Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, November 4. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
07.08.2023 - 14:29 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean / Cruises
When my son was a toddler, he climbed on a chair and tossed a TV remote off of our hotel room's balcony. It happened so quickly that I didn't have time to stop the remote from falling 10 stories into the bushes — even though I was inches away from him.
Thankfully, I was able to grab my kid and lock the balcony door before he did any real damage, but at that moment, I swore off booking rooms with balconies at hotels and on cruises for good.
Now, I've been on more than 50 cruises, and my son has grown into a responsible, risk-averse tween. But after staying in a wide variety of room types, I've felt no desire to give balcony rooms another try for a host of reasons, most of which aren't safety-related.
When my son was little, I dreamed of tucking him in for a nap and slipping out to my cruise cabin's balcony to read a good book and enjoy the fresh air. But there were some problems with this plan.
For starters, his bed was right next to the balcony door on many cruises, making it all but impossible to slip in and out of the room without waking him. Also, I had no way of hearing him call for me when I was on the balcony with the door shut.
As he grew older, I found cruise balconies to be equally impractical, but for different reasons. They generally only have enough room and seating for two, meaning my family of three was unable to comfortably sit on the balcony together.
When my husband and I had the room to ourselves, it was often too windy to spend time in our outside space. Every time we opened the balcony door, it created a wind tunnel in our stateroom that sent objects flying through the air.
Sometimes, our neighbors smoked cigarettes or talked loudly from their adjacent balconies, interrupting what would've otherwise been a peaceful, private experience.
Throughout my decades of cruising, I've noticed that many of my fellow passengers don't seem to use their balconies to the fullest, either. A lot of people prefer to be out of their rooms enjoying the on-board amenities or lounging by the pool instead, leaving their balconies mostly empty.
On a recent voyage aboard Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas, I paid close attention to the ship's rooms with interior balconies. They face inward, making it easy to peep at how often passengers use them.
I saw people briefly step out on them before leaving their rooms to explore, but for the majority of my seven nights on the ship, these balconies appeared eerily vacant.
Though they offered perfect views of onboard entertainment, practically no one seemed to use them.
I did see passengers use their interior balconies to hang-dry wet towels and swimsuits. Though practical, it hardly seemed like a worthy use of this costly space.
Of course, I was only
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, November 4. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, January 3, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
The Obama administration approved U.S. educational and people-to-people travel to Cuba in 2015, but a U.S. federal judge in Florida last week ordered four major cruise lines to pay more than $400 million in damages plus legal fees to a U.S. company that ran the port in Havana until it was confiscated after the Cuban revolution of 1959.
The old boys network in online travel — yes, let’s call it what it is — has reunited again to accomplish a formidable goal that has frustrated numerous startups in the past. The aim is to disrupt online cruise booking.
Cruise companies are still continuing with their new vessel orders despite choppy waters in an uncertain consumer spending environment — and face the risks of piling on more debt.
Explora Journeys, a privately-owned sub-brand of the MSC Group, is applying a “luxury lifestyle hotel” ethos to its Millennial-friendly cruise ships, which will feature Ocean penthouses and residences, in addition to entry-level Ocean suites.
India wants to bet big on cruises. Consider these ambitious plans from Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy:
Royal Caribbean International’s latest addition, Icon of the Seas, made her inaugural splash last week during preliminary open-water sea trials off the coast of Finland. With an anticipated delivery date in October, the ship is gearing up for her first voyage from Miami in January 2024. From there, Icon of the Seas will conduct seven-night sails of the Caribbean until April.
Royal Caribbean International posted strong results Thursday and lifted its earnings expectations for this year by a third.
Norwegian Cruise Line on Tuesday forecast downbeat third-quarter profit after a strong second quarter, as elevated costs offset gains from robust demand and higher ticket prices, sending the company’s shares tumbling down as much as 16.7%.
"Is the captain there, please?" a man shouted in Italian in a TikTok video showing two cruisers who appeared to be left behind by their ship at a port, Insider reported on Saturday.
A Viking Cruises employee died after falling from a ship on Friday, BBC reported. The incident occurred at the Port of Cromarty Firth in Invergordon, Scotland.