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UK retailer warns of higher cruise fares, other travel costs in 2022

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 September 2021 30 September 2021

The online retailer cruise.co.uk has projected the possible price increases for both domestic and international sailings. “It comes as the UK emerges from the pandemic and demand for cruise increases, meaning cruise lines will not need to discount as much as previously,” the company said in a statement.

In addition, costs across the cruise sector could be affected - including fuel for ships, onboard food and drink, company insurance and staffing - which may in turn be reflected in fares.

And guests themselves may have to pay more while on holiday because of fluctuating exchange rates and rising insurance charges. Increasing indirect costs, such as the cost of flights to overseas cruise departure points, and taxis and transfers to ports, may further dent holidaymakers’ pockets.

In order to keep costs down, cruise lines are offering various incentives to guests, while cruise.co.uk have also published their own money saving tips.

Tony Andrews from cruise.co.uk said: “With travel continuing to open up, more and more of us are really looking forward to our next cruise. Unfortunately, would-be holidaymakers should be aware that some prices on 2022 getaways, in cruise and across all of travel, are likely to be higher. There are so many variables that could push prices up, some of which feel almost inevitable, such as food and insurance hikes, and others which may be announced at short notice, such as fuel rises.

“To help make guests’ money go further, we’re pleased to see cruise lines are offering a range of incentives right now including discounted deposits, free flights and transfers, onboard drinks packages and free cabin upgrades.

“We’re really stressing the need to book early. If you know where you want to go next year, paying a deposit now will mean you can take advantage of the current fare,” Andrews said.

Sture Myrmell to follow Simon Palethorpe as Carnival UK president

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 September 2021 28 September 2021

Sture Myrmell has been appointed president of Carnival UK to succeed Simon Palethorpe from 18 October, the company said in a statement.

Myrmell will take up his new position in Southampton has worked as president of P&O Cruises Australia and president of Carnival Australia. He will also serve temporarily as president of Cunard during the recruitment for that position. He will report directly to Josh Weinstein, chief operations officer for Carnival Corporation, who also has responsibility for Carnival UK.

“In his new role, Myrmell will lead all performance and operational aspects of Carnival UK, the UK's largest cruise operator. In addition, as interim president of Cunard, he will directly oversee Cunard’s operations and its three ships – including the world’s only operating ocean liner, Queen Mary 2,” Carnival UK said.

“Sture is a two-decade-plus veteran at our company, so we look forward to him bringing his deep experience, excellent leadership skills and proven track record of success to a new leadership opportunity," said Weinstein.

“He will play a crucial role in our success in the UK, and we look forward to his contributions as we deliver to our guests the best holiday experiences in the world and as both brands (P&O Cruises and Cunard) launch new ships, including LNG-powered Arvia for P&O Cruises in December 2022.”

Carnival UK is part of the Carnival Corporation & plc group.

Carnival sees all ships in service by spring 2022, higher operating costs

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 September 2021 26 September 2021

Carnival Corporation & plc, the largest cruise shipping company in the world, said consistent with its planned gradual resumption of guest cruise operations, the company continues to expect to have its full fleet back in operation in the spring of 2022.

“While the company will benefit from the disposal of 19 smaller, less efficient ships since the beginning of the pause in guest cruise operations, the company is forecasting its ship operating expenses, on a per ALBD basis, for 2022 to be higher than 2019,” the company said in a statement.

Total customer deposits increased $630 million to $3.1 billion as of August 31, 2021 from $2.5 billion as of May 31, 2021. For the second consecutive quarter since March 2020, the company has continued to see an increase in customer deposits.

Booking volumes for all future cruises during the third quarter of 2021 were higher than booking volumes during the first quarter of 2021, albeit not as robust as the second quarter of 2021, primarily as a result of lower booking volumes in August 2021, reflecting the impact on overall U.S. consumer confidence resulting from heightened uncertainty around the COVID-19 Delta variant.

Cumulative advanced bookings for the second half of 2022 are ahead of a very strong 2019 as of August 31, 2021. (Due to the gradual resumption in guest cruise operations, the company's current booking trends will be compared to booking trends for 2019 sailings.)

Carnival reports deep third quarter loss, cruises cash flow positive

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 September 2021 26 September 2021

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping group, has reported a deep loss for the third quarter of its financial year, but said cruises performed so far had been cash flow positive.

Group net loss deepened to $2.8 billion in the three months to 31 August from $2.1 billion in the previous three month quarter.

Voyages for the third quarter of 2021 were cash flow positive and the company expects this trend to continue.

For the cruise segments, revenue per passenger cruise day ("PCD") for the third quarter of 2021 increased compared to a strong 2019, despite the current constraints on itinerary offerings, which did not include many of the destination rich itineraries offered in 2019. The increase was driven in part by exceptionally strong onboard and other revenue. Occupancy in the third quarter of 2021 was 54%, building consistently month-to-month from 39% in June to 59% in August.

Available lower berth days ("ALBD") for the third quarter of 2021 were 3.8 million, which represents 17% of total fleet capacity. ALBDs are expected to be 10.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, which represents 47% of total fleet capacity.

The company's monthly average cash burn rate for the third quarter of 2021 was $510 million, which was better than previous guidance and in line with the $500 million monthly average cash burn rate for the first half of 2021.

Carnival Corporation & plc Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein noted, "We ended the third quarter with $7.8 billion of liquidity. We believe we have sufficient liquidity to get us back to full operations and continue to be focused on pursuing refinancing opportunities to reduce interest rates and extend maturities. To date, through our debt management efforts, we have reduced our future annual interest expense by over $250 million per year and have completed cumulative debt principal payment extensions of approximately $4.0 billion, improving our future liquidity position."

Meyer Group introduces fuel cell and battery powered megayacht design

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 September 2021 23 September 2021

Meyer Group, which entails the shipyards in Papenburg and Rostock in Germany and Turku in Finland, has unveiled a design for a 150 metre megayacht that is powered by fuel cells and batteries.

Called ONE 50, the design has an engine output of 25,000kW and it can attain a top speed of 23 knots. It has six decks and accommodation for 44 guests. The vessel has a two deck spa, cinema, infinity pol and an art gallery.

Megayachts are a new area of interest to the group and senior officials say they can be built at all its three yards.