Metamorphosis - Cruise Ship Portal

Christopher Kanal: Can you give an
update as to how your relief efforts
are proceeding in Haiti?
Adam Goldstein: We are taking what
happened in Haiti very seriously. It is a
daunting challenge for everyone and we
are very involved. We have a 30-year
relationship with Haiti and as one of the
main parties involved in the country we
need to help. Every RCI ship that is going
to Labadee in Haiti is transferring
significant amounts of supplies. To date, 16
RCI and Celebrity Cruises ships have called
at Labadee delivering more than 160 pallets
of food, water and medical relief supplies.
In addition, Royal Caribbean has raised
more than $475,000 to donate to relief
organisations dedicated to helping Haiti.
How do you respond to the criticism
you have received for continuing
cruises to the country?
I don’t think anybody enjoys public
criticism but we knew we were doing the
right thing. Everybody in Haiti and
everyone in positions of authority related
to the aid effort, everybody without
exception wanted us to keep going there.
The implication of not going would be to
hurt the Haitian
people and that did
not make too much
sense to us.
I’m very proud of
our efforts and have
seconded our staff to
Paul Farmer [the UN’s
deputy special envoy
to Haiti], former
president Bill Clinton
and the UN Special
Envoy Group who are
doing a number of
projects, including
constructing a
warehouse and a
command and control
centre for the
distribution agencies
to offload and pick up
supplies. In time, the
Haiti disaster may
diminish in public consciousness around
the world but it won’t fade for us.
How do you see the cruise industry
evolving in the next five years?
The evolution of the cruise industry is
going to become more mainstream. In the
past, when we talked about cruising
becoming more mainstream we were
generally talking about the US, now we
mean around the world. In every major
tourism market cruising is beginning to
play a role. In markets such as the UK, it is
already playing quite an important role. In
almost every developed market, cruising is
becoming one of the holiday choices that
people are contemplating. In five years’
time the industry will be a lot more global
than it is today.
RCI is seeing healthy growth in at least
the top 30 countries. I believe that we are
People > The big interview
Adam Goldstein, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International,
talks to Christopher Kanal about a pivotal few months in the history of the
cruise operator as it launched the world’s largest cruise ship and responded
to a humanitarian disaster following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Goldstein reports growth in “at least the 30 top countries”.
“
the world’s most international cruise line.
We win almost every award in the world
for the top cruise lines in every market,
which demonstrates that we are respected
across the globe in the product we deliver
to our guests. Our ships are destinations
in themselves that we match up with
geographical destinations to create a very
compelling cruise experience.
There is still enough room in the
market for cruise lines to be pursuing
their own agendas. The amplification of
choices, whether they are land-based or
water-based, is astounding today.
Cruising is a small piece of that action,
and is still collectively only 2% of the
holiday market. One of our goals is
convincing consumers that cruising will
deliver the highest level of satisfaction
possible. RCI is able to cater to a global
audience and can bring our ships
anywhere. As we speak we have the
Legend of the Seas in Singapore,
Rhapsody of the Seas in Australia,
Splendour of the Seas and Vision of the
Seas in Brazil, Brilliance of the Seas in
Dubai and Enchantment of the Seas off
Colombia. We are able to do these things
at a high level and still have the Oasis of
the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty
of the Seas doing things that we have
traditionally done. We have been growing
for 42 years and we expect to continue.
Our ships are destinations in themselves that
we match up with geographical destinations to
create a very compelling cruise experience.
What are you doing to attract a new
generation of cruisers?
In the US, we bring out ships that have
captivating features so you can have an
active, comfortable cruising vacation in
your 20s and 30s. If you know Oasis of the
Seas, you don’t need to wait until you are
older to take a vacation on board. You are
going to have a fabulous time right now. In
other parts of the world, we are happy to
have people of all ages with us, but in
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