♪ betty lu: this is "titans at the table." >> welcome aboard. betty: we are taking you to the high seas to find out how one classic vacation industry is keeping up in the modern age. arnold donald: and there she goes. betty: there we go. the cruise industry raked in more than $37 billion in revenue last year, setting sail with more than 21 million passengers. what does it take to be the biggest fish in the sea? we find out from the two biggest ceo's in the business. richard fain: they want the biggest and the best. and this is the biggest and the best cruise ship out there. betty: richard fain is ceo of royal caribbean which earned more than $8 billion last year. to stay on top, his company has

spent $3 billion on new ships that have everything a cruiser could want, and some things they never expect. richard: this is the next generation of cruise ship. and we are constantly striving to move the bar higher and higher. betty: royal caribbean may have one of the biggest boats in the water, but carnival ceo arnold donald says bigger isn't always better, and it has got the market share to prove it. arnold: we sail 80 million passenger cruise days a year. 80 million. betty: carnival has 50% of all cruising business and pulled in nearly $16 billion last year, almost double royal caribbean. donald says that with 101 ships in the fleet, staying on top is all about variety. arnold: we have nine brands. so whether you are an adventurer or a quiet person, whether you are social or introvert, we have a brand out there for you. betty: the industry has made

huge gains since the last recession. but profit margins are still in the single digits. and just as it was recovering, things like this started to hit the headlines. [screaming] >> get the kids. go, go. >> it was an absolute disaster and it made us never want to go on a cruise ship again. betty: in the last several years, the cruise industry has run aground on some very public disasters. from viral outbreaks that have ripped through ships in a matter of hours, to the devastating sinking of a ship nearly twice the size of the titanic, killing 32 people. the industry is facing a public relations nightmare that could keep passengers ashore. do these two captains of industry have what it takes to turn the ship around and sail back into double-digit profit margins? the answer may lie halfway around the world. it's all hands on deck on "titans at the table."

>> all right. open your eyes. betty: most americans remember the titanic as a movie. but beginning in the 19th century, giant ocean liners like this were the only way for the masses to cross the atlantic. starting in the 1960's, flying replaced cruising when jetliners took to the skies, rendering these giant seagoing vessels obsolete. not long after, the massive liners were re-imagined for a different purpose. an ocean-bound getaway. the lumbering liners of old would be used more for recreation than transportation. >> ♪ the love boat betty: and when the show "the love boat" became popular in the late 1970's, it helped transform the new concept of floating vacations into a giant growth industry. >> sure, when it comes to services, we cover the bases from a to z. z! [laughter] >> out on the deck. betty: but the success wasn't just due to bigger and better ships aimed at a ballooning population of american middle

class. by registering ships under foreign flags, like liberia or panama, companies avoided costly u.s. labor laws and environmental and tax regulations that regular land-based tourism businesses were forced to follow. between 1970 and 2014, the cruise industry's passenger load grew more than 4000%, from 500,000 to more than 21 million cruisers each year. but the industry's environmental practices and working conditions have drawn a lot of scrutiny in decades past. and in the last several years, the industry has been plagued with a series of incidents that have hit the headlines and scared passengers and public alike. >> sick at sea. a royal caribbean cruise forced to turn back when 200 people on board get the norovirus. betty: from norovirus outbreaks on eight separate cruises last year -- >> nightmare on a carnival cruise ship -- betty: -- to an ebola scare that created panic on a carnival magic cruise ship.

>> we knew something bad was happening. betty: to the devastating crash of the costa concordia in 2012 that killed 32 people and landed its captain in prison. and then there was the infamous "poop cruise." >> human waste was actually piling up just outside their door. betty: when a power outage stranded 4000 passengers without food, water, or working toilets. >> then days and days of misery. betty: that incident happened just months before carnival's ceo arnold donald took the helm. but as he told me, don't believe all the hype. arnold: 99.9999% of everyone that cruises just has a great time. betty: right. and it doesn't make the headlines. arnold: it is a joyfull experience. yeah, the 99.99% does not make the headlines. how many times are people stuck on a runway waiting for a plane to take off? how many times do they have a traffic jam that they are stuck in on a highway or whatever? so those kinds of incidents -- the concordia, that was an accident and a tragedy, and that

was more serious, but that happens once in a hundred years. betty: a relative newcomer to the captain's chair, donald only became the ceo of carnival corporation in 2013, appointed by carnival's founding family, the arisons. and he is charting a new course for the biggest name in the industry. under the banner of the cruise line industry association, or clia, there are 62 cruise lines worldwide servicing more than 21 million passengers, with big names like disney and norwegian joining carnival and royal caribbean. carnival is the largest with eight other brands. with more than 120,000 employees across the world, and 10 million passengers last year, nearly half of the cruising population. that bigger market share also means a bigger spotlight when things go wrong. there's one professor who came out with statistics and he found out that there were, between

2009 to 2013, 300 plus incidents on cruise ships, whether very small or very large, the ones that make it onto national networks. so the perception that these are happening more and more on cruise lines and that there seems to be some epidemic of safety on cruise lines, how do you kind of combat that? arnold: we sail full. most people -- our guest satisfaction scores are through the roof. you were on a ship yourself, so you saw the excitement of the guests and how things work. it's just not true. you know, that you can do anything and have a one-off incident, but 80 million guests, that means 79 million plus nine hundred and ninety nine thousand are having -- betty: a smooth day? arnold: are having not only a smooth day, they are having the vacation of a lifetime, ok? betty: whether these incidents are overblown, there is no denying it is what people are talking about it. according to the centers for disease control, ships sailing under the carnival flag were hit with 17 cases of norovirus since 2012. following the "poop cruise" on the carnival triumph, donald

says they've now sunk $700 million into improvements so those incidents never happen again. but safety is not the only issue these days. the industry is also fighting the perception that only a certain type of person climbs aboard to cruise. so when i talk to people, arnold, about going on a cruise, generally speaking, anecdotally, and by far i am not scientific, you know, the perception is negative of the cruising industry, right? arnold: really? betty: that it is for senior citizens, or that younger people don't go on cruises, or they have read about the triumph or they have read about, you know, the costa concordia. so how do you change that perception? arnold: that is a challenge for us. we have maybe 3.5% of the vacation-going population that cruises in a year. say here in north america, for example. but the reality is that people that cruise and have cruised, love it. you know, people say, i am going to get seasick or it is too crowded.

i don't want to be in a buffet line with 3000 other people. all of these negative things that really don't exist. betty: when we come back, arnold donald takes me on a tour of the breeze to show me why carnival is the king of cruising. and later, richard fain of royal caribbean pulls out all the stops on their latest ship. he's out to prove that in order to pull ahead of the competition, it's go big or go home. richard: i got you! [laughter] richard: they want the biggest and the best, and this is the biggest and the best cruise ship out there. ♪

♪ betty: have you been on every single one of your 101 ships? arnold: no, i haven't been on every ship yet. but i've been on quite a few. betty: when you walk onto one of carnival's fun ships, the first thing you notice are the amusement style attractions. it's like a county fair on water. and after you dry off, it's time to take in some extravagant, vegas-style entertainment. >> ♪ don't go for second-best baby put your love to the test ♪ betty: and then it is off to a meal fit for a queen or king. and you can burn the calories off all in the same place. arnold: you know, we have personal trainers that consult, also, you know, dietitians. betty: donald and i walked the decks from the luxurious spa --

arnold: the spa is my favorite place on the ship. [laughter] betty: -- to some of their nighttime hotspots, where he showed me some of his signature dance moves. [laughter] betty: but for all the amenities aboard, he says that when it comes to cruising, there is no one-size-fits-all ship. arnold: you know, a cruise is not a cruise is not a cruise. there are -- every brand has a different type of cruising experience, and there's a reason for that. because we are all different. you know, some people want lots of partying and water parks, and lots of excitement, lots of kids around, families around. others want to relax and just be with their immediate close one. you know, etc. so you have to have different types of offerings for people. if you get on the right cruise, you will love it. betty: with over 100 vessels to choose from, carnival has a different ship for just about whatever floats your boat. its business model has helped carnival dominate the seas, but not far behind is royal

caribbean ceo richard fain. he says he's got a boat that is so big, it has it all, making it hard to feel trapped at sea. richard: if you are seeing about a cruise ship, and it has surfing onboard, and skydiving onboard, and bumper cars and 18 places to eat, it's hard to say i'm going to feel confined. betty: with five million passengers, royal caribbean is the number two player in cruising, earning more than $8 billion in revenue last year. richard fain is determined to close the gap on the competition. and to do that, he is going to need a bigger boat. and it's called quantum of the seas. so what was it that customers were demanding that this quantum is answering? richard: we really felt that people wanted more choice. they wanted -- they did not want a regimented vacation. they wanted to select their own choices and they wanted to have more choices to pick amongst. and so we wanted to provide something where the entertainment just gave them a plethora of activities to do.

where the food selection, they could choose pretty much whatever kinds of foods whenever they wanted it. and so i would say that probably the biggest change is just the level of choice the ship offers. well, we have this new dynamic dining -- betty: richard took me on a tour to show me firsthand what kind of vessel a billion bucks buys you. at over a thousand feet long, and the ability to sail with nearly 5000 passengers, it's one of the largest cruise ships on water. so we are how many stories up would you say? richard: we're almost 30 stories up. betty: first stop, the north star observation pod. richard: it is just looking down. betty: wow. richard: this is a perspective that you never get to see. betty: no. richard: and again out comes the camera. proves my point. betty: it does. this is amazing. at the very highest, we were above the statue of liberty. 300 feet out over the water. wow. richard: it's really cool. betty: that's incredible. richard: it's really cool. betty: the northstar is just the first attraction on a boat that has everything you can think of.

and then some. alright. here we go. richard: ok. betty: i want my lucky number eight. i'm taking this one. bumper cars might be the last thing you would expect to see on a cruise ship. but here on the quantum of the seas, it somehow feels right at home. richard: i got you! betty: wait, richard, this isn't fair! and if being out at sea isn't enough for you, this boat has a way of getting you airborne. richard: am i ready for this or what? [cheering] richard: this is the best job in the world. betty: there is the requisite high-end shopping. richard: we have cartier. bulgari. betty: and of course, fine dining. could i sample something? with 18 restaurants to choose from. but the real experience isn't

just the cuisine, it's how you get to it. richard: this is what we call royal iq. betty: ok. richard: part of dynamic dining. betty: oh, so these are all the restaurants that are on the ship? richard: yes, it's too many for a page. if you wanted to reserve space, for example, just hit reserve and it comes up and asks you when you want, how many of you are there. betty: ok. you can do this on your mobile phone? richard: do it on your mobile phone. betty: technology is part of what fain says will make royal caribbean stand apart from the competition. and dynamic dining is just the tip of the iceberg. richard: we even track your bags. so you can look on your iphone and say, ah, my suitcase is in the elevator or it is in the hallway or it is going through security. and these kinds of capabilities, i think, are things that we probably will all look back on in a very short period of time and say, can you imagine what this was like before quantum of the seas? [laughter] betty: for all the over-the-top attractions offered by quantum

of the seas, is dropping a billion dollars on a single ship the key to raising profit? carnival ceo arnold donald isn't convinced. arnold: there will be a lot of people who will not want to sail on quantum. that's not how they want to -- they are not looking for an amusement park experience. they are not looking for -- that's not how they want to spend their time. there will be some -- betty: so you don't see it as a game-changer? arnold: i see it as a game-changer in certain features on board their ship. but in terms of a game-changer for the industry, every new ship is a game-changer. you know, quantum, in a contemporary category, where people are looking for lots of activities and that kind of stuff, you know, kind of a mall of america kind of a type of experience is a game-changer for that type of experience. betty: so arnold called quantum the mall of america of ships. richard: well, i am not going to comment on what he had said.

but i think you will have trouble finding a mall onboard. betty: but the one thing both ceo's believe -- the incidents that cast a shadow over the industry are a thing of the past, and the bargain tickets that convinced passengers to set sail, currently at discounts of almost 80%, may soon be cast away. richard: the discounting due to those kinds of negative incidences was serious, and i think we are now moving very quickly away from that. so i think you will see a lot less discounting. and in fact, i think our focus needs to be not on -- on offering the cheapest cruise. and if you look around, you will see why it doesn't make sense for us to try and sell the cheapest cruise, but the best cruise. and in fact, one of the other things is we are saying that as we get into 2015, we're seeing particularly past the first quarter a quite solid year. we are seeing the opportunity to raise our prices.

even if it means, in some cases, that we sail with some empty staterooms. arnold: i would tell everybody book as soon as you can. because the probability that prices are going to go lower are not very high. betty: ok. arnold: but they don't need to. higher prices in the cruise industry will still make it the best vacation value by far versus a land-based vacation. betty: and are you willing to give up a little market share to keep your prices above, you know, above the discounted rates? arnold: you know, it's not so much market share. the question is occupancy. betty: ok. arnold: so, you know, how many cabins are left unfilled? or how many cabins have one guest versus three or four guests in a family? that kind of thing. and so absolutely you are willing to trade off a little occupancy to get the price up from a business standpoint. betty: coming up -- there is one demographic that both companies have had a hard time cracking. millennials. they may be the key to sailing towards higher profits. and later, it is full speed

ahead to a place that may just push the entire industry into bold new waters. ♪ ♪ betty: this is shiprock. it is norwegian cruise lines' solution to netting younger cruisers. millennials on the whole have a lot of money to spend. $1.3 trillion of it. and a piece of that demographic could help the industry sail back into double-digit profit

margins. the clia, which is obviously the cruising industry group, i mean, they have came out with numbers, and they say that the average cruiser is about 50 years old, makes over $100,000, white, and generally an affluent traveler. but they are all, they are essentially that demographic so it's not very diverse. richard: well, i think that again, that is part of what we need to help explain because the diversity is growing dramatically, both in ethnicity, in age. betty: some of the reports out about the ship say that, you know, the reason why it is such a game-changer, or it is at least something that people are excited about and getting a lot of press, is that it's catering towards the millennials, right? the younger travelers. so is this an attempt essentially, a very big attempt, to get the 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds on your ship? richard: it is absolutely directed to expanding our market. the millennials are a prime

market for us, and a growing one. [cheering] betty: royal caribbean has managed to tackle the one thing almost every millennial wants, which, no surprise, happens to be one of the hardest things to do on the water. providing wi-fi. richard: actually, the bandwidth on this ship is 450 times the next best ship. betty: wow. richard: and in fact, the bandwidth on this ship is better than the combined bandwidth of every other cruise ship in the world combined. betty: but according to carnival ceo arnold donald, the millennial generation, as you might expect, defies stereotypes. and providing wi-fi is far from the only magical bullet to get them to cruise more. arnold: we get the millennials all over the place just like every other generation. you know? some millennials like heavy social exchange and interaction in terms of parties. some just like doing it on the

internet. you know? some want more private time. a lot of them are adventure seekers. a lot of them want to give back. you know, they like impact travel. you know, travel where they can go and do something and help, you know, a local community or help an individual. that sort of thing. betty: do you even need to get millennials more cruising? is that a misperception of the industry? arnold: i think it is a little bit of a misperception. millennials do cruise because in our brand, families cruise. we have weddings on our ships, and those are often, you know, young people getting married and they have chosen a cruise as their, not only their honeymoon experience but their actual wedding experience and their wedding reception experience. so we have millennials on our ships, you know, around the world. betty: but the cruising industry does not live and die by getting millennials on their cruise? arnold: no, it does not live or die by it, but obviously you want to build your base of followers for the future. betty: still to come, the one destination that every cruising company is crazy to court.

how big is china going to be compared to north america? arnold: eventually, china is going to be the largest cruise market in the world. ♪ ♪ betty: the cruising industry has built its success in the west, but halfway around the world, there is another market on the horizon that could change the game completely. richard: the demographic shift in china going into the growth of the middle class is one of the biggest single demographic explosions in history. you know, one of the big demographic shifts that we have gone through is the baby boomer generation. it has been an enormous and that bubble has dictated a lot of american industry.

what's happening in china today makes that look insignificant. betty: royal caribbean ceo richard fain says that in a few years, the middle class in china will not only be bigger than the middle class in america, but bigger than america. period. consumer spending in china is expected to increase about 7% every year. by 2020, the total could reach $5.7 trillion. remember the quantum of the seas? the ship with just about every bell and whistle you can think of is setting sail to its new home port of shanghai. betty: one big advantage of expanding in china -- not having to deal with the stodgy old images of the typical cruiser. in china, the cruise liners can start with a clean slate. richard: this whole concept is just something new and exciting. and there is no old-fashioned myths about cruising. there is none of this, well, cruising is for old people. and if you are a family

traveler, both can enjoy it together. how many vacations can you have where a 70-year-old and a 20-year-old -- betty: can go together. richard: can go together and both rave about it? so we have that and it is extraordinary. and there aren't many places you can do that. and china, the family bond is stronger than it is in the western world. so the ability to offer multi-generational traveling in china is even more valuable. betty: carnival ceo arnold donald has no intention of being left in royal caribbean's wake when it comes to china. he says it is a market they have already had both feet in since 2006. arnold: keep in mind, we have 101 ships. we sail to over 700 ports in the world a year. we source from everywhere. we have four ships home ported in china -- four ships home ported in shanghai. betty: carnival currently carries chinese passengers to countries like japan and south korea.

last year, donald put his chief operating officer, alan buckelew, in shanghai and signed a deal to develop the cruise industry with a local operator, china merchants group. arnold: there is a lot of work to be done in china. we have to have ports developed so the chinese guests have destinations to go to. but the reality is that it a good market already today. betty: yes. arnold: we have four ships there. three on our castle line, one in our princess line. both brands are profitable. the chinese government has declared, through their five-year economic plan, their intention to develop the cruise industry. so that means a lot of things will happen relatively quickly. we want to be there to help make it happen in a way that we think will help the chinese government establish the cruise industry they want, that will be sustainable for years to come. betty: so how often are you there now? arnold: i have been on the job a year and a half or so, and i have already made five trips to china. so it's a very active market under development.

it's going to take some time. we are very happy with what we have today. but we see it someday being as large as any cruise market in the world. betty: donald says carnival is focusing on the one thing that the chinese can never get enough of -- luxury shopping. arnold: the chinese guests, they really like high-end retail, big brand names, luxury brands. betty: so they want a louis vuitton on the ship? arnold: they want louis vuitton. betty: prada? arnold: they want vacheron constatin watches. they really like high-end stuff, and so we have to reconfigure our retail there for the very high end. so each ship is different. you know, a lot of americans are shoppers. and they want great quality at really great pricing. and they are not as hung up in general on the big luxury brands. for example, on the carnival brand, but on some other brands they would be. betty: is there some one brand that you would like to get on board that you haven't gotten yet? arnold: in terms of one retail brand? you know, i would love to get higher items in.

like maybe bentley or rolls-royce automobiles. if we could sell a couple of automobiles onboard, that would be nice. betty: wow. [laughter] betty: that would be nice. that's a big ticket item. whether it is the promise of the emerging chinese market or the appeal of ushering in the next generation of millennial cruisers, these two titans are laying it all on the line and moving full speed ahead to shake off the negative news of the past. royal caribbean's enormous flagship vessel, the quantum of the seas, won't be top dog for long. in 2016, the company is rolling out a bigger, badder, bolder cruise ship, the harmony of the seas. with the ability to carry more than 5000 passengers, it will be the largest cruise ship on the ocean. for carnival ceo arnold donald, he is also pulling out all the stops with carnival's vista next year. his goal -- to see the rest of the world climb aboard. arnold: cruising is the greatest

vacation value there is. it is one of the greatest vacation experiences you could every possibly have. when people actually experience the right product for them, they are hooked for life. ♪ ♪ (ee-e-e-oh-mum-oh-weh) (hush my darling...) (don't fear my darling...) (the lion sleeps tonight.) (hush my darling...) man snoring

(don't fear my darling...) (the lion sleeps tonight.) woman snoring take the roar out of snore. yet another innovation only at a sleep number store. . . betty: welcome to the bloomberg tv special, "china: behind the wall." i travel to beijing to visit china's historic statehouse. there, i spoke with one of the country's highest rating officials. a former ambassador to the united states, a leader in the powerful state council, and china's negotiator on foreign policy. we talked about the most pressing issues between the two countries from cyber spying to the most recent market turmoil.