One fuel-savings technique is to depart ports earlier than in the past to be able to cruise to the n

Cruise Europe Meets In Le Havre, France Home Blog | News Cruise Reviews Port Profiles River Cruises Need Inspiration? Avid Cruiser Voyages Subscribe This Week, Reporting From France: Cruise Europe Meets In Le Havre Boarding Next Week: Hapag-Lloyd s New EUROPA 2 Cruise Europe: Fuel Costs, Family The Beauty Of Being Foreign By Ralph Grizzle On April 28, 2013 Add Comment This past week, I attended Cruise Europe s 22nd annual general meeting (AGM) in Le Havre, France. A thriving cruise destination and turnaround port, Le Havre s maritime history includes the inaugural voyage of the Normandie, which crossed the Atlantic to New York in 1935 and made nearly 300 subsequent transatlantic princess cruise line home page voyages before being scrapped in 1946. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
Observations from the international setting at Cruise Europe s Annual General Meeting in Le Havre last week: The Danes don t differentiate between the taste of beer in the evening, afternoon or morning, and that is perhaps why they see no harm in sipping on a lager before lunch or shortly after breakfast or even with breakfast — or tipping a bit of Gammel Dansk into their morning princess cruise line home page coffee. The world s happiest nation princess cruise line home page may be happy for a reason.
It s safe to assume, for example, that many Swedes will become princess cruise line home page unsettled princess cruise line home page and mildy irritated when there is not a proper toast along with the obligatory eye contact before and after the first sip following skål .
Likewise, it s fairly common knowledge that the Brits take their tea and biscuits; the Americans, their coffee and cake. The Irish joke in a manner that would sometimes benefit from subtitles, so strong is their dialect. The Scots are pragmatic; the French, frivolous (they are simply embodying joie de vivre); the Spaniards, puzzled by such customs as dinner beginning before 11 p.m. Germans can be counted on to always be on time — and often early for dinner.
Dutchmen colonized much of the world and thus feel at home with anyone. princess cruise line home page Poles and their Baltic neighbors — Latvians, princess cruise line home page Lithuanians and Estonians princess cruise line home page — are simply glad to have shaken Soviet occupation, some more recently than others.
The fact that we are different is what gives travel its charm. Our senses engage as we confront customs that are foreign to us. For Americans like me, being in Europe is particularly intriguing, because many of us are, in fact, them.
Ten generations ago, John Grizzle (also spelled Grissel) left Europe, landing in America in 1722. Now, nearly three centuries later, I am back in Europe, completing a circle, princess cruise line home page a foreigner on the soil where my great, great, great (and more) grandfather was born.
Still, even if I am a foreigner, last week in Le Havre, I felt I was with family. Some of us attending the Cruise princess cruise line home page Europe AGM have known each other — and worked with each other — for decades. While many industries may foster camaraderie, the cruise industry seems to unite cultures worldwide. From France to the Far East to Fort Lauderdale, we work together so that vacationers can achieve what they desire: once-in-a-lifetime experiences delivered princess cruise line home page to them by ships.
At the Cruise Europe annual general princess cruise line home page meeting, this past week as in past years, the goal was to improve and expand the European cruise experience. Destination and port representatives joined cruise line executives to forge the future of cruising in Europe.With more than 100 member ports in Northern and Atlantic Europe, Cruise Europe brings a lot of destinations to the table.
Perhaps the biggest princess cruise line home page issue discussed was the impact of regulation and fuel costs on itinerary planning. Simon Douwes, director deployment and itinerary planning for Holland America Line, told delegates during a morning presentation that his company is slowing down the speed at which ships travel between ports in order to save on fuel costs.
Worldwide, HAL ships will travel 1,401,552 nautical miles in 2013 at an average speed of 16.7 knots, compared to a distance of 1,477,866 nautical miles in 2011 at an average speed of 17.6 knots. The reduction in nautical miles traveled and in fuel savings due to lower speeds are enormous on a fleetwide basis, Douwes told the audience.
One fuel-savings technique is to depart ports earlier than in the past to be able to cruise princess cruise line home page to the next port at speeds that conserve fuel. On some southern European itineraries, HAL will reduce speeds from an average 15.7 knots in 2012 to 13.8 knots in 2013, some of this achieved by open-jaw itineraries, where passengers embark in one port and disembark in another — as opposed to roundtrip princess cruise line home page itineraries.
Fuel savings in Europe are important, as HAL sails to far more ports of call in Europe than anywhere else, Douwes said. In 2013, Holland America Line will visit 161 different European ports . . . that s a huge number.
Indeed, HAL is extending the season in much of Europe. A decade ago, Baltic princess cruise line home page Cruises started in mid-June. princess cruise line home page Today, those cruises begin in mid-April. Fuel costs are causing princess cruise line home page ships to slow down and itineraries to change. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
Brian Powell, whose title is market planning consumer insights for Celebrity Cruises, echoed Douwes comments about the popularity of Europe as a cruise destination. He told delegates that Celebrity is discovering that among its affluent vacationers, two words are emerging when it comes to what they want to experience, authenticity and trendy.
He encouraged destinations to develop shore excursions that offer these two components, and many already do. One of the challenges for destinations is to inform cruise lines of all that they offer. Cruise princess cruise line home page Europe provides a good forum for such exchanges.
Europe is poised to overtake North America as the world s largest source market. From 2006 through 2011, the number of Europeans taking cruises increased by 80 percent. Europe also will overtake the Caribbean as the number-one princess cruise line home page cruise destination this year, according to Peter Wild, managing director for the consulting firm GP Wild International Ltd.
From my point of view, Europe princess cruise line home page s emerging presence in the cruise industry comes as a welcome change, as more and more people will have a chance to see the region on both ocean cruises and river cruises — and to experience the variety of cultures in this wonderful part of the world. Douwes said that Holland princess cruise line home page America Line would not cruise to 161 European ports unless we thought it was a very good idea. Indeed, he added: The future here is very, very bright.
That s a sentiment that all cultures can toast to. Photos from Cruise Europe princess cruise line home page s 22nd AGM in Le Havre, France. Valérie Conan, cruise director for the city of Le Havre, with Jens Skrede, managing director of Cruise Europe. The two, along with their teams, were responsible for organizing events for the Cruise Europe princess cruise line home page AGM. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Checking out Le Havre from the tower of Hotel de Ville (Le Havre s City Hall), Simon Douwes, princess cruise line home page director deployment itinerary planning for Holland America Line says: There is nothing like visiting a place to bring it alive and find out whether it is somewhere our passengers would like to visit. And I think that they would like Le Havre very much. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Le Havre s City Hall, within the UNESCO Heritage region of the city, which was heavily bombed during World War II. The region was rebuilt according to the plan of a team headed by Auguste Perret, from 1945 to 1964. UNESCO cites Le Havre as an outstanding post-war example of urban planning and architecture based on the unity of methodology and the use of prefabrication, princess cruise line home page the systematic utilization of a modular grid, and the innovative exploitation of the potential of concrete. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Terje Søreide princess cruise line home page and Laurens Brock from Høyanger, Norway, attended Cruise Europe for the first time with the hopes of attracting cruise ships to Sognefjord, which is billed as the world s most majestic fjord. Which cruise princess cruise line home page line will be the first to visit? princess cruise line home page © 2013 Ralph Grizzle The final night of the conference ended with a gala dinner at the Palais des Régates. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Taking place in France, Cruise Europe s AGM ended with a gala dinner, where there the uncorking of champagne ended the successful meeting in Le Havre. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Steven Young, head of port operations for Carnival UK. with Valérie Conan, cruise director for the city of Le Havre. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle View of Le Havre from the Palais des Régates. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Valérie Conan, cruise director for the city of Le Havre, with Huguette Lubrano princess cruise line home page of Star Clippers. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Lower Normandy is known for its production of Calvados, an apple brandy. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle One of the oldest cheeses in France, Neufchatel is usually served (and sold) in the shape of a heart. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle princess cruise line home page Dessert took the form of a cruise ship, though obviously princess cruise line home page not the Normandie. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Cruise Europe Chairman Michael McCarthy performs for delegates following the gala dinner. Earlier in the day, he commented: It is a great honor for Cruise Europe to be welcomed to host our 22nd annual general meeting in the beautiful city of Le Havre. Le Havre has a very historical link with the transatlantic liners going back to the 19th century so it is fitting that we should return. As the cruise business grows Le Havre is very well positioned to capitalize on this exciting new business opportunity. The growth in your cruise princess cruise line home page vessel calls is testament to the appeal the region has for the cruise lines and the passengers. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle The evening ended with dancing and an appropriate end to a fun and educational meeting in Le Havre. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Laura Apoga and Kristiana Esta represented princess cruise line home page Riga, Latvia, which will host next year s Cruise Europe AGM. Riga also becomes Europe s Capital of Culture in 2014. © 2013 Ralph Grizzle Share Tweet You Are Here Cruise Reviews, Ship Reviews by The Avid Cruiser Blog Destinations Europe Denmark Cruise Europe: Fuel Costs, Family The Beauty princess cruise line home page Of Being Foreign Fill out my online form . Advertisements © 2013 Avid Travel Media , publisher of The Avid Cruiser , Th