are opting foe
- the ultimatoc
"More and more people
For some, it's an annual ritual, and for
others, it's the opportunity of a lifetime,
but an increasing number of people are
opting for ocean cruises as the ultimate way
to "get away from it all". Today's luxurious
"seagoing hotels" boast every conceivable
facility you would expect at a top holiday
resort. Veritable self-contained cities afloat,
passengers can often choose between several
swimming pools, discotheques, theatres, bars,
lounges, casinos and other recreational areas,
many of which have their own bar facilities
serving bottled beer and draught beer, where
space and installations allow.
While guests enjoy sunning themselves by
day, and partying the night away, few look
at their glass of Heineken and wonder how it
got there in the first place. However, keeping
the ships supplied with top-notch food and
beverages is no mean logistical feat. For
example, on one of the largest cruise ships in
the world, the Royal Caribbean International
line's 138,000-ton Mariner of the Seas, the
3,114 passengers and 1,185 crew consume an
average of 9,000 kilogrammes of beef, 28,000
eggs, 30,000 litres of ice cream, and 18,000
slices of pizza a week.
"The cruise industry is still mainly US-based,
and even the ships that call at European ports
carry predominantly US passengers," says
llco Kwast, from Duty Free and Travel Retail.
"However, we do see a trend that the market
is becoming more and more global. It's not
only the European players who are growing.
US cruise liners are focusing increasingly on
people in Europe and South America. Many of
the ships adjust their itineraries according to
the seasons, so our shipboard products really
cover the globe."
World of Heineken 38 summer 2008
44
