‘Positive Signs’ as Holland America Moving Six Ships Toward U.S.

Posted on 19 November, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Holland America Line is preparing for a gradual restart and is said to be moving six cruise ships toward the U.S. citing positive signs and a new conversation around the return to service.

The news came in a letter sent to crew from President Gus Antorcha, reported by Crew Center, and also obtained by Cruise Industry News.

“Following in-depth discussions with the CDC, other government agencies, and medical and science authorities, we have decided to start moving six Holland America Line ships toward U.S. waters over the next several weeks to begin completing the requirements for conditional sailing,” Antorcha said in the letter sent to the crew.

The ships heading to U.S. waters are the Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam, and Noordam. Holland America did not specify port information but the line has traditionally had a strong presence in the winter from Port Everglades and Tampa, which would pull from a large drive-to market.

“While there is still much to be done, this is an important first step toward our goal of resuming cruise operation,” the letter said.

“Holland America Line will continue to work with the CDC on our eventual return to guest cruise operations. We are fully aligned with the CDC on our top priorities for compliance, protecting the environment, and the health, safety, and well-being of our guests, the people in communities we touch, our crew, and shoreside employees.”

Zito: Swan Hellenic Ready for Strong Start-Up

Posted on 21 October, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

The CEO of Swan Hellenic, Andrea Zito, said that the company is in a good position ahead of its launch in 2021.

“We are receiving only positive comments from the former customers of Swan Hellenic. The sector is reacting very well to the fact that Swan Hellenic is being resurrected in a way,” Zito told Cruise Industry News.

The first of two new expedition ships, the m/v SH Minerva, debuts into service for the brand in 2021.

The revived Swan Hellenic launched earlier this year. However, the brand is actually 70 years old and was acquired in December 2020.

“One and a half [years ago], the group started the negotiation and placed the order for two ships with Helsinki shipyard for delivery at the end of 2021 and mid-2022. And then the pandemic came. This was not really planned,” Zito said.

The coronavirus pandemic caused Swan Hellenic to postpone any announcements from spring to July. However, otherwise, Zito’s company had adjusted to the challenging conditions.

“It’s a little bit slower, but we are doing things very efficiently. It is amazing to realize how many things you can accomplish without travelling continuously,” he said, describing the challenges of having offices in different European countries.

Zito said that Swan Hellenic offers what seasoned travellers look for.

The company will sail to destinations in New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Russia, and, Zito said proudly, the semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica.

“Our ships are some of the very few ships that have Polar Class 5 … So we can stay longer, we can go deeper in the environment and, most importantly, we can go safer because the characteristics of the ships are of higher safety standards to ensure that passengers are well protected,” he said.

According to Zito, Swan Hellenic’s ultimate goal is to cover the whole world.

“It’s not just a box-ticking exercise, it caters to people who are thirsty for knowledge: they are curious and they want to discover various parts of the world. And the world is still very big.”

A More Profitable Carnival Corporation Expected To Emerge

Posted on 19 September, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

A leaner, more profitable Carnival Corporation is likely to emerge following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cruise Industry News’ calculations.

One important aspect will be what now seems like the overdue removal of 18 existing ships from the fleet.

When Carnival Corporation announced earlier this week that it expects to dispose of 18 ships, eight of which have already left the fleet, it also said that the ships represent 12 per cent of the company’s pre-pause capacity, but only 3 per cent of operating income in 2019.

That means that the 18 ships generated only approximately $98.3 million in operating income, compared to approximately $3.2 billion for the other 87 ships (Carnival listed its fleet at 105 ships for the end of its fiscal year 2019).

Assuming that the 18 ships represented their fair share of operating costs at 12 per cent, their removal prior to year’s end 2019 would have cut operating costs by approximately $2 billion, potentially resulting in operating income of approximately $5.4 billion.

Thus, according to Cruise Industry News estimates, Carnival’s operating income and net income could have been $2 billion more for 2019 if the 18 ships had left sooner, with net income of approximately $5 billion instead of $3 billion, or approximately $7.37 per share instead of $4.32 per share.

In addition, the disposed of ships will be replaced by larger and more efficient tonnage that will likely command higher ticket revenues and onboard spending while incurring lower operating costs.