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US cruise bookings for 2021 stage sharp increase – report

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 14 April 2020 14 April 2020

Cruise bookings in the US for 2021 have risen sharply in the past few weeks and three of four passengers whose cruise had been cancelled due o the coronavirus pandemic have accepted credit towards future cruise, a media reports said.

“In the past 45 days — as multiple cruise ships had serious COVID-19 outbreaks onboard — the cruise booking site CruiseCompete.com saw a 40% increase in its bookings for 2021 over its 2019 bookings,” BusinessInsider.com said on its website.

“A recent report from UBS also found that 76% of the people who had a canceled cruise in 2020 have chosen to accept credit towards a future cruise in 2021 as opposed to 24% who accepted a refund,” the same source stated.

Both are good news for the cruise industry that has been badly hit by the pandemic. Recovery of the demand is one of the key questions that the industry faces in the months to come.

Although credits towards future cruises are debt on the balance sheets of the cruise shipping companies, these do not put stress on their liquidity as the debt will be cleared by performing cruises rather than by settlements in cash.

 

Arne Wilhelmsen, a founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., dies at 90

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 12 April 2020 12 April 2020

Arne Wilhelmsen, a founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and a visionary strategist of the modern cruise industry, died Saturday, April 11, 2020, in Palma, Spain. He was 90. The entire Royal Caribbean family extends its heartfelt condolences to the Wilhelmsen family.

Wilhelmsen was a constant influence on the company from its founding, serving more than three decades on the company's board of directors. Together with the company's first CEO, the late Edwin Stephan, Wilhelmsen saw possibilities for the nascent cruise industry that others did not.

"At a time when the rest of the world thought cruising was a niche use for old transatlantic liners, Arne was already seeing glimmers of the growth that was possible," said Richard Fain, RCL's chairman and CEO. "He had a vision of the modern cruise industry when the 'industry' might have been a dozen used ships, total."

Their key insight: building new ships uniquely designed for cruising in warm weather. The industry did not grow from New York, the traditional transit hub; it came to Miami, helping the region itself grow as the public discovered an entirely new way to take a vacation.

Wilhelmsen saw the potential for cruising to become the fastest growing segment in a growing vacation industry. A believer in economies of scale, he once recalled, "My initial challenge was to convince my partners and management in Miami to build bigger and more efficient ships in order to grow the company." True to his vision, the company now sails 61 ships calling on all seven continents and its fleet features the largest cruise ships in the world.

Born on June 15, 1929, in Oslo, Norway, Wilhelmsen earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and worked as a chartering assistant for Norway's EB Lund & Co. and later as a shipbroker in New York. After joining the family business in 1954, he became its president in 1961. The scion of a leading Norwegian shipping concern – Anders Wilhelmsen & Co AS – he spent most of his life in the family business, including an early stint as a deckhand.

"Arne was a steady presence and source of wisdom on our board for decades," Fain said. "And in 2003, when he was ready to step back, he was succeeded on the RCL board by his son, Alex, who has carried the involvement of the Wilhelmsen family in charting our company's course into its sixth decade. Our high standards as a company, our insistence on excellence in operations and design, and our determination to persevere all owe a great deal to the long-term vision of Arne, Alex and the Wilhelmsen family. We salute our friend, and we will miss him dearly."

CLIA reacts on No Sail Order

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 10 April 2020 10 April 2020

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has published the following statement regarding No Sail Order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 9, 2020:

"Our industry has taken responsibility for protecting public health on board cruise ships for more than 50 years, working under the guidance and at the direction of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as the World Health Organization and others. To this end, in March and April the industry submitted proposals to the White House Coronavirus Task Force that are far reaching in prevention, detection, and care—and, importantly, would be led and funded by the industry.

We very much value our relationship with the U.S. authorities, and will continue to work with these important agencies in our shared commitment for the health and safety of passengers and crew, which is the industry’s number one priority.

We are, however, concerned about the unintended consequences the No Sail Order issued on April 9 has in singling out the cruise industry, which has been proactive in its escalation of health and sanitation protocols and was one of the first industries to announce a voluntary suspension of operations.

Cruise activity supports multiple sectors of the U.S. economy (transportation, food and beverage, lodging, manufacturing, agriculture, travel agencies and travel agents, plus a broad range of supply chain industries and small businesses) that stretch across the United States. Should the suspension of sailing extend well beyond the appropriate time to resume business, the economic impact could be significant given each day of the suspension results in a total economic impact loss of about $92 million and the loss of more than 300 direct and 620 total American jobs. Over time the pace of the losses will increase and could result in a total economic impact loss to the United States of $51 billion and 173,000 direct and 343,000 total American jobs if the Order were to remain in effect for a year (Source: BREA/CLIA Economic Impact Analysis).

While it’s easy to focus on cruising because of its high profile, the fact is cruising is neither the source or cause of the virus or its spread. What is different about the cruise industry is the very stringent reporting requirements applicable to vessels that do not apply to comparable venues on land where the spread of communicable disease is just as prevalent. It would be a false assumption to connect higher frequency and visibility in reporting to a higher frequency of infection," CLIA said in a statement.

CDC announces modifications and extension of No Sail Order for all cruise ships

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 10 April 2020 10 April 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday the extension of a No Sail Order for all cruise ships.

“We are working with the cruise line industry to address the health and safety of crew at sea as well as communities surrounding U.S. cruise ship points of entry,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield. “The measures we are taking today to stop the spread of COVID-19 are necessary to protect Americans, and we will continue to provide critical public health guidance to the industry to limit the impacts of COVID-19 on its workforce throughout the remainder of this pandemic.”

The No Sail Order reinforces the strong action by President Donald J. Trump and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. President Trump acted early and decisively to implement travel restrictions on foreign nationals who had recently been to China and Europe and by issuing the 30 Days to Slow the Spread guidelines. These containment and mitigation strategies have been a critical component of the United States COVID-19 response, but despite these efforts, cruise ship travel markedly increases the risk and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak within the United States.

In recent weeks, at least 10 cruise ships reported crew or passengers that tested positive or experienced respiratory symptoms or influenza-like illness. Currently, there are approximately 100 cruise ships remaining at sea off the East Coast, West Coast, and Gulf Coast, with nearly 80,000 crew onboard. Additionally, CDC is aware of 20 cruise ships at port or anchorage in the United States with known or suspected COVID-19 infection among the crew who remain onboard.

There are several public health concerns when crew members become ill while onboard the cruise ships. As we have seen with the passenger illness response on cruise ships, safely evacuating, triaging, and repatriating cruise ship crew has involved complex logistics, incurs financial costs at all levels of government, and diverts resources away from larger efforts to suppress or mitigate COVID-19. The addition of further COVID-19 cases from cruise ships also places healthcare workers at substantial increased risk.

Some of these ships off the coast of the United States have crew that are not critical to maintain the seaworthiness or basic safe operation of the cruise ships, such as the vessel’s hotel and hospitality staff. The U.S. Government remains committed to humanitarian medevac for individuals in dire need of life-saving support.

The CDC, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Homeland Security have been working with the industry to determine the most appropriate public health strategy to limit the impact of COVID-19 at cruise ship ports of entry in the United States. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) voluntarily suspended cruise ship operations in March in conjunction with the earlier No Sail Order issued March 14. The industry has since been working to build an illness response framework to combat COVID-19 on ships with international crew members who remain on board and at sea.

This order ceases operations of cruise ships in waters in which the United States may exert jurisdiction and requires that they develop a comprehensive, detailed operational plan approved by CDC and the USCG to address the COVID-19 pandemic through maritime focused solutions, including a fully implementable response plan with limited reliance on state, local, and federal government support. These plans would help prevent, mitigate, and respond to the spread of COVID-19, by:

– monitoring of passengers and crew medical screenings;
– training crew on COVID-19 prevention;
– managing and responding to an outbreak on board; and
– submitting a plan to USCG and CDC for review

This Order shall continue in operation until the earliest of three situations. First, the expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency. Second, the CDC Director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations. Or third, 100 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

Additional information in the order includes:

– Cruise ship operators are not allowed to disembark travelers (passengers or crew) at ports or stations, except as directed by the USCG, in consultation with HHS/CDC personnel, and as appropriate, as coordinated with federal, state, and local authorities.
– Cruise ship operators should not embark or re-embark any crew member, except as approved by the USCG, in consultation with HHS/CDC personnel, until further notice.
– While in port, cruise ship operators shall observe health precautions directed by HHS/CDC personnel.
– The cruise ship operator should comply with all HHS/CDC, USCG, and other federal agency instructions to follow CDC recommendations and guidance for any public health actions relating to passengers, crew, ship, or any article or thing onboard the ship, as needed, including by making ship’s manifests and logs available and collecting any specimens for COVID-19 testing.