Tag Archives: British market

Fred Olsen’s small ship ethos ‘could appeal to ex-CMV passengers’

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CMV Becomes the Third Cruise Line To Go Out of Business in a Month

The boss of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines believes the line’s small ship ethos means it is well-placed to appeal to former guests of Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

Speaking before it emerged that former CMV boss Christian Verhounig had acquired a number of the assets of the failed line, Fred Olsen managing director Peter Deer said it remained to be seen if a “CMV2” would emerge.

But in the meantime, he said Fred Olsen had already seen interest from former CMV passengers.

He told a Travel Weekly webcast: “It was really sad about CMV. They’re not located very far from where we are, and we’re pretty sad for the teams that worked so hard to grow the brand over the last 10 years.

“They’ve grown the brand, which really focused on a more budget style cruising – they were known to sell cruises at a lower price level than ourselves and many other UK operators, so I suspect there will be customers who have sailed with CMV who are still looking for a budget style of cruising.”

Deer added: “What we find when we talk to our customers, one of the reasons they come with us is it’s all about going on smaller ships and being known as a name rather than a number. So I really don’t know if the customers of CMV are more thinking about budget or it’s all about small ship cruising.

“I suspect it’s a combination of both and for sure, we’re going to see some transfers over from CMV for people who say we’re a cruise line which has a similar itinerary style as CMV did, it’s still small ship cruising.”

He said: “I’m sure all the other cruise lines will see the reflection of the demise of CMV in their bookings going forward. We’ve seen a few so far, but it’s all early days at this stage.”

P&O Cruises confirms an order for a second new ship

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P&O Cruises confirms order for second new ship

A second large next-generation cruise ship for P&O Cruises was confirmed on Thursday as the line seeks to attract more first-time cruisers.

The vessel will be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and is due to join the fleet in 2022 – two years after a similar sister ship enters service.

The latest order will be 180,000 gross tons and have a capacity for 5,200 passengers, it’s set to be the largest cruise ship to be built specifically for the British market.

Both new ships will be registered in the UK and built by leading German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg.

The ship will feature the Carnival Corporation’s exclusive “green cruising” design as one of the first generation of cruise ships to be powered by both while in port and at sea.

This will “significantly reduce” air emissions with the shipping industry’s most advanced fuel technology, the company claims.

The new ship is part of a fleet enhancement strategy with 19 new vessels set for delivery across Carnival Corporation brands between 2018 and 2022.

Carnival UK president Josh Weinstein said: “We are seeing the momentum in awareness of cruising both across the media and in our national psyche as ever-increasing numbers of people see first-hand the value for money, unrivalled service and extraordinary onboard experience.

“These two next-generation ships for delivery in the next four years are real and tangible evidence of our absolute optimism for future growth.”

P&O Cruises senior vice president Paul Ludlow added: “We have a bold and ambitious vision for P&O Cruises to become Britain’s number one holiday choice and we can only do that by increasing our fleet.

“The build for our 2020 ship begins this spring and it will offer all generations of British guests the holiday of a lifetime on the next generation of P&O Cruises ships.

“In four years’ time when her sister ship is launched, adding an additional 22% capacity, we will see an even greater rise in the popularity of cruising across all demographics and all age ranges including both Millennials and Generation Xers.

“Many of them have already learned to appreciate cruising by going on cruises with their families while growing up. Additionally, there are millions more we will attract in the future by retaining the amazing onboard and on-shore experiences and itinerary choices P&O Cruises is known for while reflecting forward-thinking trends and tastes of British holidaymakers.

“This evolution of the guest experience will be evident over the next few years but will be underpinned throughout with in-depth market insight and feedback we receive from the best source: our current, past and prospective guests.

“The first of our new ships will go on sale in September and we will be announcing key elements of the design and build this year.

“Our P&O Cruises signature features in dining and entertainment will be across all our ships, but the space and build of the two new ships allow us to have innovative new experiences to create the most memorable holidays.”

Thomas Weigend, managing director of Meyer Werft, said: “We are very happy to continue our excellent partnership with Carnival Corporation and P&O Cruises.”

MSC Cruises chief warns yields could drop amid mass growth

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MSC Seaview

Cruise line yields could fall in the future due to the volume of new ships entering the market in the next decade, according to the boss of MSC Cruises.

A total of 106 ships are expected to launch between 2017-26, including 12 alone from MSC Cruises. Other mainstream cruise brands such as Royal Caribbean International has six ships on its order books and Norwegian Cruise Line has seven. 48 expedition and luxury ships are also planned.

Asked whether occupancy levels were at risk of falling from so much growth, chief executive Gianni Onorato told delegates at the ITT Conference in Sicily: “No, we are not crazy. But in difficult times it can have an impact on yields more than occupancy. So I think this will be more of an issue than occupancy levels.”

Onorato said the slowdown in cruise bookings last year in the UK was due to a “lack of capacity” in 2017 and said he was very “optimistic” about the British market going forward.

He said the biggest challenge facing cruise lines was future proofing ships which are built to last 20 years.

“Knowing what guests want in 2040 when you’re building them now is very difficult to predict so we need to have a flexible mindset and be able to follow guests’ needs (in terms of technology) but at the same time maintain human contact,” Onorato said.