Page 34: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1997)

Celebrity Cruises Savers Limelight During Galaxy Inaugural by Bridget Murphy, associate editor

The masterminds behind

Celebrity CruiseXrecently carried out a strategic plot which thrust their company into yie limelight.

The cruise line doclcfed its most dynamic ship in New York Harbor, called out its chief executives and beckoned journalists, travel^igents and engineers to come aboard and enjoy tours complete with gounpet food and wine service.

Call it intuition, but the cruise line guessed correctly when it fig- ured that the mainstream public would revel in the kind of over-the- top antics involved with hosting the premier of TriStar Pictures'lat- est film, starring actor Tom

Cruise, aboard its spanking new vessel. The successful implemen- tation of this plan resulted in a media sensation which put the cruise line and its newbuild Galaxy in the public eye for the better part of two weeks.

Eager to carve a niche in a com- petitive industry characterized by a glut of new ships, Celebrity

Cruises pulled no punches in the

December 1996 introduction of its latest and greatest ocean liner, and the company is hopeful that its strategically orchestrated inaugur- al of Galaxy will have a positive effect on the bottom line for FY97.

From Behind A Smokescreen

A sistership to 1995's Century and 1997's Mercury, Galaxy is the "middle child" of the three-ship series for German shipbuilder

Meyer Werft, whose reputation for innovative ship construction and technical expertise prompted

Celebrity to contract for the vessel series in March 1993, five months after completing a joint venturt with bulk shipping company

Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc.

Celebrity Cruises was initially launched in 1990 to provider premi- um vacations for informed con- sumers aboard an infant fleet.

Galaxy is the newamier in the line's fleet of five, Jvhich includes

Meridian, complafely rebuilt dur- ing the company s inaugural year, and Horizon arid Zenith, the first ships to be designed and built to

Celebrity specs. The series to which Galaxy belongs was con- ceived to usher in a new cruising era in which Celebrity ships could occupy a place at the front and cen- ter of the sector, emerging from behind a smokescreen of anony- mous cruise ship bows.

Celebrity has achieved this objec- tive by stoking the flames of inno- vation, appealing to new passenger segments by offering gimmicks such as cigar rooms, extensive spa facilities, children's "fun factories," corporate business centers and interactive television systems, all ,of which can be found aboard laxy. t to be outdone by the superior craifcship of the ship's exterior,

Celebrity also arranged an elec- tronic partnership with Sony to aid in the creation of an equally innov- ative Ga/axVinterior, which is out- fitted with ^tetate-of-the-art the- atre, disco, buluness center and computer room, na contrast to the ship's reliance on traditional nauti- cal decor, featuring wood trim and navy color schemes. "We're always thinkiW about what the customer's lifes^le is, what he wants, and we deliver it,'

CEO Richard Sasso told MR, during Galaxy's inaugural vis

I New York.'

He said that Celebrity's/formula for success is a dual enfphasis on variety and serviceVand added, "We're not trying to^uild ships big- ger than the nex^'guy." In fact, at 77,713 gross Ws, the ship is still the largest crmse ship ever built in

Germany atid is also the largest cruise ship capable of transiting the Pariama Canal.

Expansion Backed By Quality ssurance

The emergence of the Celebrity fleet in the next few years will be highlighted by an incredible itiner- ary expansion and placement of a vessel in Europe. The cruise line's confidence in Meyer Werft's capa- bility to produce superior vessels is clearly supported by the gutsy direction the company is taking.

Mr. Sasso told MR/EN that when the time came to place new- build contracts, Celebrity was impressed with Meyer Werft's cov- ered dock facility, which "insures that a ship will be worked on year round." He added that the yard satisfied his company's major pri- ority, namely, that the ships would be built by a reputable company which could guarantee on-time delivery. "I think it's really a ques- tion of quality. We wanted to build the most highly technical, durable vessels," said Mr. Sasso, who pointed out that the German ship- builder has delivered on all its promises. "If you use the best materials with the best engineers, you will have a ship that will last into thi 21st century," explained

Sasso. "The quality of the snips also dictates where they /might trade," continued the Celebrity

CEO, alluding to the cruise line's plans for its growing fleet to visit a total of 110 ports jzi the next two years.

The European Continent And

Beyond

In 1996f Celebrity began Alaskan cruise^; This year the company will/conquer South America and the South Pacific for the first time, idditionally, in the summer of 1998, Celebrity ships will visit

Europe, advised Marketing Senior

Vice President Art Sbarsky dur- ing one of Galaxy's inaugural stops jlong the U.S. Atlantic Seaboard. ^he Horizon will be sent to do a transatlantic cruise in May '98,"

Mr. wtasso told MR/EN. The ship j will Veportedly then run

Mediterranean and Baltic cruises. "We hav<\an infrastructure in

Europe. Thkship will be based in

Europe," he aaded.

Celebrity Chairman John

Chandris also elaborated on the role the Europear^iudience will play in the expansion and prof- itability of the cruise IIM during a press session held in the\hambers of Galaxy's business cen^r. He recounted the ship's delivery, which took place at a small iVtch containership port, and wfes reportedly attended by 350,0' people. "I could tell there were people who probably hadn't cruised before ... Perhaps in Europe cruis- ing is a little bit behind ... There is a bigger audience that we need to address," stated Mr. Chandris.

Indeed, Celebrity's placement of ships in Europe — a tactic which has become a vital part of fiscal survival in the cruise sector — is an important indicator that the

Celebrity CEO Richard Sasso on:

Disney Cruise Line... "I like the Disney concept. I think it will bring very broad attention to the indus- try."

Generic cruise advertising cam- paigns... "We do have a unique product and our own marketing ideas, however, we do also support generic advertising ... We need to become mainstream. Our com- petition is not the other ships."

Celebrity's fleet... "All the ships are different ... We have tried to find a different character for each of them." cruise line is on the inside track to success, particularly for such a young venture with a modest num- ber of ships.

Celebrity's executives will cer- tainly agree that it is not enough for the company to keep talking about how "nothing else compares" with its product and how it "spent more money on hardware, software and people" than any other cruise line in its category.

The cruise line has backed up these claims by commissioning ships with innovative infrastruc- ires designed for easy retrofitting ami upgrading, and flexible itiner- arieKarranged to capitalize on new marl^ growth. Perhaps this strategV will be effective in, to paraphrase Tom Cruise's charac- ter in thei movie that premiered onboard Ga\ixy, showing them the money. 34 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News