THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9605310059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHEN HARRIMAN, TRAVEL EDITOR
LENGTH: 133 lines
PROFESSIONAL curiosity and, I confess, the personal pleasure that is part of this job brought me aboard the Seawind Crown for a week of Caribbean cruising.
I was curious to see how a single-ship cruise line, Seawind, contemplates carving out a survival niche in the shadow of a growing number of multi-ship lines launching new megaliners. And the opportunity to see some of the off-the-beaten-sealanes islands of the southern Caribbean was one of the perks of the trade.
The Seawind Crown, it should be noted, has a bit of an identity problem. Out here on the flat, blue Caribbean, there's a lot of sea and wind, and more than one crown.
This ship is not to be confused with the SeaBreeze (Dolphin Cruise Line). It is neither the Windward nor the Seaward (Norwegian Cruise Line). It is not the Crown Odyssey (Royal Cruise Line). And it is nothing like Seabourn Cruise Line or Silversea Cruises.
Seawind Cruise Line, headquartered in Miami, was founded in 1991 to market the classic, 24,000-ton Portuguese ocean liner Vasco de Gama, which was a greatly refurbished version of the former Infante dom Enrique, built in 1961.
But for some reason they decided to market the Vasco de Gama as the Seawind Crown. For a while BOTH names were painted on her bow and stern. Recently, though, this schizophrenia was put in apparent remission with the painting out of the Vasco de Gama name.
The Seawind Crown, with a 728-passenger capacity, used to be considered a medium-size ship. Now it's on the smallish side. It hasn't shrunk. Newer ships are just being built much larger - the behemoth-class superliners.
What Seawind is up against in the cruise industry is basically this:
The giant of giants is Carnival, now the world's largest cruise line; it carried 1.5 million passengers in 1995, chalking up net profits of $451 million on revenues of $2 billion.
Carnival Corp., the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines, also owns Holland America, Windstar and Seabourn cruise lines.
Royal Caribbean Cruises is roughly half Carnival's size. The third dominant force is Britain's P&O, which runs Princess Cruises in America.
Carnival has 10 ships, with four more on order for delivery by 1999. Royal Caribbean is building at a similar rate, expanding today's fleet of 10 ships to 14 by 1998. Princess will add three more ships to its present nine. Together Carnival, Royal Caribbean and P&O carry nearly half the world's cruise passengers - on very large ships - and make almost all the industry's profits.
Bigger is better from a business standpoint because big firms can negotiate bulk discounts on supplies, such as food and fuel. And delivery of passengers to ships as part of the package deal is easier because of bulk buying. Carnival, for instance, is the largest single buyer of airline tickets in the United States.
Many small lines - there are 40-some others - will face a simple choice: specialize, sink in a sea of red ink, or be boarded by one of their larger rivals.
Seawind Cruise Line has opted to specialize. The Seawind Crown goes places where few other ships go with any regularity - new places for island ``collectors.''
The megaliners, for the most part, sail out of south Florida ports to nearby northern Caribbean islands.
Home ported in Aruba, just off the Venezuela coast of South America, the Seawind Crown alternates between a pair of out-of-the-mainstream, weeklong itineraries. One week she calls on Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados and Martinique; the next week it's Curacao, Grenada, Barbados and St. Lucia.
On back-to-back itineraries (the second for an add-on of $500-900 depending on cabin category) you could could collect eight islands in two weeks, including Aruba.
Seawind Crown's added appeal: modest prices (economy season $1,245-$2,845 per person, double occupancy) that include round-trip air from Norfolk and 42 other East Coast gateways and a couple of free island stayover plans.
``Our main selling point is our itinerary,'' says Dick Knott, vice president for sales and marketing. ``Our whole product line is focused on the calm, uncrowded waters of the southern Caribbean where hurricanes are less of a threat. We have this part of the world pretty much to ourselves.''
Knott says research has told him that Seawind Crown's passengers are the ``don't herd me'' type who are looking for new experiences.
The stayover plans are particularly appealing.
One is the ``Free Aruba'' pre- or post-cruise vacation. Passengers in any of the top four cabin categories receive a free seven-night stay at the La Cabana All-Suite Beach Resort and Casino; passengers in other cabin categories earn three free nights.
The other option is a similar stayover in either Martinique or St. Lucia and flight home from there, rather than returning to Aruba.
The Seawind Crown rates four stars (out of a possible six) in the authoritative Fielding's Guide to Worldwide Cruises. My friend Shirley Slater, who co-authored with husband Harry Basch this most thorough of all cruise guides, told me I would like the ship, and she was right as usual.
I found her to be a very gracious and spacious classic liner, but certainly not stunning.
``No, she's not a spring chicken,'' Dick Knott concedes. ``No, there's no eight-story atrium. There's no glass and glitter and strobe lights. That's what people used to mainstream cruising notice because they are used to the ship as a destination. Our itinerary will always remain our top selling point.''
Certainly the ship has all the essentials. Cabins are comfortable and well-appointed. Meals, to my taste, are quite good, prepared by Chaine de Rotisseurs chefs, and served with efficiency. This is something like a Holiday Inn with an uncharacteristically good restaurant.
There's lots of entertainment, both live and in a 208-seat movie theater, and there are two swimming pools, a room (formerly a squash court) with exercise equipment and a sauna. A professional dive team leads scuba and snorkel excursions at every island stop.
This is not a fancy wardrobe ship, partly because of its destinations. On formal night I could count the tuxedos on both hands, and some men dined without jacket or tie. The women always dress more formally.
The Seawind Crown offers a true international experience. There were 44 nationalities represented among the crew and staff, and 20 among the 600-plus passengers - with significant contingents from Brazil, Italy and Germany.
Knott said the average passenger list was about 50 percent North American, 50 percent international.
It's something of a tradition, I gather, that certain nationalities like to sing songs - soccer team songs, I think - after dinner on the last night out. Volume counts for more than melody. The Brazilians outdid the Italians, mostly because there were twice as many of them.
Nowhere was the international flavor more evident than during the obligatory lifeboat drill, when instructions were given in seven languages - first in the interior assembly areas, then once again out on the deck where the lifeboats would be lowered for boarding.
All of us were lined up, men in the rear rank, women and children up front, the first to go - listening . . . and listening . . . and listening . . . and listening.
No, come to think of it, the international accent was slightly more evident in my cabin bathroom. Toilet-flushing instructions were printed in eight languages. MEMO: Information please:
For Seawind Cruise Line reservations see a professional travel agent
or call (800) 223-1877 for a free brochure. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
SEAWIND CRUISE LINE
The Seawind Crown visits the port of Willemstad on Curacao. The ship
goes where few others go with any regularity. by CNB