.cruise Domain

Cruise Lines International Association Inc. (referred to as ‘CLIA' hereafter) is the worldʹs largest cruise association. CLIA's primary mission is to promote policies and practices that foster a safe, secure, healthy cruise ship environment for the millions of passengers and crew who sail with CLIA member cruise lines every year. Further, the mission includes promoting and articulating the value, desirability and affordability of the cruise vacation experience.

CLIA operates pursuant to an agreement filed with the Federal Maritime Commission under the Shipping Act of 1984. It serves as a non-governmental consultative organization to the International Maritime Organization, an agency of the United Nations.

To fulfil its mission, CLIA works closely with maritime regulators to ensure that the highest operating standards are applied in the industry. CLIA regularly works with law makers to advance passenger safety. And - perhaps most importantly - CLIA works with all its members through more than 25 committees, working groups and task forces to identify and promote best practices throughout the industry.

For organizations which are affiliated with CLIA through membership or other partnerships, for the cruise vacationing consumer, and for the public as a whole, CLIA serves as the voice of the industry and is the central communications entity for the global cruise community.

Members

CLIA's membership is composed of an affiliation of 26 of the major cruise lines and more than 13,000 travel agencies and individual agents. A third of the membership population are executive partners, composed of industry suppliers, cruise-related organizations, ports and shipyards.

Cruise Line Members

Since 2000, the number of passengers welcomed aboard CLIA member ships has increased by more than 125%, from 7.2 million in 2000 to more than 16.3 million in 2011. During that time CLIA member cruise lines added 143 new ships. Thirteen new ships were added in 2011 alone.

At the same time, consumer demand for cruising has been rising rapidly. In 2010, CLIA member ships sailed at 103% capacity. To meet the demand by travellers seeking a cruise experience, CLIA's members/affiliates are investing more than $10 billion between 2012 and 2015 to bring new ships on line.

In 2012, 14 new ships will be introduced. By 2015, 25 new ships will join the CLIA member fleet, creating a total size of 231 ships with a capacity of 361,000 passengers.
Another characteristic of the industry over the past decade has been the increasing globalization of cruising. A few statistics capture this important trend.

In 2000, only about 9% of CLIA member passengers came from outside North America. By 2010, the percentage of passengers from outside North America tripled to 27%. Globalization has also brought about a significant shift in ship deployments as cruise lines evolve to meet the expectations of new international travellers. Over the past five years, deployment to the Mediterranean increased by nearly 110%, while deployment to ports in Australia and New Zealand increased by more than 100%.

The growth of cruising provides economic benefits that extend far beyond CLIA cruise line members. Cruise ports are evolving and investing to build new infrastructure to support the industry. Expansion projects are underway in Charleston, South Carolina, New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami in the U.S. as well as in Mexico, Panama and Oslo. Entirely new ports have been built in places such as Portland, Maine, Falmouth, Jamaica and Singapore.

CLIA member lines and the industry continue to push to improve environmental sustainability. CLIA members/affiliates have been at the forefront of wastewater treatment and emissions reduction, developing responsible practices and new technologies to protect marine environments.

Travel Agency Members

The more than 13,000 travel agency members range from sole proprietors to small and medium local businesses, to large, global agencies. CLIA's mission includes educating these affiliates to ensure a high level of quality service is provided to the traveling public. CLIA-affiliated agencies display the CLIA seal, which identifies them as authorities on selling cruise vacations.

Travel agents are the primary distribution channel for cruise lines, with more than 68% of cruise trips being booked through agents. As cruising continues to grow globally, jobs will be created for new agents around the world. And, they will require quality education along with a central repository of best practices and industry information, 24/7. CLIA will play a significant role in this endeavor.

Executive Partner Members

More than 100 of the most innovative suppliers of goods and services to the cruise industry make up CLIAʹs Executive Partner program. The program fosters strategic relationships between key cruise industry suppliers, cruise-related organizations, ports, shipyards and the cruise lines. It also provides a central point of communications, collaboration and dissemination of best practices for these industry entities. CLIA is the platform for interaction with critical governmental agencies such as U.S. Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, environmental agencies, and branches of the military such as the U.S. Coast Guard.

Consumers

CLIA cruise line members offer millions of individuals, families, and groups a unique means of exploring and connecting with the world. Member lines offer river and ocean cruises to the world's great ports and coastal destinations plus shore excursions which further expand the travel experience.

Cruise travel offers an array of vacation options, including recreation, relaxation, adventure, entertainment, dining, health, and fitness - in a safe, convenient, and affordable environment. Cultural and educational options also abound with seminars, speakers and workshops offered on a vast range of topics.

For the experienced cruise consumer, and the consumers new to, or interested in learning more about cruising, CLIA acts a trusted central informational resource.


CLIA History

CLIA was formed in 1975 in response to a need for an association to promote the special benefits of cruising . In 2006, it merged with the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), a sibling entity created in 1990 dedicated to participating in the regulatory and policy development process of the cruise industry.

Prior to its 2006 merger with ICCL, CLIA became the principal external marketing organization for its member lines in 1984 following the consolidation of several other industry organizations into CLIA.

The .Cruise registry will be a standard registry. Its purpose will be:

• To provide a trusted source of comprehensive public information to benefit those interested in cruising and all members of the cruise industry, thereby counteracting any inaccurate information about cruising

• To provide a platform for promotion and the delivery of secure digital material for CLIA members and consumers alike

• To ensure CLIA remains at the forefront of innovation by keeping pace with internet technology developments

The success of the .Cruise registry will be determined by the enhancement in the equity of our brand and in terms of the security and stability it brings to our member communications.
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We anticipate that the registry will be strictly controlled by authorised CLIA personnel. However, the TLD will also benefit the following groups:
• Our members: a new .Cruise registry will benefit members because we want .Cruise domains to be a sign of authenticity that can be trusted. The .Cruise registry will also provide a platform for authentic, accessible information within the direct control of CLIA.

• Our employees: a new gTLD will enhance the integrity of our brand worldwide and provide a more secure electronic communication channel.

• Our customers: a new gTLD registry will help consumers connect with cruise ships and cruise lines that meet the highest standards of safety and security

i. What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of speciality, service levels
reputation?

At CLIA, we are proud of the reputation of our brand and the quality of our services for members. Our intention is to manage the new gTLD to the same level. We value the opportunity to exploit this latest internet advance in order to further reinforce the integrity of our brand. We are committed to assuring our members that our registry will operate as the authentic location for accurate information on the association and its services. To this extent, we believe our application is in the public interest.

ii. What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation or innovation?

We are excited to operate our own registry with shorter domain names that are universally applicable across the globe. We believe in the potential it offers in terms of clarity and simplicity to our members and staff. Furthermore, the .Cruise gTLD will allow our members to place their trust in our registry while enhancing a more stable and secure electronic communication world-wide.

We look forward to use our new registry in conjunction with our current domains and are particularly interested to market under the term .Cruise in future if the new gTLD process is a success.

This new gTLD enables brands to leave behind complex naming hierarchies inherent in country code extensions.

iii. What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

We anticipate that our members and the public interested in cruising will know they are in a trusted and authentic internet location once they arrive at content supported by a registration from the new gTLD. We want a .Cruise domain to guarantee them accurate receipt of information and strong commitment from our part that their sensitive personal details will be protected with diligence.

CLIA will ensure that there is an online query system to assist anyone with queries about the .Cruise registry. Furthermore, we will provide and promote the details of our Abuse Point of Contact which will be able 24/7 and we will comply with all requests from courts, law enforcement, and governmental bodies, and any decisions/judgments from UDRP and URS panels.

iv. Provide a complete description of the applicant's intended registration policies in support of the goals above

CLIA is the operator of the .Cruise registry. CLIA Domain Name Management team is responsible for the development, maintenance and enforcement of CLIA Domain Management Policy. This policy defines the rules associated with eligibility and domain name allocation, sets out the license terms governing the use of a .Cruise domain name and describes the dispute resolution policies for the .Cruise gTLD. This policy is intended to be updated and revised regularly to reflect CLIA's strategic interests and, where appropriate, the requirements of CLIA's members.
Registration of a .Cruise domain name will be undertaken in four steps: Eligibility Confirmation, Naming Convention Check, Acceptable Use Review, and finally Registration. All domains in the .Cruise registry will remain the property of CLIA.

Each applied for character string must conform to the .Cruise rules of eligibility. Each .Cruise name must:

• Be at least 3 characters and no more than 63 characters long
• Not contain a hyphen on the 3rd and 4th position (tagged domains)
• Contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens or a combination of these
• Start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen
• Not match any character strings reserved by ICANN
• Not match any protected country names or geographical terms

Internationalized domain names (IDN) may be supported in the .Cruise registry at the second level.

Domains in the .cruise registry must be used solely for purposes that enhance the strategic or commercial interests of CLIA and its members. .Cruise domains may not be used in a way which knowingly infringes any third party intellectual property rights or gives rise to moral or public order questions.

.Cruise names may not be delegated or assigned to external organizations, institutions, or individuals without an association with cruising.

All .Cruise domains will carry accurate and up to date registration records.

CLIA Domain Name Management Team may revoke a .Cruise domain name at any time in line with CLIA's corporate and strategic interests.

CLIA registry will be ICANN compliant: the registry will interface with the Trademark Clearinghouse, operate a Sunrise and IP Claims and all registrants must comply with the UDRP and the URS. There will be Thick Whois. CLIA will co-operate with any complaints under the PDDRP. The .Cruise registry will be responsive to legal rights owners.


v. Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users?

As one of the main industry brands, we are extremely careful to protect the confidential information of members and staff, in compliance with all the applicable Data Protection regulations.

The .Cruise registry will continue our policy of protecting confidential information in line with our published policy at http://www.cruising.org/privacy-policy CLIA will comply with the Personal Data obligations of the ICANN Registry Agreement and applicable laws. As required, approved representatives will be registered as data handlers and trained to ensure compliance with ICANN's requirements.

We will:

• Document policies and procedures including an escalation process
• Use appropriate levels of encryption and physical security
• Train key staff and ensuring responsibilities are understood and documented in rules of conduct
• Limit access to records only to those employees or service providers who need access for the performance of their job duties
• Test procedures
• Monitor best practice and ICANN's mandated and recommended policies
• Audit the work of providers including the Escrow provider and checking data.


Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits?

We will create and publish internal guidelines intended to provide clarity on the registration process for a .Cruise domain and how it is to be used. This is a standard registry and domains will be provisioned through an ICANN accredited registrar who will be required to support all those with queries about the .cruise registry. It will be necessary to create a home page for the registry using straightforward messaging for the benefit of internal users so that our policies and the rules of eligibility are clearly understood.
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We believe that our intention to restrict the registration of names within the .Cruise registry to pre-validated representatives of CLIA or selected affiliates, will eliminate or minimise social costs. Potential negative consequences on members are likely to be minimised and possibly even eliminated because .Cruise domains will not be made available to anyone outside CLIA membership.

i. How will multiple applications for a particular domain be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first come first served basis?

We do not want to commercialise our .Cruise registry. We will not receive multiple applications for a particular domain and consequently, there will be no need for any resolution. We will control eligibility very strictly.

ii. Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g. advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).

Because we plan that all .Cruise domain names will be registered to CLIA or affiliates, we do not think that there is any need to offer cost benefits for registrants.

iii. The Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than 10 years. Additionally the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation?

CLIA‘s Domain Name Management Team will set the period of registration for .Cruise domains. We are applying for .Cruise as we believe it will complement our strategic goals and protect our IP rights, not to generate revenues from selling domains. Therefore there will be no need to consider contractual commitments or issues around pricing including price escalation, though we will comply with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement.

Before launching this TLD, CLIA will develop and publish its policies and guidelines, setting out full details of how the registry will implement its vision and purpose as set out in this answer. CLIA may adapt its policies and proposed use of the gTLD, in a manner consistent with the purpose, to reflect changes in its business, the needs of members, prevailing circumstances in the industry and the adoption of new gTLDs by the community.


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CLIA is committed to running .Cruise in compliance with applicable laws, consensus policies, best practice guidelines, RFCs and the Specifications of the Registry Agreement. In accordance with GAC advice and Specification 5, CLIA will block from initial registration (at no charge) country and territory names contained in the following lists:

• The short form (in English) of country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union; and
• The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World; and
• The list of United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

We envisage that over time, there will be demand from brand TLDs leading to the development of a standardised process for requesting GAC review and ICANN approval for the release of country and territory names for registration by the Registry Operator when the registry is a single entity registry. When such a process is in place, CLIA expects to apply for the release of country and territory names within .Cruise.
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