23 May 2006
Caribbean cruise line throws luggage overboard
Caribbean Caddy Service is launched
SINT MAARTEN, Netherlands Antilles -- A report published this month by
the International Association of Cruise Line Executives (IACLE) showed that passenger boardings
were up 44% over the past decade. That same report also showed that the volume of
luggage brought aboard by those passengers has increased by over 150%
during the same period. This has cruise lines executives concerned.
One Caribbean cruise line estimated that the volume of luggage brought
aboard its week-long sailings to Aruba, Grenada and Martinique this past
season accounted for as much as 82% of the available space in the
passenger cabins. Indeed, stowage space for empty suitcases has become a
major problem among all cruise lines according to the IACLE.
In addressing this problem, some cruise lines are limiting the size and number of
bags that passengers are allowed to bring aboard. Royal American Cruise Lines, for
instance, will simply not allow excess baggage on board, requiring
passengers to stow it ashore until they return to port. Other companies
such as Ocean Sun Cruise Lines have added a surcharge when
passengers exceed their allowance of 125 pounds each.
Crown Seas Cruise Lines, S.O. has taken a different approach. According to Savin Jaarindes,
spokesperson for the cruise line based here, "We allow our passengers to bring
aboard whatever they like—with the exceptions, of course, of firearms,
illegal drugs, cell phones and Yanni recordings. Once they have settled
into their cabins, we collect their empty luggage and literally toss it
overboard to crews on tenders which are towed along behind our
ships. Once we reach our ports, passengers are welcome to retrieve their
luggage if they wish, but generally they are content just knowing that
their bags are in tow and will be available to them when they are needed
upon their departure."
Sources inside Crown Seas told Travel Fox that the cruise line will
begin promoting its "Caribbean Caddy Service" in television and print
advertising in advance of this coming Caribbean cruise season and expects to see
booking rise by 10 to 15 percent just by the addition of this new concept.
[Editor's note: If you will be sailing aboard a cruise ship other
than one of the Crown Seas Cruise Lines' vessels this season, be sure to
check with your cruise ship company about their rules on luggage
restrictions.]
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