All articles by julian turner
julian turner
Something for everyone – serving Chinese retail customers
Cruise capacity in China is predicted to grow by 220% in the next five years, and with operators keen to make their mark on the market, maximising the availability of on-board retail will be essential to retaining customers and building profitability. Colin Castle speaks with Simon Weir, Royal Caribbean’s COO for China, and Erin Rafter, the company’s head of on-board services, about the popularity of shopping among Chinese customers and the importance of keeping up with trends.
A sip of something new – onboard wine trends
Cruise operators are upgrading their wine offerings to attract a growing band of oenophiles. Matthew Plowright speaks to Carnival’s Anthony Habert and AmaWaterways’ Rudi Schreiner to find out how their brands are keeping up with the latest shoreside wine trends.
The cruise that gives back – the rise of voluntourism
Voluntourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of travel, with research showing an increasing desire among guests – especially millennials – to use their leisure time to ‘give back’ to the global community. As cruise lines take up the mantle, Sarah Williams speaks to John Stoll, vice-president of land programmes at Crystal Cruises, and Yoshioka Tatsuya, founder and director at Peace Boat, about creating programmes that go beyond the feel-good factor to make a real difference.
Clarity of vision – CLIA president Cindy D’Aoust
Appointed as permanent CEO and president of CLIA earlier this year, Cindy D’Aoust is committed to further establishing the association as a single, unifying body for the global cruise sector. She talks to Phin Foster about the importance of collective leadership, how she hopes to retain suitable flexibility across a worldwide footprint, and the three building blocks that must form the foundations for all the work she and her team undertake.
Come rain or shine – the European cruise market
Year-round European cruising is growing in popularity, but with this new paradigm comes significant challenges for destinations and operators alike. Elly Earls meets Cruise Europe’s Michael McCarthy, MSC Cruises’ Gianluca Suprani and Cruise Norway’s Sandra Diana Bratland to find out how such challenges can be overcome.
Sail to a greener future – inside the Ecoship project
The Ecoship project, for the designing and building of a cruise vessel that will carry out humanitarian and environmental missions for Japan-based NGO Peace Boat from 2020, has been finalised and initial funding secured, with construction scheduled to commence in April 2017. The ship, which will incorporate ten solar-powered sails, retractable wind generators and hybrid engines, has been touted as the greenest cruise vessel in the world, but could it also viably be the cruise ship of the future?
A regal remastering – the Queen Mary 2
Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 has undergone a major renovation, involving a 25-day dry-dock refurbishment at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg. Almost every part of the ship has been made over, with contemporary touches balanced by a reverence for the past. Abi Millar looks into what these changes involve and how they have been executed.
Bold expansion – Genting Hong Kong
With the €230.6-million acquisition of Nordic Yards’ three shipyards in Wismar, Warnemunde and Stralsund, as well as a string of new investments across the northern European shipbuilding market, Genting Hong Kong has made a bold move that could give it the capacity to dramatically expand Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruises and Star Cruises. Colin Castle examines the nuts and bolts of the agreement, the benefits of the ability to build at an operator’s own pace, and whether cruise lines in the shipbuilding game are set to become the new normal.
Treasure of the seven seas – inside the world’s most luxurious cruise ship
When Regent Seven Seas’ Seven Seas Explorer set sail on its maiden voyage in July, it was hailed as “the most luxurious cruise ship in the world”. With its supersized suites, seven open-seating gourmet restaurants, nine-deck atrium, two-storey theatre and $90,000 horsehair mattress, it is undeniably high-end, but can it truly justify this claim? Abi Millar takes a look at this bold celebration of all things opulent.
On stranger tides – the growth of the expeditions market
Founded in 1979 and partnered with National Geographic for the past 12 years, Lindblad Expeditions has provided small-ship voyages to some of the world’s most remote and intriguing destinations, from the icy wilderness of Antarctica to the dramatic fjords of Alaska’s Inside Passage. In 2015, as part of a $439-million acquisition deal, the line announced an order for two new builds, the first in its history. Sarah Williams speaks to CEO and founder Sven-Olof Lindblad to find out what this move tells us about the growth of the expeditions market, and what traditional operators can learn from this destination-led model.