Cruise Industry Dynamics and Ship Regulations

Cruise expert Stewart Chiron drops by the answer some listener questions. Matt Hochberg from Royal Caribbean Blog answer questions on Royal Caribbeans "Lift and Shift" program and the difference between a Quantum and Quantum Ultra class ship.

1. When a ship is said to be 130,000-tons, what does that mean?

2. We are seeing cruise lines like Princess move a lot of inventory on the West Coast in the coming years -- could that be a sign of what's to come with so many Caribbean islands having different protocols post-Pandemic? 3. What's up with all the Fantasy-class ships leaving the fleet? A lot of use cruisers, myself included, love the smaller 2,000 passenger vessels. Do you think it has to do with them not having aft balconies? 4. Do ships that sail in China have the same rules as the US and the Jones Act? Does the ship or at least part of the ship need to be built in China in order to sail throughout the country? 5. When we see cities like Key West fighting the cruise lines to limit capacity and ship size, is that a vocal minority or does Key West really not place any value on us cruise passengers? It is offensive, given my family spend over $1000 there in February on a half-day fishing charter and jet skis. Date: July 19, 2020