Norwegian Cruise Line Profile

For the latest issue of The Log, the official journal of the Navy League of the United States, New York Council, I wrote an article profiling Norwegian Cruise Lines (“NCL”) with a focus on its operations in New York. A copy of that article is posted at http://beyondships.com/NCL-Freestyle.html

In the article I looked at NCL’s history, which grew out of a partnership between Ted Arison, who would go on to found Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian marine businessman Knut Kloster. The venture proved a success but the personalities apparently did not mix and the two went their separate ways in a not very amicable split.

Kloster kept NCL and for a time, it was the top cruise line. One of its most innovative moves was refurbishing the majestic ocean liner, the SS France, into the largest cruise ship seen up to that point, the SS Norway. This step not only vastly increased NCL’s passenger capacity but paved the way for the mega-cruise ships that we see today.

By the turn of the millennium, however, NCL had lost its former position in the industry and appeared to be headed downwards. A new owner, Star Cruises, was able to inject fresh capital into the line and also new management ideas. The line realized that in order to compete, it could not simply follow the model that all of the other cruise lines used. Accordingly, it abandoned the traditional model and introduced Freestyle Cruising, which is best known for replacing the traditional assigned time and place dining system with a system that allows guests to decide when and where to eat. It has been so successful that the other lines have or are introducing similar systems.

Another innovation was homeporting its ships in ports outside of the traditional Florida cruise ports. One such port is New York, which had been all but abandoned by the cruise lines in the winter months until NCL deployed a ship there on a year-round basis. Once again, it proved a success and other lines have followed suit.

My article also describes the three ships that NCL has been using in New York recently, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Dawn. Each of these ships is profiled on the site complete with photo tours. The profiles can be accessed from my NCL page http://www.beyondships.com/NCL.html

Adventure of the Seas Profile

Adventure of the Seas is one of five Voyager-class cruise ships. These ships are not only some of the largest ships in service today but are recognized as being innovative. Their large space houses a wide variety of facilities and amenities including: the Royal Promenade, an indoor mall with shops, cafes, and bars that runs the center of the ship; the trademark rock climbing wall; an ice rink that is also used as an arena for concerts and activities; as well as more familiar attractions such as pools, a spa, a theater, lounges, an Intenet cafe, library, and a movie screening room.

When a series of ships is built based upon the same design, how can you differentiate one ship from the others? On the one hand, there is the question of do you want to have them be distinct? When people like the experience that they have on one ship in a cruise line’s fleet, they might be disappointed if they try another ship and it does not have the same facilities as their prior ship. In other words, if a ship is sailing under the Royal Caribbean brand, it should have the features that passengers associate with a Royal Caribbean ship. Accordingly, the Voyager ships have the same layout and with no major exceptions, the same facilities and amenities.

But Royal Caribbean has recognized that ships are not like buses or airplanes and that they inevitably develop their own character. This is particularly well known in naval circles where identical ships have their own personalities. Accordingly, there are subtle differences in the décor of the various Voyagers.

The art work on Adventure of the Seas is modern and upbeat. The paintings are abstract with bright colors. There are also quite a few life-like statues of people engaged in various activities around the ship. The passenger hallways are warm and attractive.

Another things that struck me about the ship was that she looked crisp and new. Since the ship entered service in 2001, I can only put this down to good maintenance.

When I was on board, Adventure was on a cruise out of San Juan Puerto Rico and there was also something of a Latin flavor. The crew members I encountered seemed to be able to speak both English and Spanish and the Cruise Compasses were printed in those languages as well as French and German.

I have added a new profile section to my website on Adventure of the Seas. http://beyondships.com/AOS-Profile.htm The photo tour and commentary begins at: http://beyondships.com/AOS-tour.html

Caribbean Princess Passenger Services Director James Deering

James Deering has a vast experience in the cruise industry coming from having worked for a series of major names in cruise industry including NCL, Star Cruises, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Renaissance Cruises, and now Princess Cruises. He also has a keen intelligence and is quite articulate. Consequently, each time I have interview James, I have walked away with large amounts of material. Indeed, there was so much material this time, that there is too much for just one article.

Most recently, I encountered James on Caribbean Princess where he was the Passenger Services Director, which is equivalent to the hotel manager or hotel director on the other major lines. The ship was on a Caribbean cruise out of New York.

It is a time of transition for Caribbean Princess, one of the mega-cruise ships of the Grand (Princess) class. Caribbean Princess is taking over the itineraries previously done by her younger sister Crown Princess. In addition, in January, she will undergo an extensive refit which will give her all of the amenities and facilities that are on the more recent Grand class ships.

While it may seem a no-brainer to add features that have been successful on other ships, there is risk in change. The service, the food and the activities on Caribbean Princess were all working well on this cruise. In addition, there were numerous repeat passengers on this voyage, many of whom had come because they liked Caribbean Princess the best of all of the Grand class ships. If things are working well, why change?

James agreed that each ship develops its own character and that leads to a ship having its own following. However, based upon his experience on the Crown Princess and the Emerald Princess, he felt that the features planned for Caribbean Princess would enhance the Caribbean Princess experience without changing the ship’s basic character.

My most recent interview with James Deering is at: http://beyondships.com/Princess-CB-Deering.html

Captain Standal of Explorer of the Seas

During my recent voyage on Explorer of the Seas, I was invited up to the bridge as the ship was leaving Bermuda. Explorer is a big ship, 138,000 tons, and thus cannot dock in Hamilton or St. George’s in Bermuda. Consequently, we were at the King’s Warf pier at the former Royal Navy dockyard.

Seemingly, one could just pull away from the pier from Kings Warf and head directly out to sea towards New York. Once you are clear of the dockyard area, there is just water extending to the horizon. However, hidden just below the surface are numerous rock outcroppings that surround the island. Consequently, cruise ships have to follow a narrow channel and make a circuit around the island before heading off in their desired direction.

At one point not all that far from the pier, the channel narrows down so that it is not much larger than Explorer’s 155-foot width. Because of the narrowness of the channel, any sideways drift would lead to disaster. Therefore, the ship would have to put on a burst of speed in order to pop straight through the opening.

Just beyond the opening, the Costa Fortuna sat waiting for Explorer to pass. The new second pier at King’s Warf was still under construction and so the Costa ship had to wait until Explorer vacated her berth.

The rocks on either side of the opening just below the turquoise water were clearly visible from the bridge. Captain Erik Standal and the Bermuda pilot stood at the center console while the Staff Captain was over by the port side bridge wing so that he could observe how closely the side of the ship was to the rocks. Explorer accelerated, not to her full speed, but to a speed much faster than the normal lazy pace that cruise ships follow going in and out of port. With seemingly only a few feet to spare, Explorer shot through the opening. The water was pushed back from the rock outcroppings and then surged back, swirling in Explorer’s wake.

Once the ship was out into open waters, I sat down with the Captain for an interview. Explorer’s glass enclosed bridge runs the width of the ship and extends out over the water on either side. The computerized technology used to navigate Explorer does not take up much of this vast space so there is room for an informal conference area with comfortable chairs and a sofa. As a result, the Captain was able to keep an eye on what was going on on the bridge as we spoke.

Captain Erik, as he calls himself in his daily announcements to the guests, is a quiet but approachable person. His youthful appearance gives no clue as to his substantial sea experience. Similarly, his easy, informal manner gives no clue as to the perseverance needed to go from working on ventilation systems shoreside in Norway to commanding one of the world’s largest ships.

I spoke with Captain Erik about his career, commanding Explorer and his thoughts about cruising in general. The interview is posted at http://beyondships.com/Explorer-Standal.html