Royal Caribbean Cruises posted revenue that  was 37 percent less than the a year ago during the busiest quarter of the year. The cruise line was not disappointed with the earnings report, but with all the bad news over the past few months, cruising as a whole has taken a hit.

Profit in the January-through-March quarter dipped to $119.5 million from $189.6 million. Revenue fell 2 percent to $1.15 billion from $1.17 billion.
But the world’s second-largest cruise ship operator managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations, as its stock rose $1.22 to $42.77 in New York Stock Exchange trading.
Wall Street analysts were encouraged that onboard spending remained strong, pushing revenue for each cabin, known as yields, up 1.9 percent. Royal Caribbean now expects yields will rise 3 percent to 4 percent for the year, based on a positive “pace of bookings.”
Royal Caribbean’s upbeat outlook contradicted a more cautionary note that sounded last month by its Miami-based rival Carnival Corp.
”This was a positive surprise for everybody,” said Felicia Kantor Hendrix, an analyst at Lehman Brothers in New York. “The Caribbean could be challenging for them, but they have so much going on that they’re able to offset that.”

Royal Caribbean profit falls 37%.

After the horrific fire aboard the Star Princess that killed 1 and injured 11 that started aboard a passengers balcony, Princess cruises has initiated a policy to address balcony fires. The cruise industry has been under tremendous scrutiny this past year and the Star Princess fire was one of many instances that caused the industry a black eye.

Princess said that as a result of their findings they are immediately implementing precautions designed to prevent such a fire from happening again, and if a fire were to happen on a balcony, “to quickly detect and extinguish” it.

This includes 24-hour fire watch of balconies; specific training and fire response procedures for the crew, especially for handling fires on balconies; enhanced communication to passengers regarding fire safety; and changing housekeeping procedures on balconies. via Travel Weekly

When going on a cruise, there are many opportunities to experience the unique nature of the islands the cruise ship is taking you to, you have to remember that there are some risks. The cruise ship typically has no liability for you while you are off ship unless on an excursion that is sponsored by the ship.

While a seasoned traveler will understand the risks associated of going outside the plan, many others who are not as savvy may expect to always fall under the cruise ships umbrella. Unfortunately when we travel we tend to relax and lower our guard. This may not be what you want to hear going on vacation, but the alternatives of not being prepared in a foreign country can be much worse.

When cruise line passengers participate in onshore excursions like the one that killed 12 people in Chile, they need to take their own legal precautions and not rely on cruise ship company liability, experts said on Thursday.
Passengers need to be particularly careful when they choose tours that aren’t affiliated with the cruise line, said Paul Ruden, senior vice president for the American Society of Travel Agents. That appears to be the case in Chile, according to the cruise line.
Ruden acknowledged some people choose local operators that don’t coordinate with cruise lines because they may offer cheaper tours.
“If you’re comfortable being out on your own, that’s fine, but you’re taking the same risk of being out on your own that you would anywhere,” he said.

Read the rest at CNN.com

This is a very interesting article on how Cancun is using the devestation of Hurricane Wilma to rebuild itself from the low budget vacation town to a higher end resort community. This should be a great transition as Cancun is one of the prettiest places on the globe. Once the taint of drunken college students comes off of the city, the room rates and amenities will improve dramatically.

As Cancun recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Wilma - a Category 4 storm that roared ashore last October, causing an estimated $1 billion in damage - many hotel and resort owners are hoping to switch from booze cruises, deafening club music and wet T-shirt contests to a more mature environment for high-end tourists and families.
Le Blanc Spa Resort, which opened its doors in August, represents the more grown-up Cancun. Only blocks from the all-you-can-drink discos, the chic hotel is an oasis of serenity, featuring stepping stones across indoor waterways and glowing candles in onyx vases.
“All of the activities here are to promote rest and tranquility,” said hotel spokeswoman Alma Mondragon. “It’s not about partying.”
In addition to the soothing natural beverages and moist towels, each room comes with a menu of pillows to choose from, including lavender-scented, goose-feather, water-filled and hypoallergenic.
For the past few years, Cancun has attempted to tone down its wild party image and attract more families and business travelers - just as Fort Lauderdale, Fla., years ago broadened its tourist base beyond students.
A “civility pact” signed by Cancun travel agents, hotel operators and bar owners in 2002 prevents drunken patrons from entering restaurants and clubs and restricts student-oriented contests and advertising that promote drinking. More recently, some hotels have limited the number of spring breakers who can pack into a room and have added security to guard against damage or unruliness.  via the Las Vegas SUN

Diving and historical ship tours are coming together as the USS Oriskany will be sunk in the Gulf of Mexico off of Pensacola, Florida to serve as a man made reef for diving. This is a great combination of using what otherwise would be scrap as a ecological and tourism magnet, not to mention how much the fish will enjoy the addition.

If all goes according to plan, explosives will be placed throughout the largely hollowed-out shell of the USS Oriskany in May and it will plummet 210 feet to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

The ship, featured in the films “The Bridges of Toko Ri” and “The Men of the Fighting Lady,” will become the world’s largest intentionally created man-made reef, drawing divers and sport fisherman worldwide.

Eileen Beard, who owns the Scuba Shack, a local dive shop, said she and many other divers are making plans to explore the Oriskany underwater this year.

“From the moment she goes down, she’ll create sounds in the water and the sandstorm that she will cause will draw fish that want to see what it is. It will begin to attract life immediately,” Beard said. “We have had calls from England, Germany, Japan, Thailand. They are all ready to dive the Oriskany.” via CNN.com

Outside Magazine has a list of resorts that do more than just allow you to sit by the beach and pool. Each offers a different type of experience for you as you get away from it all.

• For Yoga and Spa: Jungle Bay Resort & Spa, Dominica
• For Diving and Snokeling: Mesoamerican Reef, Belize
• For Open Sea Sailing The Arabella, St. BarthĂ©lemy
• For Simplicity: The Beach House, Barbuda
• For Old School Resort with Modern Touches Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek, Martinique
• For a Surfing Vacation: Macaw Air, Costa Rica

If you are planning your Spring Break travel this year, you may want to reconsider Cancun, or at least be very selective in the  hotel you chose. Even though the prices are presently discounted in Cancun as it recovers from the Hurricane damage from last fall, they are not rolling out the welcome mat for College Spring Break visitors.

Several resort owners said Cancun should not make the same mistake that it did in 1988, when Hurricane Gilberto struck and hotels lowered rates to bring the tourists back. The bargain prices, combined with the drinking age of 18, combined to make Cancun the spring-break capital of North America.

Most resorts are offering deals as they come back on-line, but the welcome mat may not be out for spring breakers at the new, improved Cancun.

“I must admit, we don’t take spring breakers in our hotels,” Schmid said of Riu. “The spring breakers don’t match with our normal clients.”

Rodriguez, of Lomas Travel, said travel agents and big tour operators such as Funjet, Worry-Free and Apple Vacations know which hotels will accept spring-break groups. Traditionally, that had been the Oasis hotels, the Flamingo Cancun and the Barcelo Tucancun, among others.

But the past antics of kids-gone-crazy during spring break may cause some of the renovated hotels to rethink their open-door policy, Rodriguez said.

“I picked one group of 28 up at the airport at 10:30 in the morning, and they already had tequila bottles in their hands,” he recalled. “The hotel called me at 1 p.m. and said, `Come get these guys. We’re going to call the police.’ They were puking in the pool, some older guys were fighting, and one had fallen off the balcony.”

Mention spring break to Francisco Cordova and he rolls his eyes and says, “Oh my god - please!” via the Times Leader

Bob Marley, the man who put Reggae and Jamaican music on the international stage, will be honored by having his house turned into a national monument in Jamaica. The home is one of the top tourist attractions in Jamaica,  and now will be recognized by the government.

The Jamaican government will declare Bob Marley’s Kingston home a national monument, 25 years after the reggae legend’s death.
Minister of Education and Culture Maxine Henry Wilson said the tribute was in recognition of all Marley had done to promote his Caribbean homeland overseas.
Marley, who died of cancer in the United States in 1981, would have turned 61 this week.via  theage.com.au.

It is looking like the Island of St Kitts is moving their primary income source from sugar farming to tourism, and they are  not taking any halfway measures in the process. With major investments in the airport, hotels, and recreational infrastructure, the island has a chance to be a top notch destination in the future.

ST. KITTS launched an eight-point, short-term tourism plan for 2006-2007 to help counter the effects of the end of 350 years of sugar production on the island last August. Richard “Ricky” Skerritt, minister of tourism, sports and culture, said the key components of the plan emphasize St. Kitts’ sustainable tourism practices, heritage, culture, the hospitality of the Kittitian people and the island’s ambiance. Skerritt also spoke of a $17 million airport expansion and outlined hotel projects under way, which include a $78 million project at Sandy Bank Bay by Auberge Resorts; the $140 million Kittitian Heights project with a golf course, a boutique hotel, villas, condos and an artists’ village; and the 300-room Cable Bay Resort and Villas development. via Travel Weekly

More Information on St. Kitts

• Useful Information
• Carnival Official Site
• More information