cruise ship passed ‘dangerously close to shore

Posted on 28 July, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Fury of Venetians after 110,000-ton cruise ship passed ‘dangerously close to shore to perform salute to company shareholder’

PUBLISHED: 18:26, 28 July 2013 | UPDATED: 19:23, 28 July 2013

Carnival Sunshine appears to pass within 20m of city’s fragile shoreline
Liner is owned by the same parent company of the Costa Concordia
Ship botched its manoeuvre, witnesses claim, squeezing other boats

Ventians have reacted with fury after a cruise ship allegedly passed within yards of the city’s historic banks while performing ‘a salute’ to a major company shareholder.

Film footage of the Carnival Sunshine, which is owned by the same parent company as the notorious Costa Concordia, appears to show the 110,000-ton liner passing within 20 metres of the city’s fragile shoreline.

The ship botched its manoeuvre, squeezing a vaporetto water taxi and other boats between the ship and the bank, witnesses claimed.

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People in Venice have reacted with fury to footage showing a cruise ship which appears to pass within yards of the city’s fragile shoreline – and show a water taxi, circled, squeezed between the liner and the bank

At the time of the incident an 150ft super yacht belonging to former Carnival CEO and major shareholder Mickey Arison was moored on the same part of the shoreline, the local newspaper Nuova Venezia reported, fuelling rumours that the manoeuvre was an in fact a sail-by salute.

The incident raises the spectre of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which sank after hitting rocks off the coast of Tuscany during just such a salute to the island of Giglio last year.

Writer Roberto Ferrucci, who filmed the exercise, told the Italian news agency ANSA: ‘I was sitting at the café reading on the bank, as I often do, when I saw the ship tailing.

Rather than moving towards the centre of the channel it almost brushed the shore causing a vaporetto to get caught dangerously between the ship and the bank. It was shocking.’

Carnival have denied any wrongdoing saying it was ‘a safe transit’.

Witnesses claimed that the Carnival Sunshine botched its maneouvre as it sailed in the Venetian waters

Writer Roberto Ferrucci filmed the ship from a vantage point at a cafe and called the move ‘shocking’

But Venice’s proud residents are already up in arms about the presence of large cruise ships passing through the lagoon, with protesters last month calling for a ban on all those that pass by St Mark’s Cathedral.

The committee of the No to Big Ships group denounced the latest incident as ‘reckless’.

A statement said: ‘The reckless manoeuvre or error destroys the argument that an accident in St Mark’s basin is impossible.’

Local councillor Beppe Caccia tweeted ‘Shame on you Mr Mickey Arson, Sunshine putting Venice at risk.’

A 150ft super-yacht belonging to major shareholder Mickey Arson was moored on the same part of the shoreline, sparking rumours that the Sunshine had performed a ‘sail-salute’

Environmental group Codacons called for port authorities to seize the ship pending an investigation by prosecutors.

Andrea Orlando, minister for the environment, said that the number of ships must be reduced.

This episode ‘confirms the high risk we are taking,’ he said.

A statement from the cruise company said: ‘Carnival intends to prove that the few metres claimed by the witness are in fact 72 metres and that the brush is no more than a safe transit carried out in accordance with the rules of transit.’

A spokesman said reports of a ‘salute’ were ‘unfounded’.

‘The passage through the Venice Lagoon occurred in full compliance with navigational regulations and well within the accepted parameters for distance from shore,’ the spokesman said.

‘The Carnival Sunshine passed more than 70 metres from Riva dei Sette Martiri on the planned route. The distance from shore has been confirmed by the Coast Guard, the local pilot association and Carnival Cruise Lines.’

Carnival CEO Steps Down and Carnivals Recovery Period.

Posted on 26 June, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Arison steps down as CEO of Carnival Corp.; remains chairman

By Tom Stieghorst

Arnold Donald will take over from Micky Arison as CEO of Carnival Corp.

Micky Arison will give up the job as CEO of Carnival Corp., but remain chairman of the cruise company his father founded 40 years ago.

Carnival said Arnold Donald, a board member for the past 12 years, will become CEO effective July 3.

“I have been discussing this with the board for sometime now and feel the timing is right to align our company with corporate governance best practices and turn over the reins after 34 years as CEO,” Arison said. “Arnold is an exceptional professional with extensive experience in organizational leadership who will bring a fresh perspective to the company.”

Arnold has been an senior executive at Monsanto Corp., and founded and led Merisant, a company whose products include tabletop sweetener brands Equal and Canderel.

He also is former president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, a professional network and leadership forum for African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies.

Carnival Corp.’s Frank talks recovery period for Carnival brand

By Tom Stieghorst

A full recovery at the Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) brand will take two to three years, Carnival Corp. Vice Chairman Howard Frank said in a call with Wall Street analysts.

In discussing Q2 results, Frank presented an analysis of yields both including CCL and excluding CCL, the way Carnival had previously done for Costa Cruises after the Costa Concordia accident. In answering a later question, however, Frank said the two were different situations and markets.

He said the two- to three-year full recovery period was based on consultants who looked at two negative events outside the cruise industry as models. “Their view is that although we’re a very different industry, it’s likely we will follow the same pattern.”

The impact of the Carnival Triumph and subsequent incidents tied to CCL ships will reduce Carnival Corp.’s 2013 results by about $388 million, Frank said, including $124 million for canceled sailings, $210 million in lower revenue yields, and about $54 million in vessel enhancements and extra marketing.

Frank said the extra marketing would come in three areas: funds directed at travel agents, including cooperative advertising; social media; and possibly more TV ads. In the fall, Carnival will look at marketing for particular brands, he said.

Frank explicitly thanked travel agents during the call. “Many of our travel agent partners have been very supportive during this challenging period, and for that we are very grateful,” he said.

Carnival’s impact on the public’s perception of cruising

Posted on 25 June, 2013 by Spacejunkie2

Carnival’s impact on the public’s perception of cruising

By Tom Stieghorst

*Insight Since the engine fire on the Carnival Triumph in February, the industry has been closely monitoring the public perception of cruising and whether the industry has come under a cloud.

Did the problems experienced by a single Carnival Cruise Lines ship taint perceptions of the entire cruise experience?

There’s more evidence in Carnival Corp.’s second-quarter financial results that the perception of a problem with cruising has mostly affected Carnival’s flagship product. *TomStieghorst

Carnival said that, excluding Carnival Cruise Lines, bookings for the next three quarters are up, and at higher prices. That means that Princess, Holland America Line, Cunard Line and the rest of the Carnival stable have been more than holding their own since March.

Competitors such as Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line likewise do not appear to be struggling with lower prices, according to Wall Street analysts.

When Carnival Cruise Lines gets thrown into the mix, however, Carnival Corp. bookings are behind last year, and at lower prices. Regrettably for Carnival Corp., and perhaps the industry, if Carnival Cruise Lines isn’t healthy, the conversation about cruising suffers.

It should be noted that two Harris Interactive polls, one in March and a follow-up in May, found that perceptions about quality, trust and intent to purchase for seven cruise brands were down across the board, albeit with Carnival Cruise Lines scoring lowest.

It is hard to square the poll results with the financial results, except to say that the poll is a measure of what people say, and booking data is a measure of what they actually do.

The financial results say that, except for Carnival Cruise Lines, there’s more demand for cruises this year than last. If Carnival Cruise Lines can heal itself, however, the whole industry will undoubtedly benefit.