Just Cruises Plus

Monarch of the Seas to Leave Royal Caribbean Fleet

The Monarch of the Seas will join sistership Sovereign of the Seas in the Pullmantur fleet.  Puumantur is Spains largest tour/cruise company.  The Monarch is 21 years old and is now used for 3 and 4 day cruises out of Florida.  She has  few balconies and her standard staterooms are “cozy” at 122 square feet so she is not competative with the more up-to-date ships.  The transfer will take place next year.

Congratulations to Pat Horne, of Edison, NJ, whose name was randomly selected from the 21 who responded correctly to our March 9th photo contest question. 

The London Eye, or Millennium Wheel (shown in the contest photo below), was officially called the British Airways London Eye and then the Merlin Entertainments London Eye.  In January of 2011, its new official name became the EDF Energy London Eye^[following a three-year sponsorship deal.   The Eye is located on the south bank of the River Thames in London.

The London Eye, 3/9/12 Photo Contest

View from within the capsule.

Big Ben and Parliament viewed from The Eye

Titanic 100th Anniversary Nears

Near midnight on April 14th 1912, the world’s newest and greatest ocean liner, RMS  Titanic struck an iceberg.  In less than 3 hours, she was plunging to the bottom of the Atlantic nearly 2 miles from the surface..  More than 15oo people perished.  The rich and famous were aboard but it was the poor immigrants who died in the greates numbers.

(Affluent) Women and Children First

In 1912, the rule of the seas was women and children to the lifeboats first and this held true for the Titanic.  However, when we look at survival rates according to class, we see that the wealthy were at a distinct advantage.  Remember, back in the day, ocean liners were segregated by class.  Each class ate and were entertained in different parts of the ship.  The first class passengers enjoyed opulent surroundings while the steerage had comfortable but very plain accomodations.

It is apparant that most of the first class women and children made it to the lifeboats since 97% of them survived.  Third Class woman were not  so lucky.  Only forty-nine percent survived but the steerage children fared even worse where only 31 percent survived.   Even female crew fared better with over 90% reaching safety.

 Men  (especially steerage men)  Go Down with the Ship

Over 80% of the men on the Titanic died but the highest proportion of male deaths was among the steerage passengers where 87% died in the icy North Atlantic.

Overall the survival rate among first, second and steerage  passengers was  63%, 43% and 25% respectively.  The crews survival rate was 23%.

Trouble for Another Costa Ship

The Costa Allegra lost power in the Indian Ocean and was adrift for 3 days without power.  She has been towed safely to the port of Victoria on the Seychelles island of Mahe.

We are very familiar with events resulting from loss of power on a cruise ship.  We were aboard the Norway when she lost power and was adrift for 3 days.  No lights, no air conditioning, no flushing toilets, no hot food — these are some of the inconveniences caused by the failure of a ship’s ability to make power.  However the biggest thing to overcome was boredom.  There is absolutely nothing to do but read and complain.

Our captain tried to alleviate boredom by giving free drinks.  However, that resulted in fights and broken bones.

We are glad that the Allegra’s passengers have left the ship safely.  We also must point out that the news media got it wrong when they said that the Allegra was a “sister ship” to the Costa Concordia which capsized off the Italian coast last month.  The Concordia is 4 times larger than the Allegra and is hundreds of feet longer.

Disney Fantasy Visits the Big Apple

The newest Disney ship, the Disney Fantasy stopped in NY long enough to host a number of VIPs including Mayor Bloomberg as well as Seinfeld and it’s “godmother”, Mariah Carey.  The Fantasy headed past the Statue of Liberty and out to sea on Friday and will begin cruising nest week.

Passenger Robbed at Gunpoint in Puerto Vallerta

A group of passengers from the Carnival Splendour were robbed during a cruise line sponsored tour.  Masked bandits stopped their bus and stole money,  jewelry and cameras.  Fortunately, no one was injured.  We have recommeded for months that folks avoid the Pacific side of Mexico (the route of the Love Boat).  However, we don’t see the same dangers in Cozumel and Cancun, which are located on the Caribbean side.

The winner of last weeks trivia contest is Elizabeth Pasquarello of Phoenixville, PA whose name was randomly selected from the 21 who responded correctly.

Last Week’s Question:  Name a first lady or former first lady who is godmother to a cruise ship or ocean liner and name that cruise ship or ocean liner.

Which former first lady was a godmother?

Correct Responses:  Of the 21 responses we received,  most gave the answer that we had in mind:

– Rosalynn Carter was godmother of the MS Sovereign of the Seas.  In her role as godmother, Rosalynn ceremoniously “launched” or christened the ship by breaking a bottle of champagne on it’s bow.

We were delighted to receive two additional answers which were also correct and these were included in the random drawing as well!

– Eleanor Roosevelt was sponsor of the SS America

– Yvonne de Gaull was godmother of the SS France (later to become the SS Norway)

Effect of Costa “Accident” on Cruising

All of the major cruise lines have experienced a moderate decline in bookings as a result of the grounding of the Costa ship off the coast of Italy.  We have noticed that we are getting fewer inquiries about Europe and more interest in Alaska, South America and the Caribbean.

The cruise lines have already committed many ships to Europe this summer based on an improving economy here in the U.S. and a decline in the Euro relative to the US Dollar.  With the grounding of the Concordia and the uncertainty regarding Iran,  Americans have become “gun shy” on Europe.  We think that this will result in an over supply of cruise ship berths in Europe, especially the Mediterranian.  Since this is a purely supply-demand business, we expect lots of deals.

In fact, Princess has started with an “Up to 2 for 1”  promotion on their European cruises.  Royal Caribbean has a 15 night cruise from Dubai for $699 (Oceanview room).

When we look at the situation objectively, we think:

1. The Costa Concordia is a very rare event and is highly unlikly to be repeated.

2. War with Iran is unlikly.

Perhaps now is the time to take advantage of the cruise line’s predicament.  Rememeber what they say on Wall Street; “buy when everyone else is selling and sell when every on else is buying.”

Ship Migration to Start Soon 

The Caribbean season is winding down and the vast majority of ships now sailing in the Caribbean will be moving to Europe and Alaska.  Celebrity and Princess will have zero ships in the Caribbean this summer.  This leaves the Caribbean to Royal Caribbean and Carnival.  Of course, the two big Royal Caribbean ships, the Allure and Oasis of the Seas will stay in the Caribbean.

Because their are fewer ships and demand is fairly high (families travel in the summer), we don’t expect any terrific deals in the Caribbean until the ships come back in October.

The church  in last week’s contest photo, shown below,  has several name variations:  Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia (Catalan Version), Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia (Spanish Version) and Barcelona Cathedral.  It is also referred to as La Seu.

Barcelona Cathedral, 2/3/12 Photo Contest

It is located in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain.

Congratulations to Elsie and Alan Saylor, of Downingtown,PA, who were randomly drawn from the 12 who gave the correct response to the 2-part contest question.

 The Cathedral, located in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic), is thought to be one of the best examples of medieval architecture in Europe.  Prior to the construction of the cathedral in the 13th century, the site was home to other religious structures  The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Eualia, a young virgin who, according to Catholic tradition, suffered martyrdom during Roman times in the city.    The cathedral has a secluded Gothic cloister where 13 white geese are kept.  The number “13” is apparently explained by the assertion that Eulalia was 13 when she was martyred.

If you visit the church, it’s worth taking the time to visit the roof where you will get a spectacular view of the gothic quarter and Barcelona.

New Rules for Airline Advertising

Airlines must now include mandatory fees and taxes when advertising prices.  Until now, passengers were shocked and dismayed when they saw an advertised price of $500 for flights to Europe only to find out that there was another $500 in taxes and fees.

The rules also require airlines to hold reservations for 24 hours without deposits and to refund deposits for cancellations made within 24 hours of booking.

The government also tried to get truth in advertising for extra cost baggage fees but Spirit Airlines (the maestro of baggage fees) has gone to court to fight the government so these requirements are on hold.

Costa Offers “Bird-In-Hand” Settlement

Costa Cruise Lines is offering passengers of the capsized Costa Concordia a settlement of about $14,500 per person to be paid within 7 days.  Passengers who accept this offer will give up their right to sue.  Costa is counting on most people accepting this quick and sure payment.

Passengers who retain attorneys could possibly receive much more but it might take years of  litigation.

Last week’s Trivia question:  What is the original name of Celebrity’s first ship? 

Correct Answer:  Galileo Galilei

We had only two correct answers to our trivia question.   Rhoda & Matt Refsin of Huntingdon Valley,PA and Rocky Cestroni of Huntingdon Valley, PA.  gave the correct answer.   Since there were only two right answers, we decided to award the $25 credit toward a future cruise to both winners.

SS Galileo Galilei

The Galileo Galilei was originally built as an ocean liner for the Italian shipping company, Lloyd Triestino. Its maiden voyage was from Genoa, Italy to Sydney Australia in 1963.  In 1977, she was reconstructed into a cruise ship and put into service with the Italian Line.

The ship was purchased by the Chandris Group in 1983 and the ship was rebuilt once more – this time with cabins added to the forward deck.  She sailed with the named shortened to Galileo under Chandris’ Fantasy Cruises brand. 

SS Galileo

In the late 80’s, Chandris’ executives decided to create a new up-market brand and, with this in mind, sent the Galileo to Bermerhaven, Germany for a multi-million dollar refit.  In March of 1990, she emerged as the stylish SS Meridian, the first ship of the new Celebrity Cruises brand. The Meridian cruised in the Caribbean and also sailed to Bermuda from Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

SS Meridian

In 1997, the ship was sold to Sun Cruises, which operated her as SS Sun Vista.   Within two years, the ship experienced an engine fire and sank..  All passengers and crew were safely evacuated.

Virtually everyone is aware of the grounding and capsizing of the Costa Concordia and the total vilification of the captain of the ship.  We know that the ship had every modern aid to navigation and was equipped with more than enough lifeboats and life rafts.  So why did the ship impale itself on the rocky coast of Giglio Island and why did people die?

From all of the information available from the news media, it would appear that a hubristic captain and a less-than vigilant company combined to cause the destruction of the Concordia and the resultant loss of life. It appears then that the captain made the decision to steer the ship toward disaster despite having all of the information that he needed to avoid tearing the bottom out of his ship.  It appears that he chose to ignore the information that would easily have brought the ship onto a safe course.

We know that the ship has a “black box”.  Does Costa Cruises have someone who reviews each sailing to determine whether this or any other captain makes risky navigational decisions? 

What about the deaths?  No passengers should have died in this incident.  There were plenty of lifeboats and life rafts.  However, there was no leadership and very lax training as evidenced by how long it took to get people into boats.  Training is clearly the responsibility of Costa Cruises.  While the captain appears to have made major errors of judgment, we believe that Costa must bear an equal part of the blame in that abandon ship procedures were woefully inadequate.

Just Cruise Plus has not booked a client on any Costa ship since 2005.  We stopped recommending their ships as a result of customer feedback.

We have always believed that cruising was an extremely safe way of seeing the world at great comfort and convenience and we urge all of the cruise lines to review their safety policies to make certain that this kind of event never occurs again.