The cruise shipping industry continues its upward growth. In 2018, the total cruise tourism expenditures reached $3.36 billion. That is according to the data gathered by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association’s Cruise Industry Overview. The industry also employed a total of 78, 954 crews throughout the year.
World Cup host nation Qatar announced it will charter two cruise ships which will be used as floating hotels to accommodate soccer fans during the FIFA 2022. Four thousand staterooms will be available during the World Cup from November 21-December 18 2020 in the port of Doha, following an agreement between the Organizing Committee and the MSC Cruises.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages has unveiled the name of its second cruise ship, Valiant Lady which will debut in May 2021. The name is inspired by the Latin word “Valere” which means "bravery", "strength" and "courage."
Local Media outlets in Puerto Rico report of a bomb threat this morning to a cruise ship that was docked in Port of San Juan. The incident was reported when the Police Department received an anonymous 911 call around 10:52 am saying that "he was fed up with the government and that a cruise ship was going to explode."
A fundraiser to support Venice devastating flooding was organized by the Port Authorities. Pino Musolino, President of the Port of Venice sent a letter to all cruise lines calling to Venice, asking for their help and support.
A passenger on the cruise ship Norwegian Sun went overboard this week as the vessel was sailing off the coast of Freeport in the Bahamas. Thanks to the quick response from the crew the woman was located and saved on time. According to a passenger onboard the woman jumped off the ship from her stateroom balcony with a lifejacket on. The crew deployed life preservers within seconds and located the woman using the rescue boat within 20 minutes.
Starting from January 2020, Carnival Cruise Line will switch from Coca-Cola to PepsiCo beverages on their cruise ships. PepsiCo products will become the preferred beverage partner for Carnival Cruise Line North American fleet.
With the rise of social media, so is the rise in accountability for people in general. The statements “what happens on ship, stays on ship” no longer applies as both guests and crew members rise and support to speak up against unacceptable practices. More and more news are coming as related to criminal misconducts that occur on cruise ships.
Training new staff is expensive and time consuming for major corporations. Cost-effective approach is figuring out what makes the long term employees stay in one cruise line and why some decide to switch to another. This is why most of the major corporations and even smaller businesses have exit surveys to internally research means of improving internal practices and professional environment that makes employees want to stay or come to work.
