All articles by Ramesh Yada
Ramesh Yada
At the vanguard
The expedition cruise sector has been booming, with 10 new ships scheduled for delivery in 2020 at one point, record guest numbers and increasingly adventurous itineraries brought to market. Will Moffitt asks Lindblad CEO Sven-Olof Lindblad what accounts for this significant performance spike, and what more traditional operators can learn from his company’s well-established expeditionary model.
Digital cuts the muster
Initiatives like facial recognition check-in and personalised muster set Royal Caribbean’s approach to digital apart, but can its commitment to transforming the fundamentals survive perhaps the biggest crisis the industry has ever faced? Isabel Ellis asks Jay Schneider, the company’s senior vice-president for digital, how new smart technology can really be used to create lasting value.
Get your act together
Stage shows at sea are getting more ambitious, with cruise lines delivering high-calibre renditions of West End and Broadway productions, and theatre-themed cruises launching to sate guests’ desire to see elaborate productions. Will Moffitt speaks to Richard Ambrose, Norwegian Cruise Lines’ vice-president of entertainment, and Jane LaFave, business development manager at Sixthman, about treading the boards at sea.
The Adriatic horizon
For decades a relative backwater, the Adriatic has been booming, with passenger numbers and local incomes clambering to new peaks. But, increased activity brings a range of environmental and societal problems. Andrea Valentino talks to Francesco di Cesare, head of the Adriatic Sea Forum; Dusan Varda, director of the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Monitoring; and Elsid Xhelili, an adviser to the Albanian minister of tourism and the environment, about why the sea is so popular, and if governments can resist the temptation to cash in.