Love That Boat Cruising Gets Bigger, Better With New Ships
With 10 new ships coming on line, 1998 is shaping up as a banner year for cruise fans. And new itineraries and onboard innovations promise to enhance the cruise experience. Consider:
Disney will launch its first cruise ship in March.
The world’s biggest cruise ship, Princess Cruises’ 109,000-ton Grand Princess, takes its inaugural cruise in May.
The world’s first completely nonsmoking ship, the Paradise, is being introduced by Carnival Cruise Line late in the year.
Two new private islands will begin hosting cruise passengers for beach parties this winter.
Much greater choices in dining and recreation are being offered on new ships.
“It’s going to be a terrific year,” said Bob Dickinson, president of Carnival Cruise Lines, the industry leader, which carries about 1.5 million passengers yearly in its 11 ships. Already this fall, bookings are stronger than usual, and Dickinson expects that trend to continue because of what he perceives as a change in American lifestyles.
“There was a time when people took a vacation to celebrate a birthday or anniversary or some other big moment. Now more Americans are taking a real vacation, because they need it: It’s a rat race and the rats are winning most of the time.”
Disney’s long-awaited entry into the cruise business will come in March, when it brings its 85,000-ton Disney Magic to Port Canaveral. There, the ship will offer three- and four-night cruises in conjunction with land vacations at Walt Disney World.
Nothing’s new in that - Premier and Carnival have been offering similar land/sea vacation packages from that port for years. But Disney is adding a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious spin to the deal.
First of all, the ship itself, the second largest in the world, is built specifically to appeal both to adults and to children. Children will have loads of play room, including a lounge for children and teens open until 1 a.m. But adults will have their own space as well - an adults-only restaurant, for one, and three themed nightclubs. That way, neither adults nor children will feel shortchanged.
Disney also is promising a “seamless” land/sea vacation eliminating the hassles of multiple check-ins and hustling luggage. Cruise passengers arriving in Orlando will be taken by motorcoach to a Disney hotel, where their room key will serve also as the key to their stateroom on the ship and as a charge card. When it comes time to start their cruise, Disney guests will travel by coach again to Disney’s private terminal at Port Canaveral while their luggage is being transferred directly from hotel room to ship stateroom.
Meanwhile, Princess Cruises is coming out with its biggest “Love Boat” yet - the 2,600-passenger Grand Princess. Larger than any other liner in the world, the Grand Princess will have 18 decks, the largest number of staterooms with private balconies (710) on any ship, a wedding chapel where passengers can marry or renew their vows, and a disco hanging 150 feet above the sea, reached by a glass-enclosed skywalk.
Carnival’s decision to make its new Paradise smoke-free is a precedent-making step, but the line’s Dickinson says it has been well received. “After all, three of every four Americans don’t smoke. The only guy who allegedly gave us a hard time about it was Rush Limbaugh.”
To ensure that not even one whiff of tobacco will sully the ship, Carnival insists that none of the workers constructing the ship smoke on the job. Crew members also will be prohibited from smoking. As for passengers who have insatiable nicotine habits, says Dickinson, “we have 12 other ships.” Paradise enters service in fall of 1998.
Though children are more welcome than ever aboard cruise ships, next year will see greater restrictions on some teens. Reacting to complaints about rowdy youths, Carnival and Royal Caribbean will no longer accept passengers younger than 21 unless they are accompanied by an adult 25 years or older (married couples under 21 excepted). The lines have taken the actions because of problems arising from the conduct of youths during spring breaks and on three- and four-day cruises.
On-board patterns will see further change. The ongoing trend to offer more dining choices is picking up speed. Renaissance Lines’ two new 1998 vessels, for instance, will each have four restaurants, and they carry only a modest 684 passengers. Big mainstream lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess have been broadening their food selection for some time, and most now offer healthy options.
New ports of call are always something the cruise lines like to offer, and next year two more lines will join those who have leased small islands in the Bahamas as beach party sites. Several lines already have such private islands, which are equipped with pavilions, rest rooms, beach chairs, diving gear and other facilities to provide “a day at the beach” for cruise passengers.
Holland-America’s first island, Half Moon Cay, will start receiving guests late this year. Disney’s Castaway Cay will be ready when its first ship makes its maiden voyage.
Other changes are in the works:
Norwegian Cruise Line is renaming some of its ships to carry “Norwegian” in the title. The line’s Dreamward will become the Norwegian Dream, the Windward the Norwegian Wind, the Seaward the Norwegian Sea. No word yet on the Leeward; “Norwegian Lee”somehow doesn’t cut it.
When new ships come along, old ones often have to give way. Holland America’s Rotterdam, one of cruising’s grande dames, is retiring this year. One of the few ships that still makes a world cruise, the venerable vessel will be replaced at the end of September with the sixth ship bearing that name.
The cruising industry’s good news - that bookings are stronger in this fall season, which traditionally is soft - may not be so beauteous for passengers. Good bookings mean less incentives for the lines to offer deals. Look for less discounting in the coming months and fewer opportunities to upgrade.
Bon voyage!