It's getting to that silly story time of year so I thought I'd join in on Cruise Lines with my first suggestions for a quote of the year. Feel free to submit your own.
The first two come from a story in the Wall Street Journal just as Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas was about to embark on its first seven-night cruise with paying passengers.
"You have to be on the cutting edge, not the bleeding edge, of innovation."
Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive Kevin Sheehan commenting on the decision to cancel an order for a 4,200-passenger sister ship to Norwegian Epic last year.
"If Oasis were to ferry passengers to land by smaller boats, it would look like Normandy at D-Day."
McLeod, Applebaum & Partners cruise-industry consultant Rod McLeod, on the fact that few ports are able to handle Oasis of the Seas.
"It is important to innovate, but you have to be careful not to over-invest as that pushes up the ticket price. There has to be a trade-off between innovation and value."
Carnival Cruise Lines president and chief executive Gerry Cahill, talking about the new features on Carnival Dream and possibly referring to some other cruise line that has launched a big ship.
"Life isn't fair, get used to it."
Complete Cruise Solution (representing P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Ocean Village and Cunard) sales and customer services director Giles Hawke addressing agents at the Dover Cruise Convention in June.
Jane Archer
