Tag Archives: Celebrity Century

Royal Caribbean appoints executive to run Chinese joint venture

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Image result for SkySea

An executive who spearheaded MSC Cruises expansion in the US is to head Royal Caribbean’s Chinese joint venture cruise operation.

Ken Muskat has been named chief executive of SkySea, a collaboration between China-based online travel giant Ctrip.com and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

SkySea’s first vessel Golden Era – the former Celebrity Century – sails regular itineraries from Shanghai. The business has been in operation for 20 months.

Muskat, who had a long career at Royal Caribbean before joining MSC Cruises in 2013, moves to SkySea in mid-January. He was executive vice president of sales for MSC in the US.

He is expected to help SkySea accelerate its campaign to become the top choice for Chinese cruise passengers seeking new holiday experiences in a “familiar East-meets-West” style.

Ctrip.com vice chairman and SkySea executive chairman Min Fan said: “Ken Muskat is known for his ability to generate consumer excitement and revenue generation, which are key elements in building a new cruise line and setting the stage for long-term growth.”

Muskat said: “There is no challenge I like better than creating a winning business proposition in a competitive market.

“I appreciate the confidence shown in me by the owners of SkySea, and I look forward to using my experience to help this exciting new brand grow to be a leader.

“I look forward to bringing to bear everything I’ve learned in my career and helping SkySea become a standout performer. There is an important role for a Chinese-centered brand like this in this large and growing market.”

For ships entering their golden years, a variety of fates

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Former Carnival Jubilee and the HNA Cruise Henna before scrap

It’s sometimes hard to believe that the average useful life of a cruise ship is 30 years, as estimated in the financial statements of most of the major cruise companies. Many ships built in the 1980s and later seem to have disappeared from the scene.

The Celebrity Century, for example, was only 20 years old when it was sent to China to be part of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s joint venture with Ctrip, called SkySea Cruises. But the Century is still sailing, just not in a market that North American cruisers frequent.

Another old stalwart sailing in China, the former Carnival Cruise Line ship Jubilee, did make it to 30 years. The 1,486-passenger ship, built in 1986 by the Swedish shipyard Kockums, most recently had been sailing as the Henna for a Chinese cruise venture, HNA Tourism Cruises. But after operating for three years, HNA shut down in November, a victim of newer ships flocking to China. Now there’s word that the Henna has been sold for scrap to shipbreakers.

The Jubilee was last seen carrying North American passengers a dozen years ago. Since then it has made what could be considered a typical journey for an aging cruise ship trying to survive to its 30-year target date.


P&O Pacific Sum the former Carnival Jubilee

In 2004, Carnival Corp. transferred the Jubilee to P&O Cruises Australia, changing its name to the Pacific Sun. It sailed in a secondary but developing market for eight years before being sold to HNA in 2012, showing that it still had some residual value at age 26.

There wasn’t much of that value left by age 30, however. HNA had listed the ship for sale at $35 million, but there were apparently no takers.

So the Jubilee will join other beloved ships such as Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norway and the former Love Boat, Princess Cruises’ Pacific Princess, which were reduced to scrap.

Two sister ships built as part of Carnival’s Holiday class are still operating: the Celebration is now sailing as the Grand Celebration for Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, and the Holiday, now 31 years old, sails for Cruise & Maritime Voyages as the Magellan on Baltic Sea itineraries.

Celebrity Cruises orders pair of 2,900-passenger ships

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By Tom Stieghorst

Celebrity Cruises said it has ordered two 2,900-passenger ships from the STX France shipyard in St. Nazaire.

The ships are scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2018 and early 2020.

Celebrity’s most recent ship, the 3,046-passenger Celebrity Reflection, was delivered in the fall of 2012.The line recently agreed to send its oldest ship, Celebrity Century, to a new joint venture in China.

Celebrity’s parent, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., said the ships are being built under the Project Edge name. RCCL said they will deliver small-ship itineraries with large-ship amenities.

“STX France designs and builds some of the most innovative and stylish cruise ships in the world, and Project Edge offers them the opportunity to again set a new standard for modern iconic architecture,” said Michael Bayley, presdient and CEO of Celebrity.

Contract costs for the ship were not disclosed. With the addition of the two new orders, RCCL said company-wide capacity is scheduled to increase by 2.4% this year, 5.5% next year, 6.7% in 2016, 3.8% in 2017 and 4.3% in 2018.

The 117,000-gross-ton ships will be part of a new class of vessels for Celebrity. the line currently operates five Solstice-class vessels, including Celebrity Reflection, and four Millennium-class vessels.

Celebrity competes in the premium segment with Holland America Line, which has a 2,650-passenger ship called Koningsdam under construction for delivery in February 2016.