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NCLH plans $800 million exchangeable note sale

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 November 2021 16 November 2021

NCL Corporation Ltd. a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has announced that it is proposing to sell $800 million aggregate principal amount of its exchangeable senior notes due 2027 in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

NCLC intends to grant the initial purchasers of the Exchangeable Notes an option to purchase, during a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the first day on which the Exchangeable Notes are issued, up to an additional $120 million aggregate principal amount of Exchangeable Notes.

“The Exchangeable Notes will be general senior unsecured obligations of NCLC and guaranteed by NCLH. Holders may exchange all or a portion of the Exchangeable Notes at the holder’s option (i) at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding August 15, 2026, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions and during certain periods, and (ii) on or after August 15, 2026 until the close of business on the business day immediately preceding the maturity date, regardless of whether such conditions have been met<’ the company said in a statement.

Silversea takes delivery of Silver Dawn, its 10th ship

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 16 November 2021 16 November 2021

Silversea Cruises, the luxury segment unit in the Royal Caribbean Group, said it has taken delivery of Silver Dawn at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy.

The third ship in the Muse-class and the fourth ship to result from Silversea’s collaboration with Fincantieri, Silver Dawn is a sister ship to Silver Muse—built in the Fincantieri shipyard of Sestri Ponente (Genoa) in April 2017—and Silver Moon, which was delivered in Ancona in October 2020.

The 40,844 gross ton Silver Dawn accommodates 596 guests in 298 ocean-view suites – 96% of which have a private veranda – and has a crew-to-guest ratio of 1:1.45.

Silver Dawn is the 10^th ship in the fleet of the company.

Cruise ships continue to resume service at quick pace, Fincantieri says

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 12 November 2021 12 November 2021

Fincantieri, the listed Italian company that is the world’s largest cruise ship builder, estimates that up to four of five cruise ships will be in service by the end of this year, a significant increase from the levels last month.

The cruise industry continues to experience a significant resumption of activities, with 206 ships in service. This is equal to 57% of global fleet, from 65 different cruise operators, as of October.

Citing principal cruise shipping companies, Fincantieri estimated that the number of vessels in service is expected to reach 70% to 80% of their fleets by the end of the year.

“This relapse benefits from an extremely solid trend in bookings, as pointed out by all main operators, such as Carnival, which announced on its August earnings results higher booking levels for the second half 2022 compared with the same period of 2019, with no reduction on ticket prices,” Fincantieri said in a statement.

“The ongoing focus to create further efficiencies in engineering and production processes, together with the investments carried out in the last few years, allowed the Group to fully ensure the production programs, with six cruise ships delivered in the period, four of which in the sole third quarter,” Fincantieri noted.

Revenue trend in cruise ship building is boosted by the resumption of activities at full speed in the group’s Italian shipyards, with record production volumes despite the safety protocols put in place to face the spread of Covid-19.

Global Ports Holding venture preferred bidder to run Canaries ports

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 November 2021 10 November 2021

Global Ports Holding Plc (GPH), the world's largest independent cruise port operator, said that following a public tender process, the Port Authority of Las Palmas has awarded preferred bidder status to Global Ports Canary Islands S.L. ("GPCI"), an 80:20 joint venture between GPH and Sepcan S.L. to operate cruise port concessions for Las Palmas Cruise Ports in the Canary Islands in Spain.

The news came only about three weeks after GPH had won a contract to operate and develop cruise facilities in Kalundborg in Denmark, its first contract in the Baltic Sea region.

“The concessions cover the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, port of Arrecife (Lanzarote) and Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura), which have tenures of 40 years, 20 years and 20 years respectively. Following successful execution of the concession agreements, GPH, as part of GPCI, will use its global expertise and operating model to manage the cruise port operations in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura,” the company said in a statement.

Global Ports Holding (GPH), GPCI and the Port Authority of Las Palmas would now work towards agreeing on the terms of the concession agreements. The concessions are expected to commence before the end of the current financial year, although there can be no certainty as to the timing or that the final conditions will be satisfied. Las Palmas Ports (including the three islands), with about 1.5 million passengers annually, is ranked 3rd busiest ports in Spain after Barcelona and the Balearic Islands and in top 20 of Europe.

Las Palmas Ports are a key destination for Southern Atlantic itineraries with great airlift connectivity. During the pandemic in 2020 unlike other European ports that were closed to cruise traffic, the three ports in Las Palmas welcomed over 500,000 passengers with the “bubble cruises” around the islands. “There is a huge demand on winter cruising in the region due to the mild climate during this period of the year compared with other regions in Europe and the cultural and outdoor activities,” GPH said.

GPH has its headquarters in Istanbul and it is listed in London.

NCLH unveils changes in top management

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 09 November 2021 09 November 2021

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH), the world’s third largest cruise shipping company, has announced changes at the executive leadership level.

These include the appointment of Howard Sherman, current Executive Vice President, Onboard Revenue and Destination Services for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, as Bob Binder’s successor as President and Chief Executive Officer of Oceania Cruises effective January 1, 2022.

Binder will remain with the Company in an advisory role as Vice Chairman reporting to Frank Del Rio, President and Chief Executive Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

The changes also include the promotion of Ross Henderson as Sherman’s successor leading the Company’s Onboard Revenue and Destination Services functions effective January 1, 2022.

Binder is co-founder of Oceania Cruises and played a vital role the development and growth of the brand since its inception. During his tenure he has overseen virtually every facet of the brand’s global operations including Marketing, Sales, Public Relations, e-Commerce, Brand Finance, and Guest Services.

Binder led the growth of the brand with the design and development of the line’s acclaimed Marina and Riviera and spearheaded the industry leading “OceaniaNEXT” brand evolution initiative. Binder has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Oceania Cruises since September 2016 and as Vice Chairman, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises since May 2015.