Cruise tourism contributed US$ 3.1 billion in Caribbean and Latin America

Alan Lam reporting

At the 22nd annual Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Conference and Trade Show, held last week in Cozumel, Mexico, delegates were told that, during the 2014-15 season, cruise tourism contributed about US$3.1 billion in 35 destinations of Mexico, Caribbean, and Latin America.

The average spending per passenger rose by 8.25% to US$103.8. More than half of the transiting passengers disembarked, participated in excursions and purchased foods and drinks on land.

A study carried out by Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA) suggested that cruise passengers in 2014-15 spent 30% more on excursions, 20% more on souvenirs and 2% more on foods, as compared to the previous season.

Over 75% of the US$2.45 billion spent on land were on four major categories: US$ 877 million on watches & jewellries; US$551 million on excursions; US$238 million on clothing items; and US$189 million on foods & drinks.

St. Maarten, the third most visited destination, occupied the top position in terms of passenger and crew spending, reaching US$423 million, followed by the Bahamas at US$373 million and Cozumel at US$365 million.

The industry employed 75,050 people in the region and contributed 976 million dollars in salaries. Its other economic contributions included payments of taxes, port services and supplies, totalling US$400.8 million.

P&O Cruises partners with Wilkes Academy to ‘nurture new talent’

P&O Cruises, the UK focused contemporary market unit in Carnival Corp & plc group, has joined forces with Jonathan Wilkes and Wilkes Academy in order to give opportunities and work experience on board ships to young performers. “P&O Cruises has also introduced a sponsorship programme for two Wilkes Academy students each year in order to nurture and inspire new talent.” The company said in a statement.

P&O Cruises head of entertainment, Paul Wright said: “I am very excited by this new partnership as it is imperative that we show today’s young talent the breadth of opportunities which are ahead of them. The theatres on our ships are state of the art with LED screens and automation which allow us to create contemporary world class shows and recruit the very best young talent. We employ over 200 performers and each one spends two months rehearsing in our Southampton studios before taking the shows on board.

“We hope that by sponsoring two students each year and giving them insight and experience both on shore and at sea we can also give them a springboard to their future. I am proud that we are investing in tomorrow’s theatrical stars in this way.” The first two Wilkes Academy students to benefit from the P&O Cruises sponsorship are 21 year old Joel Ekperisin and 16 year old Charlotte Payne, both from Swindon.

Joel began dancing at the age of 10 after moving to London from Nigeria. With street dancing his first passion he then joined Pineapple Studios and gained experience in commercials, pantomime and music videos. After a spell with dance crew Cerebro, he knew he wanted a long term career in dance and would benefit from the formal full time course offered at Wilkes. He now has daily training in ballet, tap and modern as well as commercial dance, singing and drama.

First year Wilkes student Charlotte Payne began dancing at the age of two at Swindon Academy of Dance. She twice represented team England in the dance world cup in Portugal and Romania and then worked with the BBC on dance show ‘GLEE CLUB’. Wilkes Academy principal Jonathan Wilkes said, “Cruise ships provide an unrivalled training ground for young talent. With a number of different shows each week they practice their range of disciplines and so become a true all rounder. This makes them so much more versatile, which can only aid their future career. The performances on P&O Cruises ships are worthy of the West End or Broadway and are supported by the most high tech staging and kit to produce truly spectacular shows. We are very fortunate to have this association.”

Princess Cruises premieres 'Magic to Do' from award-winning composer of Wicked Stephen Schwartz

Princess Cruises raised the curtain on a new musical revue titled Magic to Do, from the Oscar, Grammy and Tony award-winning composer of Wicked, Pippin and Godspell Stephen Schwartz. The show, a cruise industry first, premiered today aboard Crown Princess to rave reviews at a special event with Schwartz and the show’s creative team at the Port of Los Angeles.

Magic to Do, Schwartz’s first production for a cruise line, celebrates his lifelong fascination with magic and combines thrilling illusions with some of his most famous songs, such as Magic to Do from Pippin and Defying Gravity from Wicked. The show also includes a brand new song written exclusively for Princess called A Little Magic. Brought to life by a vibrant cast, imaginative costumes and make-up, stunning scenic designs and baffling illusions Magic to Do is now running in the Princess Theater aboard Crown Princess and debuts aboard Ruby Princess and Emerald Princess in late fall.

This new relationship with such a major creative talent from Broadway and Hollywood includes a multi-year collaboration to oversee the creative development of a total of four new musicals to debut across the fleet over the next several years. This adds to the cruise line’s “come back new” brand promise, designed to elevate the onboard guest experience resulting in more transformative moments, lifetime memories and meaningful stories to share from a cruise vacation.

“Working with Stephen and his creative team on this brand new show for Princess Cruises has been an incredible honor and such a collaborative effort with our entertainment team,” said Adrian Fischer, vice president, entertainment experience for Princess Cruises. “Magic to Do can only be seen on a Princess cruise and we’re thrilled to offer our guests this exclusive, musical, magical experience created by an award-winning team.”

During his 40-year entertainment career, Schwartz has won four Grammys, three Academy Awards for “Best Song” and “Best Score” for Pocahontas and “Best Song” for The Prince of Egypt and last year received the Isabelle Stevenson special Tony Award. He is the only songwriter in Broadway history ever to have three shows run more than 1,900 performances.

“Watching the vision of Magic to Do develop over the last several months into a unique theatrical experience has been both great fun and enormously gratifying for me. I’ve been waiting for a long time for a first-rate revue of my work, and I think this clever combination of my songs with virtually all the great magic illusions in history could finally be it,” said Stephen Schwartz. “My collaboration with the talented and highly professional team at Princess has achieved something I think is special and I hope guests join me in falling under its spell.”

Schwartz brought together a cadre of Broadway and Hollywood talent to support the production through direction and design, including:

– Don Frantz, associate producer of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, among many other Broadway and international accomplishments.
– Gabriel Barre, internationally acclaimed director whose credits include the national tour of Pippin and the current Broadway musical, Amazing Grace.
– Jeremy Railton, four-time Emmy winner whose extensive background in theatre, film, television and multi-media design includes the 2002 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies and the Academy Awards.
– Ken Billington, Tony award-winning lighting designer with nearly 100 Broadway show credits to his name, including Sweeney Todd and the current production of Chicago. He was recently inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.
– Mark Hartman, award-winning music director with numerous Broadway credits including Sondheim on Sondheim, Avenue Q and the national tour of Pippin.
– Jennifer Paulson-Lee, choreographer with credits including Enter Laughing, the Musical, A Rockin’ Midsummer Night’s Dream, 101 Dalmatians and Seussical.
– Alex M. Calle, art director on Warner Brothers Theme UAE, Galaxy Entertainment Macau and award-winning Crane Dance project in Singapore.
– Dominique Lemieux, costume designer to Cirque du Soleil including Mystère, Alegría and A New Day with Celine Dion. She also designed the costumes for Pippin on Broadway.
– Danny Fiandaca, sound design, having worked on various tours and productions, including Come Fly Away (Broadway), Catch Me If You Can (First National Tour) and Lonesome Traveler (Los Angeles). He’s also been associated with Princess Cruises for more than 10 years.
– George Johnsen, media design and Grammy and Emmy award-winning developer of technologies for entertainment industry giants like Song and IBM, he also co-produced the hit sci-fi TV series Babylon 5.

In addition, Jim Steinmeyer, the mastermind behind many of the great magic illusions over the last 25 years, created the magic experience in Magic to Do. Steinmeyer has worked with some of the greatest magicians of all time including Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy and David Copperfield.

Theater Producer Jayson Raitt will be working closely with Schwartz and consulting on the creative development of the three additional shows.

Watch Magic to Do trailer here:

First South Pacific Cruise Forum to take place in Papeete

In seven days, on October 16th and 17th will take place the very first South Pacific Cruise Forum in Papeete, the capital for French Polynesia, on the island of Tahiti.

Final enrolments are currently being registered by the organiser: the South Pacific Cruise Alliance already gathering American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, New Caledonia, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa and the Islands of Tahiti.

The conferences and round table sessions will be held in the prestigious setting of the French Polynesian Assembly, where cruise experiences and growth opportunities in the region will be discussed and exchanged. In addition to the 8 insular states and territories already mentioned, the attendees – nearly one hundred cruise specialists and professionals, Ports and Tourism authority representatives – will come from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Singapore.

The 2-days conference programme will be rich with speakers representing nearly twenty cruise lines and brands, among Holland America Line Group, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Carnival Australia, Ponant, Paul Gauguin Cruises and Aranui.

Ollivier Amaru, Chairman of SPCA, is really pleased and says: "it is a real giant step. The region is building up. Without immoderate pretension and complex, we finally have the opportunity to progressively add cohesion to the coherency of our actions, with the support and help of other regional organisations such as Cruise New Zealand. This Forum also reveals the consistency of our process. The South Pacific Islands are at the dawn of a great new maritime adventure."

At the intersection of three large source markets, the South Pacific Islands wish to take all the opportunities to maintain the necessary programmes for the development of the cruise industry in each of our destinations.

The South Pacific Cruise Forum is organised with the support of the Government of French Polynesia, the French Pacific Funds, the Assembly of French Polynesia and Cruise New Zealand, South Pacific Tourism Organisation, Tahiti Tourisme, Air Tahiti Nui and the Port Autonome de Papeete.

Liberty of the Seas to receive extensive makeover

Royal Caribbean International is taking vacation adventures to the next level and giving Texans more to look forward to when the 3,634-guest Liberty of the Seas emerges from an extensive month-long dry dock in February 2016. The extensive bow-to-stern makeover will introduce a slew of Royal Caribbean firsts as well as guest favorites. Liberty will offer guests new adventures visiting Mexico and the Caribbean from the Port of Galveston.

During the dry dock Liberty will receive a Texas-like makeover and bring even more adventure onboard with the addition of the a collection of waterslides called the Perfect Storm including the first ever boomerang style slide at sea, Tidal Wave. The new slide features a steep drop that propels riders up a near vertical wall for a moment of weightlessness and into free fall. The Perfect Storm also features two new racer slides called Cyclone and Typhoon which will be located at the aft of the ship alongside the Flowrider surf simulator that was initially introduced on the Freedom class of ships. In addition, kids will have an adult-free zone with the introduction of Splashaway Bay, an aqua park featuring an interactive kid’s play area with water cannons, geysers and much more.

Liberty of the Seas guests also can look forward to an expanded lineup of tantalizing food options, including modern Mexican cuisine at Sabor featuring a mouthwatering menu of authentic, modern and unexpected Mexican dishes, such as Oaxacan Ceviche of Red Snapper or Spicy Chicken Flautas – to name a few. Sabor diners also can delight in customized guacamole and salsas, made tableside right in front of their eyes, as well as an assortment of tacos, quesadillas and burritos, all made with the freshest ingredients.

Guests also can enjoy Giovanni’s Table, an Italian trattoria featuring Italian classics served family style as well as sip on classic cocktails in the R Bar, featuring a sophisticated 1960s vibe, complete with iconic decor and signature cocktails mixed by a savvy and personable mixologist.

Guests can choose from an array of new stateroom options including 26 new Panoramic Ocean View staterooms, featuring floor-to-ceiling glass walls, providing guests with breathtaking, unobstructed views as well as an additional 53 staterooms throughout the ship.

Liberty of the Seas will sail seven-night Western Caribbean itineraries every Sunday from Galveston starting from November 2015, visiting exciting warm weather getaways in the Caribbean including: Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; Falmouth, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico; and Roatan, Honduras.