Latest news with #Mediterranean-based
7NEWS
11-05-2025
- 7NEWS
Super-sized cruise ships to get even bigger with new ‘floating cities' announced
Who could forget the images that went viral last year of a cruise ship's stern looking like a top-heavy birthday cake? So colorful and cartoon-like were the decks layered with twisting waterslides, turquoise pools and neon accoutrements galore, many commenters wondered how it could float. If you thought the simultaneous buzz and uproar that accompanied the January 2024 launch of the world's biggest cruise ship — Royal Caribbean's 1196-foot-long Icon of the Seas — was the last you'd hear about super-sized cruise ships for a while, think again. The bigger-is-better adage is one that the world's biggest cruise lines — Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line among them — continue to embrace, as one mega-size cruise ship after another rolls down the pipeline on its way from the shipyard to the sea. This year alone will see a litany of new larger-than-life (and in many cases, larger than their predecessor sister ships) cruise ships traversing the world's oceans. In late April, Norwegian Cruise Line's newest ship, Norwegian Aqua, began cruising out of Florida's Port Canaveral with a passenger capacity of 3600 — 10 per cent more than other Prima Class ships can carry. The cruise line has ordered four larger ships, carrying 5000 passengers each, for delivery starting in 2030 (with several more Prima Class ships rolling out in the interim). Also in April, MSC Cruises debuted its second-largest ship after Mediterranean-based MSC World Europa. MSC World America can accommodate 6762 passengers and stretches 1,092 feet long. It sails on Caribbean itineraries out of the MSC Miami Cruise Terminal, the largest cruise terminal in North America, which is capable of processing 36,000 passengers daily on three ships. Two more new MSC World Class ships are in the pipeline for delivery in 2026 (MSC World Asia, which will sail in the Mediterranean) and 2027 (MSC World Atlantic, which will cruise the Caribbean from Port Canaveral). Carnival Cruise Line has plans to launch its most behemoth cruise ship class ever in 2029 when it takes delivery of the first of three ships with more than 3000 cabins and maximum capacity of nearly 8000 guests. And in August of this year, the sister ship to the 7600 passenger Icon of the Seas and the second ship in Royal Caribbean's Icon Class, Star of the Seas, will set sail from Port Canaveral on seven-night year-round Caribbean sailings. The ship will have roughly the same maximum passenger capacity and 20 equally eye-popping decks festooned with waterslides, a water park, seven pools and 40 places to eat and drink. Royal Caribbean isn't stopping there. In 2026, Legend of the Seas, the third ship in the Icon Class, is slated to set sail from Fort Lauderdale. And a fourth yet-to-be-named ship is on tap for delivery in 2027. A demand that shows no signs of ebbing More than 37 million passengers are expected to cruise in 2025, according to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). The global cruise ship orderbook extends through 2036, with 77 new cruise ships scheduled for delivery, a CLIA spokesperson told CNN. While that may sound overwhelming when it comes to choice, size and carbon footprint, rolling out bigger and better ships isn't new. 'Pre-pandemic, cruise lines were on a tear with lots of ships on order. And then, of course, the pandemic happened and virtually everything halted,' says Cruise Critic's editor-in-chief, Colleen McDaniel. What we're seeing now, she says, is what appears to be more cruise ships on order than ever before. Cruise Critic's users are 'absolutely looking forward' to cruising on some of the bigger ships, including Star of the Seas and MSC World America, says McDaniel. 'If you look at the orderbook for cruise ships all the way through 2036, their ships on those, there are some really big ones,' she says. 'The more cruisers you can get onto a ship, the more potential revenue you have from those cruisers.' And while there's no official passenger number when it comes to what defines a super-sized cruise ship, McDaniel says Cruise Critic generally considers ships with more than 3000 passengers in that category. According to CLIA, a little less than one-third (28 per cent) of all cruise ships fall into the large category, with 3,000 or more 'lower berths' (indicating double-occupancy passenger capacity). All about the flow The key to making the experience of a super-sized ship pleasant for passengers is the flow of movement onboard as well as the creation of distinct spaces for guests to escape and make their own, McDaniel says. '(Cruise lines) have to be able to ensure that if you are on a ship that has 6000 people on board, that they're still able to move passengers through comfortably and to make them feel like it's an experience that doesn't have that many guests on board,' says McDaniel, adding that this is something the mega ships do well. 'They make sure that the flow is good. They count on passengers to sort of find and return to spaces they really love,' she says. Royal Caribbean's Oasis and Icon Class ships have 'neighborhoods' while MSC's World Class ships have a 'districts' concept meant to make a large cruise ship feel more manageable. As a result, she says, the ship feels like a destination unto itself and therein lies the appeal for many passengers. 'The era of guests going on a cruise to simply get to a destination is over,' says Suzanne Salas, MSC Cruises executive vice president, marketing, eCommerce and sales. 'People are not using a cruise to get to the Bahamas. People want the cruise to have innovation, to have bars, to have dining, to have entertainment,' she says. And the mega ships offer all that in spades. 'Yes, you are going to really wonderful places, be it the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, but the ship offers so much to do that it's actually difficult to fit it all into the space of a week,' McDaniel says. A formula that's working In the increasingly competitive global cruise industry, large providers are looking for opportunities to gain market share by driving unique travel experiences, says Jerry Roper, chief digital architect at Deloitte Digital, which analyzes travel industry trends. 'Larger ships are seeing considerable increase in occupancy and the newer experience is a draw for customers,' Roper says. The market is changing from cruise to an integrated experience with multiple examples of cruise partnerships plus expanded, captive experiences — Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and MSC's Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, for example — that expand the cruise experience beyond the confines of the ship, Roper says. Carnival Cruise Line will open its new cruise port destination, Celebration Key, on the south side of Grand Bahama Island this summer. Tampa, Florida, resident Jeanetta Sheppard has sailed on roughly 20 cruises aboard ships of varying sizes but says she prefers mega ships like Icon of the Seas and ships in Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class, like Utopia of the Seas, which can carry over 5600 passengers. Even when a show ends up getting cancelled, Sheppard says she still finds plenty to do onboard like 'being able to explore the ship and walk and all the different artworks and different floors. There's always something to do.' A few months ago, she cruised on a smaller ship from Tampa and was disappointed despite the service being excellent, Sheppard says. 'I told my husband, 'Let's go explore the ship', and I swear, I walked out my door and before long we'd seen it all,' she says. 'Everything's on track' Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley says that while the company was very optimistic with the launch of Icon of the Seas last year, they had 'no clue how well-received it would be'. The ship was not only the biggest, but the biggest hit the company has ever introduced, he says. Bayley attributes that success, in part, to multi-generational families traveling together more and every member of the family wanting to have places on board where they can gather together and disperse to on their own. A mega ship like Icon or Star takes a bit over two years to build, Bayley says, with the conception and design process starting some five years before the ship will ever enter the water. Still under construction in the shipyard in Turku, Finland, as of early May, Star of the Seas is currently in its finishing stages, says Bayley. 'Her engines are in there with all the techs in there. The ship is almost finished. All of the public spaces are being finalized. So you can imagine the scale of the construction of a ship of that size, and everything's on track and on time,' Bayley told CNN Travel. The sea trials come next, when technicians test the ship's major systems in the water, then it will be sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Port Canaveral for 'shakedown cruises' to iron out any issues before entering service in late August, he says. Legend of the Seas is in the same shipyard in Finland but still in its early construction stages, Bayley says, adding that it will fundamentally be the same ship as Star with 'various upgrades and some tweaks and changes that improve the product and improve the overall experience.' Right now, he says, Legend looks like a jumble of Lego blocks. 'You look at it and think, what's that?' he says. The enviromental red flags you can't see For all the fans they have in passengers eager to explore their neighborhoods and shows, water parks and thrill rides, behemoth ships also raise environmental concerns and some ports are wary of receiving the inundation of passengers. Mega cruise ships are 'essentially floating cities', says Bryan Comer, marine program director at the International Council on Clean Transportation. 'And with each new launch, we're seeing increases in fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and wastewater discharges,' he says. Mega ships including Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas and MSC World America are powered by LNG, an alternative marine fuel produced from natural gas from underground reserves, and traditional marine fuel. All three have shore power connectivity that allows engines to be switched off in port to cut down on local emissions. The sustainability pages for Royal Caribbean , MSC Cruises, Carnival and Norwegian all state the companies' commitments to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. But Comer says bio-methanol and renewable e-methanol are better options than LNG when it comes to long-term climate risk and achieving very low life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. 'Even if ships eventually use bio-LNG or renewable e-LNG, any methane emissions from the fuel tanks or engines will erode some of the climate benefits, making it very challenging to achieve net-zero emissions,' he says. The industry has the opportunity to innovate and lean on low-emission travel now, he says. 'I think it's important to remember that the future of cruising doesn't have to look like the past,' says Comer. There is also the question of overtourism to consider and the impact to local infrastructure that comes with dropping thousands of tourists in ports, big and small. 'Many of the tourism destination leaders we work with tell us yes, some cruise tourism is beneficial to the local economy,' says Paula Vlamings, chief impact officer of global nonprofit Tourism Cares, a pioneer in promoting sustainable tourism. But there's a tipping point, says Vlamings. Too many large ships in a port at once — or the equivalent in the form of one mega ship — can create negative impacts that 'far outweigh the positive,' overwhelming the people that live there, providing little economic opportunity in return and putting a heavy burden on local resources and infrastructure, she says. 'Whether it's cruise ships, tour operators or attractions, the travel industry must focus on protecting the places and people who call them home.'
CNN
07-05-2025
- CNN
Super-sized cruise ships are becoming the norm. Is there an end in sight?
Who could forget the images that went viral last year of a cruise ship's stern looking like a top-heavy birthday cake? So colorful and cartoon-like were the decks layered with twisting waterslides, turquoise pools and neon accoutrements galore, many commenters wondered how it could float. If you thought the simultaneous buzz and uproar that accompanied the January 2024 launch of the world's biggest cruise ship — Royal Caribbean's 1,196-foot-long Icon of the Seas — was the last you'd hear about super-sized cruise ships for a while, think again. The bigger-is-better adage is one that the world's biggest cruise lines — Royal Caribbean, MSC, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line among them — continue to embrace, as one mega-size cruise ship after another rolls down the pipeline on its way from the shipyard to the sea. This year alone will see a litany of new larger-than-life (and in many cases, larger than their predecessor sister ships) cruise ships traversing the world's oceans. In late April, Norwegian Cruise Line's newest ship, Norwegian Aqua, began cruising out of Florida's Port Canaveral with a passenger capacity of 3,600 — 10% more than other Prima Class ships can carry. The cruise line has ordered four larger ships, carrying 5,000 passengers each, for delivery starting in 2030 (with several more Prima Class ships rolling out in the interim). Also in April, MSC debuted its second-largest ship after Mediterranean-based MSC World Europa. MSC World America can accommodate 6,762 passengers and stretches 1,092 feet long. It sails on Caribbean itineraries out of the MSC Miami Cruise Terminal, the largest cruise terminal in the world, which is capable of processing 36,000 passengers daily on three ships. Two more new MSC World Class ships are in the pipeline for delivery in 2026 (MSC World Asia, which will sail in the Mediterranean) and 2027 (MSC World Atlantic, which will cruise the Caribbean from Port Canaveral). Carnival Cruise Line has plans to launch its most behemoth cruise ship class ever in 2029 when it takes delivery of the first of three ships with more than 3,000 cabins and maximum capacity of nearly 8,000 guests. And in August of this year, the sister ship to the 7,600 passenger Icon of the Seas and the second ship in Royal Caribbean's Icon Class, Star of the Seas, will set sail from Port Canaveral on seven-night year-round Caribbean sailings. The ship will have roughly the same maximum passenger capacity and 20 equally eye-popping decks festooned with waterslides, a water park, seven pools and 40 places to eat and drink. Royal Caribbean isn't stopping there. In 2026, Legend of the Seas, the third ship in the Icon Class, is slated to set sail from Fort Lauderdale. And a fourth yet-to-be-named ship is on tap for delivery in 2027. More than 37 million passengers are expected to cruise in 2025, according to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). The global cruise ship orderbook extends through 2036, with 77 new cruise ships scheduled for delivery, a CLIA spokesperson told CNN. While that may sound overwhelming when it comes to choice, size and carbon footprint, rolling out bigger and better ships isn't new. 'Pre-pandemic, cruise lines were on a tear with lots of ships on order. And then, of course, the pandemic happened and virtually everything halted,' says Cruise Critic's editor-in-chief, Colleen McDaniel. What we're seeing now, she says, is what appears to be more cruise ships on order than ever before. Cruise Critic's users are 'absolutely looking forward' to cruising on some of the bigger ships, including Star of the Seas and MSC World America, says McDaniel. 'If you look at the orderbook for cruise ships all the way through 2036, their ships on those, there are some really big ones,' she says. 'The more cruisers you can get onto a ship, the more potential revenue you have from those cruisers.' And while there's no official passenger number when it comes to what defines a super-sized cruise ship, McDaniel says Cruise Critic generally considers ships with more than 3,000 passengers in that category. According to CLIA, a little less than one-third (28%) of all cruise ships fall into the large category, with 3,000 or more 'lower berths' (indicating double-occupancy passenger capacity). The key to making the experience of a super-sized ship pleasant for passengers is the flow of movement onboard as well as the creation of distinct spaces for guests to escape and make their own, McDaniel says. '(Cruise lines) have to be able to ensure that if you are on a ship that has 6,000 people on board, that they're still able to move passengers through comfortably and to make them feel like it's an experience that doesn't have that many guests on board,' says McDaniel, adding that this is something the mega ships do well. 'They make sure that the flow is good. They count on passengers to sort of find and return to spaces they really love,' she says. Royal Caribbean's Oasis and Icon Class ships have 'neighborhoods' while MSC's World Class ships have a 'districts' concept meant to make a large cruise ship feel more manageable. As a result, she says, the ship feels like a destination unto itself and therein lies the appeal for many passengers. 'The era of guests going on a cruise to simply get to a destination is over,' says Suzanne Salas, MSC Cruises executive vice president, marketing, eCommerce and sales. 'People are not using a cruise to get to the Bahamas. People want the cruise to have innovation, to have bars, to have dining, to have entertainment,' she says. And the mega ships offer all that in spades. 'Yes, you are going to really wonderful places, be it the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, but the ship offers so much to do that it's actually difficult to fit it all into the space of a week,' McDaniel says. In the increasingly competitive global cruise industry, large providers are looking for opportunities to gain market share by driving unique travel experiences, says Jerry Roper, chief digital architect at Deloitte Digital, which analyzes travel industry trends. 'Larger ships are seeing considerable increase in occupancy and the newer experience is a draw for customers,' Roper says. The market is changing from cruise to an integrated experience with multiple examples of cruise partnerships plus expanded, captive experiences — Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and MSC's Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, for example — that expand the cruise experience beyond the confines of the ship, Roper says. Carnival Cruise Line will open its new cruise port destination, Celebration Key, on the south side of Grand Bahama Island this summer. Tampa, Florida, resident Jeanetta Sheppard has sailed on roughly 20 cruises aboard ships of varying sizes but says she prefers mega ships like Icon of the Seas and ships in Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class, like Utopia of the Seas, which can carry over 5,600 passengers. Even when a show ends up getting cancelled, Sheppard says she still finds plenty to do onboard like 'being able to explore the ship and walk and all the different artworks and different floors. There's always something to do.' A few months ago, she cruised on a smaller ship from Tampa and was disappointed despite the service being excellent, Sheppard says. 'I told my husband, 'Let's go explore the ship,' and I swear, I walked out my door and before long we'd seen it all,' she says. Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley says that while the company was very optimistic with the launch of Icon of the Seas last year, they had 'no clue how well-received it would be.' The ship was not only the biggest, but the biggest hit the company has ever introduced, he says. Bayley attributes that success, in part, to multi-generational families traveling together more and every member of the family wanting to have places on board where they can gather together and disperse to on their own. A mega ship like Icon or Star takes a bit over two years to build, Bayley says, with the conception and design process starting some five years before the ship will ever enter the water. Still under construction in the shipyard in Turku, Finland, as of early May, Star of the Seas is currently in its finishing stages, says Bayley. 'Her engines are in there with all the techs in there. The ship is almost finished. All of the public spaces are being finalized. So you can imagine the scale of the construction of a ship of that size, and everything's on track and on time,' Bayley told CNN Travel. The sea trials come next, when technicians test the ship's major systems in the water, then it will be sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Port Canaveral for 'shakedown cruises' to iron out any issues before entering service in late August, he says. Legend of the Seas is in the same shipyard in Finland but still in its early construction stages, Bayley says, adding that it will fundamentally be the same ship as Star with 'various upgrades and some tweaks and changes that improve the product and improve the overall experience.' Right now, he says, Legend looks like a jumble of Lego blocks. 'You look at it and think, what's that?' he says. For all the fans they have in passengers eager to explore their neighborhoods and shows, water parks and thrill rides, behemoth ships also raise environmental concerns and some ports are wary of receiving the inundation of passengers. Mega cruise ships are 'essentially floating cities,' says Bryan Comer, marine program director at the International Council on Clean Transportation. 'And with each new launch, we're seeing increases in fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and wastewater discharges,' he says. Mega ships including Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas and MSC World America are powered by LNG, an alternative marine fuel produced from natural gas from underground reserves, and traditional marine fuel. All three have shore power connectivity that allows engines to be switched off in port to cut down on local emissions. The sustainability pages for Royal Caribbean , MSC, Carnival and Norwegian all state the companies' commitments to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. But Comer says bio-methanol and renewable e-methanol are better options than LNG when it comes to long-term climate risk and achieving very low life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. 'Even if ships eventually use bio-LNG or renewable e-LNG, any methane emissions from the fuel tanks or engines will erode some of the climate benefits, making it very challenging to achieve net-zero emissions,' he says. The industry has the opportunity to innovate and lean on low-emission travel now, he says. 'I think it's important to remember that the future of cruising doesn't have to look like the past,' says Comer. There is also the question of overtourism to consider and the impact to local infrastructure that comes with dropping thousands of tourists in ports, big and small. 'Many of the tourism destination leaders we work with tell us yes, some cruise tourism is beneficial to the local economy,' says Paula Vlamings, chief impact officer of global nonprofit Tourism Cares, a pioneer in promoting sustainable tourism. But there's a tipping point, says Vlamings. Too many large ships in a port at once — or the equivalent in the form of one mega ship — can create negative impacts that 'far outweigh the positive,' overwhelming the people that live there, providing little economic opportunity in return and putting a heavy burden on local resources and infrastructure, she says. 'Whether it's cruise ships, tour operators or attractions, the travel industry must focus on protecting the places and people who call them home.' Florida-based freelance writer Terry Ward lives in Tampa and has been on a handful of cruises of the mega-ship and smaller variety.
The Independent
27-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
The secrets of Britain's connection with the world's least known ancient civilizations
New archaeological research is revealing that, more than a thousand years before Britain became part of the Roman Empire, it was part of an extraordinary Mediterranean-based trading network. Investigations being carried out by archaeologists from five European countries suggest that around 3,300 years ago, the western Mediterranean island of Sardinia started to become a powerful trading centre, eventually linking Britain, Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal in the West to what are now Turkey, Syria, Israel, Cyprus and Crete in the east. A series of ground-breaking discoveries are revealing, for the first time, the remarkable role played by the island - one of the world's least known ancient civilizations, known to archaeologists as the Nuragic culture. And it is showing the remarkable way in which Britain seems to have contributed to that civilization's development. It's long been known that Sardinia's Nuragic culture had Bronze Age Europe's most impressive architecture as well as equally remarkable art - but research over recent years has begun to reveal that it also became Europe's first Mediterranean-wide maritime and mercantile power. The island (a series of chiefdoms) was rich in copper ore - which helped turn it into a Bronze Age mercantile and economic superpower (because copper was one of the two key ingredients needed to make high quality bronze, which was far stronger than copper on its own). But the second key ingredient, needed to make high quality bronze, was tin - and one of the best sources of tin in the ancient world was Cornwall. Tin played a crucial role in human history - because it enabled the production of really strong manufactured goods and its acquisition usually necessitated and promoted long distance trade. Recent scientific research has revealed that Cornish tin was being delivered, probably by Sardinian or Sardinian-connected merchants, to what are now Israel and Turkey. What's more, a study of a shipwreck off the Devon coast has revealed that a Bronze Age ship, carrying Cornish tin ingot exports, were also carrying items from Sardinia or Spain. The English Channel appears to have been a Bronze Age highway for delivering Mediterranean copper ingots and Cornish tin ingots to Scandinavia and for transporting Danish amber to Britain, Ireland, Spain and the Mediterranean. And a growing body of evidence now suggests that, at the heart of this Bronze Age international trade, lay Sardinia's mysterious Nuragic civilization. All parts of the network prospered as a result of that trade - and recent archaeological excavations have found a Bronze Age settlement at one of the most likely ports used at the Cornish end of the maritime route, St. Michael's Mount near Penzance In Sardinia itself, the Italian island's role as the known world's likely premier Bronze Age trading hub helped in the development of an extraordinary civilization. At least 10,000 high-status stone buildings were constructed - some of which were up to 30 metres tall. Eventually many of these prehistoric skyscrapers were expanded to become vast Bronze Age fortress-like complexes, some of which covered up to 3000 square metres and boasted up to 400 metres of thick walls reinforced by up to 20 towers. Around 7000 of these ancient buildings survive - including many of the largest. They represent Europe's first truly sophisticated monumental stone architecture - featuring corbelled corridors, overhanging battlements, sophisticated water collection and storage systems, giant wells and immense rooms with vast domed ceilings (some up to 12 metres high). The civilization arguably played a little-known but important role in shaping history. Quite apart from directly or indirectly helping to boost the economies of Bronze Age Britain, Scandinavia and elsewhere, some evidence suggests that Sardinian pirates attacked Egypt (and what is now Israel) several times and that at least one Egyptian pharaoh thought that they were such good warriors that he recruited them as his personal bodyguard. These Nuragic Sardinians may even have established a small colony in what is now northern Israel - and probably also established trading colonies in Sicily, Crete and Cyprus. Nuragic pottery (especially tableware) has been found by archaeologists excavating sites on all three islands. Bronze Age Sardinians were also probably directly or indirectly responsible for transporting Cornish tin, Danish amber and a host of other Spanish, Portuguese and Mediterranean goods between raw material sources and consumers located in dozens of places between Europe's Atlantic Coast and the Middle East. What isn't yet known is whether Sardinian merchants ever traded directly with Britain or Scandinavia - or whether the Atlantic sea routes between northern Europe and Portugal were navigated by Cornish, French or Iberian mariners. And indeed some of the commodities may also have been transported from the English Channel region to the Mediterranean via the French river system. All the new research suggests that Sardinia itself acted as the major trading hub - with British, Scandinavian and Iberian raw materials and products (including tin, copper and amber) being shipped to Sardinia for transhipment to points further east like Crete, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In the other direction Sardinian and perhaps other ships are now thought to have carried Middle Eastern glass beads, Egyptian faience, Cypriot copper ingots, precious gemstones and other products to customers in the West. In Britain, archaeologists have found Iranian and Egyptian beads, Scandinavian amber items, Aegean metalwork, Cypriot and Spanish copper ingots and Sicilian razors, all of which would have had to have been imported by sea. The amber items would have come direct from Denmark, but at least some of the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean trade goods are likely to have been shipped to Britain via Sardinian trading hubs and several subsidiary hubs in Portugal or south-west Spain (potentially including Huelva, around 100 miles north-west of Gibraltar). Tin from Atlantic Europe (most likely Cornwall) is known from recent metallurgical analyses to have been transported to and used in Sardinia. Sardinia's Nuragic civilization - the first really major hub for pan-Mediterranean and European Atlantic Coast trade - was also ahead of most of the rest of the region in terms of technology and agriculture. Archaeological investigations over recent years have revealed that they domesticated the island's own wild grape plants (rather than importing grape seeds produced by Middle Eastern horticulturalists) - and were therefore able to produce their own unique wine (a beverage still produced on the island today). Nuragic or pre-Nuragic Sardinians also invented their own form of cheese-making (manufactured in the stomachs of freshly slaughtered young goats, and utilising the animal's enzymes to ferment it) - and that prehistoric originating type of cheese is still produced on the island today (the only place in Europe where such an early cheese-making tradition still survives). What's more, archaeobotanical analysis carried out at a Sardinian university, Cagliari, has now revealed that Sardinia was also the first place in the western Mediterranean to start using another important food resource - melons (which prior to the Nuragic civilization had been a purely eastern Mediterranean culinary product). Bronze Age Sardinians' cosmopolitan wine-drinking, exotic-fruit-eating culinary culture was matched by religious traditions that they had probably also acquired during their wide-ranging mercantile and other travels. Iconographic and other evidence suggests that, like ancient Crete, they appear to have had a 'man-bull' cult (potentially similar to the Cretan cult symbolized by the famous myth of the Minotaur). The Nuragic obsession with seafaring is reflected in the final phase of their art - for they are the ancient Bronze Age civilization which produced by far the largest number of bronze and ceramic sculptures of ships (160 bronze ones - and numerous pottery ones - have been unearthed so far). Archaeologists have not worked out for sure how far into the unknown they sailed. They may well have been Europe's first great explorers. They definitely reached western Asia and they almost certainly traded directly with the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal (and at least indirectly with Britain and Scandinavia). But there is one tantalising piece of evidence that ancient Sardinians themselves may have visited Britain - for there is an enigmatic and mysterious rock-cut tomb (the only one of its sort ever found in Britain) in northern Scotland, on the island of Hoy in Orkney, the nearest rock-cut parallel for which is in Sardinia. The archaeological and other scientific investigations, that have been contributing to a greater understanding of the Sardinian Bronze Age trade network phenomenon, include research carried out at eight universities - Durham in the UK, Gothenburg (in Sweden), Aarhus (in Denmark), Cagliari and Sassari in Sardinia, Freiburg and Bochum (both in Germany), as well as at Germany's Curt Engelhorn Centre for Archaeometry in Mannheim. "Bronze Age Sardinia's importance in the wider prehistory of Europe and of the Mediterranean region has only begun to be properly appreciated by archaeologists over recent years," said an expert in Bronze Age trade networks, Dr Serena Sabatini, Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. "Metallurgical, ceramic and other evidence from many different sites across the Mediterranean and beyond have revealed the extraordinary geographical extent of the Nuragic network. What's more, mounting evidence suggests that, as well as the Mediterranean, Europe's Atlantic coast, including Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia, contributed trading commodities to that network," said Dr Sabatini.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stock Market Sell-Off: 2 Monster Stocks to Buy While They Are On Sale
Investing in rapidly growing companies can help you build tremendous wealth over time. Market volatility is not a risk but an opportunity to buy shares of these businesses at better values. Below are two emerging restaurant brands that are in the process of expanding across the U.S. Buying these growth stocks today could pay off big in another 10 years. Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) is a standout drive-thru beverage chain. The stock doubled last year as the company continues to spread across the U.S. with 982 locations in 18 states as of Dec. 31, 2024. The market sell-off pulled the stock 24% off its recent highs, offering investors a good opportunity to start a position. A key advantage for the company is its culture. Since 2017, it has focused on a company-operated store strategy, which allows management to promote new shop managers from its own ranks. Some of its franchise partners started out as an employee, or "broista," at one of its shops. Dutch Bros believes its practice of promoting from within will help maintain quality service and generate long-term returns for shareholders. "We make big investments in seeding our culture as we expand, and we are pleased with how this is translating into strong service," CEO Christine Barone said recently on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call. It's a great sign that amid a choppy consumer spending environment, Dutch Bros increased same-shop sales while Starbucks struggled. Systemwide, Dutch Bros same-shop sales grew 2.8% in 2023 and improved to 5.3% in 2024. After opening 32 new shops in Q4, total revenue grew 35% year over year last quarter. The stock trades at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of about 5.3, which is fair considering its record of strong growth with many untapped markets across the U.S. Given the stock's previous volatility, dollar-cost averaging might be a smart way to invest. Dutch Bros is building a strong brand that should make it a monster winner over the long term. Cava (NYSE: CAVA) is another explosive growth stock to consider buying on the dip. The shares soared last year but recently were trading 53% off their 52-week high. Cava's impressive business performance suggests there is tremendous demand for Mediterranean-based, fast-casual dining. Its strong margins, unique brand, and lower valuation make the stock an attractive buy right now. The average restaurant profit margin ranges between 3% to 5%, but Cava's exceptional restaurant-level economics has translated to a stellar profit margin of 13% over the last year. This is by design. Cava's strategy focuses on using technology to streamline food preparation to make running its restaurants very efficient. It's becoming even more efficient as it expands. Management updated its two-year, cash-on-cash returns for its restaurants from 35% to 40%, implying a quick payback return for each new location. This follows strong momentum last year, with same-restaurant sales growing 13.4%. The company's adjusted net profit jumped from $13.3 million in 2023 to $50.2 million in 2024. These results point to outstanding return prospects for investors, since Cava is just getting started on its nationwide expansion. It ended the year with 367 restaurants in 25 states, in addition to Washington D.C. There are still highly populated areas without a Cava restaurant. It plans to enter south Florida and other mid-Atlantic areas this year. The company's goal is to have 1,000 restaurants open by 2032. The stock trades at a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of about 10.5, which is expensive for a restaurant stock, but Cava may have the growth and margins to justify paying up. Starting a small position and filling it out over time could leave investors with a sizable return down the road. Before you buy stock in Dutch Bros, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Dutch Bros wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $721,394!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 839% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 164% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of March 18, 2025 John Ballard has positions in Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Cava Group and Dutch Bros. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Stock Market Sell-Off: 2 Monster Stocks to Buy While They Are On Sale was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
