🛳️ 🍻 Cruise & Booze Chronicles

Set sail with us as we navigate through the latest news in the cruising world! Here's a sneak peek at what's on deck…

🏷 Nautical Numbers are Growing
🚨 Cruise Concerns
🚢 A Boat That Cost $2 Billion 
🛫 Boeing’s In More Trouble, “Imagine That”…

Sea these stories and more below👇🏽

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TOP GAINERS & LOSERS

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⚓️ 📈 Sail & Scale

Voyage Across Economic Waters

The cruise industry is thriving! In 2023, a whopping 37.1 million passengers set sail globally, with the U.S. leading the pack at over 16 million cruisers.

Cruise lines are reeling in first-timers like a marlin on cheap bait. 2024 is creating a wave of growth for the industry, lured by clever ads, glowing recommendations, and unbeatable value. An industry analyst estimated that Carnival Corporation had already sold more than 70% of its cabins for all of 2024.

Royal Caribbean's behemoth, Icon of the Seas, proves the point. All 5,610 spots on her first voyage sold out, with one passenger flying 20 hours to experience the world's largest cruise ship. “Looks like a fancy boat trumps jet lag for some.” Carnival reported all-time-high booking volumes along with record first-quarter revenues for 2024.

It's a wave that shows no signs of receding!

• Royal Caribbean sails the world's biggest cruise ships, a whole fleet of them (seven to be exact). But Carnival steers the market share, a hefty 37% to Royal Caribbean's 24.7%.

• Norwegian Cruise line is going big with its order for eight new ships, marking its largest order ever in company history.

• Cruise giant Viking is setting sail for Wall Street! This IPO filing shows another sign of the cruise industry's overall strength.

• Mickey Mouse is adding another cruise, the Disney Destiny for 2025.

🛳️ 🏨 The cruise industry is so hot, even hotels are jumping ship... well, onto their own ships! Ritz-Carlton and Margaritaville are already cruising the waves, while the Four Seasons sets course for 2026.

🚢 🤑 Back in the day, the Titanic cost a measly $7.5 million to build (around $239 million today) - a far cry from today’s ships, it’s estimated that “Icon of the Seas” cost $2 billon. “I LIKE BIG BOATS AND I CAN NOT LIE, ALL YOU OTHER BOATS CAN’T DENY”

🏖️ 🌴 Cruise Lines are going private…Royal Caribbean already splashed out $254 million on their CocoCay playground, and Carnival's not missing the party - they're building their own island paradise in 2025. Disney's staking their claim with a brand new private island, Disney Lookout Cay, opening in June 2024.

🏢 ⚓ Carnival Cruise Line is ditching their Miami anchor (HQ) and setting sail for smaller office space. Their crew is already working remotely, so they don't need all that space. Maybe some can take Virgin Voyages' offer to work from a cruise ship? shh don’t tell my boss 🤫

👀 😱 Captain Jack Sparrow would blush… Forget mermaids and buffets! This video dives into the not-so-glamorous side of cruising.

🚢 🌊 Cabin Chronicles

Life On Board - Let’s Set Sail

Aye, mateys! Life on board isn’t alway smooth…from rare over-boards to hidden camera scares and even fires…

Don't let the news turn your dream cruise into a nightmare! While headlines love stories of folks taking an unexpected ocean dip (like that one guy in the Gulf who bobbed for 20 hours!), the truth is, it's pretty rare. We're talking fewer than 20 folks a year.

AND…BUT…

• Cruise disappearances are uncommon as-well, only about 400 in 20 years. But lately, things got scary. Three people from Colombia vanished after a stop in the Virgin Islands. In Cozumel, a man with dementia (66) went missing from a Royal Caribbean cruise.

• Two sad stories - a 20-year-old from Florida jumped off a Royal Caribbean ship after an argument with his dad. The Coast Guard couldn't find him. Another went missing and is presumed dead after falling off the MSC Euribia cruise ship in the North Sea.

• Check “Yo Room” Fo real: A Royal Caribbean cruise attendant, 34-year-old Arvin Mirasol, is in jail for installing hidden cameras in passenger staterooms on Symphony of the Seas.

• Carnival cruises hit rough seas! Passengers faced fire on the Freedom and flooding on the Sunrise. Carnival apologized and offered some compensation, but some passengers may not sail with them again.

As luxury cruise suites reach astronomical prices, let's not forget the unsung heroes behind the scenes—cue the crew cabins! Chris Wong took us on a hilarious tour of his cozy abode on the Icon of the Seas. With his "seriously, the SMALLEST crew cabin EVER” video.

He reminds us that even the biggest cruise ship in the world has some surprisingly tiny spaces.

• 🌅 🌑 Cruise ships can chase clear skies for the perfect view. Passengers this year raved about the experience - it's like a whole new world (pun intended).

• 🍻🍷 Try to sneak your “booze on a cruise” is like playing a game of cat and mouse with a tipsy octopus – they've seen it all, from flasks to mouthwash bottles. However, some mainstream lines allow a bottle or two with fees. Carnival recently pushed back on passenger complaints.

• 🧳 🌿 Cannabis cruisers! Carnival and Royal Caribbean are tightening their grip on ganja, but there's a loophole on dry land. But beware! Once back aboard, it's zero-tolerance. Carnival's drug-sniffing dogs are on the prowl. Edibles, CBD—off-limits! Best leave the stash at home, or risk a one-way ticket off the boat!

  • Looks like some folks on a previous cruise forgot the memo – over 100 bags of the green stuff were confiscated last year!

Remember to pack your swimsuit, not your stash…talking to you Des and Peter 😄

Our weely cruise around the world

🚨 Red Sea re-routes and cancellations: Norwegian Cruise Line recently cancelled over a dozen cruises in 2025 due to a mix of reasons. The ongoing conflict in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels have attacked ships, is one factor. This has caused other cruise lines to cancel or reroute Red Sea itineraries in 2024.

🇬🇷 Greece is offering a free week-long stays (up to 500 euros) to tourists forced from Rhodes by fires last year. Brits hit hardest, 10,000 evacuated. "Rodos Week" vouchers good for hotels now to May or October-November. It’s their plan to win back tourists.

 🧳🚀 News Travels Fast

 ICYMI

💬 Quick travel news & updates for your weary, jet-lagged mind.

• 🚨 Boeing Whistleblower is blowing the doors off Boeing (Literally). Sam Salehpour raised concerns about safety shortcuts in the 787 Dreamliner and 777, adding to the already bumpy ride of the 737 Max woes. To top it all off, Southwest engine cover takes mid-air vacation. “Reach for the duct tape next time please.”

• 🌺 Hawaii is considering banning short-term vacation rentals (Airbnb, Vrbo) to address the housing crisis. The wildfire last year displaced thousands and worsened the existing shortage.

• 👋🏼 Tripadvisor's for-sale sign is still up, and now there's another wrinkle. Ben Drew, the head of their most promising unit, Viator, is leaving.

• 💪 What a flex, Spirit - boasting about your 400th plane delivery, all Airbus fleet. Take that, Boeing! But hold up... Spirit, aren't you furloughing pilots to save money?

  

🤓✈️ Thanks For Reading

We’ve reached our destination,

Wee hope you found our voyage through the news enjoyable.

See you in the clouds,

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