Waiting to inhale
Travel becomes a drag for smokers as airports, hotels and restaurants ban cigarettes.
“Having a nonsmoking section in a restaurant is like having a non-peeing section in a swimming pool. The smoke and carcinogens do not stay with the smoker.”
Donald Potts, with the Metropolitan Healthy Communities Coalition in Kansas City, who applauds the shift to smoke-free Life used to be a whole lot easier for the smoking traveler. Puffing on the plane wasn’t a problem. Ashtrays were a mainstay in the eateries and bars of destination cities. Some public transportation still afforded the luxury of lighting up. And none of the major hotel chains had started kicking out butts.
In the last 20 years, though, travel has become more and more smoke-free. And for the smoking traveler, it’s really a drag.
“On a long flight, my favorite thing used to be drinking coffee, having a cigarette and watching the sun come up,” said Virginia Dolan, a frequent traveler from Kansas City. “It’s not the same without that cigarette.”
The lodging industry has sparked the latest trend in smoke-free travel, starting with Starwood’s Westin hotels — including the one at Crown Center — early this year. Marriott was next on board, announcing last month that all 10 of its North American brands would become smoke-free starting in September.
Not everyone is disappointed with the trend.
“People are really pleased to hear about it,” said Kathy Sudeikis, president of the American Society of Travel Agents and a vice president at All About Travel in Mission. “The disappointment is that it’s only in North America.”
Sudeikis said local travelers complain to her frequently about stale, smoky odors lingering in the drapes and linens of their nonsmoking hotel rooms. Such guest gripes helped influence Marriott’s decision, along with a shift in customer preference toward nonsmoking accommodations.
The chain also considered the U.S. Surgeon General’s June report that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Other major hotel chains continue to offer smoking choices that match their booking patterns.
Starwood has not gone smoke-free in any of its other hotels, which include Sheraton and St. Regis.
Best Western International designates 70 percent of its rooms as nonsmoking. Hilton Family of Hotels, which includes Doubletree and Embassy Suites, allocates 85 percent to 95 percent to nonsmoking rooms.
Intercontinental Hotels Group, including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, requires at least 75 percent of its rooms be nonsmoking.
More destination locations are slapping up “no smoking” signs in their restaurants and bars. New York, California, Florida, Colorado, Maine and New Jersey are among them.
Donald Potts, with the Metropolitan Healthy Communities Coalition in Kansas City, applauds the shift to smoke-free in these states.
“Having a nonsmoking section in a restaurant is like having a non-peeing section in a swimming pool,” Potts said. “The smoke and carcinogens do not stay with the smoker.”
While airlines began banning smoking in the ’80s, airports have joined the ranks more recently. John F. Kennedy International in New York, Dallas/Fort Worth International and Los Angeles International are among dozens of completely smoke-free airports in the country.
Kansas City International has been smoke-free for 10 years, said spokesman Joe McBride, but within the last year, a new ordinance imposed a stricter limit. Smokers must stick to designated areas at least 30 feet from any door.
“It’s not pleasant to travel today with these limits,” Dolan said. “It’s inconvenient and nerve-racking.”
Sudeikis credits the smoke-free travel trend to a reflection of the demand.
American smokers represent about 21 percent of the population. According to the American Lung Association, the number of smokers dropped 40 percent from 1965 to 1990 and hasn’t changed much since.
“Americans want smoke-free in their traveling because that’s what they get at home,” Sudeikis said. “For nonsmokers, it’s more jarring to be in a smoky atmosphere when you’re not used to having that at home.”
Not all industry enterprises to go smoke-free have been a success, though.
In 1998, Carnival Cruise Lines created the world’s first nonsmoking cruise ship, Paradise. Poor revenues, however, caused Carnival to redeploy Paradise as a smoking ship in 2004.
“If there was a big demand for smoke-free, that cruise ship would have been a bigger business venture,” said David Kuneman of St. Louis, director of research for Smoker’s Club Inc., an online community.
But since Westin made the switch to smoke-free, Westin spokeswoman Kate Rothen said, Starwood earnings have climbed and bookings are up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smoking cessation while you’re on vacation?
With fewer hotels and attractions catering to smokers, vacation might be a good time to kick the habit.
“I think vacation is a great time to quit smoking,” said Carol Henderson of New Day Hypnotherapy in Overland Park. “Being in a different environment, a lot of times it’s easier.”
Henderson says smokers struggle most with giving up everyday routines. Removed from the daily grind, a smoker might be more diverted from nicotine cravings and find it easier to quit.
But Al Gatrost of the New Day Stop Smoking Clinic in Independence said it’s not always simple.
“If a person’s trigger is getting in the car and having a cigarette, then that’s going to be a problem for someone going on a drive,” Gatrost said. “But if the mind is occupied with new sights, that will help distract you from typical activity.”
The stress of traveling might trigger your smoke alarm, too, Henderson says.
She recommends relaxation tricks to her clients to combat that anxiety sans cigarettes, including breathing exercises and positive self-talk.
Gatrost advises frazzled travelers to use aromatic supplements that will reduce cravings. Both he and Henderson offer services that can be used in conjunction with vacation plans.
Gatrost added that quitting smoking will pay off.
“If someone wants to stop smoking now and invest the money they would have spent on cigarettes, they would have quite a savings account 10 years down the road,” Gatrost said. “Money they can use to buy a vacation with.”
Sunday, August 13, 2006
What if they build it and nobody comes?
By HARRY SHATTUCK
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
The mood was festive. The music lively. The videos and power-point presentations brimming with superlatives. The theme: "Simply the best.''
We had been summoned to the Hilton Americas Hotel to celebrate the development of the Port of Houston's Bayport cruise terminal, due for completion in late summer or early fall of 2007.
Consuls general from Pakistan, Jordan, Honduras and other nations were there. Ditto elected officials from throughout the Houston area. Some of our community's premier travel agents looked on. The chairman of the International Council of Cruise Lines presided.
"Are you excited yet?'' Wade Battles, the port's managing director, revved up the audience, which responded with loud applause.
Only one ingredient was noticeable missing from this gumbo of good vibes:
There was no mention of a ship.
When I asked Battles about commitments once the new terminal opens, he reiterated what he told me six months ago: Discussions are ongoing with several cruise lines. He's optimistic. Nothing is firm.
NCL moving out?
Here's what I know: Norwegian Cruise Line, which operates the one passenger ship based seasonally at the port's Barbours Court facility, will return its Norwegian Dream to Houston this winter. But next summer the Dream will sail in Europe; the following winter, it will be based in South America.
Like NCL, most other cruise lines have announced fleet deployments for next summer and fall and into 2008. Houston isn't included on any calendar.
Could the port christen a multimillion dollar cruise terminal without a ship? Battles seemed to bristle at my concerns.
"Not every line has finalized their plans,'' he said.
So did he still have hope of attracting new business for the terminal's opening?
"I would use a stronger word than hope,'' Battles responded.
What word would that be?
"I'd say that negotiations are ongoing with a lot of cruise lines. We think there is a real opportunity."
Impressive facility
Do you sense a conversation going in circles? Maybe the port is relying on the "If we build it, they will come'' approach. Or maybe Battles is being coy. Based on the images I've seen, this will be a traveler-friendly facility with considerable appeal. Features will include close-in parking, covered walkways, a VIP lounge and - Battles promises - quick embarkation and debarkation.
"Our terminal will be unique,'' Battles vowed at the Hilton Americas gathering. "We're going to bring people closer to the ship. We want to ensure that the first and last impression cruise passengers have is a positive one.
"The Port of Houston is poised to enter a new chapter in cruising,'' Battles said.
There is justification for a significant investment. Cruising from Texas generated a $934 million economic impact last year, according to the cruise lines council. More than 650,000 Texans took a cruise (counting departures from Texas and elsewhere).
But the vast majority of that business was at the Port of Galveston. Three vessels sail year-round from the island, and the Galveston fleet will number five ships this winter with a combined capacity of almost 12,000 passenger berths. (The Norwegian Dream, the smallest cruise ship based in Texas, holds 1,732 passengers.)
Galveston losses, gains
Galveston, too, is a port in transition. Celebrity Cruises' Galaxy, a fixture for two winters, is not returning. Princess Cruises' Grand Princess will sail from the island again this winter but not in 2007-2008, though port director Steve Cernak expects only a one-year absence.
More positive is the confirmed arrival for the 2007-2008 winter season of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, which will join the Carnival Conquest in giving Galveston two ships capable of carrying 3,000 or more passengers - a Texas first.
"We're strengthening our position, and we're going to continue to grow,'' Cernak said at another recent ICCL-sponsored gathering aboard Carnival Cruise Lines' Galveston-based Ecstasy.
As he spoke, there was no music. No applause. But there was a ship.
harry.shattuck@chron.com
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
The mood was festive. The music lively. The videos and power-point presentations brimming with superlatives. The theme: "Simply the best.''
We had been summoned to the Hilton Americas Hotel to celebrate the development of the Port of Houston's Bayport cruise terminal, due for completion in late summer or early fall of 2007.
Consuls general from Pakistan, Jordan, Honduras and other nations were there. Ditto elected officials from throughout the Houston area. Some of our community's premier travel agents looked on. The chairman of the International Council of Cruise Lines presided.
"Are you excited yet?'' Wade Battles, the port's managing director, revved up the audience, which responded with loud applause.
Only one ingredient was noticeable missing from this gumbo of good vibes:
There was no mention of a ship.
When I asked Battles about commitments once the new terminal opens, he reiterated what he told me six months ago: Discussions are ongoing with several cruise lines. He's optimistic. Nothing is firm.
NCL moving out?
Here's what I know: Norwegian Cruise Line, which operates the one passenger ship based seasonally at the port's Barbours Court facility, will return its Norwegian Dream to Houston this winter. But next summer the Dream will sail in Europe; the following winter, it will be based in South America.
Like NCL, most other cruise lines have announced fleet deployments for next summer and fall and into 2008. Houston isn't included on any calendar.
Could the port christen a multimillion dollar cruise terminal without a ship? Battles seemed to bristle at my concerns.
"Not every line has finalized their plans,'' he said.
So did he still have hope of attracting new business for the terminal's opening?
"I would use a stronger word than hope,'' Battles responded.
What word would that be?
"I'd say that negotiations are ongoing with a lot of cruise lines. We think there is a real opportunity."
Impressive facility
Do you sense a conversation going in circles? Maybe the port is relying on the "If we build it, they will come'' approach. Or maybe Battles is being coy. Based on the images I've seen, this will be a traveler-friendly facility with considerable appeal. Features will include close-in parking, covered walkways, a VIP lounge and - Battles promises - quick embarkation and debarkation.
"Our terminal will be unique,'' Battles vowed at the Hilton Americas gathering. "We're going to bring people closer to the ship. We want to ensure that the first and last impression cruise passengers have is a positive one.
"The Port of Houston is poised to enter a new chapter in cruising,'' Battles said.
There is justification for a significant investment. Cruising from Texas generated a $934 million economic impact last year, according to the cruise lines council. More than 650,000 Texans took a cruise (counting departures from Texas and elsewhere).
But the vast majority of that business was at the Port of Galveston. Three vessels sail year-round from the island, and the Galveston fleet will number five ships this winter with a combined capacity of almost 12,000 passenger berths. (The Norwegian Dream, the smallest cruise ship based in Texas, holds 1,732 passengers.)
Galveston losses, gains
Galveston, too, is a port in transition. Celebrity Cruises' Galaxy, a fixture for two winters, is not returning. Princess Cruises' Grand Princess will sail from the island again this winter but not in 2007-2008, though port director Steve Cernak expects only a one-year absence.
More positive is the confirmed arrival for the 2007-2008 winter season of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, which will join the Carnival Conquest in giving Galveston two ships capable of carrying 3,000 or more passengers - a Texas first.
"We're strengthening our position, and we're going to continue to grow,'' Cernak said at another recent ICCL-sponsored gathering aboard Carnival Cruise Lines' Galveston-based Ecstasy.
As he spoke, there was no music. No applause. But there was a ship.
harry.shattuck@chron.com
Monday, June 12, 2006
Promoters lure cruise dollars
Promoters lure cruise dollarsTwo South Florida companies have taken over job of steering passengers to port shops.
By SI LIBERMAN, Special To The Daily News
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Fanciful Disney images grace the cruise ship Disney Magic. Disney and other cruise lines use services of Onboard Media to offer shopping advice for passengers.
It used to be routine. Before arriving at a Caribbean island, in a scheduled lecture, the cruise director would recommend places to shop, dine, buy souvenirs or maybe even suggest a tour. For his referrals, an especially enterprising cruise director could expect to be rewarded monetarily, with merchandise or a free meal by the merchants.
Not anymore.
A couple of South Florida promotion companies, one of which is headed by a former Carnival cruise director, now handle the shopping lectures on most major cruise lines. Via live presentations, in-cabin TV and printed ads, they heavily promote merchant clients. And it's apparently a win-win situation for the cruise lines, promotion companies, merchants and perhaps even for some passengers.
The competing promotion companies — Panoff Publishing of Fort Lauderdale, headed by ex-cruise director Bill Panoff, and Onboard Media from Miami Beach — pay cruise lines for providing a cabin and lecture platform for employees and for onboard print and TV advertising privileges. The promotion companies are paid a flat fee and may get a percentage of sales from some of their clients, and passengers are assured of a conditional 30-day guarantee for repair or replacement of any unsatisfactory items.
Panoff Publishing, known as PPI Group, operates shopping guide and/or customized programs on Carnival, Holland America, P&O Cruises, Costa Cruises, Sea Dream Yacht Club, Windstar and Regent Seven Seas (formerly Radisson) cruise lines. Onboard runs comparable programs on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Crystal and Disney lines.
Norwegian Cruise Line, according to spokeswoman Susan Robison, uses its own personnel to promote and advertise portside shops, and charges merchants a fee, plus added fees tied to sales.
For the most part, the operations and merchandise guarantees are similar.
If there's a fly in the ointment, it's that passengers usually are not informed by shopping guide lecturers that they're paid to plug products and merchants. Captive audiences often are left with the impression that the speaker is a crew member and the merchants mentioned have been carefully scrutinized.
But if travelers read the fine print guarantee box behind the sads, they learn that participating merchants have paid an advertising fee and that the promotion companies — not the merchants — handle customer claims and complaints.
"Shop with confidence, knowing that all merchandise . . . have been carefully selected and each offers a 30-day guarantee to cruise line passengers," reads one Onboard Media guarantee box. "This guarantee ensures buyers that all recommended merchants will repair or replace any unsatisfactory item, excluding buyer's negligence or buyer's remorse. . . . Please inquire about individual store policies before finalizing any purchase."
Onboard Media authorities declined to answer questions about its operations. "Onboard Media does not wish to participate in this story," was the e-mailed response from executive assistant Cassie Barasch.
The company, founded in 1989, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the $17 billion a year Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessy Co. French conglomerate.
Bill Panoff, 48, founded PPI Group in 1986 after eight years as a Carnival cruise director. Ten years later, he launched Porthole Cruise Magazine, serving as its publisher and editor-in-chief. It's a slick bimonthly publication, spotlighting exotic destinations and reviews of new cruise ships.
Speaking for Panoff, who was said to be traveling, Mitchell Pizik, PPI's vice president in charge of sales and marketing, explained, "We're a privately owned company with over 350 merchant clients around the world. We also produce in-cabin publications for cruise ships and magazine-type publications for other companies like Spirit Airlines, Fisher Island and KSL Resorts, among others.
"We get calls daily from passengers," PIzik said. "I wouldn't say they're all complaints. Maybe half pertain to the 30-day merchandise guarantee. Could be that it's just a question or that a stone fell out of a piece of jewelry and needs to be replaced. In the latter case, we'll act as the liaison between the passenger and merchant in arranging for a stone to be reinstalled. When you consider cruise ships carry millions of passengers, who are buying things, hearing from some daily isn't unusual.
"With regards to charges, cabins, etc., each of our cruise line contracts varies, depending on what was negotiated and all information in the contracts is confidential."
Shopping lecturers usually are recent college graduates with a gift for gab and yen for travel. Onboard trolls for candidates on the Internet, listing a detailed description of the job and its requirements.
"The primary function of a PSG (port shopping guide) onboard each ship," it notes, "is to promote shoreside duty-free stores contracted by Onboard Media. The promotion involves various presentations, including live and videotaped port and shopping talks. Most of the products promoted are luxury goods: gemstones, fine jewelry, Swiss watches, crystal, electronics, etc. During the port calls, the PSG meets with representatives from the contracted stores to monitor the effectiveness of their promotion and discuss strategies for future promotions."
Two major chains, Diamonds International and Columbian Emeralds International, have long held promotion and advertising contracts with PPI and Onboard. Diamonds International, a privately owned, New York-based company, operates 120 stores on Caribbean islands, in Alaska and Mexico, and Columbia Emeralds, a United Kingdom-based chain, has 60 outlets on 14 islands.
"They do a good job for us," said Dave Nanni, Diamonds International sales manager. "Besides their promotions, they act as a go-between, helping passengers with exchanges and refunds."
The Better Business Bureau for Southeast Florida and the Caribbean has had three complaints against Onboard Media and two against PPI, according to Al Polizzi, bureau spokesman. They involved guarantee and merchandise repair issues.
Both PPI complaints have been resolved, he said, as have two of Onboard Media's. As of mid-May, however, one Onboard Media complaint remained unsettled, Polizzi added.
Bottom line: Read and make sure you fully understand the 30-day merchandise guarantee. It does not provide for a refund if you have second thoughts about the item you bought. Most importantly, check with the store manager to learn the shop's return and refund policies before that purchase.
By SI LIBERMAN, Special To The Daily News
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Fanciful Disney images grace the cruise ship Disney Magic. Disney and other cruise lines use services of Onboard Media to offer shopping advice for passengers.
It used to be routine. Before arriving at a Caribbean island, in a scheduled lecture, the cruise director would recommend places to shop, dine, buy souvenirs or maybe even suggest a tour. For his referrals, an especially enterprising cruise director could expect to be rewarded monetarily, with merchandise or a free meal by the merchants.
Not anymore.
A couple of South Florida promotion companies, one of which is headed by a former Carnival cruise director, now handle the shopping lectures on most major cruise lines. Via live presentations, in-cabin TV and printed ads, they heavily promote merchant clients. And it's apparently a win-win situation for the cruise lines, promotion companies, merchants and perhaps even for some passengers.
The competing promotion companies — Panoff Publishing of Fort Lauderdale, headed by ex-cruise director Bill Panoff, and Onboard Media from Miami Beach — pay cruise lines for providing a cabin and lecture platform for employees and for onboard print and TV advertising privileges. The promotion companies are paid a flat fee and may get a percentage of sales from some of their clients, and passengers are assured of a conditional 30-day guarantee for repair or replacement of any unsatisfactory items.
Panoff Publishing, known as PPI Group, operates shopping guide and/or customized programs on Carnival, Holland America, P&O Cruises, Costa Cruises, Sea Dream Yacht Club, Windstar and Regent Seven Seas (formerly Radisson) cruise lines. Onboard runs comparable programs on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Crystal and Disney lines.
Norwegian Cruise Line, according to spokeswoman Susan Robison, uses its own personnel to promote and advertise portside shops, and charges merchants a fee, plus added fees tied to sales.
For the most part, the operations and merchandise guarantees are similar.
If there's a fly in the ointment, it's that passengers usually are not informed by shopping guide lecturers that they're paid to plug products and merchants. Captive audiences often are left with the impression that the speaker is a crew member and the merchants mentioned have been carefully scrutinized.
But if travelers read the fine print guarantee box behind the sads, they learn that participating merchants have paid an advertising fee and that the promotion companies — not the merchants — handle customer claims and complaints.
"Shop with confidence, knowing that all merchandise . . . have been carefully selected and each offers a 30-day guarantee to cruise line passengers," reads one Onboard Media guarantee box. "This guarantee ensures buyers that all recommended merchants will repair or replace any unsatisfactory item, excluding buyer's negligence or buyer's remorse. . . . Please inquire about individual store policies before finalizing any purchase."
Onboard Media authorities declined to answer questions about its operations. "Onboard Media does not wish to participate in this story," was the e-mailed response from executive assistant Cassie Barasch.
The company, founded in 1989, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the $17 billion a year Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessy Co. French conglomerate.
Bill Panoff, 48, founded PPI Group in 1986 after eight years as a Carnival cruise director. Ten years later, he launched Porthole Cruise Magazine, serving as its publisher and editor-in-chief. It's a slick bimonthly publication, spotlighting exotic destinations and reviews of new cruise ships.
Speaking for Panoff, who was said to be traveling, Mitchell Pizik, PPI's vice president in charge of sales and marketing, explained, "We're a privately owned company with over 350 merchant clients around the world. We also produce in-cabin publications for cruise ships and magazine-type publications for other companies like Spirit Airlines, Fisher Island and KSL Resorts, among others.
"We get calls daily from passengers," PIzik said. "I wouldn't say they're all complaints. Maybe half pertain to the 30-day merchandise guarantee. Could be that it's just a question or that a stone fell out of a piece of jewelry and needs to be replaced. In the latter case, we'll act as the liaison between the passenger and merchant in arranging for a stone to be reinstalled. When you consider cruise ships carry millions of passengers, who are buying things, hearing from some daily isn't unusual.
"With regards to charges, cabins, etc., each of our cruise line contracts varies, depending on what was negotiated and all information in the contracts is confidential."
Shopping lecturers usually are recent college graduates with a gift for gab and yen for travel. Onboard trolls for candidates on the Internet, listing a detailed description of the job and its requirements.
"The primary function of a PSG (port shopping guide) onboard each ship," it notes, "is to promote shoreside duty-free stores contracted by Onboard Media. The promotion involves various presentations, including live and videotaped port and shopping talks. Most of the products promoted are luxury goods: gemstones, fine jewelry, Swiss watches, crystal, electronics, etc. During the port calls, the PSG meets with representatives from the contracted stores to monitor the effectiveness of their promotion and discuss strategies for future promotions."
Two major chains, Diamonds International and Columbian Emeralds International, have long held promotion and advertising contracts with PPI and Onboard. Diamonds International, a privately owned, New York-based company, operates 120 stores on Caribbean islands, in Alaska and Mexico, and Columbia Emeralds, a United Kingdom-based chain, has 60 outlets on 14 islands.
"They do a good job for us," said Dave Nanni, Diamonds International sales manager. "Besides their promotions, they act as a go-between, helping passengers with exchanges and refunds."
The Better Business Bureau for Southeast Florida and the Caribbean has had three complaints against Onboard Media and two against PPI, according to Al Polizzi, bureau spokesman. They involved guarantee and merchandise repair issues.
Both PPI complaints have been resolved, he said, as have two of Onboard Media's. As of mid-May, however, one Onboard Media complaint remained unsettled, Polizzi added.
Bottom line: Read and make sure you fully understand the 30-day merchandise guarantee. It does not provide for a refund if you have second thoughts about the item you bought. Most importantly, check with the store manager to learn the shop's return and refund policies before that purchase.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Welcome to The www.CarnivalCares.com website
Welcome to the wonderful Carnival Cares website.This is the second try that we have made to publish a forum where all people who deal with Carnival Crusise Lines have a place on the web to vent and compare war stories.
I am a former passenger who was completely screwed by Carnival and the biggest motivation for me in my quest for justice is that Carnival uses all sorts of intimidating tactics in order for anyone who speaks out against the company to be silenced.
Your moderator group is a group of former Carnival Employees, Staff Members on the ships now, and the passengers who are having issues with the company.
We wish you the best of Luck. and Enjoy the Site.
Your Moderator
Robert Paisola
www.carnivalcares.com.www.carnivalfeedback.com
WARNING:
THIS IS NOT A PRIVATE FORUM, executives of Carnival Read this, When submitting your articles, please be detailed..
Sign Up for The www.CarnivalComplaints.com Newsletter
Sign Up Today for The www.CarnivalComplaints.com NewsletterEMail our offices at investigations@carnivalcomplaints.com
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Gas Guzzlers
Think high gas prices make filling up your SUV painful? Try pulling up to the pump in the 101,000-ton Carnival Destiny.
The soaring cost of oil has already hit motorists and airlines hard. Now it has cruise lines redrawing routes and changing schedules. Carnival Cruise Lines says its Destiny ship won't be stopping at Aruba, which requires a fuel-guzzling trip far south. Royal Caribbean is making travelers show up for earlier departures on some of its cruises so ships can sail at a slower, more fuel-efficient speed. And at Regent Seven Seas, they're tacking on a daily fuel surcharge starting at $5 a person (that's $12 on Tahiti trips).
With cruise-ship fuel costs up about 30% over the past year, industry experts say other operators might follow suit. "They're looking at everything more closely," says Tim Conder, leisure analyst at A.G. Edwards.
Carnival's announcement doesn't come as much of a surprise. Rising fuel prices helped contribute to a 19% decline in its fiscal first-quarter profit. The new itineraries, says Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen, are also an attempt to "freshen the product."
From January, Carnival will nix Aruba from the Destiny itinerary. The island off the coast of Venezuela will be replaced with stops at St. Lucia and Antigua -- making the cruise about 470 miles shorter. Carnival says it also has itinerary changes set for its Legend liner, scrubbing Barbados and Martinique for two islands that are closer together.
But Steve Gelfuso, owner of Cruise Brothers, a travel agency in Cranston, R.I., says his clients couldn't care less about where they stop. "The real cruise people just go for the ship. It's never as nice on one of those islands."
Carnival Makes $6 Million Settlement With Workers
(CBS4/AP) MIAMI Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines will pay over $6 Million to thousands of crew members who alleged they were not paid overtime.If approved by a federal judge, the settlement would mean payouts of between 100 and 150 dollars for nine named lawsuit plaintiffs and other amounts for as many as 39,500 people who worked on Carnival ships beginning in November 2001.The lawyer representing the crew members says the cruise line won't admit wrongdoing under the settlement but will establish a grievance and arbitration process for pay disputes.Carnival, the world's largest cruise line, could not be reached for comment.Workers said the cruise line failed to pay them for work in excess of their regular schedules, which are often 70-hour work weeks. Carnival and other cruise lines typically don't follow U-S wage and labor laws because their ships carry foreign flags.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Carnival settles OT suit
Cruise line agrees to pay $6.25 million
Carnival Cruise Lines will pay $6.25 million to thousands of current and former crew members who alleged in federal lawsuits they were not paid proper amounts of overtime, the workers' attorney said.
If approved by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke, the settlement would mean payouts of between $100 and $150 for nine named lawsuit plaintiffs and other amounts for as many as 39,500 people who worked on Carnival ships beginning in November 2001.
Carnival currently operates three ships from Port Canaveral -- the Fantasy, the Glory and the Sensation, which began service here last month.
During the port's last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the Fantasy and the Glory carried a total of 404,656 passengers from Port Canaveral.
Julio Ayala, an attorney with Miami-based Crew Member Advocacy Center, which represented the crew members, said the settlement includes the ships based at Port Canaveral.
He said all crew members will be notified of the settlement. Those who no longer are working for Carnival will be notified at their last known address.
"They're very hardworking people who come from all over the world," said Tucker Ronzetti, another attorney representing the crew members. "From their perspective, it's a significant amount of money."
The Miami-based cruise line will not admit wrongdoing under the settlement, but will establish a grievance and arbitration process for pay disputes, Ronzetti said.
Officials at Carnival, the world's largest cruise line and a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., declined comment Wednesday because the case still is pending.
The lawsuits were filed in March and October by Carnival workers, who said the cruise line failed to pay them for work in excess of their regular schedules, which are often 70-hour workweeks.
Carnival and other cruise lines typically don't follow U.S. wage and labor laws because their ships carry foreign flags.
One of the lawsuits was initially dismissed, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was considering whether it could continue when the settlement was reached.
The second lawsuit was on hold pending the outcome of that appeal.
A similar lawsuit is pending in federal court in Miami against Princess Cruises, a California-based subsidiary of Carnival.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. settled an overtime pay dispute in 2002 in New York.
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