WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.520 Welcome to Cruise News, your daily update on 00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:05.059 everything happening at sea. Visit cruisenews 00:00:05.059 --> 00:00:08.019 .io to see today's stories and sign up for email 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:11.960 alerts. It is great to be back. We have a really 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:14.580 packed show today. It feels like we're looking 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:17.559 at the whole industry. In miniature, really. 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:19.440 They really are. We've got three stories that 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:21.399 hit three totally different parts of the business. 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:23.100 Yeah, we're starting with, you know, massive 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:25.260 scale in Alaska. Then we're jumping to a big 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:27.719 strategic move on the Gulf Coast. And then something 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:30.100 really high tech in the expedition world. We're 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:32.020 definitely covering the full spectrum. We're 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:34.020 going to kick things off with Royal Caribbean 00:00:34.020 --> 00:00:37.200 International, who have finalized this huge four 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:41.539 ship lineup for Alaska in 2027. Then we're heading 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:44.179 south to talk about Carnival Cruise Line. They're 00:00:44.179 --> 00:00:46.619 making a major, and I mean year -round, commitment 00:00:46.619 --> 00:00:50.320 to Mobile, Alabama. Which is a huge deal for 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:52.960 that port. Absolutely. And then finally, we are 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:55.039 going to deke out a little bit on some new tech 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:57.640 from Aurora Expeditions that's tackling a problem 00:00:57.640 --> 00:00:59.979 most of us don't even think about. Microscopic 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:02.700 pollution. That last one is fascinating. It's 00:01:02.700 --> 00:01:05.439 all about that invisible impact of cruising. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:07.420 But you're right. We have to start with the heavy 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:10.180 metal. Royal Caribbean is making a serious play 00:01:10.180 --> 00:01:12.719 for the last frontier. They absolutely are. So 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:15.219 let's unpack this. The battle for Alaska is always 00:01:15.219 --> 00:01:19.340 heating up. But for summer 2027, Royal Caribbean's 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:21.819 announced their deployment and it is four ships. 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:24.500 Right. You've got Anthem of the Seas, Quantum 00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:27.640 of the Seas. Serenade of the Seas, and Voyager 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.480 of the Seas. And just to give you some context 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:32.019 on that, that is a massive amount of capacity. 00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:34.060 You combine those four, you're looking at, what, 00:01:34.099 --> 00:01:36.859 over 13 ,000 guests a week. It's a small town, 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.140 basically. It is. It's a small town moving through 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:41.359 the fjords every single week. But what's interesting 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:43.680 to me isn't just the sheer number. It's the specific 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:46.560 mix of ships they're using. Right, because for 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:48.599 a lot of people, you know, a ship is a ship. 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:53.340 But in Alaska, the actual hardware, it really 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:55.969 shapes the experience, doesn't it? Oh, it dictates 00:01:55.969 --> 00:01:57.870 everything. It dictates your route, what you 00:01:57.870 --> 00:02:00.310 see, even which ports you can physically get 00:02:00.310 --> 00:02:02.989 into. And they're using three different classes 00:02:02.989 --> 00:02:05.129 of ships here, really targeting three different 00:02:05.129 --> 00:02:06.989 kinds of travelers. Okay, so let's start with 00:02:06.989 --> 00:02:09.180 the biggest beast of the bunch. Voyager of the 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:11.560 Seas. Yeah. Voyager. She's a Voyager class ship. 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:15.860 So she comes in at over 138 ,000 gross tons. 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:18.439 And for anyone who doesn't know, that's not weight. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.159 It's a measure of internal volume. So it's just 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:23.400 it's a massive ship. It's the one with the Royal 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:25.699 Promenade, the ice skating rink, all that stuff. 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:28.580 Exactly. It's the resort at sea experience. So 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:30.659 she'll be sailing seven night round trips out 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:33.259 of Seattle. But here's the tradeoff with a ship 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:36.159 that big. OK. To make that seven day loop on 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:38.919 time, these huge ships. they often have to sail 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:42.439 on the west side of Vancouver Island. In the 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:44.960 open ocean. Meaning you're not in the famous 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:47.379 inside passage the whole time. Correct. You spend 00:02:47.379 --> 00:02:49.199 a good chunk of time in the Pacific. It's still 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:51.699 beautiful, of course, but you're not seeing trees 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:54.159 and, you know, maybe a bear on the shoreline 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.439 24 -7. Voyager is perfect for families who want 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.759 the ship to be the destination as much as the 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.020 glaciers. Right. And she's hitting the classic 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:06.599 Ports Juno Skagway Andikot arm. Yep. Now, if 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.539 Voyager is the floating resort, then Serenade 00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:12.689 of the Seas is... kind of the classic explorer 00:03:12.689 --> 00:03:15.129 ship. She's a Radiance -class ship, right? Much 00:03:15.129 --> 00:03:17.889 smaller. Much smaller. And among cruise fans, 00:03:18.210 --> 00:03:20.729 this class is often seen as one of the best for 00:03:20.729 --> 00:03:23.789 Alaska. They were built with just acres and acres 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:26.409 of glass. We're talking glass elevators facing 00:03:26.409 --> 00:03:29.090 the ocean, floor -to -ceiling windows everywhere. 00:03:29.509 --> 00:03:31.990 And the key thing is, she's sailing round -trip 00:03:31.990 --> 00:03:34.520 from Vancouver. That's it. That's the whole ballgame. 00:03:34.659 --> 00:03:37.000 Because she's smaller and leaving from Vancouver, 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:40.180 she can navigate the true inside passage, you 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:42.219 know, the narrow winding part, much more easily. 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:44.979 If your absolute priority is just scenery, scenery, 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:47.539 scenery, the smaller ship out of Vancouver is 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:49.759 the way to go. So Seattle for the onboard bells 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.039 and whistles, Vancouver for total aversion. But 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:53.979 then you've got the quantum class ships, Quantum 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:56.180 and Anthem. They seem to be trying to do both. 00:03:56.590 --> 00:03:58.550 The Quantum class is a really interesting design. 00:03:58.789 --> 00:04:00.610 They were built for cold weather cruising, so 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:02.830 they have features like the North Star. I love 00:04:02.830 --> 00:04:05.210 the North Star. That glass capsule on the big 00:04:05.210 --> 00:04:08.789 robot arm. Yeah. It lifts you, what, 300 feet 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:11.129 over the ocean? And in the Caribbean, that's 00:04:11.129 --> 00:04:13.770 a fun gimmick. In Alaska, it's a total game changer. 00:04:14.050 --> 00:04:16.209 Imagine being suspended over the side of the 00:04:16.209 --> 00:04:18.370 ship next to a glacier. You can't get that view 00:04:18.370 --> 00:04:20.949 anywhere else. So Quantum is doing the Seattle 00:04:20.949 --> 00:04:23.689 run, bringing that high -tech flair to that itinerary. 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:26.230 Right. For the adventure crowd that wants the 00:04:26.230 --> 00:04:29.829 skydiving simulator in the glaciers. But Anthem 00:04:29.829 --> 00:04:31.629 of the Seas is doing something totally different. 00:04:31.709 --> 00:04:34.449 She's running what they call open jaw sailings. 00:04:34.550 --> 00:04:36.829 OK, so let's break that down. What does open 00:04:36.829 --> 00:04:39.970 jaw mean and why should someone booking a cruise 00:04:39.970 --> 00:04:42.730 carry? It's just a fancy term for a one way voyage. 00:04:42.930 --> 00:04:46.149 You get on the ship in, say, Vancouver and you 00:04:46.149 --> 00:04:48.879 get off in Seward, Alaska. Or you do it the other 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:50.899 way around. A bit more complicated for flakes, 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:52.899 I guess. A little, yeah, you have to book one 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:55.379 -way flakes. But the payoff is huge. A round 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:57.100 -trip cruise spends half its time just going 00:04:57.100 --> 00:04:59.079 back to where it started. So the one -way trip 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:01.839 lets you push further north. Much further. It 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:03.879 lets Anthem get all the way up to the Hubbard 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:06.220 Glacier, really deep into the Gulf of Alaska. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:09.240 And the big news here is that Royal Caribbean 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:12.060 is pairing Anthem with their big land tours. 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:14.899 The cruise tours. Exactly. Because you end your 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:17.279 cruise in Seward, you are physically connected 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:20.360 to Alaska's road and rail system. You can step 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:23.420 off the ship and onto a glass -domed train headed 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:26.060 for Denali National Park. And that's a big deal, 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:28.060 putting one of their newest, fanciest ships on 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:30.019 that kind of itinerary. It is. It shows they're 00:05:30.019 --> 00:05:32.379 going after that bucket list traveler who wants 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:35.459 the best ship and the full interior land experience. 00:05:35.779 --> 00:05:38.319 It really is all about matching the right ship 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:40.660 to what you want out of the vacation. And just 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:43.199 a quick note for anyone listening, these sailings 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:44.980 are live now. They opened up late last year, 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:47.120 so the inventory is out there. And Alaska inventory 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:49.600 is different. Those prime cabins, like the aft 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.959 -facing balconies, they can sell out a year and 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:55.160 a half in advance. Good to know. Okay. Let's 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.079 trade the glaciers for the Gulf Coast. Our next 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.660 story takes us to Mobile, Alabama, where Carnival 00:06:01.660 --> 00:06:04.500 Cruise Line is making a really big move. Yeah, 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.800 this is a major development for the whole drive 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.519 -to market. You know, mobile has had ships seasonally 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:11.660 for a while. A ship comes through the winter, 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.300 leaves for the summer. On again, off again. Exactly. 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:18.519 But starting in May 2027, Carnival is bringing 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:21.439 the Carnival valor to mobile for year -round 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.759 service. Continuous. And it's not just a schedule 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:27.079 change, it's a hardware upgrade too, right? It 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:29.180 is. They're swapping out the Carnival Spirit 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:32.160 for the Carnival Valor, which is a larger conquest 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:35.500 class ship. It holds more people. By parking 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:38.579 a bigger ship there for 12 months a year, Carnival 00:06:38.579 --> 00:06:41.240 is showing huge confidence in that market. Yeah, 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:43.550 I saw the quote from Christine Duffy. Carnival's 00:06:43.550 --> 00:06:46.149 president. She called it a big win for guests 00:06:46.149 --> 00:06:48.790 who love cruising from home. And I think we sometimes 00:06:48.790 --> 00:06:51.029 forget how big a deal the convenience factor 00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:53.449 is. Oh, absolutely. I mean, think about it. If 00:06:53.449 --> 00:06:55.870 you're a family of four in Nashville or Atlanta, 00:06:56.089 --> 00:06:59.050 flying everyone to Miami can add a thousand, 00:06:59.290 --> 00:07:01.290 maybe two thousand dollars to your vacation. 00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:03.889 Well, so it's the stress. Right. Driving to Mobile 00:07:03.889 --> 00:07:06.209 might cost you a tank of gas. That's real savings 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:08.759 that can go right back into your vacation. And 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:12.160 the local impact is huge. We saw quotes from 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:15.339 residents who are just thrilled. A year -round 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:17.779 ship means steady business for hotels and restaurants, 00:07:18.019 --> 00:07:20.879 not just seasonal bumps. For sure. But the thing 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:23.100 that really stood out to me was the itineraries. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:26.000 Most of the time, the Valor will be doing, you 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.279 know, the standard six to eight night runs to 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:31.120 the Bahamas. The bread and butter, hitting Celebration 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:34.079 Key Half Moon K. Yep. But they are also mixing 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:36.459 in some of their carnival journey sailings. I 00:07:36.459 --> 00:07:38.519 saw that. And that's their brand for the longer, 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:41.160 more exotic trips. It seems really unusual to 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.300 see those out of a smaller port like Mobile. 00:07:43.459 --> 00:07:46.279 It is super rare. They've got two 14 -day voyages 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:48.899 scheduled, one in September 2027 and another 00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:51.779 in January 2028. And that September one is a 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:55.399 monster. It goes to Ocho Rios, Cartagena in Colombia, 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:58.759 Panama, Costa Rica, Cozumel and the ABC Islands. 00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:01.120 It's basically a grand tour of the entire Caribbean. 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.379 And it's a really smart strategic move. September 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:05.639 is, you know, hurricane season. Kids are back 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:08.740 in school. Demand is soft. Right. So by offering 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:12.160 a unique. bucket list itinerary like this they 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:15.459 attract a whole different crowd retirees empty 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:18.839 nesters people who have two weeks to spare and 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:21.300 love the convenience of driving to the port it 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:23.810 keeps the ship full Instead of sailing half empty 00:08:23.810 --> 00:08:26.250 on a short Bahamas cruise, they fill it with 00:08:26.250 --> 00:08:28.370 people paying more to go to Panama. Precisely. 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:30.509 It's just very, very smart scheduling. Speaking 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:32.789 of specialized experiences, let's pivot to our 00:08:32.789 --> 00:08:34.429 last story. This one's a little more technical, 00:08:34.549 --> 00:08:36.590 but it's so important for where the industry 00:08:36.590 --> 00:08:39.789 is heading. We're talking about Aurora Expeditions 00:08:39.789 --> 00:08:43.730 and their new ship, the Douglas Mawson. Yeah, 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:46.059 this is... This is a story about responsibility, 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:48.559 really. The Douglas Mawson is getting ready for 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.259 its first Antarctic season later this year. But 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:53.519 the big news isn't what's on the pool deck. It's 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:55.399 what's happening in the laundry room. The laundry 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:57.820 room? We don't usually cover appliances on the 00:08:57.820 --> 00:08:59.779 show. We don't, but this one really matters. 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:02.259 Okay, so think about what you wear on a cruise 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:05.639 to Antarctica. It's all synthetic stuff fleece, 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:08.320 polyester, performance fabric. It's the polar 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.960 uniform. It is. The problem is when you wash 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:13.980 those clothes, they shed these tiny microscopic 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:16.559 plastic threads. They're called microfibers. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.419 And those just go out into the ocean. With a 00:09:18.419 --> 00:09:21.480 standard system, yeah. The ship's graywater filters 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.559 are designed to catch bigger stuff. Sasha Boock 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:27.759 from Aurora said a single load of laundry can 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:30.019 release hundreds of thousands of these fibers 00:09:30.019 --> 00:09:32.340 and they can pass right through and get discharged. 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:35.940 Which in a place like Antarctica is just... Devastating. 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:38.620 It's awful. There is a polar sailor, Lisa Blair, 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:40.940 who has found these microplastics everywhere, 00:09:41.139 --> 00:09:43.600 even in the most remote waters. They get eaten 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.320 by plankton, then krill, then whales. It gets 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:48.399 right into the food chain from the very bottom. 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:50.840 So Aurora is putting in special filters on the 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:52.899 Douglas Mawson to stop this. They are. They're 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:54.679 partnering with a company called the Cleaner 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:57.000 Seas Group to install these Indicon filters. 00:09:57.379 --> 00:10:00.620 They claim they can capture up to 99 percent 00:10:00.620 --> 00:10:03.080 of the microfibers. But here's the really important 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:06.950 part. It's a closed. What does that mean, closed 00:10:06.950 --> 00:10:09.590 loop? It means they don't just trap the fibers 00:10:09.590 --> 00:10:12.309 and then throw the filter in a landfill. That 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:14.850 just moves the problem. They've set up a system 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:18.129 to collect the used filter cartridges, take them 00:10:18.129 --> 00:10:20.110 to a special facility, they're planning one in 00:10:20.110 --> 00:10:23.049 New Zealand, and have the plastic waste properly 00:10:23.049 --> 00:10:25.629 recycled. So the plastic never actually enters 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:27.649 the environment at any stage. Correct. They're 00:10:27.649 --> 00:10:30.490 actually managing the pollutant, not just, you 00:10:30.490 --> 00:10:32.549 know, hiding it somewhere else. It's a really 00:10:32.549 --> 00:10:35.169 high bar for sustainability. And the ship is 00:10:35.169 --> 00:10:37.009 also becoming a research tool for navigation, 00:10:37.269 --> 00:10:39.769 too. Yeah, this is a separate partnership with 00:10:39.769 --> 00:10:42.169 a group called Countercurrent. They're putting 00:10:42.169 --> 00:10:45.070 sensors on the ship to measure wind, waves and 00:10:45.070 --> 00:10:47.389 currents in real time. Don't we have satellites 00:10:47.389 --> 00:10:49.970 and buoys for that? We do, but the Southern Ocean 00:10:49.970 --> 00:10:52.370 is what they call data poor. There just isn't 00:10:52.370 --> 00:10:55.139 much out there. By using the ship itself as a 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:57.860 moving sensor, they fill in the gaps. And all 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:00.840 that data gets fed into an AI navigation system. 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:03.799 And the AI does what with it? It creates these 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:07.000 hyper -local route predictions. Think of it like 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.220 a cyclist drafting behind a truck to save energy. 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:12.720 If the AI can find a current that's already going 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:15.139 the way the ship wants to go, the captain can 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:17.720 steer into it and get essentially a free push. 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:20.559 So it saves fuel. A significant amount of fuel. 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:22.919 Yeah. But it also improves safety and comfort. 00:11:23.470 --> 00:11:26.370 If the AI can predict wave patterns better, it 00:11:26.370 --> 00:11:28.629 can help the captain find the smoothest path 00:11:28.629 --> 00:11:31.230 through the Drake Passage. Less seasickness. 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:33.850 That's a win for everybody. It's a total win 00:11:33.850 --> 00:11:36.669 -win. And Aurora is planning to roll this tech 00:11:36.669 --> 00:11:39.789 out to their other ships, too. I honestly think 00:11:39.789 --> 00:11:41.950 we're looking at what will become the standard 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:44.070 for the whole expedition industry. It really 00:11:44.070 --> 00:11:46.110 feels like we're seeing the industry mature on 00:11:46.110 --> 00:11:48.850 all fronts. You've got Royal Caribbean fine -tuning 00:11:48.850 --> 00:11:51.070 their fleet for specific Alaska experiences. 00:11:51.509 --> 00:11:54.059 You have Carnival. leveraging the power of regional 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:57.039 ports like mobile. And then you have Aurora pushing 00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:59.440 the definition of what it means to be a responsible 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:02.700 operator. It's the end of the one -size -fits 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:05.340 -all approach to cruising. The lines are getting 00:12:05.340 --> 00:12:08.059 so much smarter about using the right ship to 00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:10.019 solve a specific problem, whether that problem 00:12:10.019 --> 00:12:13.019 is, you know, how do I get 4 ,000 people to see 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:16.379 a glacier, or how do I wash jackets without polluting 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:19.399 an entire ecosystem? So for you, the listener, 00:12:19.559 --> 00:12:22.720 I think the takeaway from the Alaska story is 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.200 to look past just the word Alaska. Look at the 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:28.840 ship. Do you want the round -trip mega -resort 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:31.509 like Voyager? Or the one -way scenic explorer 00:12:31.509 --> 00:12:34.590 like Anthem. The ship really does define the 00:12:34.590 --> 00:12:37.309 vacation. Absolutely. And for our listeners on 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:39.230 the Gulf Coast, your options just got a whole 00:12:39.230 --> 00:12:41.309 lot better. You've got a solid year -round choice 00:12:41.309 --> 00:12:44.129 now that doesn't involve a plane ticket. And 00:12:44.129 --> 00:12:45.730 for the adventure travelers out there, I think 00:12:45.730 --> 00:12:47.370 it's time to start asking the hard questions. 00:12:47.570 --> 00:12:49.529 Ask the cruise lines you sail with about their 00:12:49.529 --> 00:12:52.409 wastewater systems. Ask about microfibers. Your 00:12:52.409 --> 00:12:54.509 booking is a vote. Here's a final thought for 00:12:54.509 --> 00:12:56.529 you to chew on. We talked about Aurora's ship 00:12:56.529 --> 00:12:59.029 acting as a real -time sensor, feeding data into 00:12:59.029 --> 00:13:02.230 an AI. As that network of ships grows and the 00:13:02.230 --> 00:13:05.529 AI routing gets smarter, could we see the end 00:13:05.529 --> 00:13:07.470 of the fixed itinerary? What do you mean by that? 00:13:07.730 --> 00:13:10.110 Well, imagine you board a cruise in Miami and 00:13:10.110 --> 00:13:12.230 you don't actually know the ports in advance. 00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:15.509 The captain comes on and says, the AI has found 00:13:15.509 --> 00:13:18.210 a pocket of perfect weather and calm seas near 00:13:18.210 --> 00:13:21.009 Turks and Caicos. So that's where we're going 00:13:21.009 --> 00:13:24.330 today. The ship just hunts for the best possible 00:13:24.330 --> 00:13:27.669 experience in real time. That would be a logistical 00:13:27.669 --> 00:13:30.139 nightmare for the port authorities, but. As a 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:32.000 passenger who just wants sun and smooth water, 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:33.980 I would book that in a second. The Chasing the 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:36.019 Sun Cruise. The Mystery Smooth Sailing Tour. 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:39.220 I like it. 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