For those that are not familiar with the conference, it's the largest of it's type in the World. Represented on the massive trade floor are exhibits and information booths from just about anything you can imagine required to build and run a cruise ship. Everything from the shipyards that build the newest cruise liners, to the food and uniform suppliers, to the manufacturers of the vacuum toilets! It's all at Cruise Shipping Miami (formally Seatrade). Even the ports are represented with elaborate displays, as they try to woo cruise line executives to send ships sailing their way. In addition to the trade floor, there are many seminars all week which you pay extra for. As an example there are panels of cruise line executives debating about what is next for the cruise industry. In a nutshell, this is the place to be seen and network if you have any affiliation with the cruise industry. As usual I came away with more reading material and trinkets than I can barely carry! LOL

One of the aspects I enjoy most are the elaborate and detailed ship models, and this year was no exception. While I had hoped to see models for the new Princess, Royal Caribbean, and NCL ships they were not represented. I spoke a bit with a rep from Meyer-Werft and he advised that while the keel has been laid for the new NCL ship, the final exterior appearance is still undergoing refinements. Until that is finalized they will not build a model. The Royal Caribbean newbuilds are still in the early stages of development, and while a letter of intent was signed, the order is not firm yet.

One exhibit that really caught my attention was that of Daewoo Shipbuilding. I remember them from last year but didn't pay much attention. They have a beautiful cut away model of a proposed cruise liner called "CRUISIA". Along with the model is an interactive display panel and a very slick video. Clearly Daewoo is sending a message to cruise industry executives that they are ready to build cruise ships and want to be taken seriously.

Attached are some photos of the ship models, and you can see the complete selection at the following link:
Cruise Shipping Miami Photos

Ernie

I love model ships & by ships I mean passenger ships & cruise ships..I think it's time I posted a few photos of my personal fleet for perusal..

quote:

---

Originally posted by Teva:

I'm curious to know if these models are built
in a constant scale & what becomes of them
when the fair is over,do they return to their
respective owners offices (both Lines & builders)
or are they put in storage?

Teva

---

The models displayed at SeaTrade, sorry, "Cruise Shipping Miami" are builders' models and they belong to the various shipyards which show them off. (They don't belong to individual cruise lines, in fact the cruise lines themselves do not promote themselves at this venue.)

Worth many thousands of dollars each, the models are carefully packed up and returned to the shipyards' offices after the trade show is over. A smaller version of Cruise Shipping is produced in Europe each year, and I'm sure the models are displayed there, too. Last year the Miami Herald ran a special article about the cost and logistics of bringing these models over to Miami--Fincantieri and Meyer Werft always seem to have the most, although I missed seeing the splendid model of REX which was shown last year.

I, like Ernie, look forward to attending this conference every year--in fact, I've gone every year since it began in the mid-1980s, except for 1990 and 1991 when I was at sea.

[ 03-19-2011: Message edited by: rd77 ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by rd77:
Ernie, on one of the pictures of the CRUISIA model of Daewoo, I could see a model of the new Tunisian ferry HANNIBAL in the background. Did you happen take any pictures of that model?:

---