Page 48: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1998)

m Mp iaoteo try's future growth, Rick James, senior vice president of Sales and

Corporate Relations for Princess

Cruises, thinks the term is becom- ing a misnomer. He said Princess'

Grand class was designed with a focus on intimate onboard atmos- pheres, making ship size irrele- vant. "When you see the Grand

Princess and you take a look at

Carnival Destiny, you see that there are really two different design philosophies involved," said

Mr. James, whose company, after the recent Fincantieri order, will have a fleet of 13 ships by 2001.

Mr. James was unconcerned about any slowdowns at

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Fincantieri, pointing out that

Princess' ships will be built at

Trieste, not the Marghera yard building Disney Magic. "I'm sure whatever delay occurs with Disney

Magic or any of the other ships, it's a one-off situation," added Mr.

James.

Circle 337 on Reader Service Card

They Said It •••

The past several years have been a boom in terms of cruise ship building and supply, a trend which appears poised to continue well past the turn of the century. Here's some insight from two of the industry's leading companies regarding fleet expansion. "We are talking to several yards in terms of a new- building program for Carnival Corp.,"

Vicki Freed,

Carnival. "We won't change much for '98, but you'll hear a lot of announcements for what we're going to do in the next three years," Richard

Sasso, Celebrity

Cruises.

The executive said that Princess will continue aiming its product at the baby boomer demographic, but declined to discuss if ticket sales were his company's top revenue source. Princess will stand apart from other brands because it is positioning itself as the industry's employer of choice, according to

Mr. James, who said his compa- ny's employees are "much more a part of the process of how things are designed and delivered to the customer."

The executive declined to say if

Princess had bid for Celebrity

Cruises, but when asked if P&O would consider making an offer for

Cunard, Mr. James said: "There are a lot of companies for sale. I think we're continuing to look to grow the Princess brand." 40-B Maritime Reporter/Engineering News