News

All Leisure and CMV enter partnership, Discovery to CMV from February 2013

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 30 August 2012 30 August 2012

All Leisure group and Cruise & Maritime Voyages, two UK based cruise shipping companies, have signed a a long-term partnership whereby the 20,636 gross ton Discovery will be transferred from All Leisure's Voyages of Discovery brand to CMV in February 2013.

This joint venture will allow passengers to sail on the much-loved, classic ship, Discovery, with the renowned on board experience of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, whilst offering a range of UK regional departures and a selection of Mediterranean fly cruises, All Leisure group said in a statement.

The partnership with Cruise & Maritime Voyages, who have operated the 22,080 gross ton Marco Polo and 17,593 gross ton Ocean Countess on charter since their launch in 2009 with a programme capacity of around 45,000 passengers, adds to the growing collection of diverse travel experiences from the All Leisure Holidays Ltd portfolio.

Roger Allard, Executive Chairman, All Leisure Holidays Ltd explains: “Continuing to evolve and innovate the way we do business is a key mantra for All Leisure Holidays Ltd. The opportunity to work in partnership with the established and much-respected Cruise & Maritime Voyages is a great route to increase the audiences we appeal to and deliver something new to the cruise sector. Within the All Leisure Holidays Ltd business we now have a great value cruise brand to bolster the existing discovery and luxury options already on offer. We look forward to welcoming new and existing passengers on board Discovery, which will premier its refurbishment and refresh when the first passengers join its inaugural sailing as part of the Cruise & Maritime Voyages fleet in February 2013.”

Chris Coates, Commercial Director, Cruise & Maritime Voyages commented: “We are delighted to have concluded a long term joint venture deal with highly respected All Leisure Holidays Ltd and firmly believe that the introduction of Discovery into the CMV fleet in 2013 alongside our popular flagship, Marco Polo will consolidate our position in the traditional ‘smaller ship’ British cruise market sector. We have enjoyed three highly successful summer seasons operating Ocean Countess from regional ports around the British Isles and now look forward to operating the upgraded Discovery and establishing her as a great value cruise brand. Our booked passengers will be transferred to Discovery with around 80% of our scheduled ex-UK regional cruise programme largely unaffected”

The joint venture on Discovery will offer regional departures and a small-ship traditional cruising experience to a UK-focused audience, with departures from ports of call across the country including Liverpool, Harwich, Hull, Bristol and the Port of Tyne as well as fly cruises from destinations in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Focused on offering a small ship cruise experience at great value, mini one-night cruises will start from just £69 per person, with a five night cruise costing from £409 per person.

Longer cruises from five to 18 nights are available and a two-week cruise costs from £1,129 per person – less than £87 per night – including all meals and entertainment, and from a convenient departure point. Itineraries and destinations on offer include Natural Wonders & Wildlife (Orkney, Faroe Islands and Iceland) Baltic Symphony (Estonia, Denmark and Russia) and Cradle of Civilization (Egypt, Turkey and Israel).

Both All Leisure Holidays and Cruise & Maritime Voyages will sell this new product with both teams able to offer expert advice to all customers. Travel Agent bookings for Discovery will be made with Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

Voyages of Discovery this week also started the 100 day countdown to the launch of their new ship, Voyager, which sets sail from Portsmouth for its inaugural cruise on 4th December 2012 following an extensive refurbishment. Voyager will continue to be marketed and sold through the trade under the award winning Voyages of Discovery brand, and will maintain unique itineraries and the discovery cruising ethos that enables passengers to explore and learn about different destinations and their cultures and history.

Key additions to Voyager during the refurbishment include the introduction of an explorer theme across the whole ship, a new piano bar – Scott’s Lounge, a new speciality restaurant, a ‘look-out’ lounge and an al fresco dining terrace with all-weather awning. Voyager will offer a choice of 270 cabins, almost 90% of which are outside cabins and 30 of which have balconies.

Guests booking an outside cabin on any winter 2012/13 cruise on board Voyager before 30 September 2012 will receive £100 on board credit per cabin.

STX Europe warns of more challenging times after Cruise & Ferry EBITDA plunges to red

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 14 August 2012 14 August 2012

STX Europe, which part of the South Korean STX Business Group, has reported second quarter pre tax profit of NOK370 million, little changed from NOK407 million in the same period last year.

The company, which builds cruise liners and ferries at two fully owned yards in Finland and at one yard in France in which it has a 66% stake, said that market conditions in its Cruise & Ferry business area remained challenging through the review period and more of the same is expected from the future.

STX Europe said it is committed to remain a leading builder of cruise liners and ferries, but its Finnish yards would retain ice breaking tonnage as a key area in the future. Order intake in passenger ship business fell to NOK165 million from NOK5.15 billion a year earlier, while order backlog in the sector declined to NOK11.67billion on 30 June from NOK16.21 billion a year earlier.

The Cruise & Ferry business area generated revenues of NOK2.19 billion in the second quarter of this year, slightly more than the NOK2.10 billion a year earlier. However, EBITDA plunged to negative by NOK41 million from positive by NOK86 million a year earlier, resulting in an EBITDA margin negative by 1.9% against a figure positive by 4.1%.

STX Europe said that financing of newbuilding projects would remain a difficult task and the outlook remained challenging.

Royal Caribbean promotes Bayley as President and CEO of Celebrity, moves Lutoff-Perlo to RCI

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 31 July 2012 31 July 2012

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. today announced that Michael Bayley has been promoted to President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, replacing Dan Hanrahan, whose departure was recently announced. Bayley will report directly to Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. Bayley has been with Royal Caribbean for over 30 years, most recently as Executive Vice President of Operations. Prior to this role, Bayley served as Executive Vice President — International, where he oversaw the international expansion for the company.

"In his role as Executive Vice President — International, Michael successfully spearheaded our aggressive expansion efforts into emerging and high-growth markets, and most recently has overseen all Operations for Royal Caribbean International," said Fain. "Fortunately, Celebrity has a very strong management team to build on and I am delighted that Michael will bring his vision, passion and drive to bear on the continued growth of this important brand."

In a related move, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo will be promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations for Royal Caribbean International, reporting to Adam Goldstein, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. Lutoff-Perlo is a 27 year veteran of the company who has served in a variety of roles within both Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. Most recently, Lutoff-Perlo served as Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Celebrity Cruises. In that role, she oversaw all the hotel operations of the brand, including the highly successful introduction of the Solstice-class of ships. Prior to her tour of duty with Celebrity Cruises, Lutoff-Perlo was in charge of Product Marketing and Strategic Alliances for Royal Caribbean International. In the past, she has also served both brands in a variety of increasingly senior sales roles.

"I am happy to welcome Lisa back to our team," said Goldstein. "Given her tremendous accomplishments leading Celebrity's highly successful hotel operations, I am excited to have her in this expanded role."