Carnival Corp & plc expected to report EPS of $1.30 on 24 September

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 18 September 2013 18 September 2013

Carnival Corporation & plc, the Anglo-American cruise shipping group, is forecast to report earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30, when the company discloses the third quarter interims of its current financial year, information on the company’s website shows.

The highest estimate is $1.33 and the lowest $1.26. The quarter in question ended on 31 August as the company’s financial year ends on 30 November. In the corresponding period last year, the figure amounted to $1.53.

Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Howard Frank has scheduled a conference call with analysts for 10 a.m. (EDT); 3 p.m. (BST), Tuesday, 24 September to discuss the company's third quarter financial results which are expected to be released that morning.

Shares in Carnival Corp, the Panama registered,US based holding company, are traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol CCL. Those in Carnival plc, the London domiciled holding company, are traded on the London Stock Exchange also with the CCL symbol, while in New York they trade with the symbol CUK. However, this should not be confused with Carnival UK, the Southampton based unit that operates the group’s brands in the UK.

Norwegian debuts ice cream bar concept on Norwegian Breakaway

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 17 September 2013 17 September 2013

Norwegian Cruise Line announced today that a brand new Ice Cream Bar* concept debuted on board the line's newest ship, Norwegian Breakaway and will also be available on Norwegian Getaway upon her arrival to Miami in February 2014.

Guests sailing on board Norwegian Breakaway's seven-day Bermuda or Bahamas and Florida cruises from New York City or on Norwegian Getaway's seven-day Eastern Caribbean sailings from Miami, can indulge in a variety of specialty sundaes, floats, shakes and other ice cream treats during their cruise.

Located inside O'Sheehan's, the ships' 24-hour neighborhood bars, Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway's Ice Cream Bars serve up the most delectable classic ice cream parlor creations, from floats, milkshakes and malted shakes, to egg creams and a variety of spectacular ice cream sundaes.

The signature item on the Ice Cream Bar menu is the enormously delicious Breakaway or Getaway Sundae. This massive ice cream creation serves from three to four guests, includes a whopping nine scoops of ice cream in up to three different flavors and is topped with "everything but the kitchen sink," from chocolate fudge, butterscotch and raspberry sauces to chocolate shavings, sprinkles, crumbled Oreos, sliced almonds, marshmallows, gummy bears, whipped cream and cherries.

"We've recreated a classic ice cream parlor on Norwegian Breakaway adding yet another exciting innovation to our newest ship," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive officer. "The launch of the Ice Cream Bar on board has been extremely well received and we look forward to debuting it on Norwegian Getaway in February 2014. Our guests are delighted by the variety of ice cream creations - especially the runaway fan favorite, the Breakaway Sundae."

The over-the-top menu also features an assortment of mouth-watering ice cream sundae creations, including classic Hot Fudge Sundaes, Hot Caramel Sundaes and Banana Splits. The menu also features other sundae favorites such as classic Peach Melba, with peaches, vanilla ice cream, raspberry sauce and whipped cream; and Pear William, made with pears, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Royal Caribbean International signs MOU on Tokyo sailings

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 17 September 2013 17 September 2013

Royal Caribbean International has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Tokyo sailings with its ship Voyager of the Seas in 2014 and the continuation of the partnership between both parties, last Saturday September 14, 2013.  The signing ceremony took place onboard Voyager of the Seas when she called at Tokyo on that day as part of her 12-night cruise from Tianjin.    
 
The MoU states that Royal Caribbean International shall operate at the Port of Tokyo as its homeport for two or more sailings in 2014, and shall continue to use the Port of Tokyo as a homeport and port-of-call. In addition in the MoU, Royal Caribbean and the Port of Tokyo shall continue to cooperate for mutual prosperity towards the future. The MoU was signed by Dr Zinan Liu, Regional Vice President, Asia of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Mr Mitsuchika Tarao, Director General, Bureau of Port and Harbor, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
 
Voyager of the Seas’ maiden Tokyo season in 2014 will start with a 10-night sailing from Singapore on April 10 with calls at Hong Kong (overnight), Kaohsiung, Taipei (Keelung) and Nagasaki, before arriving in Tokyo on April 20. From Tokyo, the ship will then feature a 6-night round-trip South Korea and Nagoya Cruise to Jeju Island, Busan and Nagoya on April 20, a 9-night round-trip cruise to Taipei (Keelung), Kaohsiung and Hong Kong on April 26 and a 4-night Tokyo to Taipei Cruise visiting Kobe and Naha, Okinawa on May 5. Voyager of the Seas will also feature 7-night roundtrip itinerary from Taipei (Keelung) visiting Nagasaki, Beppu and Osaka departing May 9.
 
The 14 passenger-deck, 3,840-guest Voyager of the Seas is the largest ship based in Asia, at 137,276-gross registered tons, along with sister ship Mariner of the Seas.  Voyager of the Seas offers cruisers the renowned Voyager Class activities and entertainment such as the 700-seater ice-skating rink, Royal Promenade – a boulevard of shops and cafes, full-sized sports court, in-line skating track, rock-climbing wall and mini-golf course. In addition, there is a three-tier theatre, themed bars and lounges as well as a mezzanine split level nightclub.   
 
Voyager of the Seas also features the unique DreamWorks Animation entertainment programme.  Guests of all ages can interact with ‘celebrity’ characters like Shrek and Fiona of “Shrek”, Alex of “Madagascar” and Po of “Kung Fu Panda” during parades in the Royal Promenade, character breakfasts in the main dining room and photo opportunities. Also new in Asia with this ship is the Barbie Premium Experience for girls to set sail in true Barbie fashion with staterooms decorated in true Barbie fashion and exclusive, themed activities such as tiaras and teacups party and fashion show.  
 
There are numerous dining options onboard including the grand three-tier main dining room and buffet restaurant which serve a variety of international cuisine with a selection of Asian dishes. There are also specialty restaurants onboard, namely Portofino’s for Italian fine-dining and Johnny Rockets, the 50s’ style American diner. As for accommodation, the choice ranges from the luxurious Royal Suites to the unique Promenade staterooms with views overlooking the Royal Promenade.

UPDATE: Dispute over bulk carrier charter led to arrest of Henna

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 16 September 2013 16 September 2013

UPDATE:

The Chinese cruise vessel Henna has been released today Monday, Shagang Shipping said.

"As of this afternoon (Monday) funds ($2.7 million US dollars) promised by HNA Group arrived in Korea and the ship was released and sailed from Jeju in the Republic of Korea at 21:00hrs local time," the company said in a statement.

 

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The arrest of the Chinese owned cruise liner Henna in Jeju in South Korea over the weekend arose from a dispute concerning the charter of a dry bulk carrier way back in 2008, said Shagang Shipping, the Hong Kong based company that sought the arrest.

A spokesman for Shagang said in a statement that this resulted as a consequence of failure by the HNA Group that owns Henna to comply with their contractual obligations, and to settle the $58 million plus which they owe to Shagang Shipping.

“The claims arise out of a long standing dispute between Shagang Shipping, and HNA Group Company Limited. These claims arise from 2008 when Shagang Shipping chartered a Capesize bulk carrier the Dong-A-Astrea, owned by Dong-A Tankers, to a HNA Group company, Grand China Shipping Company Limited, back in 2008 for a period of about seven years,” Shagang said in the statement.

“However, Grand China Shipping only paid hire in accordance with the terms of the contract for the first five months and then stopped paying,” it added.

“At the time the charter was agreed, HNA Group Company Limited provided a guarantee to Shagang Shipping in which they promised the faithful performance of the charter, and even agreed to stand in as the charterers if Grand China Shipping did not perform.”

“Despite many demands from Shagang Shipping, the HNA Group Company Limited have refused to honor their promises.  This has meant that Shagang Shipping were not being paid $52,500 US dollars per day, whilst Grand China Shipping continued to trade the vessel at a huge expense to Shagang Shipping.”

“Over the course of about two years Shagang Shipping has won five arbitration awards for unpaid hire for more than 18 million US dollars but Grand China Shipping has still refused to honor those arbitration awards, until enforcement measures were taken against them .In the meantime the HNA Group Company Limited has simply ignored Shagang Shipping. In November 2012 Shagang Shipping were awarded damages of about $58 million dollars.”

“Due to their financial circumstances and failure to meet their debts to a number of creditors, Grand China Shipping were wound up by the Hong Kong Court in the spring of this year. Shagang Shipping are now pursuing HNA as HNA made a commitment to guarantee Grand China Shipping's performance of the charterparty.”

Shagang Shipping were completely satisfied that the arrest of the vessel in Korea had been in strict accord with Korean law. This type of arrest to obtain security for claims is common in most maritime jurisdictions including the US, UK and China, the spokesman said.