April

Sydney/smh
"Passengers were scared, some crying, others excited, annoyed and others in a state of shock that it had actually occurred."  The attack was thwarted only after passengers started throwing deckchairs at the pirates and then an Israeli security team on board the Melody opened fire, the Gold Coast resident said. "The pirates actually had ropes attached to the port stern side of the ship and were climbing," Mr Nelson said. more...

At least three major cruise lines have canceled port calls scheduled for today in Mexico as worries about a potentially deadly outbreak of swine flu grow.  A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises tells USA TODAY both the Sapphire Princess and Coral Princess -- scheduled to call today in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, respectively -- have remained out to sea, and Holland America also has canceled a call today in Mazatlan planned for the Ryndam. Carnival spokesman Tim Gallagher tells USA TODAY all three of the line's ships scheduled to call in Mexico today also have stayed out to sea. The Elation, sailing out of the West Coast, had been scheduled to visit Ensenada. The Carnival Inspiration and Holiday, sailing out of East Coast ports, were expected in Cozumel. more....

Viking River Cruises has appointed UBS banker Nick Bishop to find new investors for the business, said sources. Viking's owner, entrepreneur Torstein Hagen, is in advanced talks to sell a stake in his business to Waterland Private Equity as part of a deal that values the company at around £100m. Viking was founded in 1997 by Mr Hagen and now has 21 luxury ships that take travellers on cruises down a variety of rivers around the world, including the Danube, Yangtze and Dnieper Rivers.

Miami
Reports 1Q loss: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., battered by a sharp and prolonged drop in vacation spending, said Thursday it lost less in the first quarter than expected as bookings stabilized and cruise costs declined more than anticipated.Falling fuel prices, the stronger dollar and internal cost-cutting all helped improve the results. The company's shares jumped $2.35, or 20.6 percent, to close at $13.76. The stock has traded between $5.40 and $33.78 during the past 52 weeks. more....
England year-round: The 3,600-passenger Independence of the Seas - currently world's largest cruise ship - already has spent one summer sailing out of Southampton, England after its debut last year. RCI announced the ship will remain in the city permanently starting with the summer of 2010. 
Discounting: "Discounting continues to be aggressive," the line said today in a statement accompanying its first quarter earnings release.
Oasis of the Seas: Demand for the groundbreaking, 5,400 passenger ship, to debut in December, has been incredibly strong, despite the economic downturn, and the prices the vessel is commanding are well above what the line is getting for its other ships, company executives said today. "The level of bookings and the pricing for Oasis' first ten months is very exciting," Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein told Wall Street analysts during a conference call to discuss first quarter earnings. "In fact, the prices that Oasis is commanding . . . are really quite remarkable."

London
All Leisure group plc, which operates Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery, is pleased to announce that it has purchased the unique small cruise ship, Hebridean Princess. All Leisure group plc is keen to ensure that the Hebridean Princess will continue to offer distinctive cruises around the Scottish Highlands and islands and through the Norwegian fjords and will continue to operate from its head office in Skipton under the name Hebridean Island Cruises. 
 

Ambassadors International,the parent company of Windstar Cruises has announced the quick sale of its travel and events division as it maneuvers to avoid a bankruptcy filing. "The board and management are pleased to have completed this transaction," Ambassadors CEO Art Rodney said in the statement. "We will continue to focus all of our capital and efforts on Windstar Cruises and the small ship luxury segment." As part of the filing, which was submitted late, Ambassador's independent accountant, Ernst & Young, warned it had "substantial doubts about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."

Passengers watch as man goes overboard on NCL ms Norwegian Sky. 
The U.S. Coast Guard has called off a search for a 39-year-old passenger who went overboard this weekend. he agency says it searched an area of nearly 590 square miles Saturday using aircraft from bases in Miami and the Bahamas. A Coast Guard spokesman tells industry watcher CruiseCritic.com there is "no reasonable expectation that he would still be alive." more.... 

Thomson Cruises is to position the mv Thomson Celebration in Turkey next summer as part of a focus on the Eastern Mediterranean. The line is also retiring smallest ship mv Calypso at the end of 2009 after a summer of cruises from Halkidiki and an seven-night farewell voyage from Limassol. 
Carnival Corporation has re-emphasised its focus on growth from Europe during the cruise conglomerate’s annual shareholder meeting in Southampton. “Clearly we are seeing our European businesses are performing stronger than our US businesses,” said vice chairman Howard Frank, who described 2009 as being a “challenging year”. more....
Royal Caribbean arranged commitments for unsecured financing worth more than $1 billion for Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship. The amount represents 80% of the contract price of the 5,400-passengers vessel which is due to enter service from Port Everglades in December.
 

Southampton
The stricken cruise ship Aurora has arrived back in Britain amid the threat of legal action from passengers. Engine trouble forced the ship to miss out three ports in New Zealand and two in the Pacific Islands on the £16,000 per passenger round-the-world trip. It meant passengers for 22 days of the 93-day trip, passengers visited just two ports. P&O Cruises said passengers will receive compensation,but the protest group - dubbed the Aurora Committee - is threatening to sue the company for compensation. more....

The number of tourists visiting Antarctica could be restricted under British plans, amid fears that the increase in cruise ships in the area threatens to cause irreparable damage to the continent's pristine environment. Cruises to the Antarctica  have quadrupled in the past decade and last year more than 46,000 people visited the land mass and surrounding oceans. British officials are seeking to establish a "strategic agreement for tourism" around the south pole. If successful, it will see treaty members introduce new measures to improve the safety of tourist trips, while also reducing the impact that visitors will have on the environment. The regulations could see limits on the number of ships and landings, restrictions on how close they come to shore, a ban on building tourist facilities and hotels on the continent, and rules on waste discharges from ships. more....

BBC News
P&O Ferries has warned staff that tough economic times and a downturn in North Sea freight is threatening its entire business. In a letter to staff, the company's chief executive has said there would need to be "considerable change on every front" to deal with the problems. Helen Deeble said "doing nothing was not an option" as the firm dealt with an "enormous task." The company runs sailings from Hull to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. Staff were braced for major changes in the company in a two-page letter which outlined a "significant decline" in profitability in its North Sea operation. Ms Deeble said in the letter: "The scale of the downturn in the North Sea could not only affect the sector itself but also the health of the entire P&O Ferries business." Staff were warned the company was facing "real challenges and that all areas of the operation would be scrutinised". The company said it had "to act decisively to create a sustainable business."

Miami
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the Miami based cruise company jointly owned by Star Cruises and Apollo Management, says it has refinanced approximately $800 million of debt that it had coming due in 2009 and 2010. In addition, its shareholders have injected a total of $100 million of new equity into the company. "This is an extremely exciting time for Norwegian Cruise Line. We've transformed the Company, improved our financial performance, negotiated new lender terms and received additional financial support from our shareholders," said ceo Kevin Sheehan.
Meanwhile NCL reportedly lost $211.8 million in 2008, although Kevin Sheehan stated "achieved record results" in 2008, in what he said was an "extremely challenging economy." 

Rotterdam
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has been awarded the contract for the extension of the cruise terminal in Nassau from the Ministry of Works and Transport of the Government of the Bahamas. The contract is worth approximately USD 44 million and the project will be completed in the first six months of 2010.
To handle the latest generation of mega-cruisers of the “Genesis” class, the Government of the Bahamas has ordered the port's cruiser terminal to be extended. Part of the extension must be completed by late 2009 in order to welcome Royal Caribbean's mega-cruise vessel “Oasis of the Seas”. more....
 

Miami/N.Y. AP
Moody's Investors Service lowered Carnival's outlook Friday, saying the cruise operator is vulnerable to increased debt levels as travel demand continues to soften. Miami-based Carnival and others in the cruise industry have been squeezed as consumers continue to curb their discretionary spending due to economic and job worries.
As a result, Carnival and rival Royal Caribbean Cruises have been forced to slash rates to fill their ships. more.....

Copenhagen
Copenhagen Malmö Port  expects a record number of cruise vessels to call in Copenhagen this summer. 332 vessels carrying abt. 620,000 passengers have been pre-booked. The first cruise vessel will arrive in Copenhagen on April 21, calls will continue until September. One of the busiest days will be on May 31, when five large cruise vessels will dock in port.

Clipper Group has made a general decision not to be part owners in ship management companies. Last year it sold its 50% ownership in Univan and has effectively 1 February 2009 sold its 50% ownership in International Shipping Partners. The shares have been sold to the management of ISP, who will again be 100% owners of ISP.  Clipper manages a large portion of its vessels in house, however does use third party managers for various segments of its fleet. Clipper is a tonnage provider in the cruise segment, in which Clipper today controls 13 vessels. Clipper will continue to use ISP for the management of its vessels within the cruise segment.