Onboard the MSC Orchestra

In the midst of great weather and calm seas, MSC Cruises’ Orchestra sails the Caribbean with a pleasing Tower of Babel collection of languages and cultures.

As I walk through, I hear Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese and French (both French and Canadian accents) and every variety of North American English, along with a few stray Scots. By the pool, the South Americans display their buffed bodies in extreme swimwear and extremely well behaved children communicating easily without a common language as they munched hot dogs and hamburgers. The comfortable mesh loungers are all gone by mid-morning, and the extras lining the track are carefully skirted by runners and walkers.

Maybe it’s just timing, but it seemed as though there were far more happy winners in the casino than the norm as passengers made the usual complaints that they had primed the slot machines only to see the next player win over $1,000. They toasted each other’s success and then joined in the dancing that took over the whole ship, from afternoon lessons in the lounge – rock and roll, cha cha, merengue – to late night in the flashing disco.

With all the different language groups, entertainment at night is based on gorgeous costuming and effects and universal experience – incredible acrobatics, classical music, magic.

One of the most delightful aspects of our cruise that will also be on several fall MSC sailings in the Caribbean was the Baseball Greats activities, free to all passengers. Guests sent ecstatic gloating emails home when they realized that stars of baseball were not only on board and sharing their stories, but sitting down with them for a drink, having their pictures taken with children and giving advice to potential players.

One of the funniest moments – and with names like Hall of fame manager Earl Weaver there were some great ones - when Randy Hundley, former Chicago Cubs All-Star catcher, set up an impromptu training session in the midst of a panel discussion. Potential catchers, whose numbers grew dramatically as he brought them up to the front of the room, assumed and held the difficult crouch, groaning, as Hundley asked, “Are you SURE you want to be catchers?” and told them about knee and hip replacements that follow the physically taxing position. “It’s a tough, stinking job,” he added, not deterring his admirers for a moment.

From the stories of how they came into the major league to movies like the classic Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First” and the autographing sessions that went on far longer than the original plan, the players built their audience into the hundreds as word spread about the sessions. For the players, too, it was reunion time; some hadn’t met for years.

Meanwhile, in port players and passengers headed for the beaches, shopped the markets and swam with the dolphins. They worked off the luscious desserts in the fitness center and around the track and played tournaments in the card room or just lazed away an afternoon with a book.

By the time we returned to Ft. Lauderdale, quite a few kids on board had casually mastered a few phrases in another language, and the passengers got off more relaxed and sun-kissed to return to real life.

Report From Cruise3Sixty

I recently returned from the annual Cruise3Sixty conference held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., April 2-6. The event, hosted by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), is one of the most important in the cruise industry.

This year, the big news did not come as a result of an industry seminar or press conference. The buzz was about how many agents attended in the first place. A new record of over 2,000 delegates — as well as the largest number of participants and record sponsorship levels — was widely seen as an optimistic sign amidst the current economic environment. From what I heard talking to exhibitors, most were indeed pleased by the turn out, at least on the first day.

The conference was marked by panel discussions, seminars and workshops, as well as more than a dozen cruise-ship inspections. But, as always, Cruise3Sixty is also about the social events.

One of the best events of the Cruise3Sixty conference is the Hall of Fame Dinner where pioneers of the industry are acknowledged. This year’s inductees were Edwin W. Stephan, founder of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines; Walter Sherota, founder of Gold Coast Cruises; and Josephine Kling and Joyce Landry, founders of Landry & Kling, Inc. It’s inevitable that, at least once or twice during the inductees’ speeches, you can see people in the crowd wiping tears from their eyes.

For next year’s Cruise3Sixty, organizers have made some significant changes. For one thing the location of the conference will move north of the border to Vancouver, Canada. It will also be held June 3-7 instead of in April.

“Based on this year’s response, we are wasting no time gearing up for Cruise3Sixty in 2010,” said Terry Dale, president and CEO of CLIA. “Despite economic jitters, there is tremendous enthusiasm for this event. Plus, we will be in the great city of Vancouver, which has enormous appeal for travel agents and cruise lines. Therefore, we fully expect yet another record turnout.”

Marilyn Green Visits Seatrade

Every year for a quarter of a century, the cruise industry has gathered in Miami – cruise line executives, shipyards, ports, ship designers and outfitters, the Coast Guard, security personnel and the infrastructure that furnishes everything from shore excursions to online wi-fi – for its annual conference and reunion. Hard hard times, great times, it’s always a wonderful experience, filled with information, rumors, meetings and deal-making and with reunion lunches and dinner in the restaurants of South Beach and beyond.

The convention center is filled with nearly every language on the planet as those who shape cruising fly in from all over the world to discuss and negotiate, communicate and create. Among the rumors this year are intimations of a new multi-ship order for MSC Cruises, which already claims the title of youngest fleet in cruising (although there are other contenders). And there were more than rumors about new positions for former Disney Cruise Line president Tom McAlpin and former SeaDream Yacht Club CEO Larry Pimentel, the latter saying that we’d know in a couple of weeks what he is doing.

Retired president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines Bob Dickinson was on crutches after an accident in Antarctica, “but it was the end of the trip,” he said, clearly very enthusiastic about the experience there. After the State of the Industry and its stress on value as the engine of business he commented, “It does no good to offer a gold plated belly button lint remover at a great price if the customer doesn’t want one. It’s the combination of customer satisfaction and value that wins. When customer satisfaction is higher we have upbeat, full ships in contrast to half filled hotels with a gloomy atmosphere.”

There was little gloom at the conference, where attendees stood, kneeled and even lay on the floor to photograph the spectacular cutaway model of Oasis of the Seas on the floor of the trade show, now in the company offices. The model, which shows details of areas like Central Park, was built on a scale of 1:100 and stands nearly 12 feet long and over a foot and a half wide; it weighs more than 1,300 lbs.

Tony Peisley, cruise analyst, pointed out that a recent poll in North America and the UK showed agents were more worried than the cruise lines. “I can’t remember a time, even after 9/11, when so many people were so unsure of the state of the market,” he observed. Peisley added that last fall the cruise lines responded quickly and ships sailed full, but many of the measures to fill the ships do not benefit the agents.

“Agent commissions are down so the cruise lines can protect onboard revenues and tips, which are essential to the crew,” he added. “The agents are exposed and several large retailers and individuals have gone.” He said that, as in North America, UK agents described sales in January, February and March as good, but they felt that consumer confidence is fragile.

Business partnerships are nothing new at Seatrade and this year New York City and Genoa signed a pact, setting up a longterm relationship as partners for transatlantic cruising, with MSC Cruises already functioning as a common operator. MSC’s Orchestra will initiate the relationship, calling in New York May 5 on its way from Florida to Europe; the line has planned six Magnifica turn-arounds in the fall of 2010 and president and CEO Rick Sasso looks to eventually having 20 or 30 MSC calls a year in New York. NYCruise expects more than a million cruise passengers this year and Genoa 550,000.

Now celebrating its first Homecoming year, Scotland launched its Cruise Scotland marketing group, seeking to expand its cruise business 10 percent annually for the next three years. Scotland has a 48 percent share of cruise calls in the UK during 2008, with a record total of 377 ships and 202,000 passengers.

Good news for North American interior markets: two new ships will operate on the Great Lakes in 2009: the 225-passenger Pearl Seas and Travel Dynamics’ 110-passenger Clelia II.

In terms of technology, the cruise lines are getting involved with Twitter’s social networking, expanding their blogs from the models offered by Carnival Cruise Lines’ John Heath and Holland America Line’s Eurodam construction blog. In addition, with top crewmembers at a premium, experts pointed out the importance of fast communications – dual-mode cell phones and fast email in retention and job satisfaction.

Fan of Fuji

I’d been warned that Fuji can be hard to see in the spring time, so my expectations were low. In fact, I’d try to visit Hakone some years back and spent the entire day looking at wet cloud cover where the mountain was supposed to be.

So when I was invited to Shizuoka Prefecture, the home of Mt. Fuji, in March, I didn’t really expect much.

But oh wow, how beautiful this mountain is when you can see it.

There are so many places you can see Mt. Fuji from within the Shizuoka Prefecture. (A prefecture is sort of the equivalent of an American state.) It would be hard for me to decide where exactly I enjoyed the view most. Driving on the racetrack from the Fuji Speedway, a birds-eye view from the Ferris Wheel at Grinpa Amusement Park (which sports Japan’s tallest Ferris Wheel), as a sturdy sentinel standing watch over the Chichibuno miya Memorial Park?

Each had their own unique qualities, but probably I’d have to say that the most breathtaking for me was from the balcony of my room at the Awashima Hotel

There was something magical about sitting on the balcony of this island-based property, listening to the waves lapping on the beach and watching the city lights twinkle at the base of one of the world’s most famous mountains. After a hard day of walking, I admit that I did make use of the hotel’s foot massager, while I sat drinking my tea and find my own level of Zen meditation.

Despite the fact that I’m not at all a morning owl, I was up bright and early, ugh 5:30 am, so I could also catch the sunrise over the mountain.

After snapping a few hundred pictures of Fuji, I headed down to the hotel’s outdoor onsen hot spring, where I continued to watch the changing morning light cast its effects on Fuji.

It's hard, really, to write a blog about just how impactful this view is. It could easily have come out sounding cliched, or worse, like bad poetry. However, suffice it to say, this was truly one of the most remarkable sights I've seen in my lifetime

Good Eats, Sweet Treats

One of my favorite aspects of traveling to far-away places is the opportunity to broaden my palate a bit, trying something that I could probably never replicate in my own kitchen. It's those singular culinary experiences that had me steadily swooning in Japan. Here's a mere taste of my adventures in good eats...


After touring Yokohama's Kotokuin Temple and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, a lunch of Buddhist cuisine or shojin ryori seemed most appropriate. I'm not sure if the custom has anything to do with Buddhist belief but, as an aperitif, we were served a small serving of plum wine in a ceramic cup. The arrangements of seasonal veggies and soy protein appeared modest, but packed a myriad of flavors in almost every bite.



If you love sushi, Tokyo will smile upon you. I snapped this photo of my "dessert" course at the ninja-themed, contemporary restaurant, Ninja. Not only did I have sushi for dessert, that morning I also had it for breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market.

Prior to having matcha or green tea during a Japanese tea ceremony, it is common to receive a plate of sugary sweets to offset the bitterness of the tea. These adorable cubes tasted pretty much like pure sugar, but with a red bean filling. Look closely and you can make out an intricate design of the three-story pagoda in Sankeien Park.

Tempura is another staple for the first-time visitor to Japan. It comes in most bento lunches, and some restaurants, such as Sansada in Asakusa, serve nothing but tempura entrees.

Soft serve ice cream of all flavors, such as green tea, plum blossom and vanilla are found in most high-traffic tourist destinations in the Kanto region. Depending on the prefecture’s most popular agricultural crop, you could be walking around with a cone of wasabi-, sweet potato- or soy sauce-flavored ice cream while admiring the sites.

I was really taken a back with the general presentation of food in Japan. Here, we unwrapped our three-level Kabuki bento box at Chiyofuku restaurant in the nostalgic and rather lovely city of Sawara.

Shopper's Surprise on Hawaii's Big Island

Don’t make me go shopping when I’m on the Big Island. I’m there to hike, snorkel and eat papayas. Trouble is, in order to buy the papayas, I have to go to a store. On the sizable Big Island, a trip from the Kohala Coast to a bona fide grocer has traditionally taken at least one hour including driving. So you can imagine how happy I was on my most recent visit to the island when I discovered two convenient and well-stocked new markets. Both have chosen savvy locations -- one in Mauna Lani Resort, the other in Waikoloa Resort -- putting them within mere minutes of the many vacation accommodations of the area. That’s good news for anyone like me who usually stays on the Kohala Coast. Each of the grocery stores combines an ideal resort location with a selection of products that rivals any I’ve seen on the island. They’re the perfect answer for travelers who don’t want to eat every meal in a restaurant.

At Mauna Lani Resort in the Shops at Mauna Lani awaits Foodland Farms, a 10,000-square-foot full-service supermarket. It’s a bright, colorful presentation of island-grown, specialty, gourmet, natural, organic and traditional local favorites plus items from around the world. I was blown away by the full-service meat department, with all-natural beef, pork and poultry; a wide selection of prepared, marinated and seasoned meats including skewered and stuffed entrees ready to BBQ; and a full selection of lamb and veal.

Seafood lovers can buy fresh island fish fillets (some seasoned and ready to grill), poke (raw marinated fish) and raw and cooked shrimp. Local products dominate the produce department, with regional delights like Hamakua Springs tomatoes and mushrooms; Big Island avocados; Rainbow papayas; Keeau bananas; and watercress from Mountain View. The bakery displays gourmet desserts like petite fours, European desserts, cakes, tortes, gourmet cookies and brownies. One of the big draws for me is the variety of ready-to-eat entrees -- think designer pizzas -- that visitors can pop into their condominium oven. The olive bar lays out varieties of antipasto (try the stuffed olives with feta cheese), and there’s an appetizing range of domestic and imported cheeses.

The store has plenty of wines, beers, spirits and liquor, including a full selection from the winery in Volcano and the largest selection of Kaena Wines, crafted by a Hawaii-born winemaker. On the way out (or in), don’t miss the counter of gourmet gelato and sorbet in such tropical flavors as mango-lychee, dragonfruit and coconut. It’s right next to the espresso bar.

Not to be outdone is the new Island Gourmet in Queens’

Marketplace, based in Waikoloa Resort. This 23,627 square-

foot emporium is the result of a unique partnership between ABC Stores and KTA, which owns and manages a chain of grocery stores on the Big Island. I can personally vouch that Island Gourmet offers a superb selection of top-quality

foods and fine wines, including imported delicacies never before available on the Big Island.

At the full-service bakery and deli, clients can pick up made-to-order hot and cold sandwiches, pizzas, salads, fresh-baked pastries and breads. The produce section is an eye-popping collection of colorfuledibles, from the organic (eggplant, tomatoes, lettuce) to the

exotic (rambutan). I had to drag myself away from the sushi bar, and I marveled at the fact that this places sells live lobsters, oysters, abalone and Manila clams. For the true gourmand, this is your place to buy frozen quail, pheasant and Muscovy duck as well as buffalo, ribeye steak and rabbit. Alongside specialty products, clients can buy ready-made island favorites like musubi, bento and sushi.

The store even works with clients who are looking to cater meals or parties in their Waikoloa digs. You can find the full spectrum of beverages in the wine and beer department, and varietal lovers will want to spend some time in the store’s wine tasting area. Lest you think Island Gourmet places too much emphasis on high-end delights, rest assured it knows its roots, right down to the display of ukuleles.

Fiji Launches Tourism Fiji Campaign

Skye and Monica took some well-deserved downtime to enjoy lunch at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, where Fiji rolled out its new corporate tourism identity, “TOURISM FIJI.” More than 50 LA-based trade and media were in attendance, including a number of hoteliers from Fiji. The yummy meal was highlighted by fabulous views of Santa Monica, a presentation by Jo Tuamoto, the new CEO of Tourism Fiji, as well as traditional Fijian performers.

Jo flew out from Fiji to speak with LA's travel industry. He told us that Fiji's new identity is part of the nation's long-term strategic goal of achieving 1.1m visitors by 2016. Jo also updated partners on the latest tourism developments in Fiji, including the May opening of the brand new 271-room Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa, which he called a “mark of confidence” in Fiji’s tourism industry’s current and future growth.

Similar events are also planned for New York on March 17th and Canada on 2nd April for Tourism Fiji.