Cruise-n-Views November 4, 2003 Newsletter

Modern Technology Headaches

As you know, this newsletter as well as the next three or so are being written and produced while onboard the Norwegian Crown.

I had told you they would be on time and you would see no difference, "If modern technology worked the way it is supposed to!" Well, as of this writing, I am still not completely sure you will receive the newsletter on time. So, as you can guess, not all technology is working as it is supposed to.

Due to the complexity of writing, editing, producing, and then delivering several thousand copies of an ezine like this, I must have my personal laptop computer with me. This means that I must connect to a wireless network on board the ship, utilize their satellite uplink, send the data to my home office web servers, and then instruct those servers to process the newsletter and email it to several thousand subscribers, like yourself.

Due to this ship just joining the Norwegian fleet, the wireless onboard network was JUST installed the day before and the morning of our embarkation. It tested fine for the computer installers. As many of you probably know, that does not mean it will actually work under normal conditions! They are working hard to get the bugs out, and hopefully will accomplish this goal within a few days.

I also am using new technology to allow me to control my web servers remotely. It is working fairly well, but also is struggling, possibly because of the wireless connection problems. Time will tell. As requested earlier, please bear with me the next few issues as I work through these issues.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cruise Volume Booming

The North American cruise industry was credited with generating $20.4 billion in economic activity within the U.S. in 2002.

A total of 9.2 million passengers took cruises in 2002 according to the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL). This was a 9.8 percent increase in total volume over 2001.

Of the 9.8 million total passengers, over 7.5 million of them were from North America.

The initial reports on total booking volumes for 2003, year to date, are well ahead of the 2002 pace setting up this year as another record breaking year in the industry!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Costa Fortuna Sets Sail

Costa's newest flagship, the Costa Fortuna recently completed sea trials near Italy.

This ship is expected to enter service this month, November 2003. It is a 105,000 GRT and will be the largest ship in the Costa fleet and the largest in Italian history.

The Costa Fortuna will carry 2,720 passengers in 1.359 cabins. There will be 857 oceanview cabins and 458 of these will have private verandas.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Be sure to watch for upcoming information about

"Dynamic Dream Cruise Club"

The only cruise club that offers rewards, bonuses, discounts, and even cashback awards and gives you credit for every cruise taken, no matter which cruise line.

Cruise-n-Views Newsletter For Complete Up-To-Date Information On The Cruise Industry Issue #006 November 4 , 2003
Welcome to another issue of Cruise-n-Views Newsletter. If you are new to our newsletter, welcome. We are glad to have you as a subscriber and hope you enjoy the information this weekly newsletter provides you to stay up-to-date on all the exciting happenings in the cruise industry. We also hope you take part in this newsletter, by submitting questions you want answered, providing feedback to help us improve the newsletter to make it even more enjoyable, and even participating in occasional surveys and then reading the results of our readers once posted. The more participation from the readers, the better the newsletter will be. Editor: Daniel A. Hoffman, MCC This newsletter contains current news and information on the "Cruise" industry. It will also contain the "Views" of the editor on different issues within the industry. The editor owns and operates a cruise oriented travel agency located in Pennsylvania. This newsletter's main purpose IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE for the purpose of selling cruises. It will at times contain ads from different sources. All ads will be cruise or travel related. It will list cruise specials from time to time in the ad section, but as stated, this is not the primary purpose of this newsletter.

	In This Issue #1 Editor Boards Crown #2 RCL Adds Northeast Cruises PLUS Short Updates And News	Contact Info: You can email us at the following: Feedback@Cruise-n-Views.com for input about the newsletter Editor@Cruise-n-Views.com for submitting questions to have answered Reply@Cruise-n-Views.com for general replies or responses to articles in the newsletter

#1 EDITOR BOARDS CROWN As stated in last weeks newsletter, I, along with my wife, my brother, and his wife, boarded the Norwegian Crown in Miami on Saturday November 1st. We are going to be onboard this ship for a total of 30 days. This 30 days, combines two back to back cruise itineraries, which start in Miami and end up in Buenos Aires. Having cruised aboard eight different ships with many different cruise lines and having personally inspected approximately 11 others, this one is going to be different. This is the smallest ship I have cruised aboard. The Norwegian Crown was recently acquired by Norwegian Cruise Lines from sister company Orient Lines where it sailed under the name Crown Odyssey. This ship is sized at 34,242 gross tons placing it in the category of smaller ships in todays world of large mega ships. Most new ships ordered today range in size from 85,000 GRT up to the new Queen Mary 2 due to set sail in January 2004 which will be 150,000 GRT. With one or two even larger ships already planned for the coming years. Obviously at just over 34,000 GRT this ship is different and offers a slightly different cruise experience. Until this cruise the smallest ship I had sailed on was around 50,000 GRT. As you take cruises, you come to learn very quickly that, there are pros and cons to just about everything. Cruise lines, ship size, destinations, and even time of year. The Norwegian Crown carries only 1104 passengers and also carries a crew of 550 which makes for a very low passenger to crew service ratio. This service ratio has already been noticed on this sailing with only two days under our belt as of this writing. The level of service has been excellent so far especially considering Norwegian is commonly classed as a mass market cruise line and not a premium line. I can assure you, the service so far has been equal to and better than some premium lines I have cruised on. We'll see if it continues for the next 28 days. With the smaller ship one thing that was noticeable quickly was the ease and speed of the check in and the embarkation process. We arrived at the terminal at what I considered to be early, 11:45 AM, and much to my surprise, and pleasure, we were completely on board by 12:20 PM. Not bad since a premium cruise line I had recently sailed on kept us sitting in the terminal lobby for over two hours and never let us even start boarding until after 2:00 PM! Immediately upon boarding the ship and having our "Key Card", basically your life line for the next few weeks, swiped and entered into the onboard computer we were escorted to our rooms by a white gloved crew member. Another nice feature, especially for first time cruisers, that is not always performed on the mass market cruise lines. The ship itself is very nice. It is an older ship but has just undergone a complete renovation when changing from Orient Line to Norwegian Cruise Lines. All cabins have been updated, all carpeting and wall coverings up dated, and some changes made to accommodate "Freestyle Cruising" in the eateries. The next few newsletters will continue to give you updates about the ship, the ports, and other items experienced during a long cruise. *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * #2 RCL ADDS NORTHEAST CRUISES** In the October 21, 2003 newsletter, you were told about Carnival Cruise Lines adding ships and additional cruises to the Northeast market after Norwegian Cruise Lines showed such great booking results with the placement of the brand new Norwegian Dawn in New York for year round cruises. Well, now RCL (Royal Caribbean Line) has just announced major changes to its planned 2004 deployment. They have announced that they will place the mega ship Voyager of the Seas in New York from May 2004 until October 2004. It will sail alternating 9 night Western Caribbean itineraries with 5 night Canada/New England itineraries. The Nordic Empress will also return to New York in May 2004. It will be offerring alternating 6 and 8 night Bermuda cruises. They will also place Grandeur of the Seas in the Port of Baltimore from July 2004 until October 2004. The Grandeur will offer a 7 night itinerary to Key West, Orlando, Freeport, Grand Bahamas, and CocoCay (RCL's private island). This ship will also offer a 10 night and an 11 night Caribbean cruise along with 2 special Canada/New England cruises. RCL also has set the brand new and soon to be delivered Jewel of the Seas for a Boston debut in September and October 2004. The new Jewel of the Seas will offer 10 night Canada/New England cruises. As stated before, several cruise lines have offered very limited cruise service from the Northeast Ports. Then Norwegian Cruise Lines got aggressive and not only placed a brand new large ship, Norwegian Dawn, in New York but announced it would stay there year round. After a lot of side comments by other cruise lines, it seems now that they are scrambling to get as many of their impressive new ships to help service the Northeast cruise market as possible.			Modern Technology Headaches As you know, this newsletter as well as the next three or so are being written and produced while onboard the Norwegian Crown. I had told you they would be on time and you would see no difference, "If modern technology worked the way it is supposed to!" Well, as of this writing, I am still not completely sure you will receive the newsletter on time. So, as you can guess, not all technology is working as it is supposed to. Due to the complexity of writing, editing, producing, and then delivering several thousand copies of an ezine like this, I must have my personal laptop computer with me. This means that I must connect to a wireless network on board the ship, utilize their satellite uplink, send the data to my home office web servers, and then instruct those servers to process the newsletter and email it to several thousand subscribers, like yourself. Due to this ship just joining the Norwegian fleet, the wireless onboard network was JUST installed the day before and the morning of our embarkation. It tested fine for the computer installers. As many of you probably know, that does not mean it will actually work under normal conditions! They are working hard to get the bugs out, and hopefully will accomplish this goal within a few days. I also am using new technology to allow me to control my web servers remotely. It is working fairly well, but also is struggling, possibly because of the wireless connection problems. Time will tell. As requested earlier, please bear with me the next few issues as I work through these issues. *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cruise Volume Booming The North American cruise industry was credited with generating $20.4 billion in economic activity within the U.S. in 2002. A total of 9.2 million passengers took cruises in 2002 according to the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL). This was a 9.8 percent increase in total volume over 2001. Of the 9.8 million total passengers, over 7.5 million of them were from North America. The initial reports on total booking volumes for 2003, year to date, are well ahead of the 2002 pace setting up this year as another record breaking year in the industry! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Costa Fortuna Sets Sail Costa's newest flagship, the Costa Fortuna recently completed sea trials near Italy. This ship is expected to enter service this month, November 2003. It is a 105,000 GRT and will be the largest ship in the Costa fleet and the largest in Italian history. The Costa Fortuna will carry 2,720 passengers in 1.359 cabins. There will be 857 oceanview cabins and 458 of these will have private verandas. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Be sure to watch for upcoming information about "Dynamic Dream Cruise Club"** The only cruise club that offers rewards, bonuses, discounts, and even cashback awards and gives you credit for every cruise taken, no matter which cruise line.

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