Fatal Cruise Ship Wreck Will Shake Entire Industry

When the Greek-flagged cruise ship the Sea Diamond sank in the Aegean in 2007, killing two passengers, the international press was quick to point out that the ship was nothing like the modern mega-ships operated by the big mass-market cruise lines frequented by American vacationers. (And I was quick to agree.)

The Costa Concordia, on the other hand, is precisely like that. It is — or was — a modern mega-ship, launched in 2006, carrying 4,000 passengers and crew. It’s owned by Carnival Corp., the largest cruise line company in the world. There will be major and lasting repercussions to the fact that it has run aground and rolled onto its side off the coast of Italy, killing at least three people. (At this point, the BBC reports that dozens more are missing.)

One consequence will be a lasting and disturbing impression on the public which, despite occasional reports of fires and passengers going overboard, had grown accustomed to the idea that modern mega-ships do not sink. The other will be increased scrutiny in the United States and Europe of an industry that operates largely outside the regulatory bounds of both.

Carnival — which owns Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, P&O, Cunard, Costa, AIDA and Iberocruceros — will have a lot of explaining to do. But I suspect the other major cruise lines are worried, too.

Carnival Cruise Debacle Puts Focus On Fire At Sea

The cruise industry took its worst public relations hit in years when a fire disabled the Carnival Splendor at sea this week. Three days at sea without electricity is not what the passengers signed up for, but the unflushable toilets and the cold food may not be the most relevant point here. While the movie “Titanic” conditioned us to worry about ships foundering and sinking, fires have been a much greater danger, as maritime lawyer Jim Walker points out on his Cruise Law News site.

Norwegian Discounts Cruises From New York

Norwegian is dealing on its November cruises out of New York to the Bahamas. Inside cabins are available on seven-night cruises at $399 per person, double occupancy, which comes out to $507.50 when taxes and fees are added.

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Royal Caribbean Charges For Late Disembarkation

Royal Caribbean has come up with a new fee: $35 to let you stay on board one of its cruise ships after the other passengers get punted on disembarkation day. You have to admire the ingenuity.

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Six Day Celebrity Cruise: $514

A friend is looking for a low-stress vacation this fall, so I went poking around and found a nice bargain on a cruise.

The Celebrity Summit is repositioning from the Northeast, where it has been doing Canada and Bermuda cruises, to the Caribbean on Oct. 24. The ship will sail from  Bayonne, New Jersey,  proceed to Bermuda for an overnight stay and then sail to St. Thomas and  Puerto Rico.

Inside cabins are listed at $399 a person, which comes out to $514 with taxes and fees. That’s a terrific itinerary at $85 a day for a cruise line that’s on the upscale side of the mass-market lines.

Of course, you’d have to buy transportation back from Puerto Rico.  JetBlue has one-way fares in the $200 range to JFK and LaGuardia. Unfortunately, fares to Bradley are substantially higher right now.

Royal Caribbean Axes Art Auctioneer

Royal Caribbean is not renewing its contract with the controversial art auctioneer Park West, and may end art auctions on  its cruise ships entirely, as Gene Sloan reports on USA Today’s Cruise Log blog.

The move comes after Park West lost a $500,000 judgment in a countersuit filed by one of its most vehement critics, according to the Detroit Free Press.

This is a good move on Royal Caribbean’s part. Let’s hope the other cruise lines follow suit and that they don’t replace the art auctions with something equally obnoxious.

And if you’re going on a cruise, remember my simple advice: avoid the art auctions, the jewelry, the casino and the spa treatments. In every case, you’ll get a better value on shore.

Don’t Be An On-Board Revenue Generator

Gene Sloan of USA Today’s Cruise Log blog points out an interesting remark by Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein in an earnings call Wednesday.

Questioned about passenger spending on the cruise line’s new mega-giganta-ship, Oasis of the Seas, Goldstein said the ship “has proven to be an even stronger onboard revenue generator than we had foreseen.” Passengers are not only paying premium rates to sail on this massive ship, they are spending quite merrily on extras when aboard.

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Four-Night Caribbean Cruise, $213

At least a couple of online travel agencies are offering four-night Caribbean cruises on Carnival’s Imagination for $159, plus taxes and fees for a total of $213  per person, double occupancy.  That’s $53 per day, not the lowest rate I’ve ever seen but pretty close.

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Seven-Day Caribbean Cruise: $429

Carnival is selling inside cabins on a December cruise to the Caribbean for $369 a person, double occupancy in an inside cabin, plus taxes and fees for a bottom line of $429 a person.
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Bermuda Cruise: $589

There are inside cabins available on the April 25 sailing of the Norwegian Dawn from New York to Bermuda for $399 a person, double occupancy, which comes out to $589 per person when taxes and Bermuda’s rather substantial port fees are added.

It’s a very nice price for a Bermuda cruise, which tend to be comparatively expensive. For those of us who live in the Northeast, it’s an opportunity to cruise without paying airfare.

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