As a travel journalist I am in the fortunate position of being invited to view and review new cruise ships often before they enter service to the paying public.
This is designed to give me insider knowledge about the on board offerings and special features which distinguish one ship from another in order to write about their different characteristics.
It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it! But, interestingly, while seeing the brand new hardware is always worthwhile, I find it more useful to get on board once a new vessel has been operating for a few months. This gives a more accurate picture of what passengers think and whether the ship has bedded in as well as its owners would have liked.
This also provides a valuable insight into the elements that are working well and, almost inevitably, others that may not be quite so successful.
Even when a cruise line spends upwards of £500 million on a new cruise, which is pretty much the going rate these days, the only way of truly telling whether it is a success is once it has operated for at least one summer or winter season with a full complement of passengers on board. This gives the ship the chance to bed in and gives time for any tweaks that may prove necessary to be made.
A new ship’s journey from the drawing board to entering service can take around three years, so they designers behind the concept have some serious crystal ball gazing to do to ensure they are keeping up with or hopefully surpassing consumer trends. After all, what may be the biggest trend now could turn out to be nothing more than a passing fad come 2014 so it would be the last thing you want as a permanent feature on your shiny new vessel.
For example, 4D films with scratch and sniff effects, might be seen to be the next big thing in cinema viewing and smelling now, but will that be the case in three years time? It is such calculated risks that can make or break a new vessel.
Likewise, an opportunity to view a ship before taking the plunge and committing holiday spend on a cruise is an invaluable experience.
After all, you wouldn’t buy a new pair of shoes without trying them on for size would you (unless you happen to an online mail-order fiend such as my wife that is)?
New to cruise
I was lucky enough to tag along with a group of so-called cruise virgins on a special show around of P&O Cruises’ Ventura on Saturday.
Days like this are organised on a regular basis when the ships are in their home port in between cruises, allowing people who have never previously taken a holiday at sea to get a snapshot of the on board experience.
We happened to go on one of the regular family days when the children’s clubs are up and running and little ones had the chance to spend time getting to know the company’s youth crew who supervise all the activities for youngsters on board.
The clubs on board Ventura are particularly impressive, and are broken down by age group to ensure that mini-cruisers are all matched up. Youth team leader Mark Price, who could easily double as a TV kids’ entertainer, oversees as many as 700 children per cruise in the summer peak with his team of trained supervisors, making The Reef area at the rear of the ship into one amazing play zone for toddlers through to teens.
While Mark was overseeing fun play, the ‘new to cruise’ adults were given a comprehensive guided tour of the 3,000-plus capacity superliner followed by a three course lunch in one of the main dining rooms.
The staff couldn’t have been more helpful and welcoming which was pretty amazing given that they were in between cruises and awaiting the next influx of passengers ready to head off to the Mediterranean later that afternoon.
The tours of the ship were run with military precision to ensure that everyone enjoying their day on board had a comprehensive feeling for all the facilities on offer.
I’m told that thousands of people get the chance to spend a few hours getting a feel for each of the company’s seven ships as often as time allows and, if my experience is anything to go by, this helps give a real taste of what to expect from a cruise without actually leaving port.
It may not even count as a cruise to no-where as the ship remains in port throughout the day, but I and my colleagues got a real tingle of excitement as we stepped on board for our special day.
The experience brought back fond memories of my previous sailings on Ventura and made me jealous of those people lucky enough to be setting off on their 14-night August escape to the sun around the western Med. Sadly, however, my pass was valid for one day only.
Having said that, it was my birthday, so a visit to Ventura proved to be a great way of celebrating, even if it was only for a few hours.
Leave a Comment