Chinese travel agency buys Celebrity Cruises ship

Chinese travel agency buys Celebrity Cruises ship

By Jerry Limone
Celebrity CenturyRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), parent of Celebrity Cruises, has agreed to sell the Celebrity Century ship to Ctrip.com International, the largest online travel agency in China.

Ctrip is acquiring the ship through a holding company called Exquisite Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of Skyseas Holding International. Skyseas was founded by Ctrip and other investors to offer cruises to Chinese customers.

Ctrip and RCCL said that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to manage the operations of the acquired cruise ship “and potentially broaden the relationship.”

“Ctrip will capitalize on our strong brand, large customer base and superior service quality, as well as our partner’s extensive cruise operating experience, to generate great value to our customers and shareholders,” Ctrip President Min Fan said in a statement.

The 1,815-passenger Century will sail for Celebrity Cruises until April 2015. After that, the ship will be renovated, Ctrip said.

The Century’s final Celebrity cruise has been altered. A 15-night Dubai-to-Rome sailing departing April 5 is now a 14-night cruise from Dubai to Singapore.

Guests have the option to cancel and receive a full refund or take another cruise and receive an onboard credit as well as compensation to cover air change fees.

RCCL said that the sale of Celebrity Century will result in a noncash loss of approximately $20 million. The ship entered service in 1995 and is now the oldest and smallest ship in Celebrity’s fleet.

RCCL Chairman Richard Fain called the ship’s sale “an excellent business opportunity for both Royal Caribbean and Ctrip.”

Disney hikes NCFs for cruises, drops air commission on tours

By Tom Stieghorst
Disney Cruise Line on Aug. 18 is changing the structure of its non-commissionable fare (NCF), which will raise the amount of fare exempt from commission on most cruises.

Also starting Aug. 18, tour operator Adventures by Disney will no longer pay commission on the air portion of packages. It will continue to book air arrangements.

The new NCF system creates a sliding scale based on cruise length.

Currently, the NCF is a flat $20 per person, per day. Starting next week, the line will deduct $25 per person, per day on voyages of six days or less, and $30 per person, per day on trips between seven and 10 days.

Disney is leaving the amount at $20 for cruises of 11 days or more.

Also at Adventures by Disney, pre- and post-tour stays at non-Disney branded hotels will not be commissionable.

Disney said commissions will be paid on Disney resorts for pre- and post-tour stays related to itineraries in Southern California, China, England and France.

QE2 crew on strike amid Ukranian political crisis

QE2 crew on strike amid Ukranian political crisis The crew of the former Cunard flagship QE2 in Dubai is on strike ahead of plans to sail it to China to be refitted as a floating hotel.

Ukrainian workers on the ship say they were not paid in March or April.

Owners Oceanic Group said an agency had been paid and blamed the political situation in Ukraine for difficulties in dealing with crew issues.

The company said it was still planning on eventually locating the vessel in Hong Kong or Singapore where it is due to become a ‘heritage hotel’ with 400 bedrooms and suites.

The BBC said it had obtained a letter from the Ukrainian captain to the ship’s owners stating the 48-strong crew has been on strike since May 15.

Winnie Ip, vice chairman of owners QE2 Holdings Ltd, said: “We are waiting for new crew to replace the existing ones on a sign-on/sign-off rotation basis, but, given the present political situation in Ukraine, it is difficult and a little slow.”

She said the consortium was still committed to sailing the QE2 to a Shanghai shipyard under its own steam for the refit.

Its 900 cabins are to be converted into 400 larger suites as part of the planned £62 million refurbishment.