Profile and Photo Tour of Carnival Glory

My subject this time is Carnival Glory. Glory is a large cruise ship - - one of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Conquest class. She is not the biggest ship Carnival has but not the smallest by any means. Rather, she is one of five 110,000 gross ton ships which are the real backbone of the Carnival fleet.

In putting together a new profile and photo tour of the Glory, I was struck by just how a large ship gives guests so many choices. Take the open decks for instance. Following her most recent re-fit, Glory now has an adults only retreat area with premium deck chairs, hammocks, a hot tub and a bar. If luxuriating relaxation does not interest you, you can ride down a three deck high waterslide, plunge into a nearby pool or unwind in another hot tub which is adjacent to this pool. If that is not appealing, how about relaxing in a deck chair and watching a movie, concert or sports event on a 12 by 22 foot LED outdoor screen. There is also another pool and two more hot tubs near by as well as a bar and a Mongolian Wok buffet station. People looking to be more active can use the jogging trail, the basket ball court, the volleyball court, the mini-golf course, the golf practice net or play shuffleboard. Then there is another pool with two more hot tubs that is under a retractable glass roof. It also has deck chairs, a bar, a grill and the ship’s pizzeria. If none of this is appealing, there are also the indoor facilities including a large spa, restaurants, bars, theaters etc.

One could go through a similar list for all the dining options. However, the point is that a ship of this size gives one considerable latitude in designing ones vacation.

Of course, there are more people on a large ship than a small ship assuming that both ships are in the same market category. (A large premium ship can have less passengers than a smaller mass market ship). But then on a smaller ship, there is less space and less facilities and so there is more concentration of the people.

Carnival Glory is a mass market ship. In fact, the original vision behind Carnival was to open up cruising to everyman. To this end, the line aims to provide good quality facilities and service at a reasonable price. Over time, it has evolved from being a party oriented line to being a family focused line, although there is still considerable emphasis on having fun.

Carnival Glory is currently winding up her first summer season homeported in New York, where she was sailing to Canada and New England. In the next few weeks she will move down the East Coast doing cruises from Norfolk, Virginia and then Charleston, South Carolina before taking up residence in Miami for the winter. Next Spring, she will follow the same route in the reverse direction.

Beyondships new and updated profile of Carnival Glory is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-profile.html and the photo tour with dozens of new photos is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-Tour-1.html

Captain Ian McNaught on Cunard Yesterday and Today, Larry Pimintel takes Aazamara In A New Direction

Happy New Year!

Beyondships begins the new year by taking a look back and a look forward.

When I spoke with Captain Ian McNaught of Cunard’s Queen Victoria, our conversation covered his career with Cunard going back to the 1980s. He is well known in ocean liner circles for his work as the last Cunard captain of the legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2). However, before QE2, he commanded several other Cunard ships. These included the mass market Cunard cruise ships of the 1980s and 1990s as well as the ultra luxury Sea Goddess yachts.

In addition to talking about those ships, we also discussed how the acquisition of Cunard by Carnival Corporation saved Cunard.

Finally, we discussed the difference between Cunard and P&O Cruises, and how that affects the cruise experience on the two lines. In this connection, it is important to keep in mind that Captain McNaught also commands P&O ships from time to time.

My conversation with Captain McNaught is at http://www.beyondships.com/QV-McNaught-2.html

Larry Pimintel also was once associated with Cunard but these days he is the President of Azamara Club Cruises. In fact, Pimintel has only been the head of Azamara for less than a year but he is shaking things up and moving the company in a new direction.

Azamara is one of the Royal Caribbean family of companies. However, unlike the company’s sister cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises where the ships keep getting bigger, Azamara’s ships are small intimate ships. The line has been around for less than three years but in that time, it has become known as Royal’s luxury brand.

While the Azamara ships are popular, they are not producing the required return on capital. Accordingly, Pimintel is taking the bold step of raising prices in these harsh economic times. He is also changing the focus of the product, making the cruise experience more destination intensive and including more services within the fare price.

My article about the new Azamara appears at http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-articles-azamara.html

Turning to the news,

On January 5, Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth will be floated out. The floating out is an important event in a ship’s life. It is the equivalent of the moment when a ship would slide down the ways into the water for the first time. Nowadays, passenger ships are not built on ways but rather in dry docks. When the ship reaches a point where she can float, the drydock is flooded and its gates opened so that the ship can be completed at a fitting out dock. It is a much easier and safer way to build ships but not as dramatic. In any case, Queen Elizabeth will reach this milestone this week.

Interview with Captain Ian McNuaght and Other Cruise News.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Captain Ian McNaught of Cunard Line. This was indeed an enjoyable experience as I have known Captain McNaught since he was a young officer on Queen Elizabeth 2 in the 1990s. Captain McNaught is perhaps best known for being the last Cunard captain of the QE2 and his vibrant personality has made him a great favorite of regular Cunard passengers.

Our conversation touched upon a number of topics but the primary focus was on Captain McNaught’s latest command Cunard’s Queen Victoria. The ship is the second largest Cunarder ever built and was designed to bring the Cunard transatlantic crossing style to cruising. Cunard has had cruise ships in the past but their style was always different than its transatlantic liners. Some were mass market, some were luxury, and some reflected the Norwegian style of their previous owners.

Captain McNaught sees the Queen Victoria as carrying through the Cunard experience of QE2 and more recently Queen Mary 2. There are differences but then each ship is different. He attributes much of Cunard’s success in carrying over the Cunard style to his crew and their Cunard training. He is also very impressed by the technology on Queen Victoria, which he feels enhances the product.

My conversation with Captain McNaught is posted at: http://beyondships.com/QV-McNaught-1.html

Turning to the week’s other news:

Princess Cruises has announced that in 2011, it will transfer the Royal Princess to sister company P&O Cruises. Royal Princess is one of Princess’ small ships (see our profile and photo tour at http://beyondships.com/Princess-RP-Profile.html ) She will be following in the footsteps of the previous Royal Princess, which became P&O’s Artemis (http://www.beyondships.com/PO-Artemis-Profile.html). Artemis will be leaving the P&O fleet and thus the addition of Royal Princess to P&O will allow that line to maintain its presence in small ship cruising. The ship is to be renamed Adonia.

Meanwhile, life is changing for some of Royal Princess’ sisters. Royal Princess is one of eight nearly identical ships that were built for Renaissance Cruises. Following the demise of Renaissance, three of these ships went to Princess, three to Oceania Cruises and two to Azamara Cruises.

This week Azamara announced that it was changing its name to Azamara Club Cruises. Its new president, Larry Pimintel, explained that the new name was more in keeping with the club-like atmosphere onboard its up-market ships. The line is also changing its approach to become more destination focused with longer stays in port including more overnights. I’ll be writing more about Azamara’s plans in the near future.

I recently heard from two of the officers who have been interviewed on Beyondships. Trevor Lane, who had been Staff Captain on Queen Mary 2, has been promoted to captain and is the master of the Pacific Sun of P&O Cruises Australia. Meanwhile, Captain Francesco La Fauci, who I interviewed on Carnival Triumph, is now in command of Carnival Conquest.