This week it was the Carnival Cruise Lines news show with three ships moving and one more getting some revised itineraries.
Carnival Fantasy will be moving to Mobile next year, being replaced by Carnival Triumph in New Orleans. Meanwhile Carnival Holiday will join the Iberocruceros fleet. Carnival Elation’s 3 and 4 day sailings from San Diego are being tweaked as well.
Disney Cruise Line has applied for Glacier Bay access beginning in 2010, and cruise lines have addressed the concerns raised earlier about Ocean Ranger’s access to shipboard operations.
Finally a proposal by the US Coast Guard to revise stability models may cause some passenger vessels to reduce their passenger capacity.
Speaking of the US Coast Guard, this past week I got the rare opportunity to sail onboard the USCGC Eagle the largest and only square rigged barque in US Government service. It’s a cruise of a different sort that we’re talking about this week. Photos from the trip will be up in the photo gallery very soon.
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Filed under: Carnival Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Line, General News, Podcast Posted by Michael on 08/16/08
It’s taken an incredible amount of time to happen, but the prosed changes to the Passenger Vessel Services Act have been rejected by the Office of Management and Budget. The proposed changes, put forth by US Customs and Border Patrol had called for foreign flag ships sailing between US ports to spend at leat 50% of their voyages calling at foreign ports.
The controversial rule change was aimed squarely at the Hawai’i market, and was an attempt to protect the struggling NCL America which has faced significant competition in recent years. By requiring foreign flag lines to make longer foreign port calls instead of the token stop in Ensenada Mexico or a similar port, NCL America and their supporters were hoping to make it more difficult for lines to compete directly with NCLA.
As originally worded the proposal was extremely broad and state and city governments in Hawai’i, Alaska, California and Florida all expressed opposition to the proposal. Eventually a compromise was reached that limited to proposal to just Hawai’i.
OMB said Customs and Border Protection’s proposed rule for the Passenger Vessel Services Act ‘presents no market failure or compelling public need, omits a statement of the costs and benefits of the rule-making, and does not include a discussion and analysis of regulatory alternatives, significant distributive impacts or uncertainties.’ However, OMB’s ruling does not prevent the proposal from being re-worded and re-submitted.
NCL is encouraging a redraft that addresses OMB’s points. The company noted a compromise had been reached that limited the rule to Hawaii and imposed no minimum stay in a foreign port. NCL said that means foreign-flag ships could offer ‘bona fide international voyages built around Hawaii port calls from any port in the United States, while making clear that only U.S.-flag cruise ships are permitted to offer truly domestic Hawaii itineraries.’
The company also cited a study by the state of Hawaii that found Pride of America provides more than triple the economic benefit of the entire foreign-flag fleet calling on the state.
The American Association of Port Authorities however thinks that the OMB rejection should be the end of the line. They feel that the OMB gave ‘a pretty definitive answer’ that indicates Customs and Border Protection ‘haven’t made a good business case for why this rule-making is a necessity.’ AAPA opposed the proposals out of concern they could drive away the international cruise business, harming ports and costing jobs.
U.S. labor unions and Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye were among the supporters of the rule-making, but scores of other senators, mayors and ports warned that it could have a wide-ranging negative economic impact on the cruise business as a whole.
(0) Comments (Leave a Comment)Filed under: General News Posted by Michael on 08/05/08
Seatrade Insider is reporting that the International Maritime Organization has drawn up new design regulations that ensure a higher level of stability if a ship is damage. The new regulations apply to new vessels built from January 1, 2009 the new regulations effect cargo and passenger vessels.
According to the new regulations, new vessels must have a double bottom that extends over the entire breadth of the hull. If a comparable level of safety in the event of a grounding can be proven designs without a double bottom will still be allowed.
The January 1 construction date applies to the date the keel is laid down. All ships who lay their keel after January 1 must comply with the new rules.
(0) Comments (Leave a Comment)Filed under: General News Posted by Michael on 07/26/08
Several news outlets are reporting that City Officials in Ketchikan are trying to convince cruise lines to schedule longer visits in the Southeast Alaska city. Of the three primary Alaska cities that cruise ships call on, Ketchikan has the shortest stays according to the Downtown Steering Committee.
According to one downtown shop owner and Committee member the time individual ships spend in Ketchikan has shrunk over the past few years, which reduces the amount of money cruise passengers spend there. As a result That means less sales tax for the local governments, and fewer job openings.
The Committee says that many of the ships this season will stay about six hours in Ketchikan, which gives most passengers enough time for one tour and nothing else. By comparison the worldwide average port stay is between eight and 10 hours. If the cruise ships stayed a total of 1,000 extra hours in Ketchikan over a season, the Committe believes it could bring up to $1.8 million more in sales tax.
(0) Comments (Leave a Comment)Filed under: General News Posted by Michael on 06/09/08
Bermuda’s Royal Gazette is reporting on a newly approved plan allowing cruise ships to open their casinos, bars, and shops after 10PM while in port in Bermuda. In exchange cruise lines will be required to contribute to on-island activities like the Bermuda Music Festival and Harbor Nights.
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