– Avalon Myanmar – Myanmar River Cruise – April 2017
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar – Part VI (Kya Hnyat to Kyauk Myaung)
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar – Part IX (The Ship: Avalon Myanmar)
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar (Burma) – Reflections: “Isn’t This Amazing!?”
*Azamara Club Cruises – Azamara Journey – Singapore to Dubai (April 8, 2018)
* Azamara Quest – Southeast Asia and Japan (February 2015)
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? – Part I
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part II
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part III
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part IV
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? – Some Final Observations and Thoughts
– The Prologue to the Travelogue
– The Adventure Begins…With a Bump or Two
– Settling In Made Easy
– Luxury Touches Here, There and OK, Not, Everywhere…But There Are Lots of Them!
– Asian Flair Onboard and On Shore
– Private Tours, Israel and Conflicts in Perceptions and Perspective
Celebrity Equinox 2009 – Egypt…Impressive and Depressing
– Dining With the Captain and the Reidel Wine Seminar
– The Last Dinner (Tuscan Grille) and Disembarkation
– What Happens When A Class Act Meets Highly Discounted Cruise Fare
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part I
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part II
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part III
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part IV (Food & Wine!)
– Princess Cruises Doesn’t Treat You Like Royalty; Celebrity Cruises Does! Which is a Better Value for the Upscale Cruise Guest? Part I
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. -Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part II: The Standard Veranda Staterooms
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part III: Treating You Right From The Start
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part IV: The Wine Lists Speak Volumes (As Do The Beverage Packages)
Regent Seven Seas Voyager – August 2017
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part I
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part II (Getting There, The Stateroom and First Impressions)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part III (“You Can’t Teach Five Star Service” and Bonafacio, Corsica)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part IV (Calvi, Monaco, Portofino, Porto Azzurro…and Stale Bread)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part V (My Last Day…and How The Chef’s Team Makes It Happen)
According to industry publications, such as Seatrade, Atle Brynestad, CEO…again…has stated that SeaDream’s bookings are strong and that while he expects some changes in titles and duties since Larry Pimental’s departure, there will be no corporate shake up and that he considers SeaDream to be a “family”.
Mr. Brynestad, former CEO of Seabourn, former chairman of Cunard and former board member of Carnival Corp., has stated that operations will stay in Miami, but that he will work primarily from Oslo, Norway (his home). Personally, I am all in favor of the internet, telecommuting, emails and the like, but concepts like “hands on”, “putting face to it”, “having your ear to the ground (water)”, etc. are very important concepts in business. We shall see how this plays out.
He also claims that SeaDream’s 2009 bookings are slightly behind 2008’s bookings (claimed to be a record year), but are still considered “normal”. He asserts this is, in large part, due to loyal past passengers rebooking. Considering SeaDream’s fine reputation, I have every reason to believe this to be true.
That said, I have no knowledge of SeaDream’s measure of “bookings”, but bookings based on passenger counts is far different from dollar volume or net revenues; especially in this time of significant discounts and cancel for any reason offers. (As an example, while I was out in Lake Tahoe, claims of lift ticket sales being down “only” 10% was clearly an optimistic view, as I know the price per ticket was also down from $83 to $50 if you took one of the multi-day deals…a 40% discount. So with actual tickets down 10%, but ticket revenues down 20-40%, the real picture is far more bleak.) Personally, I think the departure of LP has to be related to such issues in some fashion, but I really don’t know.
One thing that remains a mystery is why Larry Pimental left, if he still is an investor and where he goes from here. Apparently both people are being very tight-lipped. This suggests to me (putting my lawyer hat on) that they are negotiating something at the moment and have been instructed to say nothing. A wise move. I am sure it will all come out shortly.
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