Sunday, September 27, 2009

Photo tour and guide to P&O's cruise ship Oceana


P&O Cruises’ Oceana is the twin sister of Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess. Back in 2002 when Princess was a subsidiary of P&O, Ocean Princess and Sea Princess were transferred from the primarily American market aimed subsidiary to the British market aimed parent company. Both were then modified to suit British tastes. Subsequently, Sea Princess was returned to Princess but Ocean Princess continues to sail on as Oceana for P&O.

What makes this intra-corporate exchange interesting is how it affected the atmospheres on the two ships. Both have nearly identical facilities and amenities but the two ships have much different styles. Even after returning to Princess, Sea Princess continued to sail out of the UK carrying primarily British passengers. However, the atmosphere onboard was one of an American ship serving Britain. Indeed, in her advertising, the British were told that she provided “American-style luxury.”

Meanwhile Oceana has a distinctly British feel. Yes, one can see traces of her American past but she is now firmly a British ship. This manifests itself in the attitude of the crew, the style of service and in other more indefinable ways. As has been said, it is Britain for the British.

In relation to other cruise ships, Oceana is mid-sized at approximately 77,000 gross tons. She is in her element doing warm-weather cruising and so she spends the winters in the Caribbean, only coming home for the summer months. She attracts a substantial number of families with children and has a sizeable children’s area.

My profile of Oceana is at http://beyondships.com/PO-Oceana-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/PO-Oceana-Tour-1.html

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Talking with the Captain and Hotel Director of Grandeur of the Seas




One of the nicest things about Grandeur of the Seas is the friendliness of her crew and that extends all the way up through to the senior management of the ship.

Captain Rune Johnsen lives outside of Trondheim in Norway when he is not at sea. It is far enough away from the city so that he does not have to worry about crime and being on guard all of the time. This fits with his open, people-friendly personality.

I spoke with Captain Johnsen about the nautical aspects of Grandeur of the Seas - - her seakeeping qualities, propulsion etc. However, we also discussed the type of atmosphere that he seeks to create not only on the bridge but in managing the entire ship. His thoughts appear at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-GOS-Johnsen.html

Sanjay Kumar is the Hotel Director on Grandeur. When he was growing up, he had a great passion for cooking and that led him to the hospitality industry. After obtaining his degree, he worked in five star restaurants in India and then came to Royal Caribbean as a chef. Then he switched over to hotel management.

Sanjay took on the tough question of how does Grandeur remain popular in a line that is known for its mega-sized ships with all of their facilities and amenities. His answer appears at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-GOS-Kumar.html

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Grandeur of the Seas Profile and Photo Tour


I confess that I was somewhat skeptical when I booked my cruise on Grandeur of the Seas. Because she is much smaller than Royal Caribbean’s more recent ships, she would not have all the features and amenities that make a cruise on a Voyager or Freedom class ship so entertaining. Then, there was the fact that she was 13 years old. Ships such as the QE2 sailed on much longer than that but I wondered how well Grandeur had been kept up.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. It is true that Grandeur does not have a Royal Promenade or an ice rink but what she lacks in hardware she more than makes up in software. The officers and crew seemed to put an extra amount of energy into everything that they did. As a result, the service was very friendly and the entertainment/activities very good.

The ship has also been well-maintained. She was re-furbished in 2007 and was clean with no visible signs of wear. The public spaces were well-laid out and decorated in a tasteful contemporary manner.

As a result, I was very pleased with my cruise on Grandeur. To get a feel for her yourself, the new Grandeur of the Seas section of Beyondships starts at http://beyondships.com/RCI-GOS-Profile.html The photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-GOS--tour-1.html

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Joe Farcus Talks About the New Carnival Dream

Later this month, Carnival Dream will enter service. At 130,000 gross tons, she will be the largest ship yet built for Carnival Cruise Lines. She utilizes an underlying design that Carnival first introduced with Carnival Destiny and has been developing with each mega-cruise ship (100,000 plus tons) that it has introduced over the course of the last decade. This has been a very successful and popular design and thus passengers can be assured of finding on Carnival Dream the features that they have enjoyed on earlier Carnival ships.

Yet, Carnival Dream is not just a bigger version of past Carnival ships. Amongst the features being introduced on this ship is a wrap-around outdoor promenade with hot tubs cantilevered over the side. Linking this area to the indoor public spaces will be a new plaza that will be part entertainment venue, part dining area, and part lounge.

Of course, no two Carnival ships are the same. Carnival’s architect Joe Farcus ensures that each ship has its own interior design, each reflecting a different central idea. These creative designs help to give each Carnival ship its own identity and enhance the guests’ vacation experience by both challenging them intellectually and dazzling them visually.

Consequently, who better to talk about what Carnival is trying to achieve with Carnival Dream than Mr. Farcus? My interview with Mr. Farcus appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalDream-art-Farcus.html