The cruise industry has high priority on the national tourism development agenda, according to Fernando Olivera, undersecretary of Tourism for the Federal Secretariat of Tourism for Mexico.

Speaking to Cruise Industry News, Olivera said that Mexico is committed to developing better products for passengers and better opportunities for cruise lines to generate more revenue on their Mexican port calls. The goal is to develop the industry so that it becomes more beneficial to all parties involved.

In the current economic environment, running a successful cruise line requires a finer balancing act between revenues and costs. How effective that performance is depends on how competent management is, according to Stein Kruse, president and CEO of Holland America Line.

This has been a busy season for drydockings – with the Oriana and the QM2 at Blohm + Voss, the Albatros and Amadea at Lloyd Werft and other projects at Grand Bahama, Fincantieri’s Palermo yard and Cadiz. In addition, the Costa Romantica is being recreated as the neoRomantica in Genoa

Norwegian Cruise Line is pushing Freestyle forward, according to Michael Flesch, senior vice president of hotel operations.

He highlighted the following aspects as being new and notable:

New production shows are debuting, and have been created in-house.

At Royal Caribbean International, the mantra for marine operations is to sail “safely, reliably and in compliance,” according to Captain William Wright, senior vice president of marine operations. While the overriding focus is on safety, the company continues to work to gain further energy efficiencies. With fuel prices not trending in a positive direction, Wright said, efforts to minimize energy usage are 24/7 across the fleet.

Onboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas, the eco-culture extends from a recently advanced wastewater purification(AWP) system installation to garbage processing, recycling, fuel savings, education and more, as showed by Richard Pruitt, Royal Caribbean Cruises’ associate vice president of environmental programs, and Explorer of the Seas Environmental Officer Bridget Sullivan, on an exclusive ship visit with Cruise Industry News (CIN).

The next generation of ships needs to be of flexible design, according to Giuseppe Torrente, head of the design department at Fincantieri’s Merchant Ship Business Unit. He said they need to be energy efficient and economical to operate. “Already more hydrodynamic hull forms require less propulsion power,” he explained.

“The starting point is the speed. By designing hulls for the most frequent speed, we can optimize the hull for that speed and save fuel and energy. A hull optimized for 20 knots will be different from a hull optimized for 22 knots.”