Tag Archives: Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises moves Apex’s naming ceremony from Southampton

Posted on by
Reply

Image result for Apex princess cruise

Celebrity Cruises has postponed the naming ceremony of new ship Celebrity Apex this month in response to the coronavirus outbreak, but two planned inaugural sailings are still to go ahead.

Apex was due to be named in Southampton on March 30 – the event would have been the first time Celebrity Cruises named a ship in the UK for ten years.

The Edge-series ship’s naming ceremony will be rescheduled to take place later this year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from where it will sail to the Caribbean this winter.

The line’s two two-night inaugural sailing events, which around 1,000 UK and Irish agents have been invited to, are expected to go ahead as planned on March 28 and March 30.

A Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman said it would be insensitive to the wider industry for Celebrity to host the event when companies are dealing with the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.

She added: “We [the UK] are still getting the ship first out of the shipyard, and we can’t wait to show her off to all our trade partners.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to celebrate our ship in the UK market, but it’s times like these where we have to be sensitive to the environment the wider industry is working in.”

In a letter to guests due to attend the naming ceremony, Celebrity’s president and chief executive Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said: “We always expected Apex to be an extraordinary ship, but the extraordinary times we’re living right now have come as a surprise.

“Those who know me, or even know of me, know that I’m not much of a traditionalist. One tradition I do cherish, however, is the tradition of launching a new ship with a groundbreaking naming ceremony, and a groundbreaking godmother [technology activist Reshma Saujani]. I believe the karma and energy around the naming of a ship and its godmother are important to its future, its guests and its crew.

“To that end, we believe that continuing with the naming ceremony in the current environment would be inconsistent with the spirit and intention of such an important and meaningful event. We have therefore made the difficult decision to postpone our formal naming ceremony until later this year and will name Celebrity Apex when she arrives in Fort Lauderdale to begin her Caribbean season.”

Additional health and safety measures have also been implemented on Celebrity ships, which have been subject to “special sanitising”, Lutoff-Perlo said.

Any guest, or crew member, who has travelled to, from, or through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or Italy within 15 days of departure will not be allowed to board, including those who had connecting flights in affected countries.

For the inaugural sailings from Southampton, all guests and crew are to receive a pre-boarding health screening and anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will receive additional medical screening and/or be denied boarding.

Lutoff-Perlo added: “While we find ourselves in uncharted territory and, as our captains will tell you, sooner or later everyone who sails into rough seas eventually sails into calmer waters. I know we are all anxiously awaiting those calmer waters.

“The health and safety of our guests and our crew are now, and have always been, at the forefront of everything we do every single day. These protocols are attached for your reference.”

Royal Caribbean To Sail Free Cruises for Crisis Responders with Displaced Tonnage

Posted on by
Reply
Spectrum of the Seas and Celebrity Millenium
The spectrum of the Seas and Celebrity Millennium

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced it will dedicate two ships to “humanitarian efforts in Australia and California” to support those affected by recent crises in both areas.

Both the Spectrum of the Seas and Celebrity Millennium, which is out of service due to the coronavirus outbreak, will redeploy for these sailings.

The 2019-built Spectrum of the Seas will move Australia and be deployed on complimentary cruises sailing from Sydney in support of Australia’s first responder community, according to a statement.

The ship has been out of service since mid-January due to the coronavirus outbreak, with cruises cancelled through mid-March.

“When things go wrong, this is a company that wants to find a way to help,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises. “At Royal Caribbean, we consider ourselves fortunate to be able to use our ships in a positive way during difficult times.”

“We are in a fortunate position to offer these brave and selfless members of the Australian community the opportunity to join us for a few days and let them relax and unwind in the company of other volunteers and first responders,” added Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. “By welcoming and accommodating them aboard Spectrum of the Seas, we hope to recognize their contribution and offer them our hospitality.”

Fain said Royal Caribbean was working with its suppliers to deliver one million N-95 protective masks into China for government distribution into affected areas.

“We admire the all-out efforts of the Chinese government and people to address this crisis, and we want to bring our resources to bear to help their efforts,” Fain said.

In addition, the Celebrity Millennium is moving to the West Coast of the U.S. earlier than previously scheduled ahead of her Alaska program and will offer a series of “Cruising for Heroes” voyages in support of California firefighters, other first responders and veterans.

These voyages will run through March and April. A variety of three-, four- and five-night sailings have been added to the brand’s offerings to travel the breathtaking Pacific Coast. The sailings will leave from Los Angeles and details will be announced soon.

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, said, “While the circumstances have not been what any of us would have wanted, we now have the opportunity to show the State of California our stunning Celebrity Millennium and do some good in the process by honouring and helping our everyday heroes who do so much for so many. Celebrity Millennium is a beautifully appointed ship and was recently revolutionized. It’s exciting to share it with this market and to honour the men and women who come to the aid of others every single day.”

Royal Caribbean also announced it plans to dedicate a ship in China to a series of complimentary sailings to thank first responders and medical personnel when the outbreak is under control.

 

Royal Caribbean latest to warn of coronavirus profit impact

Posted on by
Reply

Image result for royal caribbean ships in china

The wonder of the Seas due for China deployment 2020

Royal Caribbean Cruises has joined larger rival Carnival Corporation in warning of the potential “material” financial impact of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The world’s second-largest cruise company has now cancelled a total of 18 sailings in south-east Asia and also modified several itineraries as a result of travel restrictions in place and “related circumstances.”

The number of cancelled cruises has risen from the eight out of China reported by the company last week.

RCC also reported “softer bookings” across the broader business, not just Asia.

It is in regular communications with global health authorities after China and other countries moved “aggressively” to contain the spread of the virus.

Like other cruise firms, the owner of brands such as Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea and Azamara, has implemented measures to protect passengers and crew.

These include denying boarding to those that have travelled from, to or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days and performing mandatory specialised health screenings on at-risk passengers and crew.

The company “is assessing the developments constantly and will update these measures as needed”.

RCC added: “Taken together, these measures have an estimated impact on the company’s financial performance for 2020 of approximately $0.65 per share.

“While not currently planned, if the company was to cancel all of its remaining sailings in Asia through the end of April, it would impact 2020 financial performance by an additional $0.55 per share.

“There are still too many variables and uncertainties to make a reasonable forecast for 2020.

“While the early impact due to concerns about the coronavirus is mainly related to Asia, recent bookings for our broader business have also been softer.

“If the travel restrictions and concerns over the outbreak continue for an extended period of time, they could materially impact the company’s overall financial performance.”

Chairman and chief executive Richard Fain said: “It is important that every organisation acts responsibly, and we have already taken aggressive steps to minimise risk through boarding restrictions and itinerary changes.

“Our shipboard and shoreside teams have been working tirelessly through these circumstances and I want to thank them for all of their extraordinary efforts. We appreciate our responsibility to our guests and to each other, and our focus on public health is unwavering.”

Carnival Corporation, owner of quarantined ship Diamond Princess in Japan after an outbreak of coronavirus on board, was the first to warn of a “material impact” on its financial results.