Top Headlines

Cruise & Maritime Voyages enters Australian market, charters Astor

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 07 February 2013 07 February 2013

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), the UK based operator of two cruise ships, has announced plans to enter the Australian cruise market with the opening of a dedicated sales office in Sydney, the three year seasonal charter of the 600 passenger Astor to operate twice yearly ocean voyages between the UK, Australia and South Africa and the launch of a summer season of cruises from Fremantle, Perth commencing 12th December 2013, the company said in a statement.

“The 20,606 gross ton Astor joins the CMV fleet in November 2013 and will operate alongside the 800 passenger flagship Marco Polo and 700 passenger Discovery, both operating ex-UK sailings from eight British ports. Discovery also operates an autumn Mediterranean fly cruise programme. Astor’s inaugural 10,000 capacity programme will increase CMV’s overall 2014 global capacity to almost 62,000 passengers.,” CMV said.

Astor has a fine pedigree and excellent reputation currently operating European summer cruises on the German market. She is managed and marketed by the Munich based Premicon Group that also overlooks a fleet of 22 premium river vessels operating on the Rhine, Main, Moselle and Danube also presenting new marketing opportunities between Premicon and CMV. Astor was originally launched on the British market back in 1987 by the now defunct Astor Cruises that was part of the South African shipping group Safmnarine as a five star luxury ‘soft adventure’ product. However, the venture did not prosper and the ship has been employed on the German market after a brief spell in the UK.

“Since her inception has undergone a number of refits including a recent £14 million upgrade in 2010. She will be positioned as a premium four star product and has 289 cabins including 42 suites with 70% of accommodation comprising an ocean view. There are a wide range of beautifully appointed lounges, seven passenger decks, traditional wooden decks and also an extensive sports deck with a wrap around jogging track and attractive wellness centre with a heated internal pool,’ CMV said.

In announcing the introduction of Astor to the CMV fleet and the launch of a new voyage service to Australia, Chris Coates, Commercial Director commented, "Astor is indeed a beautiful ocean going vessel with a proud heritage and we are delighted that Astor will be part of our international development plans as we establish a strong presence on the Australasian cruise market.

We believe that Astor will become a firm favourite alongside Marco Polo and Discovery and a perfect match for the mid-sized more traditional business model we have developed since CMV’s launch in 2009. Despite the continued growth of mega resort style mass market vessels, the success and growing interest in the CMV product demonstrates that this niche sector has a significant role to play not only in the UK but also in the wider international English speaking markets and global arena. This new initiative also offers the travel industry an exciting new niche premium cruise product that lends itself to packaging opportunities".

The opening of a sales office in Sydney follows the establishment in 2011 of a dedicated North American sales office in Fort Lauderdale. Chris Coates added, "Britain’s historic and cultural ties with both Australia and South Africa and the feedback received and research undertaken has inspired us to introduce interesting voyages between the UK via the Cape to the Antipodes recreating the bygone halcyon days of long distance sea travel as a serious alternative to the aviation option".

A dedicated new CMV Astor Voyages brochure will be released later this month featuring the full programme of southbound & northbound voyages through until 2015 plus a selection of sailings from Fremantle including a splendid 35 night Circumnavigation of Australia and a 24 night Far East sailing.

Quantum and Anthem names for Royal Caribbean's newbuildings

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 05 February 2013 05 February 2013

Royal Caribbean International took a major step this week in the development of the cruise line’s next generation of cruise ships when the first piece of steel was cut for the first of two Project Sunshine ships. The steel cutting took place at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, where the two ships will be built.

To celebrate the milestone, Royal Caribbean announced the names of the two new ships – Quantum of the Seas, set to debut in fall 2014, and Anthem of the Seas, which will follow in spring 2015. They will be part of the Quantum class of ships and will build upon Royal Caribbean’s legacy of revolutionary ship design and bold innovation.

"We are extremely excited to celebrate this important milestone for our first Project Sunshine ship. After three years of design and advance planning this is the first step of the construction of the ship and I look forward to seeing it all come together in the coming months," said Adam Goldstein, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "The new ship will be such a leap forward in terms of vessel design and guest experiences that we thought the name Quantum of the Seas was perfectly appropriate.”

Royal Caribbean International’s legacy is built on introducing ‘at sea firsts’ such as rock-climbing walls, ice-skating rinks, surf simulators, zip lines and even a tropical park with over 12,000 live plants. The Quantum class of ships will continue to build on this legacy with unprecedented experiences and amenities. They will once again deliver on Royal Caribbean’s tradition of designing for ‘WOW’.

"Throughout our history we have made huge strides in cruise ship design and innovation and the Quantum class will be no exception," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. "We look forward to introducing consumers to Quantum cruising."

Europe biggest swing factor for RCCL, East China Sea new concern

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 February 2013 04 February 2013

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL), the second largest cruise shipping group in the world, says that uncertain development of the European source market is the biggest swing factor in the group's 2013 performance, while tensions in relationship between China and Japan is a new concern.

RCCL expects yields to improve in Europe this year, although about 50% of the 2013 inventory remains unsold at the moment, although the group has cut 10% of capacity in Europe this year to 27% from 2012. The Spanish market is showing weakness on both pricing and volumes and the outlook remains weak for quite some time.

In the UK, pricing has firmed on last year, but volumes lag. Adam Goldstein, head of the group’s contemporary market Royal Caribbean International (RCI) unit, said in a conference call that it would take two to three months to see how the British markert would respond to various measures to fuel sales. In case desired results do not emerge, the company will take into use more aggressive measures.

In the Far East, RCI has replaced calls at Japanese ports with those in South Korea until June on sailings from two Chinese ports due to political tensions between China and Japan.

CLIA launches initiative to engage stakeholders

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 February 2013 04 February 2013

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) says it has launched ‘Cruise Forward,’ a new industry-wide communications initiative that will promote awareness of cruising’s wide-ranging contributions and engage stakeholders across the global cruise industry.

The global cruise industry offers more than a great travel and entertainment experience. The industry brings economic development, cultural exchange, support of community and environmental programs and initiatives, and a commitment to preserving and protecting communities and waterways. ‘Cruise Forward’ showcases how the industry is:

· Delivering significant economic benefits: The cruise industry generated nearly £64 billion ($100 billion) in economic impact and more than 753,000 jobs worldwide in 2011.

· Supporting community organisations: Whether providing financial support to local charities, protecting the cultural heritage of port communities, or involving employees and guests in volunteer opportunities, cruising makes a difference in hundreds of ports across the globe.

· Safeguarding the oceans and the environment: Cruise lines are actively working to reduce the overall environmental impact of cruising and preserve and protect our pristine oceans, beaches and ports.

· Fostering a safe, secure and healthy cruise ship environment: The global cruise industry is committed to undertaking initiatives that provide passengers one of the safest, most affordable, and enjoyable holiday experiences available today.

Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA, said: “Those closest to our industry know how our economic impact extends far beyond port communities, they see the value of cultural exchange and the volunteerism that happens every day from passengers, crew and employees, our support of community and environmental programs, and they know the ongoing commitment of our industry to safety.”

“We must do more to share these stories and ‘Cruise Forward’ will help us do just that and also increase public awareness regarding the industry’s extensive commitment to supporting community partnerships, safeguarding the environment and delivering wide-ranging economic benefits worldwide.”

‘Cruise Forward’ will serve as a global platform for representatives from the cruise industry to engage industry stakeholders –customers, employees, business partners, port communities, policymakers and the media – across social media and at industry and community events to foster a global discussion about the benefits that cruising brings to individuals and to society.

RCCL forecasts 2% to 4% net yield rise 2013; US market strong

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 04 February 2013 04 February 2013

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL), the world’s second largest cruise shipping company, says that 2013 booking activity in the fourth quarter was slightly lower than the same time last year, with the greatest decline coming in the aftermath of super-storm Sandy.

However, the company has observed a much stronger booking pattern since the beginning of WAVE season and demand trends have been quite healthy.

In recent weeks, booking volumes have been running approximately 20% ahead of the same time last year, due in part to the slower booking trends the company experienced after the Costa Concordia grounding in January of 2012.

Normalizing for this favorable comparison, the company still considers the WAVE season to be off to a strong start, particularly from U.S. points of sale. Booking volumes are exceeding those during the same period in 2011 and in the aggregate, forward booked load factors and pricing are higher than at this time in both 2011 and 2012.

Full year Net Yields in 2013 are expected to increase 2% to 4% on a Constant-Currency basis and 3% to 5% on an As-Reported basis.

"We were proactive in reducing our deployment and guest sourcing programs from Europe due to uncertain consumer spending patterns as austerity measures continue to pressure the region," commented Brian J. Rice, vice-chairman and chief financial officer. Rice continued, "Encouragingly though, demand from our other source markets, especially the U.S., is strong and should more than offset any ongoing weakness in Europe. In fact, we are optimistic that we will achieve record yields in the Caribbean and Alaska this year."