Ports. Ships. People

As far as I am concerned, 2011 is the year of cruising!

Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line brought cruising into the homes of millions of TV viewers.

And wasn’t it Captain Greybeard  (John Honeywell) that posted the need for more cruise lines on television? His post, What’s the reality of getting the cruise message across on TV?, really was on target. Did @CaptGreybeard have insider information? Maybe a lucky guess or just a smart observation, either way, I am glad that some of the cruise lines had a big presence this weekend to help spread the cheer about cruising.

Just in time for Wave Season!

Carnival Cruises goes big at Time Square

New Year’s Eve Wishing Wall invites people to post their wishes for 2011. These wishes were added to the confetti that flutters down in the heart of Times Square on New Year’s Eve! Combined with YouTube updates, tweets, and posts, this was a big success. More info: http://www.timessquarenyc.org/nye/nye_interactive.html and to check out some of the wishes.

How about New Year’s Day?

All eyes on the Cunard Line float at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA. The Rose Parade is the perfect venue to showcase a float from Cunard Line. The Cunard Line float won top honors and this is not an easy task, especially for a first-time entry.

Cunard Line won the Queen’s Trophy for best use of roses on its inaugural float in the 122nd Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade presented by Honda in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1. The float, themed “A Grand Celebration at Sea,” depicted the Cunard fleet and featured champagne toasts, the Royal Court Theatre, ballroom dancing and big band music.

NCL CEO Sheehan to Appears on “Undercover Boss”

Lastly, we ended the weekend by watching Norwegian Cruise Line CEO go undercover.

Norwegian Cruise Line President and CEO Kevin Sheehan made the most of his undercover journey on the Emmy-nominated hit reality series “Undercover Boss” that aired in the U.S. and Canada on Sunday, January 2, 2011 on the CBS Television Network.

The best part of this show was the show of  appreciation for the NCL crew across the line’s 11 ships by making a $100,000 addition to the crew enrichment program during the show’s finale which took place in front of more than 800 crew members on Pride of America in Hawaii.

The enrichment program is a fleet-wide initiative to support and enhance the welfare of the company’s more than 14,000 crew members. This includes a variety of activities, equipment and events for the crew of each ship, such as DVD movies, sports equipment, parties, karaoke and entertainment, video game equipment and much more. For more information on Sheehan’s undercover experience and Norwegian Cruise Line, visit www.ncl.com/undercoverboss.

I hope we can have more shows, press, media, and exposure in the cruise industry. Certainly, good or bad, the exposure gets people talking and brings the cruise industry top-of-mind.