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At the conclusion of our 13 Day Sydney Australia to New Zealand Cruise, we extended our trip in Sydney staying an additional two nights. This allowed us to spend more time seeing the sights of Sydney and surrounding area. The highlight of our stay was participation in the Australia Day festivities which were being held at Sydney Harbour.
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Jackson in New South Wales. In present-day Australia, celebrations aim to reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation and are marked by community and family events, reflections on Australian history, official community awards and citizenship ceremonies welcoming new members of the Australian community.
In contemporary Australia, the holiday is marked by the presentation of the Australian of the Year Awards on Australia Day Eve, announcement of the Australia Day Honors list and addresses from the governor-general and prime minister. It is an official public holiday in every state and territory. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies, the day is celebrated in large and small communities and cities around the nation. Australia Day has become the biggest annual civic event in Australia.
Indigenous Australian events are now included. However, since at least 1938, the date of Australia Day has also been marked by Indigenous Australians and supporters mourning what is seen as the invasion of the land by the British and the start of colonization, protesting its celebration as a national holiday. 26 January is referred to as Invasion Day, Survival Day, or Day of Mourning. Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage to groups that lived in Australia before British colonization. They include the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
Australia Day festivities in Sydney lasted the entire day. They started with Lord Mayor's Citizenship Ceremony followed by various acts on the Tallawoladah Stage, Ferrython, Salute to Australia, Tug & Yacht Ballet, In the Sky, Harbour Parade, Tall Ships Race, Australia Day Regatta, and concluded with Australia Day Live including various entertainers, concluding with an amazing fireworks display.
We'll post some more information and videos. Meanwhile, see our Australia Day photo album.
No Retired Hurricanes for 2019 Due to Covid-19 Pandemic
Hurricane Dorian Courtesy: Fox News
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the annual week-long meeting of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO’s) hurricane committee was canceled.
Storm names are retired if they were so deadly or destructive that the future use of the name would be insensitive - otherwise names are reused by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center on a six-year cycle.
Replacement names, to be used in 2025, would have been announced.
We will have to wait another year to find out what storms from the 2019 season will be retired.
There are some likely candidates for retirement when the WMO committee meets in 2021. Hurricane Dorian, which made landfall in the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane, tops the list of possibilities. It devastated the Bahamas, brought tropical storm conditions to the east coast of Florida, and impacted cruises resulting in one of the largest industry relief responses in its aftermath.
Tropical Storm Imelda never reached hurricane status but nonetheless it left its mark on Texas. This slow moving storm dumped more than 40 inches of rain in East Texas.
Hurricane Lorenzo, another Category 5 storm, will be remembered as the easternmost Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic.
The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season was the fourth consecutive year of above-average and damaging seasons dating back to 2016. It is tied with 1969 as the fourth-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of named storms.
Looking Back at 2019
The Atlantic season produced 18 named storms, including six hurricanes of which three were “major” (Category 3, 4 or 5). NOAA’s outlook called for 10-17 named storms, 5-9 hurricanes and 2-4 major hurricanes, and accurately predicted the overall activity of the season.
The only other period on record that produced four consecutive above-normal seasons was 1998-2001. Also this year, five tropical cyclones formed in the Gulf of Mexico, which ties a record with 2003 and 1957 for the most storms to form in that region. Of those, three — Barry, Imelda and Nestor — made landfall in the U.S.
In the chart below, the numbers in parenthesis are the averages, so you can easily see that the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season was well above average. Read more (comprehensive coverage)
Atlantic Basin
Forecast Parameter and 1950-2000 Climatology (in parentheses)
The 2019 Pacific hurricane season was a near average season which produced nineteen named storms, though most were rather weak and short-lived. Only seven hurricanes formed, the fewest since 2010. The season had a rather slow start, with no tropical cyclones forming in the basin during the month of May for the first time since 2016, and the first time that no storms formed before the month of June since 2011.
In the chart below, the numbers in parenthesis are the averages, so you can easily see that the 2019 Pacific Hurricane Season was near normal. Read more (comprehensive coverage)
East Pacific
Forecast Parameter and 1950-2000 Climatology (in parentheses)
NOAA 2019 Prediction
2019 Actual
Named Storms (NS) (9.6)
15 - 22
19
Hurricanes (H) (5.9)
8 - 13
7
Major Hurricanes (MH) (2.3)
4 - 8
4
Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) (96.1)
75 - 145
97
Measuring total seasonal activity: The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index
An important measure of the total overall seasonal activity is the NOAA Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index, which accounts for the intensity and duration of named storms and hurricanes during the season. According to NOAA’s hurricane season classifications, an ACE value above 117% of the 1950-2000 median reflects an above-normal season. An ACE value above 175% of the median reflects an exceptionally active (or hyperactive) season.
As the year drew to a close, we took a look at some of the industry headlines and reviewed some of our cruise adventures. Weather made the biggest headlines impacting the cruise industry in 2019. The cruise industry responded to the hurricane devastation with outpouring of support and supplies.
Cruising continues to increase in popularity as more than 30 million guests took to the seas on a cruise vacation in 2019, according to Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) State of the Cruise Industry Report. "While demand for cruising has reached new heights,
the cruise industry is accelerating our efforts to be a leader in responsible tourism." said Kelly Craighead, CLIA President and CEO.
The cruise lines continued to add capacity, introducing 18 new ships bringing the total to 272 CLIA-member cruise ships.
Once again honors went to Viking Ocean Cruises as it took delivery of the fourth ship in Viking Ocean's fleet, Viking Jupiter, in February. It is virtually identical to sister ships Viking Sea, Viking Sky , Viking Star and Viking Sun, featuring 930-passenger capacity with highlights such as the Explorer Lounge, a two-deck observation library with lots of comfy chairs and couches; the Nordic-inspired spa with Finnish sauna and snow room; the indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace dining venue; and a magrodome pool, with a glass roof that opens in warm weather.
Viking Ocean ships are all-balcony cruise ships with the smallest cabins measuring a sizable 270 square feet; the largest suites comes in at 1,300 square feet. The ships specialize in destination-oriented cruise experiences with long days in ports, plenty of overnights in major cities and few days at sea.
Cruise fares include a selection of free shore excursions, complimentary Wi-Fi, and beer and wine at lunch and dinner offering good value for the cruise price.
Symphony of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. She is the largest passenger ship in the world by gross tonnage, at 228,021 GT, surpassing her sister Harmony of the Seas. Having our conferences on a relatively new ship, was one of our highlights for the year. If you have specific questions about the ships, the itineraries, or cruising in general, we'd love to hear from you. Weather Impact on Cruises
The damaging slow-moving storms of 2019 were Hurricane Barry (Louisiana, $600 million in damage), Hurricane Dorian (The Bahamas, Southeast U.S. and Canada, at least $4.6 billion in damage), Tropical Storm Imelda (Texas and Louisiana, $2 billion in damage), and Tropical Storm Fernand (northeast Mexico, $250 million in damage).
Throughout September and October, we were posting itinerary updates as schedules were impacted by either the approaching storms or following the landfall.
Cruise lines rushed to aid victims with several voyages cancelled to launch rescue and supply missions. The industry response was like no other in history. We are proud to be part of this industry as everyone joined together to help in this time of need.
At our conference, industry leaders from the cruise lines and organizations stressed that while there had been a tremendous response to date, it was crucial that we as Travel Professionals helped get the message out that the Bahamas & Caribbean is Open for Business. They still need our help to recover from the hurricanes. One of the ways this can be done is by bringing tourism dollars back into the regions hit hardest by the hurricanes.
Our Favorite Cruises for 2019
Having cruised for 30+ years, our cruise selections are driven primarily by destination and secondly by cruise ship. We love exploring new destinations from our bucket list as well as revisiting some of our favorites. Exploring new ships, including older ships we've never sailed on before, is also quite enjoyable. Of course, we love to share with our readers so that they can discover the world that awaits them. In addition to our conference cruise on Symphony of the Seas, here were our other journeys.
13 Day Syndney Australia to New Zealand Cruise
Click on the image to the left for Blog posts about this trip.
During our Southeast Asia Voyage we took advantage of the book onboard and anniversary sale to plan our next cruise. New Zealand was identified as a popular destination for 2019, so in order to bring our clients first-hand experiences of this destination and the latest ship from Princess Cruises, Majestic Princess, this was the cruise we selected. Follow along on our journey to the land down under.
There's no shortage of innovation on Celebrity Edge. The industry-first Magic CarpetSM is both the best way to take in spectacular views and the most exciting place to be. By changing function and location, it provides an incredible array of visual perspectives and a distinct experience on every deck it visits. We particularly enjoyed having a drink while enjoying a sunset during our past cruise.
This is only the beginning of what awaits you on Celebrity Edge. We posted on our social media accounts throughout the cruise and have begun our diary (click image). Bookmark the page to learn more about our trip.
What's Ahead for 2020
As this is an election year in the U.S., there's a lot of uncertainty as the new year and new decade begins. At our national conference, cruise lines execs told us that they are planning for any impact from election year by having their best deals early to fill the ships in advance of the elections. They all told us that bookings are strong and this should be another good year for the industry.
It will be a rebuilding year for the Caribbean and Bahamas and another ship building year as well. What will the added capacity mean? There are still a large percentage of the population that have not experienced cruising. The lines, including new players like Dream Cruises and Virgin Voyages, will continue to advertise which will help spread the word.
As cruise prices stabilized, many lines have been looking to onboard expenditures as a means to increase revenue. Items that had once been included, like room service, have started to see additional charges for example. Some passengers aren't happy with the new trend to "nickle-and-dime" them and may look to cruise lines that have less optional charges. Luxury lines are becoming an even better value since you know your cost of the entire trip up front.
It will be interesting to see how new players, such as Viking Oceans, impacts the industry as they grow their fleets. They are bucking the tide to go big and instead opting for smaller ships and more emphasis on the destinations. Of course, the river cruise industry is booming as the demand soars for this method of exploring the globe. Crystal has entered the market as well, bringing another luxury option to this growing market.
Travel Professionals are not going away. In fact, their expertise is even more valuable now, as there are more and more options to sort through. Matching the right ship and itinerary to the cruisers' desires is one of the biggest values they bring to bear. Hope to see you on the seven seas in 2020.
Royal Caribbean Adventure Ocean Kids Program - Symphony of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
Complimentary Kids Program
Adventure Ocean
A cruise vacation is fun for the entire family. With Royal Caribbean's award-winning Adventure Ocean® youth program, children love their Royal Caribbean cruise vacation as much as their parents. the program is always evolving, so be sure to click on the link for latest news, pictures, and more.
click images to enlarge
The college educated Youth Staff have developed age-appropriate curriculum to engage and entertain kids of all ages, along with partners such as Crayola® and Fisher-Price®.
Royal Babies, ages 6-18 months, offers our tiniest guests and their parents interactive classes filled with enriching activities developed by early childhood experts. Royal Tots, ages 18-36 months) offers 45-minute interactive playground sessions filled with age-appropriate activities and toys.
A parent or caregiver must accompany child during all activity sessions.
Aquanauts, 3-5, will have fun becoming certified Jr. Adventure Scientists
Explorers, 6-8, celebrate in themed parties just for them
Voyagers, 9-11, enjoy the tween-scene
Older kids are free to be themselves in Teen Only venues like Fuel Night Club and the Living Room. They'll love it so much the only thing you might wish for is a little more time with your kids.
Fisher-Price toy lending program
Borrow and exchange from an onboard treasure chest of Fisher-Price® developmental toys, specifically created for infants and toddlers ages 6-36 months.
Crayola Beginnings workshops
Just for Royal Tots! Throughout these 45-minute workshops, parents and their children enjoy story time while creating works of art using Crayola Beginnings products.
Pirates, Scientists, Artists, Ahoy!
Onboard, kids aren't just kids. They're scientists exploring the insect world, eye-patched pirates or the next great athlete to take the gold at the Wacky Olympics. With interactive programs and activities designed just for their age group, Adventure Ocean gives kids the chance to discover a whole new side of themselves.
All children participating in Adventure Ocean activities are required to be 3 years of age, 100% toilet trained and diaper and pull-up free.
Babies and Tots programs
Join your child in the fun of Royal Babies® or Royal Tots® interactive playgroup sessions developed by early childhood experts at Fisher-Price®. Each 45-minute session, held on one of our onboard lounges, offers activities that make playtime learning time as well.
Video: Adventure Ocean: Royal Caribbean's Kids-Only Program
National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions
Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.
