Change At Norwegian and Regal Princess Part Two

Kevin Sheehan

 

In my experience, it does not usually make much difference who is the CEO of a large corporation. Most of the time, the corporation just proceeds along much as it did in the past despite changes in the CEO. Perhaps there is some change in the corporate slogans or some acquisitions or spin offs but no meaningful changes.

This general rule, however, has not been true in the cruise industry. The three major lines have all had leaders who not only made a visible mark but who became synonymous with their companies. This has certainly been true at Norwegian Cruise Line.

Since coming to Norwegian Cruise Line seven years ago, Kevin Sheehan has turned things around. Prior to his arrival, the line had some quite creative ideas but you only had to go on its ships to see that there were execution problems and poor morale. When Sheehan arrived, he gave the line new direction and released the talent of its executives and employees.

Just about a year ago, I was on a press cruise on Norwegian Getaway. Mr. Sheehan made a short presentation to the assembled journalists. The charts and Powerpoint slides that he presented told a good story of growth and profitability. But what was interesting was the charismatic style of leadership. Sheehan was not the stereotypical MBA executive but rather delighted in playing the street-wise New Yorker, energetic, fun to listen to and likable.

He told us to talk to the crew about how they felt about the company, confident that we would find them solidly behind him. At that time, Getaway had just come into service and the cruise lines usually use their best people to bring a ship into service. Naturally, they were going to support the boss. But the next week, I was sailing on Norwegian Sky, one of the line’s older ships. How did its crew feel about Norwegian? I found that not only did those people enthusiastically support Norwegian but that they loved the CEO. To hear them talk, you’d think that Sheehan was a popular athlete or television personality.

As a result, it was disappointing to learn that Mr. Sheehan has now left Norwegian. When a person has done so much to change a company (or any organization for that matter), you have to wonder how it will fare without him. Hopefully, the corporate culture he created will endure but without his dynamic leadership, the future is clouded in mystery.

Mr. Sheehan’s successor is Frank Del Rio from Prestige Holdings, the luxury cruise company (Oceania and Regent Seven Seas) that was recently acquired by Norwegian. We wish Mr. Del Rio success in his new job.

This week on Beyondships, we have part two of our profile of Princess Cruises’ latest ship, Regal Princess. This includes interviews with the captain, http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-captain.html the hotel general manager http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-hotel-general-manager.html and the cruise director http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-cruise-director.html. We also have a review of the Crown Grill specialty restaurant. http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-crown-grill.html Finally, we present a collection of menus from the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants on Regal Princess. http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-menus.html

Observations on Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Getaway

Continuing our look at the various cruise lines, this week I thought I would talk about Norwegian Cruise Line.

Not all that long ago, Norwegian was in a bad way. The top management had some clever ideas but somehow the line was unable to turn these concepts into reality. As a result, Norwegian developed a reputation for poor service. My observation at that time was that the line had some interesting ships but the people operating the ships were unhappy and so service and execution suffered.

Then Kevin Sheehan became CEO and everything started to turn around. Energetic and charismatic, Sheehan was able to revive employee morale and unleash the pent up talents of management and employees. Whereas no one seemed to care before, now everyone is enthusiastic.

Norwegian is at the forefront of the new model of cruising. Long known for its Freestyle diing concept, the new Norwegian ships – – Epic, Breakaway and Getaway – – not only give passengers good quality options with regard to dining but also with regard to entertainment. Thus, guests have a great amount of freedom to decide how they will spend their time onboard.

There is also a wide variety of accommodations on the Norwegian ships – – again, especially on the newer ships. Cabins range from budget-concious interior cabins to the luxury of the suites located in the exclusive Haven area. The newer ships also led the way in providing cabins for solo travelers at a reasonable rate.

Passengers on Norwegian tend to be middle class. Most are interested in relaxing in the sun, using the sports facilities and in the evening being entertained in the bars, casinos and other entertainment venues. Lectures and cultural activities are not a high priority.

Norwegian is a family-fiendly line with a strong youth program and a large amount of space dedicated to children. Of course, the number of children onboard decreases when school is open.

The line bases its ships on a long term basis in certain home ports. For example, Breakaway and Gem are based all year in New York while Norwegain Dawn spends each summer in Boston. As a result, the ships tend to develop a local following who return to their local ship again and again.

Most of the ships in the Norwegian fleet were built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany. This shipayrd is known for its attention to detail and the high quality of the ships that it builds. The Norwegian ships are no exception.

Norwegian is the thrid largest cruise company. Recently, Norwegian purchased Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises. This move makes a lot of business sense as it will allow Norwegain to become a multi-diemnsional cruise conglomerate like its competitors Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. My only concern, however, is whether the new lines will distract Mr. Sheehan from continuing the great work he has done in turning Norwegian around.

This week Beyondships has new photo and video features of Norwegian Gem http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-gem-coming-and-going.html and Norwegain Dawn. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-dawn-photo-feature.html

Quantum of the Seas and the revolution in cruising

Quantum of the Seas is part of a revolution in cruising. For more than a decade, the watchword in the cruise industry has been “choice.” All of the lines have wanted to give guests more options with regard to what to do while aboard their ships. But, for the most part, the new options brought forward just embroidered the traditional model of cruising. Then, about five years ago, ships started to enter service that offered a new model of cruising with real choice. Quantum carries that model to a new level.

Under the traditional model of cruising, an evening on a cruise ship revolved around the two seatings in the dining room and the two shows in the ship’s theater. There was not much choice. Each guest was assigned to one of the seatings for dinner and, as a practical matter, that dictated which of the two shows in the theater you attended. The evening was pretty well mapped out. Yes, you could sit in one of the bars and listen to the piano player instead of going to the show but the majority of the passengers went to the show in the theater after dinner.

Norwegian Cruise Line broke with the traditional model when it introduced Freestyle dining. Guests were no longer assigned a dining time or a table in the main dining room but could dine when and where they liked. Most of the other cruise lines followed suit with their own versions of flexible dining. Still, because the main entertainment offering onboard was the two shows in the ship’s theater, your dining time had to be scheduled around the show times. Thus, the choices as to when and what to do were still somewhat limited.

Then, in late 2009, Royal Caribbean introduced Oasis of the Seas and a few months later Norwegian Cruise Line introduced Norwegian Epic. These two ships broke completely with the traditional model of cruising. They offered not only choice in dining but also choice in entertainment. The shows in the theater were no longer the only high quality entertainment option. Thus, under this new model of cruising, guests had real freedom to plan their evenings aboard ship.

Royal Caribbean subsequently refined its version of the new model with Allure of the Seas while Norwegian refined its version with Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway.

With Quantum, Royal has taken the new model even further. It has eliminated the main dining room altogether. In its place are five complimentary restaurants each with a different theme and menu. This is in addition to seven specialty restaurants where there is a cover charge. Thus, it is no longer a choice between dining in a general restaurant (i.e. a main dining room) or going to a specialty restaurant. In effect, the choice is now between an array of specialized restaurants some of which have a cover charge and some of which are complimentary. As a result, Quantum presents guests with a better set of choices.

Of course, there are practical limitations on this freedom of choice. If a couple of thousand people decide they want Asian food at 7 o’clock and descend upon a venue that has capacity for a few hundred, someone is not going to get what they wanted. To guard against such possibilities the lines that have implemented the new model of cruising encourage guests to make dining reservations just like they would on land. Some guests feel that this is an imposition on their freedom of choice but most appear to accept it.

It is disappointing that Quantum will only be based in the Port of New York – New Jersey for one brief season. Originally, Quantum was going to be Royal Caribbean’s New York ship, replacing Explorer of the Seas in that role. But then Royal decided to commit the ship to developing the Chinese market and so Quantum will be leaving in the Spring 2015.

The reason this is disappointing is that another new model cruise ship is based in New York – – Norwegian Breakaway. Thus, Quantum and Breakaway would have been competing on a long term basis. It could only have been good for cruisers to have these two innovative cruise lines go head-to-head with their first tier ships. But then Quantum’s sister, Anthem of the Seas, is scheduled to take up residence in this port in the Fall 2015 so perhaps the grand contest will take place afterall.

This week in Beyondships, we have a new profile section on Quantum of the Seas. http://beyondships.com/RCI-Quantum-Profile.html This includes a nine page photo tour and commentary, which takes you through the public rooms and open decks. http://beyondships.com/RCI-Quantum-Tour-1.html

Norwegian Cruise Line Private Island Great Stirrup Cay; Costa Luminosa

Great Stirrup Cay

 

Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island Great Stirrup Cay has been undergoing a dramatic transformation. Located in the Bahamas, GSC was the first island to be purchased by a cruise line.

 

Over the years, Norwegian did not do very much to develop the property. As a result, a call at GSC was something of a castaway experience. Guests landed on the island’s only beach on landing craft military-style. There were a few wooden huts that housed a bar and a dining pavilion. There wasn’t much there but it was usually a fun day.

 

Since 2010, Norwegian has invested more than $30 million in GSC. There is now a harbor where the tenders land. The original beach has been significantly improved and there are now three more new beaches with fluffy white sand. New concrete buildings contain bars, a snorkel shop, and a Bahamian market. Another building houses the dining facility and several neighboring pavilions are equipped with picnic tables for having lunch. There is also a pavilion where guests can wait out of the sun before boarding tenders back to the ship. The developed area has been landscaped with palm trees and lawn.

 

The transformation continues. Construction work is taking place on the other side of the island and at the edge of the developed area. Indeed, it is difficult to keep up with all of the improvements, the island changes so fast.

 

Our updated and expanded photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay begins at http://beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html

 

Also, this week, we have added a new mini-profile of Costa Cruises’ Costa Luminosa. http://www.beyondships2.com/costa-luminosa-mini-profile.html This goes along with a photo essay showing Costa Luminosa in various ports. http://www.beyondships2.com/costa-luminosa-photos.html

 

Norwegian Getaway Profile and Photo Tour

Norwegian Getaway

 

We have added a profile of Norwegian Getaway to Beyondships.

 

Norwegian Getaway is Norwegian Cruise Line’s latest ship. Like her sister ship, Norwegian Breakaway, she is a very big ship – – 146,000 gross tons. However, more importantly, she is part of the new breed of cruise ships. Traditionally, an evening on a cruise ship revolved around dinner in the main dining room and a show in the ship’s theater. The new breed give guests several quality alternatives, not only in where and when to eat but also a variety of entertainment options. As a result, the guests have much more freedom to decide how to spend their evenings than before.

 

Physically, Getaway is very similar to Breakaway. Indeed, the only structural difference I noticed was that the courtyard in the Haven area does not have a retractable roof like it does on the Breakaway. However, there have been several changes in the line-up of public rooms. Chief among these is the Illusionarium, a dinner theater where guests are awed by a series of magicians and mentalists whose appearances are connected by a light-hearted storyline. There is also the Grammy Experience, where Grammy-nominated artists give live performances.

 

Most of the differences between Breakaway and Getaway relate to the fact that Breakaway is intended to reflect her homeport of New York City while Getaway is designed to capture the spirit of Miami. Getaway has a Latin theme that appears in menu items, drinks and in the entertainment. Indeed, Getaway’s version of the Burn the Floor dance show is set in Old San Juan.

 

This does not mean that Getaway will only appeal to people with a Latin background. For the most part, Getaway offers the Norwegian cruise experience. It has the signature dining venues, Le Bistro, Cagney’s Steakhouse, La Cucina Italian restaurant, and Ocean Blue seafood restaurant. Freestyle Cruising is still the name of the game. It just has a Latin overlay to it. Consequently, Getaway will appeal to all Norwegian fans.

 

Like Breakaway, Getaway was built by Meyer Werft. Once again, the German shipyard has delivered a quality product.

 

The profile page for Norwegian Getaway is at http://beyondships.com/NorwegianGetaway.html . Our photo tour of the interior, public areas and accommodations on Getaway starts at http://beyondships.com/NorwegianGetaway-Tour-1.html

 

In addition, the profile includes menus from Getaway’s restaurants. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-getaway-menus.html There are copies of her deck plans. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-getaway-deck-plans.html And a selection of Freestyle Dalies (daily programs) and other information distributed onboard Getaway. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-getaway-daily-programs.html

 

Next week, we get an inside look at Getaway from her captain and other people connected with the ship.

Norwegian Sky revisited

Norwegian Sky

 

Norwegian Sky sails on three or four day cruises out of Miami to the Bahamas. It is a very competitive market with Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines ships sailing essentially the same itinerary.

 

Like all of the ships doing this itinerary, the Sky has a reputation for being a party ship. And as it turned out, it was during my most recent cruise on her. However, it was not a rowdy, obnoxious party. People were having fun but not misbehaving, at least in not in a way that intruded upon others.

 

Sky, is now 15 years old. She Is clean and well-maintained. You do not have all of the facilities of the more recent Norwegian ships. But then you would not have time on a three or four day cruise to do everything that those ships offer. Indeed, the Sky offers more dining options than you could experience in just a short cruise.

 

The Sky has some very elegant traditional venues. Both Le Bistro and Cagney’s specialty restaurants have splendid 19^th century decors. The menus for these venues are the same as on the bigger Norwegian ships but the rooms are entirely different. Thus, for those who travel regularly on Norwegian, the Sky offers a pleasing combination of the familiar and the new.

 

I was impressed by the attitude of the crew. During the pre-inaugural on Norwegian Getaway, the line’s CEO, Kevin Sheehan, had challenged members of the press to talk to the crew and how they they felt about Norwegian. On Getaway, the crew was very enthusiastic but then you would expect that from the crew of the line’s latest ship just as it was entering into service. But what about on Norwegian Sky, one of the oldest ships in the Norwegian fleet? I found that the spirit was much the same as on Getaway – – enthusiastic about the company and a genuine desire to make sure that the guests were having a good time.

 

All in all, Norwegian Sky delivered what it promised – – a fun and relaxing short break.

 

We have updated and expanded Beyondships’ profile of Norwegian Sky. http://beyondships.com/NCLSky.html.

 

New photos and pages have been added to our photo tour of the interior of the ship.http://beyondships.com/NCLSky-Tour-1.html

 

We have also added an interview with Hotel Director Calvin Lodge in which he gives his insights as to what Norwegian Sky is all about. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-sky-hotel-director.html

 

There is also a new photo feature http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-sky-photos.html and video showing the ship at two ports of call – – Nassau and Norwegian’s private island Great Stirrup Cay. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-sky-video.html

 

We have also added a menus page http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-sky-menus.html and a daily programs page http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-sky-programs.html . (You can learn quite a bit about what goes on on a ship from reading its daily programs).

Carnival Glory photos and video; Norwegian Breakaway video

 

After several years of being based in New York City for at least part of the year, Carnival Glory has moved on and has taken up year-round residence in Florida. During her time in New York, she provided many people enjoyable vacations to Eastern Canada and to the Bahamas.

 

In tribute to the Glory’s New York years, we have a new photo essay and video showing Carnival Glory sailing from New York. In it, we see her passing such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty and passing under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Then we see her sailing on the open sea.

 

The photo feature is at http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-glory-photos-2.html and the video is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/carnival-glory-video.html

 

Glory’s departure will not leave New York devoid of cruise ships. New York’s newest resident cruise ship is Norwegian Breakaway. In a new video, we present her leaving the Manhattan Cruise Terminal (aka the Passenger Ship Terminal) and heading out to sea. She was off o n her first cruise to the Bahamas and it was a beautiful fall day.

 

The Norwegian Breakaway video is at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-nyc-video.html

Talking with Norwegian Breakaway’s captain, hotel director and Slam Allen

Norwegian Breakaway

 

This week we are featuring several articles in which Norwegian Breakaway speaks for herself.

 

First, we have an interview with Breakaway’s captain, Evans Hoyt. Captain Hoyt brought Breakaway into service. The captain is the CEO of a cruise ship, not just a ship driver. Therefore, we asked Captain Hoyt to give us the big picture of what Breakaway is all about. In addition, since he is an experienced mariner, we asked him to speak about Breakaway from a nautical perspective. That interview is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-interview-captain.html

 

Second, the person in charge of all of the services that immediately impact guests – – dining, bars, accommodations, entertainment – – is the Hotel Director Sean Wurmhoeringer. Having sailed with Sean before, I know his focus is very much on hospitality. Breakaway has some fabulous hardware but how do you offer hospitality on such a large ship? http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-interview-hd.html

 

Third, Breakaway is very much about entertainment. One of the featured entertainers on Breakaway is blues guitarist Slam Allen. Already an established recording and performance artist before he went to sea, Allen developed a star following on Norwegian Epic. He is now doing the same on Norwegian Breakaway. I spoke to Mr. Allen about his music, his career and performing on Breakaway. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-slam-allen.html

 

In addition, we have a review of the Ocean Blue specialty restaurant on Norwegian Breakaway. This is a new venue which Norwegian has developed in partnership with celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian. While Norwegian heretofore has had an excellent line-up of specialty restaurants, Ocean Blue takes it to a new level. The review is at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-ocean-blue.html

Great Stirrup Cay, St Kitts and Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay

 

Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay, keeps changing. Despite a hurricane last fall, Norwegian continues to make noticeable progress on its ambitious plans to develop this Bahamian island into a vacation paradise. New beaches have been created and landscaping has been done to the finished sections.

 

More is to come but the changes that have been made already call for an update of our profile of Great Stirrup Cay. Indeed, we have added another page to this section of Beyondships. The tour of GSC begins at http://beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html

 

We have also updated and expanded our coverage of another island – – St. Kitts. We have added some additional places of interest and taken a look at the Frigate Bay area. We have also re-arranged material in order to make it more reader-friendly and more consistent with our recent cruise destination profiles. The St. Kitts section begins at http://beyondships.com/Ports-StKitts-1.html

 

Finally, we have updated our profile of Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth with anew menus page http://www.beyondships2.com/queen-elizabeth-menus.html and a new daily programs page. http://www.beyondships2.com/queen-elizabeth-daily-programmes.html

Norwegian Jewel Revisited

Norwegian Jewel

Norwegian Cruise Line is in the spotlight this week. Its new ship, Norwegian Breakaway, is coming to New York to take up residence. This is an exciting prospect as Breakaway appears to combine the innovativeness of Norwegian Epic with the quality of a Meyer Werft ship.

 

Norwegian has had two ships based in New York for some time now. With Breakaway’s arrival, one of those ships, Norwegian Jewel, will be re-deployed to other itineraries.

 

However, as Jewel takes up her new life cruising to Alaska this summer and to the Caribbean from New Orleans and Houston this coming winter, we wanted to update and expand our coverage of the ship. http://beyondships.com/NCLJewel.html

 

To that end, we spoke with Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael about the various dining options on Jewel. Freestyle dining is all about giving the guests options. So to help you make these choices, we have put together a dining guide to Norwegian Jewel. It is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-dining-guide.html

 

Along the same lines, we have updated our Norwegian Jewel menus page. This includes the new menu for Cagney’s steakhouse. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-menus.html

 

Jewel is a photogenic modern ship. With better than average speed, she also manages to get around. As a result, we have accumulated a number of good pictures of her in various ports in the Caribbean and The Bahamas this winter. These have been put together into a new photo essay. It is at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-photo-essay.html