Articles tagged “cruising”

Philippines’ Boracay shows a good example of how to regulate potential overcrowding by cruise ships. The idea to offer alternative ports of call is smart, as it promotes new destinations and spreads tourism benefits to other places.

Cunard is striking an interesting balance between old-school, traditional luxury and fast-paced, data-driven, adaptive hospitality on its longer journeys across the sea. As competition heats up, the line needs to make a compelling sell to attract a younger audience. But a few currents and trends are colliding that just might make this possible.

As cruise lines roll out new ships, they're showing them off to more markets. Carnival's approach — spreading its newest capacity around to several different ports — gives it the opportunity to reach a wide swath of the U.S.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has a lot of new ships coming, which will let the cruise operator charge higher prices and attract fresh interest. But as the global cruise industry continues to add capacity, analysts wonder if demand can keep up with the building boom.

Cruise industry players talk constantly about attracting first-timers. Royal Caribbean International is putting some serious cash behind that talk with its new investments into private destinations and ship upgrades.

Virgin Voyages is emphatic about being a different kind of cruise player while planning to sail from the world's busiest cruise port to the most popular destination. The difference will be in the details, and we're still waiting for most of those.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has new ships coming into the crowded Caribbean market this year, so it's no surprise the company has a positive outlook for the year. But we still wonder how eager cruise passengers will be to sail in the region this hurricane season given the disruption caused by storms in 2017.

If we received a penny for every time a travel industry executive talked about how consumers are looking for “experiences,” we’d be billionaires by now. But in all seriousness, there’s a definitive strategy behind travel brands’ desires to play an even bigger role in travelers’ experiences.

Carnival's high-profile new spokesman should earn the brand some fresh interest, but will it be enough to bring new cruisers on board?

As MSC Cruises embarks on a rapid global expansion, it makes sense for the privately owned operator to focus on the popular Caribbean cruise market. The key will be figuring out the best way to make its products stand out in a field crowded with names that are far more familiar to North American consumers.