More News

RCCL and lenders agree financing for two Icon ships

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 October 2017 18 October 2017

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL), the world’s second largest cruise shipping group, said it has entered into credit agreements for the financing of the first and second “Project Icon” ships for Royal Caribbean International, which are scheduled for delivery in the second quarters of 2022 and 2024, respectively.

“Each agreement makes available to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. an unsecured US dollar-denominated term loan, the substantial majority of which is to be guaranteed 100% by Finnvera plc (“Finnvera”), the official export credit agency of Finland. Euler Hermes (“Hermes”), the official German export credit agency, has also agreed to provide a 95% guarantee of a smaller portion of the financing,” the company said in a statement.

The ceiling for the cost of Icon 1 vessel was put at €1.65 billion.

The maximum amount of each facility is equal to the US dollar equivalent of 80% of the vessel purchase price plus 100% of the guarantee premiums payable to Finnvera and Hermes.

Each loan, once funded, will amortise semi-annually and will mature 12 years following the delivery of the applicable ship. Approximately 75% of each loan will accrue interest at a fixed rate of 3.56%, in the case of the first Project Icon vessel, and 3.76%, in the case of the second Project Icon vessel.

The balance of each loan will accrue interest at a floating rate ranging from LIBOR plus 1.10% to LIBOR plus 1.15%, in the case of the first Project Icon vessel, and from LIBOR plus 1.15% to LIBOR plus 1.20%, in the case of the second Project Icon vessel.

RCCL also has entered into an agreement to amend and restate its current $1.15 billion unsecured revolving credit facility. The amendment extends the termination date until October 2022.

“Under the amended facility, advances currently bear interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 1.175%. In addition, we are subject to a facility fee currently equal to 0.20% per annum of the total commitments. Under the amended facility, we have the ability to increase the capacity of the facility by an additional $500 million from time to time subject to the receipt of additional or increased lender commitments,” RCCL said.

Celebrity Edge to Europe 2019, UK base for later unit on the cards – report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 18 October 2017 18 October 2017

Celebrity Cruises, the premium market unit in the Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL) group, will base Celebrity Edge, the lead ships of the new Edge class, in Europe for the summer of 2019 and one of the later ships of the projected five strong series to Southampton in the UK, Travel Weekly reports,

Celebrity Edge, which will be introduced in October 2018 and spend its first season in the Caribbean, will be showcased to the UK travel trade from 13-15 May in Southampton before setting off on a 10-night Iberian Peninsular cruise to Rome.

From there, it will offer seven, nine, 10 or 11-night sailings from Rome and Barcelona. Customers wanting to sail for 14 nights can book the two full cruises back-to-back and will call at only one repeat port during the fortnight, the report said.

Regarding the prospect of an Edge class ships being based in the UK, Lutoff-Perlo was quoted as saying: “It’s in your hands. Sell the hell out of Celebrity Edge and you will leave me no choice but to bring a future one to Southampton.” She referred to travel agents in her audience

Jo Rzymowska, vice-president and managing director, UK & Ireland and Asia, was quoted assaying: “The fact that our president and chief executive is coming to London to make the announcement about Edge’s European deployment speaks volumes for how she views the UK cruise market. It’s hugely important to Celebrity Cruises.”

Celebrity Silhouette is due to replace Celebrity Eclipse in the UK next year. Both ships are units of the Solstice class.

Celebrity Cruises to offer legal same-sex marriages onboard

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 October 2017 16 October 2017

Celebrity Cruises anounced last week that same-sex marriages performed onboard are now legally recognized, marking a historic first for the cruise line.

The motion follows a transformative vote in Malta, where a majority of the Celebrity fleet is registered, which passed the country’s parliament 66-1. The long-awaited referendum opens the door for Celebrity to legally recognize same-sex marriages performed onboard, and have the fleet’s captains officiate the ceremonies.

"Celebrity Cruises has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community, and I cannot think of a more important time in our history than right now to do all we can to support inclusion. I am absolutely thrilled to announce that starting today, we welcome same-sex couples to marry on our ships while in international waters," said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. "This is one for the history books!"

“Celebrity Weddings has already hosted many same-sex weddings in the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean, where legal,” said Barbara Whitehall, Managing Director, The Wedding Experience. “We are ecstatic that this new Malta ruling opens up marriage equality for anyone and everyone sailing with Celebrity Cruises while in international waters.”

The Celebrity Weddings program offers onboard ceremonies and destination weddings for lovebirds. The Nautical Nuptials at Sea package includes a Captain-led ceremony, an event coordinator's services, live music, one hour of photography, cake for two, bottle of Champagne, a bouquet and boutonniere, plus additional romantic turndown amenities post-ceremony.

SkySea Cruise Line celebrates 200th cruise, first voyage from Zhoushan

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 October 2017 12 October 2017

SkySea Cruise Line, the first smart contemporary cruise line specifically created for the Chinese market, today kicked-off its 200th cruise celebration with the brand’s inaugural cruise from its new seasonal homeport of Zhoushan. The 4-night cruise on the brand's flagship vessel, SkySea Golden Era, will provide its close to 2,000 guests with a number of exclusive celebrations and gifts including a 200th cruise commemorative t-shirt for every guest, a specially themed pool deck party featuring a cocktail tower with a complimentary 200th cruise specialty cocktail, embarkation day 200th cruise Chef created desserts served in the Lido Buffet, additional Lucky Draw prizes throughout the cruise thanks to Phiskin Spa.

During its 200th cruise, the company will have provided cruise vacations to 340,000 guests since its inception in May, 2015. In honor of this proud achievement, the company will surprise its 340,000th cruiser with a free cruise on a 2018 sailing from any of SkySea’s multiple homeports including but not limited to Shanghai, Keelung, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Zhoushan.

MSC Cruises deploys industry-first man overboard detection technology

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 October 2017 11 October 2017

MSC Cruises has launched a new vanguard video surveillance system offering even greater on-board security. In another industry first, MSC Cruises has developed this highly-sophisticated advanced system in collaboration with global leaders in security technology, Bosch and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

The integrated system is part of a bigger MSC Cruises operation to further optimize security monitoring on board and will allow, among other features, for the speediest intervention in the unlikely event a person or object falls overboard. After a successful pilot phase of extensive stress-testing and continuous software upgrades, the intelligent video capturing and analysis system is now operational – initially on MSC Cruises’ latest flagship, MSC Meraviglia.

“The security and safety of our guests and crew on board has always been our highest priority. Therefore – as innovation has been from day one central to the way in which we operate and develop new features for our ships – we have developed a highly-innovative solution that, through the use of military-grade technology, will allow ship command to take immediate action if needed,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises. “While a ship at sea is a challenging environment for accurate video security monitoring and operating high-tech equipment, our teams have managed to successfully develop a system that is at the same time accurate, stable and reliable.”

The new MSC Cruises system consists of a comprehensive shield of intelligent optical and thermal video cameras which provide nonstop comprehensive surveillance alongside the relevant exterior parts of the ship. All captured video images are streamed in real time to a Central Security Room where the video stream is monitored together with all other inputs from the 1,200 HD CCTV cameras on board the ship.

MSC Cruises’ Security Department and experts from Bosch and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have worked more than 14 months to meet demanding security requirements and create the right surveillance setup. While a key component in the surveillance infrastructure is to install highly resilient hardware (cameras, casing, and bases) that resists tough conditions at sea, a significant part of the process is to program the software in such a way it provides reliable and accurate data. In order to further increase the accuracy of the captured video images, they are processed and analyzed by two separate and independent image processing systems.

This double security system has allowed to significantly lower the error margin for false alerts – typically caused by natural movements such as waves, reflection of sun or moon, or a bird triggering the alarm. These ordinary interferences usually pose significant challenges for current shipboard CCTV technology. Through over 25,000 hours of video analysis, extensive software testing and continuous algorithmic updates, the system has now reached a confirmed accuracy level of 97%.

In case of alarm, an acoustic signal and light will alert the ship’s Security Officer in the Central Security Room who can immediately connect to the system and acquire all images and data and, if necessary, retrieve or review the relevant video images. With direct access to the ship command at the Bridge, the Security Officer can drive immediate action if necessary.

This new man overboard detection system was developed to further optimize security aspects for all guests and crew on board the ship. As MSC Cruises continues to bring to the sea some of the very latest advances in customer-centric technology as well as investments in innovative, state-of-the-art maritime technology, safety and security are central to the Company’s strategy.

The system is now operational on MSC Meraviglia and is the first of its kind in the industry. Over time, similar integrated systems will be developed and deployed across MSC Cruises’ global fleet.