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• Cruise Industry Annual • will offer. "What cruising does is says 'we'll have a family vacation that everybody likes.' We're offering what I would call a family vaca- tion, where Disney will be offering 'guilt trips,'" said Mr. Fain. He defined guilt trips as the penance parents pay for favoring the workplace over time at home with their children, and added: "There is a need for these guilt trips ... They will be wonderful for the industry." Projections aside, Mr. Fain concluded: "Disney will not be a significant competitor in terms of capacity in the cruise industry. It is targeted at a very specific niche." A i©yal Expairasoom Sttrattegy Moving beyond a discussion of the general marketplace, the RCCL executive zeroed in on his company's highly publicized strategy for growing business — the recruitment of interna- tional passengers. "We've made no secret of our goal of building our European base. Most of building market shares comes from building new ships for these markets," said Mr. Fain. One of RCCL's most recent attempts to increase its European marketshare fell flat when negotiations with Italian cruise interest Costa Crociere were broken off for undisclosed reasons. Briefly commenting on this matter, Mr. Fain said: "Costa has a very good market position. The idea of doing something with them was quite attractive to both of us. We both worked hard at studying it and came to the mutual conclusion that each of us would be better on our own." He further stated: "We will continue to look at opportunities to strengthen our European base. It doesn't look like invest- ing in another cruise line is likely to be the way we'd go at this point." While he declined the opportunity to discuss the recent Carnival-Airtours deal, which pro- vides a competitor with an indisputable pres- ence in Europe, Mr. Fain did entertain ques- tions on the possibility of increasing his compa- ny's foothold in the Far East. "Potential is there. I have to say it is a long-term potential. Positioning Sun Viking in the Far East allows us to build up expertise slowly and methodical- ly. I think you will see us exploit that expertise in years to come," said Royal Caribbean's chair- man. Moclkey Caste Of I© §®a In June 1994, the Disney enterprise plunged into rarely chartered waters by founding its own cruise line, and shortly thereafter named cruise veteran Art Rodney to the presidency of New Ships: 1996 And Beyond Cruise Line Ship Delivery Berths Tonnage Cost Date ($M) 1996 Carnival Cruise Lines Inspiration 4/96 2,021 70,367 $270 Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Destiny 11/96 2,600 100,000 $400 Celebrity Cruises Galaxy 11/96 1,870 73,000 $320 Costa Cruises Costa Victoria 7/96 1,928 75,000 $300 Dolphin Cruise Line IslandBreeze 5/96 1,102 38,175 N/A Holland America Line Veendam 4/96 1,266 55,000 $231 Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Crown 3/96 1,040 34,250 N/A Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Splendour of the Seas 3/96 1,804 70,000 $325 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Grandeur of the Seas 11/96 1,950 73,000 $300 Seabourn Cruise Line Seabourn Legend 7/96 204 10,000 N/A World Explorer Cruises Universe Explorer 7/96 708 23,500 N/A 1997 Celebrity Cruises Mercury 11/97 1,870 74,000 $320 Costa Cruises Costa Olympia 1997 2,050 78,000 $350 Holland America Line Rotterdam VI 10/97 1,318 62,000 $250 Princess Cruises Dawn Princess 1997 1,950 77,000 $275 Radisson Seven Seas Cruises Paul Gaugin 12/97 320 16,000 N/A Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Enchantment of the Seas 9/97 1,950 73,000 $300 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Rhapsody of the Seas 4/97 2,000 75,000 $275 1998 Carnival Cruise Lines Elation 1998 2,021 70,000 $300 Carnival Cruise Lines Paradise 1998 2,021 70,000 $300 Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Triumph 1999 2,600 100,000 $400 *Disney Cruise Line Disney Magic 1/98 1,740 85,000 N/A *Disney Cruise Line Disney Wonder 12/98 1,740 85,000 N/A Princess Cruises Grand Princess 1998 2,600 104,000 $385 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Vision of the Seas 4/98 2,000 75,000 $278 Silversea Cruises Unnamed 1998 396 22,000 $200+ 1999 Silversea Cruises Unnamed 1999 396 22,000 $200+ Princess Cruises Sea Princess 1999 1,950 77,000 N/A Source: Cruise Lines International Association. *CLIA membership begins in January 1997. its new affiliate, Disney Cruise Line (DCL). According to Mr. Rodney, Disney took the initial steps to invest in vessel ownership based on its desire to be part of the industry's growth. "It was a natural evolution. Disney is in the entertainment industry. A cruise ship was a natural extension of our core business," said the Disney cruise executive. Whether Disney's past affiliation with Premier Cruise Line influenced the corporation to test the waters is unknown, but Mr. Rodney was willing to discuss the break in ties with Premier: "I think we felt we could do a better job operating a cruise line, and that we wanted to control our name and prod- Q. 5 ® o> T> O o £ Q. 42 Art Rodney exhibits the building plans for Disney's cruise vessels at DCL's corporate offices in Orlando. uct," the DCL president told MR/EN. He also confirmed rumors that DCL will focus its attention on booking first-time passengers. "We want to try to break down the barriers. First-timers will have much more confidence trying a cruise with Disney than anybody else ... We expect to get a lot of people who haven't cruised yet," said Mr. Rodney. But how will the 85,000-ton Disney Magic and Disney Wonder fair in a market that will be flooded by new tonnage by 1998? The Disney executive qualified his answer by putting it into context with market conditions. "I think what we're seeing is a lot of opportunity in the indus- try because the industry is building a lot of new ships right now. The older ships are the ones that are feeling it," said Mr. Rodney. "SOLAS (Safety of Life At Sea Convention) will help to tighten up the demand for the newer ships," continued Mr. Rodney, adding, "Our brand is differentiated from the rest of the industry ... Based on our research, the customer considers us in a whole different quadrant. We're in a different league. Our ships will be Disney ships and that's what we're selling." But this inherent product differentiation will apparently not dissuade the cruise line from supporting CLIA ads aimed at promoting cruise shipping at large. Although Disney's CLIA membership won't kick in until January 1997, "Our position right now is that we will partici- pate in the advertising," said Mr. Rodney. N©w AnwaD Mate Waves Since announcing plans to enter cruise ship- ping, Disney has spared no expense in its efforts to penetrate the sector. With architec- tural plans completed for the private Disney cruise terminal — Terminal No. 8 — to be raised at Port Canaveral, construction will be bidded out this summer. DCL also acquired Gorda Cay — a 1,000-acre, private Bahamian island that will be used as a vessel day-stop location. And these two ventures are in addi- tion to enlisting the expertise of Fincantieri — one the world's most renowned cruise new- building yards — and Lloyd's Register, a pre- mier classification society. According to Mr. Rodney, the decision to go with Fincantieri came down to three key fac- tors: price; delivery time and design interpre- tation. He said that the yard "did a very good job of interpreting what our designers wanted," Maritime Repot ter/Engineering News
