Breaking: Cruise line crew members busted yet again

by Chris Owen on

In December it was Royal Caribbean in the news when crew members got caught smuggling drugs in Baltimore. In January, US Customs and Border patrol went back and found more. Earlier this month, a drug dealer was busted on shiny new Allure of the Seas dealing to the World’s Largest Gay Cruise. It seems Royal Caribbean is the cruise line of choice for drug dealers in spite of the line’s “zero tolerance” for drugs on board.

Now we have yet another incident with the Associated Press reporting two crew members busted in Jamaica with nearly 75 pounds of cocaine.

“On February 23, Jamaican authorities detained a crew member and found that he was in possession of 18 kilos of cocaine. Authorities then boarded [Grandeur of the Seas] and found an additional 15 kilos in the cabin of a different crew member.” Royal Caribbean said in a statement to CruiseCritic.com.

But yet John Doe and his lovely wife Sally get the bottle of champagne they wanted to bring on board to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary confiscated upon embarkation. That, the cruise line has under control.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinz also told Cruise Critic in January that drug busts onboard ships are very rare and have occurred “only a handful of times.”

Well, we count four since December. How many is a handful?

Maybe Royal Caribbean should approach drug smuggling by its own crew with the same intensity they do bringing liquids on board by passengers, going so far as to say on their website:

“Please Note: All guests must comply with TSA guidelines for transporting liquids.”

Really? Forget the Tequilla. Mom can’t bring a full bottle of Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo but somehow your crew members bring enough party drugs on board to to fire Manhattan?

Something is not quite right here. No mon, something very bad dis place.

Surge in oil prices signal talk of cruise line fuel surcharges

by Chris Owen on

Financial experts are talking about oil prices that could surge to $220 a barrel. Political unrest, mainly concern over a violent power struggle in Libya, could disrupt oil supplies. As oil prices rise, airline, cruise line, and other transportation sectors consider taking action.

Most cruise lines have held off adding fuel surcharges but all have implementation plans in place once the decision is made to add them back on. Most have set somewhere between $70 and $100 per barrel as the mark at which the unpopular fee can be added on to bookings. The price of oil has risen above that level on several occasions but cruise lines have held back from adding the fee last charged in 2008.

Still, even before the current situation, speculation began on the possibility of more fuel surcharges late last year.
Some airlines, already increased fuel surcharges earlier this month and Jet Airways announced an increase today. Will others follow?

“Brent crude, one of the key benchmarks for crude oil, was up 3 percent to $109.70 a barrel in European trading Wednesday. CNBC reported that some traders think oil could surpass $200 a barrel if disruptions continue” reported the South Florida Business Journal.

Yesterday saw a fall of 8 to 13 percent as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Carnival Corp, among others were affected by tumbling stock prices.

Flickr photo by nestor galina


New Jamaica cruise port gets their act together

by Chris Owen on

Long-delayed new cruise port Falmouth, Jamaica welcomed it’s first Royal Caribbean ship this week as Voyager of the Seas became the first ship to visit. It’s a custom-built port designed to handle mega-ships Oasis and Allure of the Seas. Both have been patiently waiting for months as construction has been dragging on. Early reports from the nearly-complete port indicate full speed ahead on construction and a positive, welcoming mood.

“Today was truly priceless! The people of Jamaica made today an experience I’ll never forget. Their early morning anticipation of the ships arrival was quite impressive. Buildings, rooftops, streets and any open spaces were filled with people awaiting Voyager’s arrival. The first passengers to disembark were well organized for tours and met by various performers. They created nice distractions to avoid noticing the construction around them. The ship did a superb job ensuring expectations by passengers were set at a proper level” said cruise expert Stewart Chiron CEO CruiseGuy.com, one of the first visitors to the nearly-complete port.

In full operation were a variety of new shore excursions as well as variations on some Jamaica favorites.

“I went out to Good Hope Estate and watched the tours happen. What a difference since I was last here in September. Passengers thoroughly enjoyed their various experiences. This was evidenced when we returned as Voyager was departing. The crowds of Jamaicans never dissipated and were cheering Voyager’s departure. What was truly emotional for many, was every open space on every deck of Voyager was lined with passengers and crew cheering and thanking the people of Falmouth for a most memorable day. I would think the comment cards from today will be extraordinarily high! This is a port experience unlike any other” added Chiron

Cruise passengers arriving into Falmouth will be able to choose between the shore excursion options in both Ocho Rios and Montego Bay since the new port is equidistant from both of these Jamaican towns. Additionally there will be an array of options for both tour and non tour guests at Falmouth. Royal Caribbean hopes that passengers arriving at Falmouth will feel like they are in the old world of the Caribbean with numerous shopping and authentic dining opportunities right at the port.

“I look forward to returning for Oasis’ arrival. What a spectacle that will be considering what occurred today. The Royal Caribbean staff that worked so hard on the pier were magnificent. What a team to make this dream come true” Chiron concluded.


Cruise line shopping experience to feature more, better information

by Chris Owen on

On any given cruise line, onboard programming includes a variety of activities, dining, shopping and entertainment options. While at sea, that programming is often themed to a particular port of call that will be coming up soon, providing information on the port, shore excursions and shopping options. Now, in a way similar to how they are handling onboard entertainment and dining options, Royal Caribbean International is taking on shopping.

Starting in October, Royal Caribbean will be working with a new partner to handle their port shopping program. Royal Media Group will greatly expand what the line is currently doing, adding to the standard shopping talks and fliers left in guests staterooms.

“We are very excited to once again be working with the team at Royal Caribbean International and to not only increase revenue for the port shopping program, but to be a partner in driving all onboard revenue,” said Philip Levine, president and CEO of Royal Media Partners.The plan is to embed the shopping program much deeper into the cruise experience.

Before the cruise, web and smart phone-based port shopping and concierge information will be available. Much like pre-reserving shore excursion, dining, beverage packages, Bon Voyage gifts and entertainment options is possible right now, guests will have much broader access to port and shopping information.

Television options on board will feature new destination programming in addition to port talks which have traditionally been thinly veiled sales pitches on many cruise lines.

The big question is

“Will this be more annoying shopping information or will it add value to our port experience with more in-depth information on ports of call?”


More, better information that will enable passengers to have a more meaningful experience ashore would surely be welcomed. Yet another way to advertise shopping options? Not so much.

The new program will be on Royal Caribbean ships sailing the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, New England, Mexico and Alaska starting in October. Oh, catering to the American market just as the holiday shopping season begins.

Score so far on this particular topic: Sell us more stuff 1, Enrich experience 0.

It should be fun to watch how it all plays out.

Flickr photo by waldsee2008 who captioned “this lady talked about shopping in Mexico, but she spend 75% of the time talking about a good price for Diamonds…. like I wanted to buy them.?


When you should buy a cruise predicted by new booking tool

by Chris Owen on

In the not-so-distant past, booking early, watching for sales, using a Travel Expert or just being in the right place at the right time meant a good price on a cruise. A new website takes some of the guesswork out of the process by predicting when to buy.

Traditionally, cruise lines have appreciated those who book far in advance. Ships need to sail full to make money and those who booked early had historically been prized almost as much as past-guests coming back for more. If a lower fare that you qualified for came along after booking, the cruise line would gladly pass that price along.

That was then, this is now.

Now, a new web site claims to know that when you should buy a cruise can be predicted.Enter Cayole.com, a travel agency that uses months of historical pricing data to predict what is likely to happen to the pricing on any given cruise sailing from the U.S. Its predictions are similar to the Price Predictions that bing.com/travel provides for airfares and tell you what your Travel Expert already knows. Trends.

The information is no big surprise but to have and it does give a graphic illustration of what has been happening with pricing. Cruise brokers, like stock brokers, would like this.

With cruise lines tightening up booking rules, your travel expert is more important than ever. Any additional data you can easily get and use will be helpful in your research phase but it needs to be tempered with review by a competent advisor.

Some cruise lines are moving away from courting those who book far in advance. On Royal Caribbean, for example, you could always count on them honoring any lower price that might come along throughout the life of a booking. It was wise to book far in advance, take advantage of the best cabin selection and often the best price. But with few exceptions, the line would lower your price if it went down along the way, no questions asked. If the price went down after final payment, they would issue onboard credit for the difference.

Now Royal Caribbean line has slipped in a Best Price Guarantee Program which gives 110% of the difference if you find a lower rate…within 48 hours. Now all of the sudden when you buy is important. You’ll have to weigh if price or cabin selection is more important and up until now you would have to pull out the crystal ball to predict when the best time to buy was.

Flickr photo by CubaGallery