April 12, 2006

Second Annual cruise3sixty Conference A Huge Success

ShipsandCruises’ Special Correspondent Marcia Levin attended the three-day event and filed this report:

Cruise Lines International Association, (CLIA), sponsored its second annual cruise3sixty April 8 to 11 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Florida. The meeting and trade show, geared to cruise-travel agents across the United States, focuses on new developments in the cruise industry. Of special note are trends and developments in the field of consumer travel as well as more technical travel-agent concerns and educational courses for agents. CLIA is the cruise industry’s main marketing and training organization for cruise lines and travel agents and is made up of 19 cruise lines with more than 150 ships.

Highlights of the three-day program included a panel on luxury travel, another on the future of cruising. Individual interviews with Carnival chairman and CEO Micky Arison, Crystal president and COO Greg Michel, and Royal Caribbean International chairman and CEO Richard Fain shed further light on what’s on board for the next few years.

The luxury travel, a segment of the market, which includes such top drawer lines as Silversea, Crystal, Cunard, Seabourn, and the newly renamed Regent Seven Seas (formerly Radisson Seven Seas), is a rapidly growing part of the cruise business.

Who are the luxury consumers?

Regent president Mark Conroy, for example, said his customers are 45 plus, affluent, enjoy the performing arts, are active in their communities and about one-third take back-to-back cruises, averaging 3.7 cruises in 5 years. Twenty-one percent cruise more than one time a year. The line has a repeat factor of 45 percent.

Regent passengers, Conroy explained, opt for unique and personalized service and want as seamless as possible a cruise experience from ship to shore. They want “a memorable experience.”  Regent is promoting a “Circles of Interest” program which brings “like-minded people together” on sailings beginning July 1. Some of the interests include food and wine, antiques and shopping, romance and the performing arts.

Crystal president Greg Michel told the group Crystal is planning its 12th world cruise for next year and stated the planning for a luxury world cruise takes a full two years. Touches such as never repeating a dining room menu during the three-month sailing are typical of the care that goes into the Crystal product.  

Growth in cruising:  CLIA surveys indicate strong guest satisfaction and high perceived value have contributed to the popularity of cruising. Home port cruising—having more cruise embarkations points available—lowers the cost of cruising according to 29 percent of cruise passengers who also like the convenience and being able to avoid the hassles of flying.  More than 51 million current vacationers have taken a cruise, representing 17 percent of the total U. S. population.

Carnival president Micky Arison told the audience his company is up “two to three percent for 2006” and showing strong Europe and Alaska seasons. Caribbean itineraries are a bit softer and the impact of the 2005 hurricane season may be the reason.

Royal Caribbean president Richard Fain said the past successful year could be attributed to a “culture of service and performance and enthusiasm the crew show all the time.” He spoke also of Royal Caribbean’s premium line, Celebrity, and its upcoming Project Solstice with “an extraordinary number of outside cabins and balconies.”            

Fain also announced the name of Royal Caribbean’s new ship, the Liberty of the Seas, a sister ship of the Freedom of the Seas which will debut later this spring. Liberty of the Seas will debut in May 2007.

Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., group president of American Express, was the rousing keynote speaker at the luncheon held on Monday. He stressed the need—to the audience of travel agents—to provide excellent service to the traveling consumer.  ---Marcia Levin