Rotterdam today, August 16th.

The Suez Canal, the oldest man-made canal in the world, has been open for traffic since 1869.

The canal is situated in a historically central and important area, considered the centre of global trade for thousands of years. 

Almost immediately after its opening, the Suez Canal had a significant impact on world trade as goods were moved around the world in record time. In 1875, debt forced Egypt to sell its shares in ownership of the Suez Canal to the United Kingdom. 

However, an international convention in 1888 made the canal available for all ships from any nation to use.

Conflicts immediately began to arise over use and control of the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal, today operated by the Suez Canal Authority, is one of the world's most significant waterways as it supports 8% of the world's shipping traffic and almost 50 ships pass through the canal daily.

As the Suez Canal is too narrow, all ships must enter through convoys on fixed times.

Carnival Cruises Invests Big Money to Repair its Image!

Aiming to prevent another disaster at sea, Carnival Cruise Lines is spending $300 million to upgrade every ship in its fleet. The Cruise Lines hopes to win passengers' trust and repair its tarnished image.

Triumph, following the engine fire incident back in February that left the ship adrift with more than 3,000 passengers on board, had been subject of several improvements now completed.

However, this is not an easy task. Plus, there is no guarantee that the multimillion-dollar investment will repair the public perception of Carnival, damaged by a string of embarrassing calamities over the last few years.

Carnival's success is considered crucial for the whole maritime industry, as Carnival Corp. controls 50% of the cruise market through 10 cruise line brands.

In order to get past these problems, the company has come up with an action plan that will be completed by 2016.

Upgrading the onboard fire extinguishing and detection systems on every Carnival ship is a part of this plan.

Nevertheless, Carnival will have to do so much more to build a positive image. Carnival plans to increase advertising spending up to 40% this fall.
Carnival's biggest challenge may be attracting new passengers, who may be more fearful about having a bad cruise experience than longtime cruise veterans.

American Cruise Lines Selects Resco

American Cruise Lines

Resco Company

Press Release

Guilford, CT/London, Feb 2013

American Cruise Lines, operator of the newest riverboats and small cruise ships in the United States have selected and implemented the Resco systems for Reservations and CRM management.

Timothy Beebe, at American Cruise Lines says “key factors behind this decision includes the integration possibilities in having central reservation, the customer relation management and the web booking systems from the same vendor. This will reduce interfacing issues and unnecessary overhead normally associated with such development”

American Cruise Lines specializes in a unique style of small ship cruising along the inland waterways and rivers of the United States. Fascinating itineraries include the Pacific Northwest, Maine, New England Islands, Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, the Historic South & Golden Isles, Florida and Alaska. Experience a Mississippi River cruise aboard the brand new paddlewheeler, Queen of the Mississippi. With no more than 150 guests onboard, passengers experience each port of call, up close and personal, all while enjoying the camaraderie of fellow travelers and the exemplary service that is the hallmark of American Cruise Lines.

For more information please visit: www.americancruiselines.com

Rescompany MD, Peter Winqvist, comments “We are delighted by this new partnership with American Cruise Lines, we believe our solutions are the perfect fit to their operation of small ship cruising.”

Rescompany provides reservation software solutions to the hotel, cruise, wholesale and travel industry. Besides typical reservation functions, Resco offers sophisticated CRM and marketing tools throughout its comprehensive product portfolio. Resco CRS: Central Reservations, Resco CRM: Customer Relation Management, Resco SMS: Ship Management System, Resco POS: Point of Sale, Resco INV: Inventory Management System, Resco WEB: CMS, Booking and Web Design and Resco HMS: Hotel Management System.

For more information about our products please visit www.rescompany.com or contact us directly by

email at pwinqvist@rescompany.com or michael@rescompany.com or call us on +44-2031788090

or +61-295267711. Rescompany has local offices in Sydney, Vancouver, London, Hamburg and Gdansk.

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