The Revitalization of Caribbean Princess

Although I had greatly enjoyed my last cruise on Caribbean Princess, I was somewhat skeptical about going back. In 2008, she was a nice ship with good food and lots of things to do. However, in January 2009, she went through a major refit project. Why mess with a good thing?

The aim of this project was to give Caribbean Princess some of the same features as her younger sisters Crown Princess, Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess. I was familiar with these ships and the features that were to be transplanted to Caribbean Princess such as the Crown Grill specialty restaurant and the adults-only Sanctuary are indeed very nice but would their importation spoil the character of Caribbean Princess. I am a believer that every ship has its own character and thus attempts to make one ship the same as another are misguided and bound to fail.

Fortunately, Princess was able to defy the rule. The new features do indeed enhance the cruise experience on Caribbean Princess. Plus, due to physical constraints and some wise thinking, the new additions are slightly different than on the other ships. Thus, Caribbean Princess has the advantages of the new features while still retaining her own character.

The changes to Caribbean Princess touched many areas and as a result, I have extensively revised my photo tour and commentary for the ship. It now starts at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-CB-Tour-1a.html. In addition, I was able to sit down with Captain Marco Fortezze and Passenger Services Director Peter Hollinson to find out their inside views of the project. http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-CB-art-Revitalizing.html I have also added new menus, Princess Patters, deck plans and other information to the Caribbean Princess profile page. http://beyondships.com/Princess-CB-Profile.html

Turning to items in the news, Cunard announced this week that filmmakers Griffin Dunne and Gary Winick will be lecturing on Queen Mary 2’s 11 November transatlantic crossing. Dunne will discuss “Practical Magic,” starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock; Winick will screen his feature film, “13 Going on 30,” starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. Such discussions are often quite interesting, not only for film buffs, but also for people who are interested in hearing beyond-the-scenes insights. I was on a transatlantic crossing this summer in which film director Baz Luhrmann screened his “Moulin Rouge” and enjoyed the lecture perhaps more than the film.

Cunard has always been quite good about attracting Hollywood stars and other celebrities to its transatlantic crossings. Quite a few have been there to give a talk about some project they were involved with but others have been there just as passengers. I recall exercising in the gym and noticing that the fellow at the next machine was Rod Stewart. He walked about the public areas and most people respected his privacy.

On another voyage on QE2, there was a man who everyone agreed looked like David Bowie. Oddly enough, no one said: “That is David Bowie.” Rather, he would be seen here and there about the ship and it was a running joke amongst the passengers that “there is the Bowie-guy again.” Later, a senior officer confided to me that the supposed look-alike was indeed the man himself. I have often wondered what would have happened if the “Bowie-guy” had entered the karaoke contest in the Golden Lion Pub. Probably, everybody would have agreed that he did not sound a bit like him.

Princess has released the results of a study that concluded most Americans do not lead balanced lives, i.e., they do not balance the demands and stresses of everyday life with free time. Residents of Chicago were determined to have the least balance in their lives while residents of Miami had the most balance. Interestingly, there is a direct correlation between these findings and the number of ocean-going cruise ships homeported in each city - - a lesson there for city-planners.

In New York this week was Fred. Olsen Cruises’ Balmoral, the former Norwegian Crown and Crown Odyessey. She had been visiting Canada and was about to head back across the Atlantic to England. While she has been stretched and refurbished since leaving NCL, she retains much of her original attractiveness. I will be adding a section to Beyondships about the Balmoral in the not too distant future.

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

Captain James MacDonald was Jewel of the Seas first captain and has spent most of the last five years with the ship. Hotel Director Robert Taggart has only been with the ship for more than a year. Still, talking to both men one quickly sees that they regard Jewel as a special ship.

As a master mariner, Captain MacDonald’s focus was naturally on what makes Jewel special from a nautical perspective. Amongst other things, he pointed out her unique environmentally-friendly power plant and talked about her state-of-the-art propulsion that gives the ship the ability to obtain speeds rare for a cruise ship.

Mr. Taggart started his career on the Canadian Pacific liner Princess Patricia, which ship buffs will recall was the first ship sailed by Princess Cruises. His prior experience also includes time with Carnival and on the big Royal Caribbean ships including Adventure of the Seas. Thus, he has seen a great deal of the cruise industry. Yet, he sees Jewel’s spacious and elegant style as something unusual.

My interview with Captain McDonald appears at http://beyondships.com/RCI-JOS-MacDonald.html while my talk with Mr. Taggart is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-JOS-Taggart.html

Some items in the news that caught my eye which I thought I would pass on:

Star Princess and Sun Princess delivered relief supplies to tsunami victims in Apia, Samoa and Pago Pago, American Samoa. Princess Cruises Community Foundation is also donating $10,000 to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Samoa and American Samoa. Captain Edward Perrin, who I interviewed when he was on Grand Princess http://beyondships.com/GrandPrincess-Perrin.html , was in command of the Star Princess’ efforts.

NCL has announced that Captain Trygve Vorren, currently of Norwegian Jade, and Captain Hakan Svedung, currently of Norwegian Dawn, will be the captains of the forthcoming 4,200 passenger Norwegian Epic. In addition, the Hotel Directors will be Klaus Lugmaier and Sean Wurmhoeringer. The ship is currently under construction in France and will be undergoing sea trials in January. Her inaugural cruises are scheduled for June and July.

NCL also took the opportunity to highlight some features of the new ship. Among these will be performances by the Blue Man group and a restaurant where cirque acrobats will perform during dinner. There will also be an ice bar where guests will don faux fur coats and drink at a bar made of ice. Outside, the Aqua Park will feature a giant water slide in which guests will slide down a tube into a basin, whirl around and then drop through another tube. It is a long way from the days when shuffleboard was the main outdoor entertainment on ships.

Speaking of innovation, Celebrity Cruises hosted an event this week to highlight its new Celebrity Life program. Traditionally, onboard activities have been an array of offerings each of which bore only a slight relation to the other. Under Celebrity Life, the onboard activities are grouped into unified concepts. In addition, there are members of the activities staff with specific responsibilities for the discovery (i.e. enrichment) activities, savor (culinary-related) activities and renew (spa and health-related) activities. Activities relating to each program are indicated by icons on the daily program and guests can choose to participate in as many or as few as they want. I’ll be having more on this in November, when Beyondships presents an interview with Celebrity Senior VP for Hotel Operations Lisa Lutoff-Perlo along with an update of the Celebrity Constellation section of the site.

Costa Cruises was in New York showcasing its new Canada-New England cruises with Costa Atlantica. We’ll be adding a section to Beyondships dedicated to Costa Atlantica soon.

Also in New York recently was Cunard’s Queen Victoria. The ship was doing a New York-New England-Canada cruise from the U.K. and did an overnight in New York. This gave me the opportunity to do an interview with my old friend Captain Ian McNaught while the ship was here. Cunard used Queen Victoria’s calls in the U.S. and Canada to emphasize how important it regards this market. QV will return in 2011 with a series of U.S. cruises, mostly on the west coast.

Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas (photos and guide)

I believe I have discovered yet another Royal Caribbean. There is, of course, the vacation experience offered on the giant mega-cruise ships that the line has become particularly noted for. On those ships, there is a vast variety of amenities and features as well as almost non-stop entertainment. Then, as I wrote about last month, there are the relatively smaller ships such as Grandeur of the Seas. They do not have all the features of the bigger ships but, at least on Grandeur, the crew really knock themselves out to ensure that the passengers have a good vacation. Both the large ships and the smaller ships have a Royal Caribbean flavor but they are much different vacation experiences.

What is surprising is that there is yet another type of vacation experience under the RCI Crown and Anchor emblem. Jewel of the Seas is one of four Radiance class ships built for Royal Caribbean in Pappenberg, Germany. Most of RCIs ships were built in Finland and they are very good quality ships but the craftsmanship on he Radiance class ships is impressive. This is true not only in the ship’s interior but also extends to her hydrodynamic hull and advanced propulsions system. She can move along at more than 25 knots, which is quite fast for a cruise ship.

At 90,000 gross tons they are larger than the Vision class but also significantly smaller than the line’s giant ships such as Voyager of the Seas. It would be wrong, however, to think of Jewel as a mini-Voyager class ship or as a large Vision class ship.

What makes the Jewel experience unique is the refinement of the product. Yes, she has the trademark Viking Crown Lounge and rock climbing wall. However, she also has a beautiful covered pool area, touches of marble and wooden inlays. Moreover, even though she is larger than the largest Vision-class ship, Enchantment of the Seas, she carries fewer passengers. This means more space per passenger.

Jewel is a quieter, more cosmopolitan Royal Caribbean. In some ways, she is reminiscent of the style of Royal Caribbean’s sister company Celebrity Cruises. Indeed, Celebrity’s Solstice class is derived from the Radiance class. Still, her style is distinctly her own.

The Beyondships Jewel of the Seas profile page with copies of menus and daily programs from the ship is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-JOS-Profile.html The comprehensive photo tour and commentary begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-JOS-Tour-1.html


Next week, Captain James MacDonald and Hotel Director Robert Taggart will add some inside views on Jewel of the Seas.

Handling Emergencies on Queen Mary 2

When I was on Queen Mary 2 last month I started a new series of interviews with the officers and staff. These interviews are designed to give a behind-the-scenes look at specific aspects of life and operations on the great liner. My intention is to post them over the next couple of months.

In the first of these interviews I talk with Staff Captain Robert Camby about handling emergencies on QM2. Robert has had a meteoric rise through the ranks of Cunard and P&O Cruises and reached the level of second in command while still in his early thirties. This speaks volumes about his abilities as a sailor.

Just as impressive is his non-maritime background. A talented musician, who received scholarships to study the piano and violin, Robert is a familiar figure in the world of West End and Broadway theater. Moreover, he has been made a Freeman of London and is a Chevalier of the Grand Order of Champagne.

This interview focuses on what happens when a passenger must be evacuated by helicopter from an ocean liner. As you can imagine, it does not just involve placing a call to the Coast Guard and saying “Come pick-up one of my passengers.” Instead, it involves planning, co-ordination and communication. Furthermore, it is an expensive operation that is not without risk.

My interview with Captain Camby appears at http://beyondships.com/QM2-Camby-1.html