Top Headlines
Royal Caribbean International's new brand campaign defies industry misperceptions by spotlighting authentic exploration
- Details
- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 15 October 2015 15 October 2015
Royal Caribbean International sails 23 ships to more than 250 destinations around the world delivering the world’s best vacation for adventure seekers on the most innovative vessels at sea. The cruise line is launching a new brand campaign inviting these seekers to “Come Seek” their own experience filled with adventure, exploration and discovery.
“Come Seek” reflects the brand’s adventurous spirit by placing the traveler’s personal experience and point of view at the heart of the campaign. It also showcases the essence of the experience that the brand has been delivering for more than 40 years. Known for its innovation – including the revolutionary Oasis- and Quantum-class ships – and delivering many industry-firsts from ziplines and rock climbing walls, the FlowRider surf simulator and the RipCord by iFly skydiving experience, to leading technological breakthroughs like VOOM – the fastest internet at sea, Royal Caribbean continues to transform the cruise experience offering an active adventure with an immersive experience and connectivity that all travelers desire.
“Our mission is to challenge misperceptions and invite the next generation of travelers to experience the unique Royal Caribbean adventure,” said Michael Bayley, president & CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Our loyal guests recognize that Royal Caribbean is an adventure designed to inspire and excite the senses. With our new campaign, we will show these new travelers what our guests already know and love.”
Even as the cruise industry has grown on the strength of new ships and modern program offerings, the reality is that a majority of the population – particularly the millennial generation – has never taken a cruise. The new campaign is not only an invitation from Royal Caribbean to “Come Seek,” but aims squarely at conventions that may inhibit continued growth.
The integrated marketing campaign includes broadcast, digital and outdoor advertising, in addition to public relations, social media and direct marketing. The multi-million dollar campaign will debut on Monday, October 19th with a series of broadcast and online ads, including a first-of-its-kind live streaming outdoor campaign delivered via the social platform Periscope.
“Come Seek” is a call to travelers who want more than to sightsee along the beaten path. It’s for adventurers who don’t just want, but require, immersive, culturally rich travel. Royal Caribbean delivers adventure both onboard and with exciting and culturally rich experiences in destinations around the world. Seekers are introduced to these destinations with experiential excursions, such as an Ocean Racing Experience in Antigua, which matches two guest teams of six each with professional yachties in head to head competition, and a Mountain Top Downhill Trek through historic plantation ruins in St. Maarten.
For a sneak peek of the “Come Seek” campaign elements visit Royal Caribbean’s You Tube page.
Age group 25 to 34 second biggest customers of cruise lines in UK
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 14 October 2015 14 October 2015
Young adults aged 25 to 34 are the second largest age group for cruise lines in Britain, just one percentage point behind the 65 plus age group, survey commissioned by Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) shows.
Cruise holidays were particularly popular with holidaymakers aged 65 plus with 13% of those who took a holiday in the last 12 months taking a cruise.
“They were followed by people aged 25-34, 12% of holidaymakers in this age group took a cruise in the last year. 25-34 year olds are also the most interested in taking cruise holidays with almost half (48%) stating that they were interested in trying a cruise,” ABTA said, adding that 15% of young families (those with children under five) who took a holiday in the last 12 months took a cruise.
Cruise line officials have said that the industry has suffered for a long time from an image problem in Britain, whereby cruises are viewed suitable only for elderly people. The figures released by ABTA could thus indicate that this could be changing.
Last year, 1.65 million Britons took a cruise, a fall of 5% on the previous year.
Deployment of capacity to China reduces capacity in North America, Europe
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 13 October 2015 13 October 2015
Deployment of capacity to China is good for the cruise industry’s profitability as it absorbs capacity from the North American and European markets, said Robin Farley, cruise industry analyst at UBS in New York
“We have written extensively on the importance of China for the cruise lines, with not only greater profitability on Chinese-sourcing ships, but also the benefit of reducing capacity in existing North American and European markets by redeploying it to China,” she said in a research note.
“And we would argue that the benefit to the cruise lines from China may be greater for the 90% plus of the fleet that is competing with less supply, perhaps a greater benefit to overall profitability than the 5-8% of supply that is in China itself,” Farley continued.
So the bottom line is, China pricing is already higher than average, profitability is greater putting a ship there versus the Caribbean. “The China story has never been that pricing was going to keep growing at a double-digit rate. The China story is that volume is growing massively because of the high China price premium.”
“CCL (Carnival Corp & plc) is not yet given guidance for 2016 – but it still sounds likely that overall yield in China could be positive with onboard spend helping, since charter prices may not be up given the supply growth,” she said.
“But prices in China would still grow overall yield and returns would grow at a greater rate given the benefit from scale growth in China as well. And of course, two ships going to China (six next year up from four this year) also help the rest of the fleet since supply growth in the rest of the world is up only 2% for CCL next year, while company wide capacity is up 3.7%,” Farley stated.
Adding ships to China generates higher yield than incremental ship in Caribbean – UBS’ Farley
- Details
- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 13 October 2015 13 October 2015
Adding ships to the Chinese cruise market generates better yields to cruise lines than an incremental ship would do in the Caribbean, although the rise in yields in the first named market will slow down this year from 2014, said Robin Farley, cruise industry analyst at UBS in New York
"China is an important market for the cruise lines not because it is growing price at an outsized rate, but rather it is important because the growth of pricing in China has already surpassed the tipping point about two years ago where a ship is more profitable in China than an incremental ship in the Caribbean," Farley said in a research note.
Carnival Corp & plc (CCL), the world’s largest cruise shipping group, is growing yields in China at a single digit rate in 2015 after double-digit growth in 2014 and that is with CCL's 45% capacity increase in China this year.
After growing yields at a double-digit clip, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), the industry’s number two group, is now seeing mid to high single digit yield growth in China, on top of yields that already made for RCL's second best performing ships last year in terms of profitability.
“Our checks found Quantum (of the Seas) selling for 35% higher price in China than it was selling in the Carib. earlier this year, and while that has the benefit of summer seasonality, we would point out that Quantum's price in the Caribbean was already at a double-digit premium to other Caribbean product. RCL & CCL will also home port some cruises out of Tianjin next year, which price checks suggest may be a little lower than Shanghai, but even a 15% discount to Shanghai puts it above RCL fleet on average,” Farley said.
Even without an increase in yield in China, adding ships to China is yield accretive to the cruise lines overall. It is even further accretive to earnings growth, since expense/ unit comes down with big scale increases. The China story has never been that pricing was going to keep growing at a double-digit rate. “The China story is that volume is growing massively because of the high China price premium, and that also helps capacity and price in existing markets,” Farley noted.
While the stock market pull back in China has concerned investors about consumer demand, and we also frequently get questions about the revenue declines in gaming, we would point out that cruises in China are driven by the growing middle class. As long as there is wage growth in China and as long as GDP growth causes China's middle class ranks to continue to swell, that is the source market for cruises -- not VIP wealth and not stock market wealth.
Carnival Corporation & plc expands to four cruise brands in China, accelerates market leadership with additional ships serving Chinese travelers in 2017
- Details
- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 13 October 2015 13 October 2015
Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest travel and leisure company, today announced plans to further expand its operations in China with the deployment of two additional cruise brands in China in 2017. Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises will join Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises in the Chinese market, making Carnival Corporation the first company to operate four brands in China – which is expected to eventually become the world's largest cruise market based on surging demand for cruise vacations by Chinese travelers.
As a result of Carnival Corporation's expansion in China in 2017, four of its 10 brands will have at least one homeported cruise ship in China, further bolstering the company's industry-leading presence in the market. The plan to deploy two additional ships – one new ship each for both its Carnival and AIDA brands – and operate four total brands in China in 2017 embodies Carnival Corporation's long-term, multi-brand strategy to provide Chinese travelers with a variety of vacation options and experiences to meet growing demand across all segments of the Chinese market.
"We are excited to introduce our Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises brands to our fleet in China, giving us a total of four global cruise brands in the market and a unique opportunity to provide a diverse lineup of brands and cruise offerings to Chinese guests who are looking for a great vacation experience," said Carnival CEO Arnold Donald, who was in Shanghai to announce the news at the 10th Annual China Cruise Shipping and International Cruise Expo (CCS10). "As we execute our multi-brand growth strategy in China, we are emphasizing choice and variety in our offerings to match the different tastes and preferences of Chinese travelers."
Added Donald: "As more and more Chinese are discovering why cruising is the best vacation experience, they are having a great time on our Costa and Princess brands, and we look forward to even more Chinese travelers enjoying vacations on our AIDA and Carnival brands. This is an exciting time in China for the cruise industry, and as the world's largest cruise company and the first global cruise operator in China, we are more committed than ever to helping China become one of the world's most popular regions for cruise vacations."
Further details on plans for Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises to enter the Chinese market in 2017 will be announced soon by each brand.
Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said: "We greatly look forward to introducing Chinese guests to the exceptional vacation experience that has made Carnival the world's most popular cruise line with more than 4.5 million guests a year. With cruise demand rapidly increasing in China and our ability to work in partnership with other Carnival Corporation brands to leverage our collective experience and scale, it provides an outstanding opportunity for Carnival Cruise Line to enter the Chinese market."
Added Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises: "We are honored to join our Carnival Corporation sister brands in China in 2017, including Costa Cruises, which pioneered cruising in China for the entire industry back in 2006. We look forward to offering Chinese guests our authentic AIDA experience of German style on the seas. By focusing on the interests of our guests in China, there is a significant opportunity to grow cruising demand for our brand, Carnival Corporation and the industry at large."
Two new brands build on other recent China expansion announcements for 2016 and 2017
Carnival Corporation announced in July that its existing brands already sailing in China – Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises – will continue to expand in 2016 with each brand introducing a new ship to its fleet in China in 2016, making Carnival Corporation the first global cruise company with six total ships based in China and extending the company's industry-leading market presence in the overall market.
The expansion of Carnival Corporation's China fleet to six ships will represent a 58 percent increase in total capacity in China in 2016, including three year-round ships and three seasonal ships in the market. Together, the Costa and Princess brands will potentially offer about four million passenger cruise days in 2016, giving Chinese guests more choice and flexibility in both the contemporary and luxury segments.
Building on its expanding presence in China in 2016, Princess Cruises, a leader in worldwide destinations, just announced last week the name of its new ship that will be based year-round in China when it is introduced in summer 2017. Based in Shanghai, the all-new Majestic Princess will be the first year-round cruise ship built specifically for Chinese guests incorporating a unique blend of international and Chinese features.
Carnival Corporation is also exploring potential joint ventures in China with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Merchants Group (CMG) designed to accelerate the growth of the overall cruise industry in China, including the possibility of launching a world-class Chinese domestic cruise brand, building new ships in China, and supporting port and infrastructure development. These efforts support Carnival Corporation's commitment to help China realize its goal to develop cruising as a key economic driver for its economy and become one of the leading cruise markets in the world.
Additionally, to underscore the company's commitment to the region and developing the strong growth opportunities for cruise vacations across Asia, Carnival Corporation recently announced Michael Ungerer as chief operations officer for Carnival Asia, a newly created position for the company that became effective Sept. 1. Ungerer, formerly president of AIDA Cruises, will help lead the execution of Carnival Corporation's growth plans across the region, especially in China.
Alan Buckelew, global chief operations officer (COO) for Carnival Corporation, relocated to China over a year ago to more closely oversee Carnival's growing operations in the country and capitalize on the significant opportunities to accelerate growth in the market. Buckelew, who has extensive experience in Asia from nearly four decades in the cruise industry, leads all the company's initiatives in China in this expanded role, while retaining his overall global responsibilities for the corporation, including oversight of all maritime and port operations around the world and other related functions as part of his COO position.
More Articles ...
