A double antidote to the biggest is best theory of cruise ship development has emerged in the past week.
Two cruise lines have helped put the sector into a different perspective following all the excitement surrounding the launch of the world’s biggest cruise ship Oasis of the Seas.
Firstly we had luxury brand Azamara Cruises – ironically enough a sister company to Oasis parent Royal Caribbean International – announcing a brand revamp and a move towards a more all-inclusive offering.
Then, significantly, the UK’s largest cruise company, P&O Cruises, unveiled plans to maintain a presence in the traditional small ship sector despite selling its current smallest vessel Artemis.
Artemis, which embarks on its farewell voyage in the spring of 2011, is to be replaced as the company maintains a seven-strong fleet.
Adonia the latest small ship
To be named Adonia, the ship is currently operating for P&O Cruises’ US sister company Princess Cruises as Royal Princess.
Entering into service in May 2011, Adonia will carry only a fraction of the 6,000-plus passengers that can be accommodated on Oasis of the Seas.
Just over 700 passengers will fill Adonia when the vessel comes under the P&O Cruises’ flag in 18 months time – making the ship even smaller than Artemis, which has been sold and leaves the fleet in April 2011.
Yet company bosses are confident in their ‘small is beautiful’ strategy having taken extensive soundings from passengers who are keen on the family-free intimacy a more compact vessel can provide.
P&O Cruises’ managing director Carol Marlow told me that since the company announced the sale of Artemis a couple of months ago she had been on the ship a lot and been bombarded with questions about whether the company still had a commitment to similar sized ships.
“We thought long and hard about a ship of a similar size to Victoria which was extremely successful for P&O Cruises up to 2003,” she explained.
“While we have Arcadia as adults-only, we realised there was a desire for a smaller ship. We didn’t want capacity to go down indefinitely.”
Luckily, P&O Cruises being part of the giant Carnival Corporation, the opportunity arose to have Royal Princess transfer between brands to fill the gap left with the departure of Artemis.
While prices and itineraries for Adonia will not be released until next spring, Ms Marlow said the compact size of the ship made it possible to reach ports that even Artemis was too big for.
“Because we take more British people on cruises than anyone else, we want to make sure we have ships of all different sizes,” said Ms Marlow. “Adonia gives us a real range of different ships. They’re all British, but not all the same.”
Slowing down the tempo
The other big development was news that Azamara Cruises is changing its name and becoming mainly all-inclusive.
Carrying the new brand of Azamara Club Cruises, the two-ship company is to adopt a “primarily all-inclusive” service as it takes a more destination-focussed approach.
The line’s two 694-passenger ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest, will also be making more overnight stays and late night departures.
The changes are being introduced from April after the arrival of new boss Larry Pimentel from luxury small ship company Seadream Yacht Club this summer.
Included in the cruise price will be house wine at lunch and dinner, bottled water, specialty coffees and teas; housekeeping and dining gratuities; shuttle bus service to/from ports; “destination-influenced” entertainment and enrichment programmes; all meals and room service.
Specialty dining in the Prime C steakhouse and Aqualina restaurants will be complimentary for passengers in suites.
Azamara vessels will call st 140 ports in 50 countries next year, with overnight stays in destinations such as Istanbul, Sorrento, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong together with three days and two nights in St Petersburg.
Two-day packages tailored to overnight destinations are being introduced in places such as Dubrovnik, Odessa, Livorno, Warnemunde, and London, in addition to Sorrento and St. Petersburg.
A two-night package from Bangkok to Laos; an overnight tour from Hiroshima to Osaka via bullet train; a three-night trip from Mumbai including a visit to the Taj Mahal; overnight tours between Ashdod and Cairo, and a Grand Egypt tour featuring the best of both Luxor and Cairo are featured.
London theatre nights, driving a Ferrari in Italy and high tea at the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai are among the shore-based activites being made available.
The changes follow Mr Pimentel taking feedback from travel agents, past passengers and media since joining the company as president and CEO in July.
“This isn’t a strategy of going ‘from good to great’,” he said. “This is about taking an already great product and making it exceptional.
“We’re going to slow down the tempo, and allow our guests to not just see the destination, but to live it.”
After the frenetic activity surrounding Oasis, I think we could all do with a breather in the run-in to Christmas.
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