...
Is Bigger Always Better?
Cruise lines have been battling for decades to outclass their competitors' ships by making vessels longer, bigger, and full of amenities like mall-size promenades and ice skating rinks. What started as small refurbished ferries have turned into vessels bigger than aircraft carriers.
Carnival Corp., the top cruise operator, launched the world's largest passenger ship last year—the luxury liner Queen Mary 2 which stretches nearly four football fields. But the monarch's reign isn't lasting long: rival Royal Caribbean Cruises will start sailing an even bigger ship in early 2006, the Freedom of the Seas.
As the industry builds ships that keep getting bigger to meet growing demand, these megaships also create new problems. The lines have to balance the preferences of passengers who want flashy new amenities with those who are looking for quiet vacations. Many ports say these vessels make it tough to process thousands of people in just a few hours. Environmental groups also complain that bigger ships mean more pollution.
Cruise executives say they have worked to relieve those problems. For example, passengers can now check in online to reduce congestion at the port. And most passengers are clearly happy with the massive ships: passenger numbers have risen an average of about 8 percent a year for more than a decade.
The first modern cruise ship in the 1960s held just 560 passengers. In the 1980s, Carnival Cruise Lines launched three new ships that could hold nearly 1,800 passengers each. At the time, many observers wondered if there were enough travelers to fill them. The Freedom of the Seas will be able to hold 4,370 passengers. And Carnival is kicking around the idea of building a ship to take the title back, but it doesn't have any firm plans.
Clearly cruise lines favour big ships to take advantage of the economy of scale, and therefore offer passengers best value and at the same time realize maximum profitability; but what do passengers really think of all this? "A cruise on the big new ships is primarily what people want to buy. People are clearly voting with their wallets," said Adam Goldstein, president of the Royal Caribbean International brand. "We would be very happy to operate smaller ships if they could generate greater profitability than the big ships, but they don't."
Others, including some of our agents, aren’t so sure. “I’m not a fan of long buffet lineups, the search for a free deck chair, or the congestion getting on and off the ship at ports,” says Cathy Moore, our office manager and a frequent cruiser. “If you are more interested in the ports of call than the ship itself, I’d hunt down a small ship.”
“The smaller ships get into ports that the large ships can't get near. You can pull right up to the dock in ports rather than having to go in by tender,” adds Lindy Rothenberger, our vacation dept. manager and a cruise specialist.
But others love the giant vessels: you’re definitely not going to get bored on one of these: whether it’s miniature golf, a half dozen restaurants to sample, or just people-watching, the megaships offer lots of variety and activity for the more outgoing personalities.
Other issues with megaships are high cost for ports to accommodate bigger and bigger vessels and some environmental concerns. Maneuvering and fitting those ships into ports puts pressure on destinations, especially smaller ones. Antigua's port, for instance, recently spent $22 million to accommodate larger ships, but it's unclear whether Carnival’s monsters will fit there. Many smaller ports are worried that cruise ships might avoid them as cruise lines have to cater to a lower common denominator in passenger tastes. Add to this extra pollution and large-scale damage to reefs and the underwater ecosystems and you have the classic tension between economy and environment.
Right now, the momentum is definitely with ever-larger sized ships, but remember—we baby boomers are fickle!
Source: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/travel/3450666
No comments:
Post a Comment