Tag Archives: Arnold Donald

Carnival moves toward shipbuilding in China

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By Tom Stieghorst
Carnival Corp. said it signed a memorandum of understanding that could lead to a cruise ship being built in China.

The memo is an agreement between Carnival Corp. and the China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) to explore the formation of a joint venture.

The goal of the venture would be to construct a modern cruise ship in China together.

China State Shipbuilding Corp. is the largest shipbuilder in China, according to a Carnival Corp. announcement.

The Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri could partner in the joint venture should it be formed, Carnival Corp. said.

There is no firm agreement to build yet, nor is it clear who would own or operate any ship that results from the joint effort.

Carnival Corp. said the venture is “aimed at accelerating the development and growth of the Chinese cruise industry.”

The agreement was made official at an Oct. 14 signing ceremony at the ninth China Cruise Shipping and International Cruise Expo in Tianjin.

“This really is a breakthrough day for all of us at Carnival as well as our friends at the CSSC,” Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said.

Carnival Corp. said its contribution to the venture would be to use its design and shipbuilding expertise to create the “vision, definition and overall specifications” for the China-built cruise ship.

The memorandum also includes the exploration of other possible joint venture opportunities with CSSC including the potential to form a domestic cruise company, port development, talent development and training as well as supply chain and logistics, Carnival Corp. said.

No major cruise line has ever built a ship in China, although a few have been built in Japan.

A Chinese Ministry of Transport forecast estimates there will be 4.5 million cruise passengers sourced in China by 2020.

Two Carnival Corp. brands, Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises, are already selling cruises in China. Carnival said it will have 220 port calls from five brands in China in 2014.

New chief executive appointed for Carnival UK

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New chief executive appointed for Carnival UKDavid Dingle has been appointed chairman of Carnival UK, with current executive vice-president of operations David Noyes (pictured) taking over as chief executive.

Noyes will have operating responsibility for P&O Cruises and Cunard from October 1, and both he and Dingle will report to Carnival Corporation president and chief executive Arnold Donald.

Donald said: “This moves allows us to strengthen further our overall leadership in the critically important UK marketplace, while also promoting from within to leverage the skills, experience and capabilities of our executive team.”

Dingle, who became chief executive in 2007, joined P&O Cruises in London in 1978 where, after holding a series of commercial positions, he became managing director in 2000. At the time of the merger of P&O Princess Cruises plc and the Carnival Corporation in April 2003, he became managing director of Carnival UK.

Noyes joined Carnival UK in 2011, in his current position.  Prior to joining Carnival, he worked in the UK travel industry for 25 years, mainly with British Airways, where he was responsible for BA’s worldwide customer services operation, and latterly with Gray Dawes Travel as chief executive.

Elaine Holt will join Carnival UK on October 1 as David Noyes’ replacement as executive vice president operations following a career in the rail, road and airline industries. She has led a series of transformational programmes as executive chairman of East Coast Mainline and before that as managing director of First Capital Connect.  Most recently she has acted as a non executive director of the Highways Agency.

Dingle said: “David Noyes is exceptionally placed to lead P&O Cruises and Cunard into the future and grow the business for the next generation. Elaine brings with her a strong blend of operational and customer services skills and will be a very valuable addition to our executive team.”

Carnival Corporation sees Q2 profits treble

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By Phil Davies

Carnival Corporation delivered an improved set of second quarter year on year financial figures and revealed that bookings for the remainder of 2014 are ahead of last year.

The world’s largest cruise conglomerate admitted yields in the current quarter – covering the main summer months – would be affected by a “significant” industry capacity increases in the Caribbean but raised its forecast for full year trading amid falling costs and an improved economic picture.

The group saw profits almost treble in the three months to May 31 to $106 million from $4 million in the second quarter of 2013, based on revenue up to $3.6 billion from $3.5 billion.

Carnival Corporation president and chief executive Arnold Donald said the company had been helped by better than expected revenue and lower cruise costs.

“We benefited from effective marketing initiatives, which combined with a gradually improving economic environment, led to revenue yield improvement for our continental European brands in the quarter compared to the prior year and is expected to continue through the remainder of the year,” he said.

“In addition, we achieved a six percent improvement in fuel consumption.”

Donald said Carnival expects revenue for 2014 to surpass last year’s level.

Advance bookings for the rest of 2014 are slightly ahead of last year and at higher prices, even though bookings for the next three quarters are slightly behind last year.

Donald said: “Collectively our brands are gaining momentum in our efforts to drive higher ticket prices and we continue to expect sequential improvement in revenue yields, despite a more competitive environment in the Caribbean this summer.

“We remain focused on further understanding our guests and refining the exceptional customer experience we provide.

“We have also made significant strides in our efforts to identify opportunities for cross-brand operational efficiencies. This work is still in the early stages, but we are making progress and beginning to see encouraging signs.”

The company hopes to have recovered from multiple cruise ship incidents last year involving Carnival Cruise Lines.

Several ships had power problems, including Carnival Triumph, which stranded passengers for days at sea in squalid conditions in February 2013.

“We believe we have reached a positive inflection point for our company as we return to earnings growth in 2014 and work hard to ensure that growth accelerates in the years to come,” Donald said.

The third quarter saw the introduction of Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess in the Mediterranean and the brand’s first programme of sailings from China on Sapphire Princess.

Costa Cruises announced that it will position Costa Serena in China next year, bringing the company’s total to four ships based in the world’s fastest growing cruise market.

The corporation said it believes it is the largest provider of cruise holidays home-ported in China.