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New P&O Cruises’ ship: 25% more berths, 35% lower fuel consumption

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 April 2013 23 April 2013

The 143,000 gross ton newbuilding P&O Cruises has on order in Italy will be 35% more fuel efficient and have 25% more berths than the latest existing ships in the fleet of the Carnival Corp & plc’s UK based contemporary brand, a reflection of much better profitability of such modern ships, a senior Carnival group official said.

“And to give you an example of how this works, this is a P&O ship that we are currently building. The fuel consumption on that ship is 35% more efficient that on the existing fleet, which is a huge cost benefit for us, operating cost, because of the size of the ship is lower, because it's a metric cost that we're kind of per passenger, per bed day cost, it's much lower, that drives down, further drives down cost,” said Howard S. Frank, Vice Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and Member of Executive Committee of the world’s largest cruise shipping group.

The yet unnamed vessel, which will enter service in March 2015, will be based on the same design platform as Royal Princess and Regal Princess of sister company Princess Cruises.

“Twenty-five percent more berths, which I mentioned, more balcony cabins, a richer mix of ships of -- richer mix of these ships that I referred to which get better prices from customers. And the returns on these ships are in the middle teens and we think that's actually conservative,” he continued.

“Well, the reality is that new ships give us much better returns on investment than our existing fleet does today and this is the reason why. So this is the new ships we have scheduled to come into our business between 2013, we have the Royal Princess scheduled at the end of May to be introduced here in Southampton and then '14, '15 and '16,” he told the shareholders’ meeting of the two Carnival holding companies in London last week.

“Why is that important? Well, bigger ships give us better returns. The newer ships have much better technologies, so that they use much less fuel per passenger, per bed, and they have a richer mix of cabins, if you will, than on the existing fleets. So they drive more revenue and that's the reason why. So the average return on these new ships will be far higher than the existing returns we have on the rest of the fleet, which will help, again, to increase our ROI (return on investment),” Frank concluded.

Carnival close to treble simulator training of officers by 2016

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 April 2013 23 April 2013

Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise shipping group, plans to simulator train 7,000 officers in 2016, almost three times as many as last year, a senior company executive said.

“We have established in a programme now to build a Carnival Corporation global training centre in Almere, at least I think it's going to be in Almere. We've selected a site for doing it. We're going to build our own facility and it's scheduled for completion in 2016. We need to ramp up the training as the fleet gets larger, we add more ships to the fleet, as I'll mention later,” said Howard S. Frank, said Vice Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and Member of Executive Committee of the world’s largest cruise shipping group.

“We'll have many, many more officers and crew to train. So we'll move from 2,700 officers being trained this year to up to 7,000 officers in this facility by 2016. So we are very serious about the training of our officers, both deck and engine officers. And we'll have five bridge stimulators and four engine room simulators. And then it will also use that as a educational and training facility for shoreside and shipboard staff throughout the corporation and we will expand it as we grow this. But it's a very large footprint that we've outlined and it's going to be a world-class center of excellence for operating of cruise ships,” he said at the shareholders’ meeting of the company in London last week.

Holland America Line commemorates its 140th anniversary

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 April 2013 23 April 2013

In celebration of its 140th anniversary, an official christening of the new Holland America Line Signature tulip took place in the Netherlands on Friday, April 19 at the world-famous Keukenhof Gardens. President and CEO of Holland America Line Stein Kruse participated in the ceremony along with the President of the Board of Directors of Keukenhof Walter Jansen and Master Grower Jan Pennings.

A white-petal variety with delicate fringed petals was chosen to honor the company that was founded at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, April 18, 1873, as a trans-Atlantic cargo and passenger shipping company. Today the company's fleet of 15 premium cruise ships sails more than 500 cruises on all seven continents.

"Holland America Line has a deep connection to the Netherlands, and to have a tulip named especially for our company is a true honor," said Stein Kruse, president and CEO of Holland America Line. "I can't imagine a more appropriate way to celebrate our 140th anniversary than to christen our tulip in the world's most beautiful and famous gardens."

In a November 2012 ceremony, Holland America Line Signature tulip bulbs were handed over from the grower near the windmill at Keukenhof that Holland America donated in 1957. In December, bulbs were planted at the cruise line's Seattle headquarters and its Southampton, England, office. In addition to collaborating with the gardens to develop the tulip, Holland America Line participated in the annual Bloemencorso Bollenstreek flower parade on April 19 and 20. The line last participated in the parade in 1948 when the company entered a 35-foot flower float modeled on s.s. Westerdam that was awarded first place.

Known as the Garden of Europe, Keukenhof is the world's largest flower garden, located in Lisse, the Netherlands. Approximately 7 million flower bulbs of 1,600 varieties are planted annually at the park. The Keukenhof is only open for two months each year, from March 21 through May 20, and attracts more than 800,000 visitors from around the world.

Disney Cruise Line names new Senior Vice President of Operations

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 April 2013 19 April 2013

Disney Parks Executive Anthony Connelly has been named Senior Vice President, Disney Cruise Line Operations, effective May 12, the company announced today.

In his new role, Connelly assumes responsibility for all shipboard operations fleet-wide, including onboard entertainment, youth activities, marine and technical operations, purchasing, logistics and shoreside travel operations. He also oversees Disney's private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay.

"We're thrilled that Anthony is joining our Disney Cruise Line team," said Karl Holz, Disney Cruise Line President, to whom Connelly will report. "Anthony's strategic thinking and leadership skills, business and financial acumen, and his passion for Disney will position him for success in this role."

Before joining Disney Cruise Line, Anthony served since 2006 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Disney's U.S. Parks and Resorts businesses, including Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and Adventures by Disney.

Anthony began his Disney career in 1989 and advanced through various key leadership positions throughout the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Finance organization. He is actively involved in the state and local community, serving on the Board of Directors for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Florida, University of Central Florida Foundation, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida. Anthony was also a member of Florida Governor Rick Scott's Economic Development Transition Team as well as a member of Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater's Transition Team. He has a master's of business administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Connelly is succeeding Tom Wolber, who was appointed in February to lead Disney Sports Enterprises, which includes Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and the company's runDisney marathon program, as well as Downtown Disney and the massive expansion of that business.

RCCL to report first quarter interims on 25 April

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 19 April 2013 19 April 2013

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL), the world’s second largest cruise shipping group, will report its first quarter 2013 interims on Thursday, 25 April.

Industry analyst expect the company to report Earnings per Share (EPS) of $0.21 for the quarter, sharply higher from $0.10 the company reported for the final three months of 2012, but unchanged from the first quarter of last year.

Shares in the company are traded on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges under the symbol RCL