(Bloomberg) -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the company building the world’s largest cruise ship, is in talks to obtain increased loan guarantees from Finland and possibly a direct government loan to help finance the vessel’s delivery. The Oasis of the Seas is scheduled to be completed by December. Miami-based Royal Caribbean, the world’s second- largest cruise operator, “is comfortable we’re going to be able to get this financing done,” investor relations chief Ian Bailey said yesterday. The government’s larger role is aimed at making the $1.24 billion project more attractive to private lenders, Bailey said in a telephone interview. Discussions with lenders over Oasis, under construction by STX Europe’s Finnish shipyards, are ahead of Royal Caribbean’s normal schedule, he said. “We’re taking every possible action to make this the strongest possible basket for the lending groups,” Bailey said. “Obviously a higher guarantee and direct participation from the government entity is going to send a strong signal and provide more reassurance.” Near-frozen credit markets have prompted Finland and other nations to boost state financing and other supports for businesses. The Oasis and $1.4 billion sister ship Allure of the Seas, due late next year, are part of about $5.4 billion of new ships on order that Royal Caribbean will have to finance, according to a regulatory filing. Finnvera, a state-owned company that provides export credits to Finnish businesses, agreed to guarantee 80 percent of Royal Caribbean’s loans to buy Oasis and Allure when the shipbuilding contracts were signed.
‘Not Routine’ ......read more >>>> Widespread discounting has helped boost UK sales, according to Carnival Cruises annual report. Carnival, Britain's largest cruise line (it includes Cunard, P&O, Princess and Holland America among its brands), claims that 85 per cent of its holidays for 2009 have already been sold, representing a increase of around 25 per cent on last year. “People still intend to cruise, and we have become more proactive to ensure that we secure their bookings,” said Mr Dingle. read >>>> President of Peter Deilmann Cruises, Ron Santangelo has hinted that the Virginia-based company will soon add a number of “five star” river cruise vessels to its fleet. Mr Santangelo said that the details of the new fleet additions were still unclear. It was not certain whether they would be newbuilds or acquisitions. He said that it would be decided at the company’s next strategic review late this year.
The company currently has six “five star: river boats and two “four star” river boats. It also has a 520-passenger vessel, ‘Deutschland’. Miami
Cruise.com was awarded Royal Caribbean's Online Agency of the Year in 2008 for generating extraordinary growth in sales and aggressively marketing products which drove bookings via the Internet. The agency's cruise specialists provide exceptional personal service, which also results in a high level of repeat and referral client business. Cruise.com was also recently named Travel Agency of the Year by Vacation.com for its enormous sales growth. Miami
With just nine months to go until Royal Caribbean is scheduled to take delivery of the world's largest cruise ship, the much-ballyhooed Oasis of the Seas, financing to pay for the $1.2 billion vessel remains in doubt, the company said Tuesday in a regulatory filing.
"Although we believe that we will be able to finance the ship, there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so or that we will be able to do so on acceptable terms," the company warned in its annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The 5,400-passenger vessel, which has been under construction in Finland for several years, is scheduled to be delivered to Royal Caribbean in November. Haifa
Israel’s Mano Cruises bought the 1977 build ms MSC RHAPSODY.
The vessel will be renamed ms Golden iris and will like her sisters, cruise on Mediterranean cruises only.Mano Cruises owns also the ms Royal Iris. The Golden Iris will transfer in late May and offer sailings from the Ports of Ashdod and Haifa. Miami
As antipcipated, Port Everglades based Imperial Majesty Cruises has sold thier old lady mv Regal Empress to Indian shipbreakers in Alang. She is due to sail from the US sometime in March. Her replacement is presently undergoing refitting in Freeport Bahamas and will sail under the name ms Bahamas Celebration. Here pictures of the Regal Empress during her life under different owners >>> Paris
The current recession may lead to bankruptcies of some cruise lines. Major companies should not face difficulties.
The situation of major operators, such as Carnival Corporation & PLC, Royal Caribbean Cruises and MSC Cruises, does not give reason to concern, but there are smaller companies in the industry that may not survive the current conditions, said Jean-Bernard Raoust, head of Barry Rogliano Salles in Paris.
If newbuilding orders will not be placed for a long time, the future of shipyards, equipment suppliers and contractors plus other businesses linked to this will start to deteriorate as well, he pointed out. London
Shocked travel agents have expressed concerns about the tie-up between Costa Cruises and Ryanair.
The three-year deal, announced yesterday, will see the Italian cruise line featured exclusively on the airline’s website and more than 5O Ryanair routes connecting to Costa departure points.
Despite assurances from Costa UK managing director Marco Rosa that the deal would not undercut existing agency partners or take bookings from the trade, agents have questioned how the deal will impact Costa’s reputation.“ Why would anybody want to be associated with Ryanair?” asked Jeremy Scott at Leisure Fare. “What does it tell first time cruisers and repeats about the quality of Costa?” Steve Wade at Capita said he was worried about the effect of Ryanair flights being cancelled or delayed. I think Ryanair's attitude to customer service is well documented,” he said. “It’s not too much of an issue if you end up getting to your hotel a couple of hours late, but its no use getting to the port a couple of hours late is it?” more >>> RYANAIR responds to Agents comments >>> Costa Cruises has signed a commercial partnership with Ryanair. The Italian company will be the only cruise line to feature on the Ryanair website. The agreement is designed to expand the reach of cruise-only deals, particularly to the Mediterranean.
Costa is offering €1OO on board credit for each cabin booked via the Ryanair website until March 16.
Costa is introducing five new ships by 2O12, three of which will enter service over the next 12 months.
The SS United States Conservancy has learned that the 1952 built United States will soon be listed for sale. "The SS United States was purchased by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in 2003, and ownership of the vessel was recently transferred to a holding company controlled by NCL's parent company, Hong Kong-based Star Cruises. In light of current economic conditions, the SS United States is now in grave danger of being sold for scrap," the Consrvancy said in a statement.In 1952, United States became the last vessel to win the Blue Riband, a title belonging to the fastest passenger vessel in relgular Trans-Atlantic service. The ship has been laid up since 1969.
"While the SS United States Conservancy has been working diligently behind the scenes to secure a future home and reuse for the ship, we have been continually hindered by the fact that the vessel remains privately owned. If we are going to succeed in saving the SS United States for future generations, we need all hands on deck. The Conservancy is launching a major public education and outreach campaign," the organisation said Dubai
Developer Nakheel said it was still committed to its plans to convert the famous QE2 into a luxury hotel development despite the impact of the global economic crisis.
The Dubai-based master developer said that the scheme was "ongoing" and that they were "investigating all options". The company's comments come after reports circulating on numerous maritime sites on the internet, suggested that the plans for QE2’s transformation into a floating hotel and tourist attraction could be sunk by the effects of the international credit crunch. more >>>
London
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, which operates five ships on the British market, suffered a net loss of NOK 181 million last year compared to a loss of NOK152 million in the previous year.
The weakening of the result followed a 40% increase in supply of berths on the UK cruise market last year, high cost of bunkers and significant one-off expenses arising from the lengthening of two ships, Balmoral and Braemar. This year the company will focus its business on developing of its product, retaining passengers and improving operational efficiency, a report by parent company Bonheur ASA says. London
a recent passenger survey carried out by the UK’s largest online supplier of cruise holidays, Cruise.co.uk, makes interesting reading, but not if you are Italian!
In a recent passenger pole the three worst performing cruise lines were Costa, NCL and MSC. The independent cruise agency encourages passengers to review their holidays upon their return and has collated the results from more than 12,000 assessments. Passengers rated their cruise under seven categories: food, entertainment, shore excursions, staff, provision for children, activities and cabins – giving each a mark out of five. Of the major cruise lines, MSC was voted the worst, achieving an average of 2.83 from a total of 241 reviews, with a lack of activities and children’s entertainment being the main complaints. Costa, meanwhile, scored an average rating of 3.25 from 300 reviews. Main passenger hate was lack of onboard activities. However, top of the pole Cunard and Royal Caribbean, each scoring 4.36 and 4.15 respectively. Hannover,Germany
TUI Cruises - a Joint Venture with Royal Caribbean International - is "still planning to have three ships by 2012," despite the global economic downturn, a spokeswoman for the line told CIN. However, the German company will be "looking at all opportunities," she said, adding that there is a possibility that the ships "may not be new." TUI previously announced two "planned" 100,000-ton, 2,500-passenger cruise ships for 2011 and 2012, respectively. In March, Celebrity Cruises’ Galaxy will transfer to the line and undergo an extensive refit at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven for the German market. The ship will launch in Hamburg on May 15, and is expected to be named before the end of this week, the spokeswoman said. No doubt about it, cruisers are cutting back spending on ships.
Nearly 1,000 readers have voted in the Cruise Log poll so far (click HERE to add your vote and see the full results), and many readers elaborated on their voting choice in the comment area below the poll -- often complaining about the rising cost of items on board ships. more >>> Miami
At issue were fuel supplements retroactively charged after consumers had booked cruises and paid deposits. The Florida Attorney General stated that Oceania and RSSC had ‘fully cooperated with the investigation.’ Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises will return a total of $3m in retroactively imposed fuel surcharges under a settlement reached with Florida’s Attorney General. STX Europe has begun consultative talks with employee representatives on layoffs for over 1000 workers and office personnel at its Turku shipyard. The company's chief union shop steward says the layoffs are the result of thin order books. more >>>
Star Clippers delays Newbuilding. Star Clippers will not be adding a new ship to its fleet next year, primarily due to world economic conditions, according to Mark Carlson, the line’s director of marketing. “At this time we can’t forecast a year for the newbuild, but we are definitely moving forward with it,” The line has already selected a shipyard to build the vessel, Carlson said, although he would not reveal the name, as “no formal agreement had been reached.” The 296-passenger, 7,400-ton ship was originally announced by the line in September 2007, and was slated to become part of the Star Clippers fleet in 2010 A sharp downturn in demand for Alaska cruises While the economic meltdown has affected cruise bookings across the globe, travel agents say bookings for Alaska have been particularly hard hit -- in part because the trips appeal to an older crowd that rely on stock market portfolios that have been devastated by the financial collapse since September. Cruise lines are slashing rates to rarely seen levels. more >>>
Gambling Cruise Ships hit choppy water says the GamingReports It appears that both land based and now even cruise ship based casinos are starting to feel the biting sting of the online gambling industry. Now, cruise corporations are trying to figure out creative ways to get passengers back on board. Florida is considering allowing ships to open up while still in port! Genoa
The Port Authorities have arrested the Fashion T.V. mv Black Diamond, after failure to comply with permits,a s well as safety issues. Prior to this, a bitter battle between Owners of the vessel and the technical ship managers have led to this situation. Given the agen of the ship, a former ferry, and the present state of the shipping industry, the future of the Black Diamond is not bright. We would not be too surpsied to see her go to breakers in India. Spanish cruise lines are branching out into other markets for their prospective passengers.
Last year, Pullmantur Cruises, the line with the largest presence in Spain, began touting U.S. passengers for its sailings (including those on the Mexican Riviera) – and most recently announced that the ts Sky Wonder, which has been renamed the ts Atlantic Star, will be marketed to Portuguese passengers.
Pullmantur has also said it will be homeporting a ship in Buenos Aires, catering to South American passengers in the near future.
In addition, Iberocruceros, will be basing a ship in Brazil next winter, offering seven-day cruises out of Rio de Janeiro, Santos, and Buenos Aires.
And ms Vision Star, which was slated to sail out of Havana for Vision Cruises, will instead be sailing for Cyprus based Golden Star Cruises in the Mediterranean. |
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