Chapter 4: The Cruise Industry - Learn About Cruise Lines and Ships

**Chapter 4 The Cruise Industry** **OBJECTIVES** - - **Why People Cruise** - Romance - Luxury - Magic of the sea adventure - Great ships - Get away from it all-relax - Pampered service - Interesting destinations - Learning experience - Socialization - Safe exper...

**Chapter 4 The Cruise Industry** **OBJECTIVES** - - **Why People Cruise** - Romance - Luxury - Magic of the sea adventure - Great ships - Get away from it all-relax - Pampered service - Interesting destinations - Learning experience - Socialization - Safe experience - Vacation value-more for money **Kinds of Cruise Lines and Ships** 1. **Mass-Market Cruise Lines**: Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean-operate large vessel that can have over 1000 passengers, may have pools, casinos, theaters, shops, medical facilities, staterooms, spas, several dining facilities, cost less 2. **Specialty Cruise Companies**: focus on smaller target market - **Luxury Cruise Lines**: appeal to wealthy, have smaller vessel, top line of service - **Education and Adventure**: built around learning and exploration, generally small vessels that visit ecological places - **Masted Sailing Ships**: Real sailing vessels, have all price levels - **Riverboats**: "time machine" paddle wheelers on the Mississippi, Nile, Danube, Rhine Rivers 3. **Miscellaneous Lines**: Some are cargo ships that carry passengers, ferry ships, barges, houseboats and sailboats **How big is that ship?** Ships are measured by: **Number of staterooms** **How many passengers** it can accommodate - **Gross Registered Tonnage** (GRT) which represents only that area of the ship that is enclosed public space (not crew area such as kitchens or engine rooms) 1. **Very small ship**: Less than 10,000 GRT, under 200 pax ***(pax is industry term for passengers)*** 2. **Small ship**: 10,000-20,000 GRT, 200-500 pax 3. **Medium ship**: 20,000-50,000 GRT, 500-1200 pax 4. **Large ship**: 50,000-70,000 GRT, 1,200-2,000 pax 5. **Megaship**: 70,000 GRT or more, over 2,000 pax-may have as many as 1000 employees **Who owns Cruise Lines?** - **Carnival owns:** Holland America, Windstar, Princess, Seabourn, Cunard, Costa and Carnival - **Royal Caribbean owns:** Celebrity and Royal Caribbean **Star owns**: Norwegian and Orient **Cruise Lines Registration** - Cruise lines may be headquartered in one country and have their ships registered in another to keep from having to follow certain hiring laws, work hours, and other regulations - Ships fly the flags of the country they are registered in **Career Opportunities** - - Ø **Chief Medical Officer**: ship doctor - - - - - - - **What Cruises Cost** - Cruises usually sell at prices below what's listed in brochures. - Brochure prices are more like "suggested retail prices" - You can lower the price of a cruise by booking 6 to 9 months in advance **What Cruises Cost** - - - - - - - - - **Parts of the Ship** **Tender Boats** -Transports passengers to and from shore if the ship is too large or the port is too shallow for docking to a peer -**Zodiacs**-(large inflatable rubber boats) are used in exotic places like Antarctica **Port Experiences 3 Categories of Port Experiences** - Precruise: Before you depart, usually an extended time in the port city where the cruise begins - Postcruise: After your cruise, usually in the port city or around the city at the end of the cruise - Intermediary Port Stops: Options available during cruise, short tours, excursions available for purchase, some excursions are in the price of the regular cruise ticket - If you buy a shore excursion from the ship and something goes wrong, the ship will probably wait for you - If you buy a shore excursion from an independent at the dock and there is a problem, the ship probably will sail without you **How Cruises Are Sold** - **Travel agents** sell 90% of cruise bookings - **Tour companies** may have package cruises with pre or post cruise tours - **Cruise Consolidators** buy blocks of staterooms and offer them at discount prices - **Cruise lines** sometimes sell directly to consumers using Web sites **Cruise: *This and That*** - Caribbean is the world's most popular place to cruise followed by Europe, Alaska, Mexico, Panama Canal, Hawaii - Only a few cruise ships are totally "smoke-free" - May cruises feature theme sailing such as Jazz, history, baseball, etc. - Many lines are doing away with set seating times to eat and are more like restaurants, dine when and where you want.