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Royal Caribbean to offer cruises from Barbados winter 2021-22

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 14 January 2021 14 January 2021

Royal Caribbean International will for the first time call Barbados "home" next winter, offering travelers fresh ways to experience the southern Caribbean on Grandeur of the Seas, the company said in a statement.

Three distinct seven and 14-night itineraries will each feature a unique lineup of bucket-list destinations – including three new ports of call in the islands of Tobago, Trinidad and St. Vincent. Showcasing the natural beauty and cultures of the region, weeklong sailings will island hop to a different destination every day or offer late-night stays in the famed ABC islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

"Grandeur's longer escapes will tout an overnight stay in Aruba coupled with visits to Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, among others," the company said. The itineraries depart on Sundays and ports of call for each are as follows:

The first seven night itinerary is called Southern Caribbean Island Hop, departing Bridgetown, Barbados (new) and visiting Scarborough, Tobago (new); Port of Spain, Trinidad (new); St. George's, Grenada; Kingstown, St. Vincent (new); Roseau, Dominica; and Castries, St. Lucia.

The seven night Southern Caribbean Adventure, departing Bridgetown, Barbados (new) and visiting St. George's, Grenada; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; and Port of Spain, Trinidad (new).

The 14-night Ultimate Caribbean itinerary, eparting Bridgetown, Barbados (new) and visiting St. George's, Grenada; Kingstown, St. Vincent (new); Kralendijk, Bonaire; Oranjestad, Aruba (overnight); Willemstad, Curacao; Port of Spain, Trinidad (new); Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.

Cruise passenger numbers seen to stage strong 2021 leap but remain way behind 2019

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 January 2021 13 January 2021

The number of people taking a cruise worldwide this year is likely to stage a strong rebound from 2020, but even this would leave the 2021 levels more than 50% below the figure reached before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, a leading research and forecasting consultancy Maritime Strategies International (MSI) said in a report.

“This year, we expect cruise passenger levels to increase to 11.9 million, an increase of 59% year-on-year, but still substantially below the 29.6 million cruise passengers recorded in 2019. The recovery is likely to be relatively slow and cautious, weighted towards the second half of the year with mature markets leading the recovery,” MSI analyst Niklas Carlen said in the report that the London based company published today.

MSI’s analysis shows that just 7.5 million passengers embarked on a cruise in 2020, a correction of 75% compared to 2019 levels. “The severity of the collapse compared to overall tourism spending reflects the fact that, whereas air travel was at least partially restored during the summer months, cruise has remained in almost total lockdown with a handful of exceptions,” it said.

Looking ahead, confidence in the safety of cruise shipping and the economic impact of Coronavirus on potential demand will challenge the industry’s attempts at a full 2021 recovery, In its latest biannual report, MSI that even with leading industry players keen to publicise advance ticket sales and enquiries as evidence of pent-up demand and with vaccines becoming available, it will take some time to rebuild confidence in the sector despite enhanced safety protocols and fewer passengers onboard.

Of greater concern, however, is the impact of COVID-19 on discretionary consumer spending. Cruising holidays have become more accessible to broader age and income groups over the last decade, but the economic impact of COVID-19 is expected to have the greatest bearing on lower income households with lower levels of education.

“According to a 2018 survey, US cruisers with an annual income of less than $100,000 per annum accounted for approximately half of all passengers and this population group is likely to see higher levels of unemployment and greater retrenchment in the near term,” said MSI Analyst Niklas Carlen in a statement.

In modelling the outlook for the sector, MSI constructed Low and High Case scenarios based on different timings in terms of vaccine availability and the resumption of cruising. While its fourth quarter Base Case projection is conservative, it acknowledges that there may be some upside to the forecast particularly if the levels of pent-up demand claimed by the industry hold true. Conversely, the ongoing ‘second wave’ and concerns over new COVID-19 mutations could prolong the misery for the cruise sector by delaying any significant restart.

Events at the end of 2020 and the start of 2021 are likely to increase economic pressure within advanced economies. “Thereafter we retain our belief that economic recovery in 2021 will be strong, although economies are highly unlikely to make up all the ground lost during the crisis until sometime in 2022, especially where labour markets are concerned,” Carlen added. “However, the pace at which they make up this ground once vaccine roll-out accelerates will be brisk.”

Several lines announce more cruise cancellations

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 January 2021 13 January 2021

A number of cruise lines unveil further cancellations of sailings due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Royal Caribbean International has announced it will cancel all of its cruises scheduled in March and April 2021, except for Quantum of the Seas’ sailings from Singapore, which resumed in December 2020. In China sailings on Spectrum of the Seas 16 to 28 February are cancelled.

Celebrity Cruises suspension includes the May 1 Celebrity Apex transatlantic sailing and Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Constellation’s Europe sailings departing May through October 2021. May through Oct. 2021 Europe and transatlantic cruises on Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Constellation will also be cancelled.

Silversea Cruises will suspend sailings through 1 April, while Azamara Cruises will suspend sailings through 30 April. All four are parts of the Royal Caribbean Group.

In the UK, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines said the first sailing of Borealis thati s one of the two ships acquired from Holland America Line in the autumn, will now sail on the seven-night ‘Sailing Around Iconic Ireland’ cruise from Liverpool on 22 May. Borealis was initially due to set sail on 23 April. It remains the first ship of the line to resume sailing, even after the delayed first cruise.

Swan Hellenic adds Fort Lauderdale to office network

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

Swan Hellenic, the Cyprus based expedition cruise line, said it has opened its North America office based in Fort Lauderdale to offer service to customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including through a dedicated call centre.

“Headquartered in Cyprus with offices in London, Dusseldorf and Monaco, together with a branch office in Hong Kong (serving mainland China, Taiwan and South-East Asia), as well as partnerships serving India, Japan and Australia-New Zealand, Swan Hellenic’s new North America office takes the cultural expedition cruise leader impressively close to offering global direct customer support less than year after it relaunched,” the company said in a statement

The North America team of cruise industry veterans is headed by GM Tom Russell, previously President of Cruise & Travel Executives, COO of Global Voyages Group and COO & Managing Director North America of Silversea.

Mitchell Schlesinger has been appointed Sales Director North America. He has previous extensive experience leading the sales activities of Norwegian Cruise Line, Orient Line and Voyages to Antiquity.

Andrea Corman has been appointed Customer Relations Director. He has guest-service experience with Voyages to Antiquity, Uniworld River Cruises and Oceania Cruises and Nick Giersdorf as Marketing & Digital Director. He is ex-Chief Marketing Technology Officer at Global Voyages Group

“With such a high-calibre team dedicated to its North America customers, it’s clear that Swan Hellenic is totally confident and committed to bringing its unique cultural expedition cruises and renowned personal service to adventurous-minded and creative explorers around the world,” the company said.

Photo: Swan Hellenic willl operate three new buildings on order at Helsinki Shipyard in Finland.

Carnival has funds to sail through 2021 without revenue

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

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping group, said it has adequate funds in place to survive through 2021 even without revenues, while long term cumulative bookings are encouraging.

Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein in a statement: "We ended the year with $9.5 billion in cash and have the liquidity in place to sustain ourselves throughout 2021, even in a zero-revenue environment. While we raised capital mainly through debt this year, in the last few months we opportunistically strengthened our capital structure by raising $2.5 billion through at-the-market equity offering programs and by the early conversion of $1.5 billion of convertible debt.”

President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald noted: "The booking trends that we have consistently experienced throughout this period affirm the strong fundamental demand for our brands which will facilitate our staggered resumption and support the long-term growth of our company."

"At December 20, 2020, cumulative advanced bookings for the second half of 2021 are within the historical range. Additionally, the cumulative advanced bookings for the first half of 2022 are ahead of 2019. Due to the pause in guest cruise operations in 2020, the company's future booking trends will be compared to 2019," the company said.

It believes the continued build in cumulative advanced bookings for this 12 month period ending May 2022 demonstrates the long-term demand for cruising. The company highlights this level of bookings was achieved with minimal advertising and marketing.

As of November 30, approximately 45 % of guests affected by the company's schedule changes have received enhanced future cruise credits (FCCs) and approximately 55% have requested refunds. There was no change compared to the end of the previous quarter.

Total customer deposits balance at November 30 was $2.2 billion, the majority of which are FCCs, compared to the total customer deposits balance of $2.4 billion at August 31. The decline in customer deposits is less than previous expectations.

At the end of November, the current portion of customer deposits was $1.9 billion with minimal bookings relating to first quarter of 2021 sailings. Approximately 60 % of bookings taken during the quarter ended November 30 for fiscal year 2021 were new bookings as opposed to FCCs re-bookings, despite minimal advertising or marketing, Carnival said.