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Royal Caribbean International expects to have all ships back in service by spring

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 August 2021 04 August 2021

Royal Caribbean International, the contemporary market unit of the Royal Caribbean Group, said that its complete lineup of 26 ships would be sailing by next spring.

"We are excited and appreciative to be able to say with confidence when all of our ships will return, especially for travelers looking ahead to plan their getaways. More than 110,000 guests have cruised with us since December, and they've done so safely while enjoying the memorable vacations they trust we'll bring to life," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International.

Upcoming 2021-2022 cruises:

Oasis of the Seas – 7-night Bahamas cruises from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, starting Sept. 5; and 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami, beginning November
Liberty of the Seas – 7-night Western Caribbean cruises from Galveston, Texas, starting Oct. 3
Serenade of the Seas* – 4- and 5-night Western Caribbean cruises from Tampa, Florida, starting Oct. 16; and 7-night Caribbean itineraries, beginning December
Explorer of the Seas – 7-night Southern Caribbean sailings from San Juan, Puerto Rico, starting Nov. 7
Navigator of the Seas – 3-, 4- and 5-night Catalina Island, California, and Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico cruises from Los Angeles, beginning Nov. 19
Grandeur of the Seas – 7- and 14-night Southern Caribbean sailings from Bridgetown, Barbados, starting Dec. 5
Ovation of the Seas – 2- to 10-night domestic itineraries in Australia from Sydney, beginning Dec. 13
Brilliance of the Seas – 4- and 5-night Bahamas and Western Caribbean cruises from Tampa, starting Dec. 16
Enchantment of the Seas – 8-night Bahamas sailings, and select 12-night cruises to the Southern Caribbean from Baltimore, starting Dec. 23
Vision of the Seas – 10- and 11-night Southern Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, beginning Jan. 24, 2022
Voyager of the Seas – 7- and 9-night cruises in Northern Europe from Barcelona, Spain, starting April 15, 2022
Radiance of the Seas – 7-night Alaska sailings from Vancouver, Canada, beginning April 29, 2022
Rhapsody of the Seas – 7-night Mediterranean and Greek Isles itineraries, sailing from Rome starting May 23, 2022

MSC Meraviglia restarts cruises from the PortMiami

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 03 August 2021 03 August 2021

MSC Meraviglia yesterday became the latest MSC Cruises ship to return to welcome guests when she sailed out of PortMiami, Florida. This is a key milestone as part of the line’s global plan to have more than half of MSC Cruises fleet back at sea by the end of this summer, following the line’s initial restart in the Mediterranean in August 2020 and over the past several months the return at sea of more of its ships across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, the UK, the Red Sea and now in the Caribbean out of U.S. ports. Many tens of thousands of guests have returned to enjoy a cruise at sea on an MSC Cruises ship since last summer, under the protection of the brand’s industry-leading health and safety protocol that is now also available for cruises out of U.S. ports.

MSC Meraviglia is currently on her first 4-night cruise visiting Nassau, The Bahamas and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, where the ship will stay overnight allowing guests an extended stay to discover the Company’s new private island destination. Named the Best New Cruise Destination, offers guests more than two miles of white sand beaches in an eco-friendly 64 square mile marine reserve. Guests will enjoy the island’s natural beauty, discover local marine life and soak up the spirit of The Bahamas with ships docking at the island from early morning into the evening and in some instances overnight. Guests can spend a full day enjoying activities for all ages including stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, snorkeling, thrilling wave runner rides and more.

What’s ahead for MSC Cruises in the U.S.?

MSC Meraviglia will sail 3- and 4-night cruises beginning today and add 7-night eastern and western Caribbean cruises starting 18 September 2021. MSC Divina will become MSC Cruises’ second ship to return to cruising from the U.S., with 3-, 4- and 7-night itineraries beginning September 16 from Port Canaveral – a new homeport for the Company.

Delivered just last week as the largest cruise ship ever built in Italy, MSC Seashore – MSC Cruises’ newest flagship – will arrive to her new homeport in Miami on November 18, 2021 immediately following her inaugural season in the Mediterranean. As an evolution of the awards-winning Seaside class, the ship will bring guests closer to the sea than ever before with 140,000 sq. ft of outdoor space, the most of any MSC Cruises ship in the U.S., numerous outdoor bars and dining, pools and deck area for relaxing and sunbathing, as well as a variety of brand new spaces for guests.

VARD delivered Le Commandant Charcot to Ponant

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 02 August 2021 02 August 2021

Fincantieri’s subsidiary VARD, one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of specialized vessels, delivered Le Commandant Charcot, polar exploration vessel for the French cruise company Ponant.

The unique and state-of-the-art electric hybrid exploration vessel powered with LNG has been developed by Ponant, Stirling Design International, Aker Arctic and VARD. The vessel is specially designed to bring passengers to discover the polar world’s extreme unexplored lands such as the geographic North Pole (90 degrees North Latitude), the Weddell Sea, the Ross Sea and Peter I Island. The unit, classified as Polar Class 2, will fulfill the highest standards for environmentally friendly and safe operations. It is the first-ever electric hybrid cruise vessel with ice-breaking technology and dual fuel propulsion, featuring high-capacity batteries and LNG storage on board.

Le Commandant Charcot is about 30,000 gross tons, about 150 meters long, and 28 meters wide. The vessel accommodates 245 passengers in 123 staterooms, in addition to a crew of 235 persons.

Seacation bookings “more than double from mid-July”

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 02 August 2021 02 August 2021

British specialist cruise retailer cruise.co.uk said bookings for seacations have more than doubled since mid-July, with enquiries increasing by the same amount.

“A number of cruise lines are offering seacations this year, which are domestic sailings that travel round Britain, and can include visits to a variety of UK destinations.The seacation was already cruise.co.uk's most popular holiday prior to the spike in demand,” the company said in a statement.

The lifting of Covid-19 restrictions from 19 July also meant that cruise ships can now sail with full capacity. Prior to this, the capacity was limited to 1,000 passengers or 50% of maximum capacity, whichever was lower.

Tony Andrews, deputy managing director of cruise.co.uk, said: “Seacations have really captured the imagination of holidaymakers this year, with the option to stay in UK waters clearly proving appealing. The amazing facilities and value-for-money that cruises offer, coupled with the lack of availability on land, means we’re seeing strong demand from both a new-to-cruise audience and seasoned travellers alike.”

“The safety element is also really important. Cruise lines have gone above and beyond to ensure that guests feel reassured on and off their ships.

“The all-inclusive nature of a ship - including meals and entertainment - means they are like a floating resort with everything you need on hand to help you relax, unwind and really make the most of your time away.”

Cruises to foreign ports from England can resume as per today, while seacations will run until October.

Photo: Liverpool Pier Head

Fincantieri upbeat about cruise industry recovery after return to profit in first half

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 02 August 2021 02 August 2021

Fincantieri, the Italian company that is the world’s largest cruise ship builder, has confirmed upbeat guidance for the rest of the year and says it expects 141 cruise ships to return to service by the end of this year.

Fincantieri reported a first half net profit of €6 million compared to a loss of €133 million in the same period last year. Revenues rose to €3.29 billion from €2.37 billion.

The company confirmed its guidance foe 2021 by saying it expects revenues to rise by more than 25% and EBITDA margin at 7%, respectively, despite increasing commodity prices.

Consistently with previous plans and accordingly to the cruise deliveries schedule in the second half, the group’s net financial position as of July 31, 2021 amounts to negative €1.2 billion, taking into account receipts of €1.5 billion, following the delivery of three cruise vessels in the month

“The cruise business has been severely affected by the pandemic, however, based on the schedules released on July 13 by cruise ship operators, a significant resumption of activities is now to be expected: 141 cruise ships will be back in service by the end of July, with 50 brands already sailing worldwide,” Fincantieri said in a statement.

Some cruise operators see bookings rise above trend

“The resumption of cruise operations, along with the growing booking trend and the confidence in the main cruise companies demonstrated by the financial markets, shows yet again the sector’s resilience. Indeed, most cruise operators witnessed an increase in bookings, a trend that is not just consistent with historical ones, but for some operators is actually higher,” the company said.

Net debt will adjust, at year-end, to expected values lower than the peak registered in March and in line with 2020 year-end. Such dynamic shows once again how Net Debt is significantly affected by both production program and delivery schedule.

“Moreover, it should be noted that the potential stabilisation of commodities’ prices to higher levels than those recorded at the beginning of 2021, with potential effects on future production, as of today, is not deemed to have significant effects on the margins in the medium term,” the company said.

“The stability is assured, among other things, by the benefits of ongoing investments to make the production process even more efficient and more technologically advanced.”