2011 In Review

Recapping Some of the Major Stories of 2011

Notable Cruise Line Highlights

Three Queens Meet ... On a cold wintry day in January, 3 queens met in New York Harbor.  Cunard Lines Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria  rendezvoused by the Statue of Liberty as crowds watched an amazing fireworks display. Read more ... Royal Rendezvous New York

Watching Live ... Kevin Sheehan, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, appeared on CBS televisions popular "Undercover Boss" where he learned first-hand what the crew faces to bring Freestyle Cruising to their guests.  Read more ... NCL's Boss Goes Undercover    

New Ships ... Several ships entered service this year including Disney Dream, which is the first of two new ships being added to that fleet.   Read more ... Welcome Home Disney Dream

Returning to Service ... One of the most notable cruise line events in 2010 was the fire aboard Carnival Splendor.  The ship returned to service this year where it continues to be one of the few ships in the Mexican Riviera.   Read more ... Carnival Splendor Resumed Cruises

These are just a few of the top cruise line stories making the headlines of our blog posts this past year.

Political Unrest &  Other Issues

Economics, Violence, Unrest ... Poor economic conditions prompted strikes and political unrest in several European & Middle Eastern countries this year impacting cruise line schedules.  Since cruise lines take passenger and crew safety very highly, many itineraries were changed to avoid conflict areas.  Here are some of the notable stories:

Bahrain Protests Spark Cruise Changes Cruise Lines Pull Out of Mazatlan Unrest in Tunisia Prompts Cruise Changes More Changes for Mexican Ports of Call

Egypt Travel Alert Impacts Cruises Protests in Egypt Prompt More Cancellations Protests in Athens Greece

Weather & Natural Disasters

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Snow storms, Volcanic Eruptions ... There were several natural disasters and weather-related interruptions to travel, including cruises, this past year.  The most devastating event had to be the earthquakes and resulting tsunami in Japan.  The entire world watched as the country tried to avoid a nuclear disaster.  

Historic Snowstorm Predicted Severe Tsunami Impacting Japan & Hawaii Strong Quakes Continue to Rattle Japan Massive New Zealand Quake and Tsunami Alert 2011 Hurricane Season in Review

After the Tohoku Earthquake Grímsvötn Volcano Causes Travel Woes Iceland Volcanic Ash Grounds Flights Puyehue Volcano Erupts in Southern Chile

As 2012 dawns, the cruise lines that are in the Mexican Riviera are still avoiding Mazatlan,  some of the eliminated European and Middle Eastern ports of call have had some limited resumption of service, and weather will continue to impact schedules.  We will continue to monitor changes in the industry and events that have an impact on cruise schedules in the upcoming months.   Wave Season is about to start, so contact us with your bucket list so that we can watch for specials that might be of interest.

We wish you all a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.   The Sea is Calling ...

Sunset of 2010

Red skies at night...

sailors delight. 

  
One famous nautical superstition has sailors looking to the evening skies to determine the weather for the next day.   A colorful sunset with red skies meant the seas would be calm and the weather favorable delighting the sailors.

What will the artist's canvas look like tonight as the final sunset is painted in the evening sky?    Let's hope that the sunset signals calm seas with favorable conditions for the coming year.

Year of Disasters - Natural & Man Made

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Hurricanes

Photo courtesy Royal Caribbean International

Early in 2010, a major earthquake hit Haiti killing or injuring  hundreds of thousands, causing billions of dollars of damage, and devastating this already struggling nation.

The cruise industry and others rallied to try to help the country following the disaster.   Royal Caribbean, who has a long-standing relationship with the government of Haiti, led the cruise industry response (even while being criticized).  The nation would later suffer additional loss of life and damage when a hurricane struck the country.

Later in the year, the world's eyes turned to the skies over Iceland as volcanic ash grounded flights over Europe disrupting travel across the entire world.   Passengers were stranded in airports for days until the ash cleared.

Some passengers were unable to get to their cruise ships on time while in other cases, the ships provided an alternate means of travel for stranded air passengers.   It was a logistical nightmare for the entire travel industry and put additional strain on the economy.

Hurricane season began with a vengeance and it was feared that the NOAA predictions of a higher than normal season would become a reality.   There were a larger than usual number of named storms and hurricanes, but fortunately, they didn't produce the devastation of years past. 

That doesn't mean that there wasn't any loss of life or property damage.  As mentioned, Haiti did have substantial damage as did St. Lucia and other Caribbean countries.  Cruise itineraries were changed as storms approached or in their wake as services were restored.

Oil Spill, Ship Fire

During the height of hurricane season, an explosion on an oil rig caused loss of life and a major oil spill that would consume resources from the federal government and other agencies.  The spill severely endangered the ecology of the Gulf Coast region.    It took months to clean up and the effects of the spill will remain for many years to come.

Cruises were not impacted during the spill as the impacted ports remained open. Despite the continued cruise line presence, the economic impact from the oil spill took its toll on the region.  Many people changed their vacation plans as the cleanup continued.

The most recent major event of 2010 was the engine room fire on Carnival Splendor which stranded passengers on that cruise and impacted vacation plans through February next year.  The good news is that the industry will learn from this event and become even safer.

Cruise Line Expansion

2010 saw the introduction of several new cruise ships including Costa Deliziosa, MSC Magnifica, Celebrity Eclipse, P&O Azura, Norwegian Epic, Seabourn Sojourn, Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam, Cunard Queen Elizabeth, Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas, and Disney Dream.

The introduction of these new ships means there are more choices for the consumer.  As demand continues to increase, the capacity is keeping  pace assuring that a cruise vacation is well within the realm of possible vacation choices.

While the economy and disasters have been front and center all year long,  passengers are returning to cruising and we anticipate prices will rise as 2011 pricing comes out.   There might be some time yet to take advantage of lower prices, so it is wise not to procrastinate.  

Just like 2009, we saw an increase in first-time cruisers and those that have tried cruising continue to return year after year.    A cruise vacation remains an extremely good value making it a wise choice for those that decided to take a vacation.

Let us close the book on this historic year together. Tomorrow, when you awake, open the book on what I hope will be a brighter tomorrow. Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year to all!!