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Carnival Spirit to return from Australia to U.S., Ecstasy and Sensation to leave the fleet

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 05 February 2022 05 February 2022

Carnival Cruise Line is notifying guests and travel advisors of changes to its fleet deployment plan, including two ships leaving the Carnival fleet, as it continues to implement its successful restart of guest operations in the U.S. and adjusts for the continued uncertainty of cruising in Australia.

Carnival had previously shared that Carnival Sensation’s restart was delayed, and that Carnival Ecstasy would move from Jacksonville, Fla. to Mobile, Ala. to operate what were previously planned as the Carnival Sensation itineraries, effective with the Mar. 5, 2022 restart. In addition, Carnival said that Carnival Spirit would go to Jacksonville to take over the Mar. 7, 2022 restart in Jacksonville, operating the previously scheduled Carnival Ecstasy itineraries.

Carnival is now announcing the following updates:

Jacksonville: As previously announced, Carnival Spirit will replace Carnival Ecstasy in Jacksonville. While that will happen for departures from Mar. 7 through Apr. 9, 2022, the next two cruises are being cancelled, and then a new ship will be assigned from the Carnival fleet to Jacksonville for the Ecstasy itineraries, effective Apr. 23, 2022. That announcement will be made shortly.

Mobile: Carnival Ecstasy will reposition to Mobile for departures from Mar. 5 through Oct. 10, 2022. Cruises from Mobile that were planned for Carnival Sensation from Oct. 15, 2022 through Sep. 30, 2023 have been cancelled. At a later date, Carnival will be announcing a new operating plan for Mobile cruises.

Australia: Carnival is cancelling planned operations of Carnival Splendor from Jun. 10, 2022 through Sep. 26, 2022, and of Carnival Spirit from Jun. 5, 2022 to Oct. 5, 2023. Details for a two-ship return to Australia will be announced when they are confirmed.

As part of this deployment plan, Carnival Sensation will not restart guest operations and Carnival Ecstasy’s last cruise in guest operations will be the Oct. 10, 2022 departure from Mobile and both ships will leave the Carnival fleet.

“Our guests have remained passionate and supportive throughout the restart and 2022 gives us plenty of reasons for enthusiasm and excitement as we reach full operations in the U.S., prepare for our 50th birthday celebration, and await the arrival of Carnival Celebration this fall,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Our very loyal guests, our vibrant homeport strategy and our fleet of popular ships are strengths to our advantage as we adapt to changing opportunities and circumstances.”

Ambassador plans third ship, Carnival to axe two - report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 February 2022 04 February 2022

Ambassador Cruise Line, the new UK based company that unveiled the acquisition of its second ship last week, is said to be planning to introduce a third ship, while Carnival Cruise Line are planning to axe two Fantasy class ships, Travel Weekly reports on its website.

“We’ve got ambitions to grow the fleet when the opportunity arises and when we have capability to sell the ships to the guests. We see demand for this project as being very strong. The next addition is for sure on the horizon and one we’re looking at,” Ambassador Cruise Line CEO Christian Verhounig was quoted by Travel Weekly as saying.

The company has bought the 1999 built AIDAmira that it plans to introduce next year as Ambition, while Ambiance, its first ship, is due to commence operations in the spring.

Meanwhile, the 1991 built Carnival Ecstasy will leave the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in October, while Carnival Sensation that is two years younger would not be reactivated from lay up,Travel Weekly reported.

The two are members of the eight strong, 70,000 gross ton Fantasy class of ships that were built in Finland between 1990 and 1998.

Omicron hit Royal Caribbean Group first half outlook, second half brighter

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 February 2022 04 February 2022

Disruptions from the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus intensified during the holiday season and in early January, with the spread of the variant, and impacted the company's cancellations and bookings for near-term sailings, Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement.

“Load factors for sailings in the first half of 2022 are expected to remain below historical levels, consistent with the company's return to service schedule, which includes the impact from Omicron. Load factors for sailings in the second half of 2022 continue to be booked within historical ranges, at higher prices with and without FCCs. (Future cruise credits),” the company said.

However, bookings have since recovered to pre-Omicron levels at the same time as the pace of cancellations is slowing down.

Two new ships, Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Beyond.are scheduled to enter service this year. “These new ships add to the six new ships that joined the fleet over the last 20 months and are expected to be important contributors to yield growth and profitability,” Royal Caribbean Group said..

As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately $3.2 billion in customer deposits. This represents an improvement of about $400 million over the previous quarter despite the significant quarter-over-quarter increase in revenue recognition and near-term cancellations due to Omicron, both of which reduce the customer deposits balance.

The customer deposit balance at year-end for Q2 2022 forward sailings was higher than the balance held at the end of 2019 for Q2 2022 forward sailings. Approximately 32% of the customer deposit balance is related to FCCs compared to 35% in the prior quarter, a positive trend indicating new demand, the company said.

Royal Caribbean Group reports deep 2021 loss

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 February 2022 04 February 2022

Royal Caribbean Group, the world’s second largest cruise shipping company, has reported a deep loss for both the final quarter and full year 2021 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Net loss amounted to $1.36 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, little changed year on, while revenues increased to $982.4 million from a mere $34.1 million.

For the full year 2021, the Miami based company reported a loss of $5.26 billion compared to a $5.78 billion loss in 2020. Revenues decreased to $1.53 billion from $2.21 billion.

"2021 marked the beginning of our return to our mission of delivering the very best vacation experiences," said Jason Liberty, president and chief executive officer of the Royal Caribbean Group in a statement. "During 2021, we made significant progress toward our recovery with over 85% of our capacity returning to operations and delivering safe and memorable experiences to approximately 1.3 million guests at record guest satisfaction scores. Our team has worked tirelessly to execute our successful and healthy return, and we are grateful for their extraordinary efforts.”

In the fourth quarter, 12 additional ships returned to service. The company is thoughtfully ramping up the fleet and load factors while emphasising industry-leading health and safety standards, world-class guest experiences and financial prudence.

Ships that operated the Group's core winter itineraries in the fourth quarter achieved a load factor of 65%. Core itineraries exclude sailings during the early ramp-up period of up to four weeks and exclude new itineraries implemented during the COVID period. 

Fourth quarter total load factor was 59%. Total revenue per Passenger Cruise Day in the fourth quarter was up 10% versus record 2019 levels driven by strong onboard revenue performance. Despite the impact from Omicron, total cash flow from ships in operation turned positive in the fourth quarter, the company said.

MSC Cruises publish Winter 2022/23 programme of 21 ship fleet

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 February 2022 03 February 2022

MSC Cruises have published the details of the Winter 2022/2023 programme with a choice of 21 ships sailing to more than 190 destinations in 85 different countries. “With cruises ranging from mini-cruises through to the 118 night world cruise, ships will explore the Middle East, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Northern Europe, South America and South Africa - there really is a ship and itinerary for everyone looking for the perfect winter cruise holiday,” the company said in a statement.

MSC Cruises will launch two new ships for the upcoming winter season, with the first being MSC World Europa, the indoor promenade of which is shown in CGI above. It will be based in Doha for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and then following this the new ship will offer cruises calling Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas (United Arab Emirates) Doha (Qatar) and Dammam (Saudi Arabia) starting with a mini-cruise on 20 December before resuming a regular schedule of 7-night cruises.

MSC Seascape will become the second new ship to launch next winter and the line’s second innovative Seaside EVO class ship will offer two different 7-night itineraries from PortMiami (U.S) starting from 11 December. This will further enrich MSC Cruises’ already strong offering in the Caribbean.

The cruise line, which was the first to restart operations sailing from Southampton in the wake of the pandemic last May confirms that MSC Preziosa will sail from the UK from October 2022. This news follows the announcement earlier this week that MSC Virtuosa will extend her EX-UK season which means MSC will have two ships sailing from the port throughout October 2022.

MSC Preziosa will arrive in Southampton on the 3^rd October performing Northern European cruises visiting destinations including Amsterdam, Bruges and Le Havre for Paris and will sail from the port until April 2023. MSC Virtuosa will arrive in the port from 29^th April beginning the summer season with a mini-cruise to Guernsey with the last sailing to the Mediterranean departing 4^th November.

Middle East highlights for winter 2022-2023

MSC Cruises continues to strengthen and enrich the offering in the Middle East with three ships offering the chance to discover the rich culture and tradition of this region along with making the most of the beautiful beaches and waters.

MSC World Europa will offer 7-night sailings from Dubai including Abu Dhabi and the beautiful island Sir Bani Yas (United Arab Emirates), Dammam/Al Ahsa Oasis (Saudi Arabia), Doha (Qatar).
MSC Opera will also sail from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and Sir Bani Yas as well as Muscat and Khasab (Oman).
MSC Splendida will homeport in Jeddah Saudi Arabia calling at Yanbu and Al Wajh also in the Kingdom and then Aqaba in Jordan for Petra and Safaga in Egypt for Luxor. Sales for MSC Splendida will open in the coming days.

Caribbean and Antilles highlights for winter 2022-2023

MSC Seascape will commence her inaugural season from December 11, 2022 out of PortMiami (U.S) on Sundays. She will offer 7-night itineraries calling at the eastern Caribbean calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and Nassau in The Bahamas, San Juan in Puerto Rico, and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic and the Western Caribbean also calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel in Mexico, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios in Jamaica
MSC Meraviglia: sailing from the newly established MSC Cruises homeport Port Canaveral/Orlando (U.S), will offer cruises between three and seven nights to the Caribbean with destinations including Nassau and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve (Bahamas), Costa Maya and Cozumel (Mexico) and Belize City (Belize).
MSC Divina: based out of PortMiami (U.S), each cruise will call at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and the ship will offer a range of 3 to 10-night exciting itineraries, with visits to Belize City (Belize), Isla de Roatan (Honduras), Costa Maya (Mexico), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Cartagena (Colombia), Colon (Panama), Puerto Limon (Costa Rica).
MSC Seaside: h 7-night cruises from Fort de France (Martinique), Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe) and Philipsburg (St Maarten) with two different itineraries that include calls to destinations such asCastries (Saint Lucia), Bridgetown (Barbados), Saint George (Grenada), or St John’s (Antigua and Barbuda), Basseterre (St Kitts and Nevis) and Roseau (Dominica)

Mediterranean highlights for winter 2022-2023

This winter, MSC Cruises will offer a rich and diverse choice in the Mediterranean Sea, with three ships sailing in this iconic cruise region, including two of the Company’s most innovative ships – MSC Grandiosa and MSC Virtuosa giving guests not only the chance to discover everything that the Mediterranean has to offer but also a memorable experience on board.

MSC Grandiosa will offer 7-night cruises from Genoa, Civitavecchia and Palermo (Italy), Valetta (Malta), Barcelona (Spain) and Marseille (France).
MSC Virtuosa will sail from Genoa, La Spezia/Florence and Naples (Italy), Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona (Spain) and Marseille (France). Sales for MSC Virtuosa will open in the coming days.
MSC Lirica will offer longer cruises for voyages of discovery of 11 nights from Genoa, Civitavecchia, Messina (Italy), Lindos/Rhodes (Greece), Limassol (Cyprus), Haifa (Israel), Heraklion/Crete (Greece), all from Genoa (Italy) or 10-nights from Genoa that calls Marseille (France), Barcelona (Spain), Tangier and Casablanca/Marrakech (Morocco), Ceuta, Malaga and Alicante/Costa Blanca (Spain)

Northern Europe highlights for winter 2022-2023

MSC Preziosa will offer the new 7-night winter itinerary introduced this season visiting five of Europe’s most popular cities - Hamburg (Germany), Zeebrugge for Bruges and Brussels (Belgium), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Le Havre for Paris (France) Southampton for London (UK). Sales for MSC Preziosa will open in the coming days.

South America highlights for winter 2022-2023

Guests can choose from five ships sailing in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, all hand-picked and vibrant destinations right in the heart of the South American region.

MSC Seashore: will offer her brand-new 7-night itinerary from Santos visiting Maceio, Salvador and Buzios (Brazil) with local guests having the possibility to embark in Salvador (Brazil).
MSC Seaview will homeport for the first time in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) from December to March. She will offer 3 to 8-night cruises with different itineraries ranging from breath taking views and islands, such as Buzios, Ilhabela, Ilha Grande/Angra dos Reis, Ilheus, Salvador (all in Brazil) to Uruguay and Argentina.
MSC Fantasia: homeporting from Santos (Brazil), will offer a range 3 to 7-night cruises with calls including Ilha Grande, Buzios and Ilha Grande/Angra dos Reis (Brazil), Montevideo (Uruguay), as well as, Punta Del Este (Uruguay) and Buenos Aires (Argentina).
MSC Armonia: will focus on Southern Brazil homeporting from Itajai/Santa Caterina and will bring guests on a 7-night journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Ilhabela (Brazil).
MSC Musica: will homeport from Buenos Aires (Argentina) and offer a range of memorable destinations in Brazil with Ilhabela, Rio de Janeiro / Copacabana, Buzios, Ilha Grande/Angra dos Reis.

South Africa highlights for winter 2022-2023

Two ships will operate in South Africa offering a complete getaway to enjoy brilliant beaches and striking landscapes.

MSC Sinfonia: starting December 2022, will homeport in Cape Town (South Africa) sailing the west coast to Mossel Bay (South Africa), Walvis Bay and Luderitz (Namibia).
MSC Orchestra: will based in Durban (South Africa) and will then perform calls including Pomene and Portuguese Island/Inhaca Archipelago (Mozambique), Walvis Bay (Namibia) and Cape Town (South Africa).

MSC World Cruise for winter 2022-2023

MSC Magnifica and MSC Poesia will both perform the MSC World Cruise 2023. The two ships in an industry first will host over 5,000 guests for a round journey around the world and they will both depart from Civitavecchia and Genoa (Italy), respectively on 4 and 5 January, Marseille (France) one day later and Barcelona (Spain) on 7 January.