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Damen Brest to refurbish Renaissance

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

Compagnie Francaise des Crocieres, the new French cruise line, has chosen the Damen Brest shipyard in France to carry out the refurbishment and technical upgrades of their first ship, Renaissance.

The 1993 built former Maasdam of Holland America Line will be repainted and both public areas and cabins will be upgrades.

The ship will be fitted with a ballast water treatment system and the present open loop scrubber system will be replaced by closed loop technology, which will eliminate any pollution to the sea from exhaust gas cleaning.

The ship is expected to arrive at Brest on 7 October and technical tests will be carried out during the voyage from the port of Aigio via Malta that started on 28 September, the Marseille based company said in a statement.

The Damen Group has shipyards in several countries and it is headquartered in the Netherlands.

Cruise shares stage double digit percent dive after Carnival interims

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 September 2022 30 September 2022

Shares in listed cruise shipping companies staged double digit collapses after Carnival Corporation & plc, the largest cruise company in the world, had published interims for the third quarter of its financial year.

Carnival plc, the group’s UK domiciled and London listed holding unit closed at 581.50 pence, a whopping 21.25% down on the day. Carnival Corporation, the Panama domiciled and New York listed holding company, traded 20.91% lower at $7.24 at lunchtime .

TUI AG, the world’s largest tour operator that has stakes in three cruise brands and 16 ships, fell 10.1% to close at 108.15 pence. The company is headquartered in Hannover in Germany and its shares are listed in London.

Royal Caribbean Group was down 11.48% to $38.65 and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd. by 16.20% to $11.61 act lunchtime in New York.

Bookings at higher prices, abolition of Covid- protocols boosts trade at Carnival

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 September 2022 30 September 2022

Carnival Corporation & plc, the Anglo- American cruise shipping giant, said booking volumes are slightly ahead of average, but at significantly higher prices as its CEO said removal of Covid-19 protocols had boosted trading.

“Cumulative advance bookings for full year 2023 are slightly above the historical average and at considerably higher prices, as compared to 2019 sailings, normalised for future cruise credits,” Carnival said in a statement.

Josh Weinstein, CEO, said: "Since announcing the relaxation of our protocols last month, we have seen a meaningful improvement in booking volumes and are now running considerably ahead of strong 2019 levels.”

Booking volumes for all future sailings during the third quarter of 2022 saw a continuation of the accelerated booking volumes during the second quarter of 2022, closing the gap to strong 2019 levels.

“Since the announcement of the company's relaxed protocols in mid-August, aligning the company towards land-based vacation alternatives, booking volumes for all future sailings are considerably higher than strong 2019 levels.

The company's current booking trends will be compared to booking trends for 2019 sailings as it is the most recent full year of guest cruise operations, it noted.

Cumulative advance bookings for the fourth quarter of 2022 are below the historical range and at lower prices, primarily due to future cruise credits ("FCCs"), as compared to 2019 sailings.

“We expect to further capitalise on this momentum with renewed efforts to generate demand. We are focused on delivering significant revenue growth over the long-term, while taking advantage of near-term tactics to quickly capture price and bookings in the interim, "Weinstein said.

Carnival adjusted EBITDA turns positive in third quarter

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 September 2022 30 September 2022

CarnivalCorporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping company, said its adjusted EBITA turned positive for the first since the Covid-19 pandemic in three months to 31 August, the third quarter of its financial year, but in terms of net result, it remained deeply in the red.

“Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2022 was over $300 million, turning positive for the first time since the resumption of guest cruise operations and marking a significant milestone,” the company said in a statement.

Group net loss in the third quarter amounted to $770 million compared to $2.84 billion in the same period last year. Revenues soared to $4.31 billion from $546 million.

In the first nine months of the financial year, the group mad a loss of $4.49 billion compared to $6.88 billion a year earlier. Revenues increased to $8.33 billion from $621 million.

Onboard and other revenue per passenger cruise day (PCD) for the third quarter of 2022 increased significantly compared to a strong 2019. “PCDs for the third quarter of 2022 were 17.7 million, representing a 55% increase from the prior quarter.

Occupancy in the third quarter of 2022 increased 15 percentage points from the prior quarter,” Carnival said.

Available lower berth days (ALBD) for the third quarter of 2022 were 21.0 million, or 92% of total fleet capacity, increasing from 74% in the second quarter of 2022, the company said.

Former yacht of Onassis inspires Four Seasons Yacht design

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 29 September 2022 29 September 2022

Image: CGI of the new cruise yachts of Four Seasons

The exterior design of the two large cruise yachts that Four Seasons Yachts will operate seems to have been inspired by a yacht that once belonged to Aristotle Onassis (1906-75), the Greek shipping tycoon.

In 1954, Onassis acquired the frigate HMCS Stormont that had been built in Canada in 1943 and converted it into a luxury yacht that he named Christina, after her daughter.

Image: Christina O. Photo credit: yachtcharterfleet.com

Onassis owned the vessel with a length of 99 metres and a displacement of 2,550 tonnes until his death and entertained a wide range of celebrities onboard with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, formerly First Lady of the US and wife of President John F. Kennedy.

The two vessels of Toronto, Canada based Four Seasons will be significantly larger with a length of 207 metres. However, the lines of the new ships that are on order from Fincantieri bear a striking resemblance to the former yacht of Onassis, which remains in service today as Christina O.

The structure housing the funnel suite on the Four Seasons ships has been shaped to resemble the funnel of Christina O and a mast with e.g. sitcom equipment and along stern deck with swimming pools are another similarities with the famous older vessel.

“Globally renowned design partners have been engaged including Tillberg Design of Sweden as lead architect responsible for the design of exterior and guest suites, and London-based Martin Brudnizki Design Studio for the design of many of the yacht’s spectacular guest areas. These design partners will be paired with the creative direction of Prosper Assouline,” Four Seasons said in a statement.