Lloyd Werft may be shutting down at the end the year, according to German news sources.
The shipyard, which is a key cruise ship drydock and has been involved in new buildings over the years, was acquired by Genting in 2015.
With the pandemic having a negative effect on the global cruise industry, the yard’s workforce was informed on Friday that the yard may close at the end of the year due to a significant downturn in business.
Workers were also asked to enter into negotiations to help keep the yard open. German news reports also said that there is a prospective buyer for the yard.
Royal Caribbean International has seen a number of company adjustments, fleet changes and deployment moves since COVID-19 began, plus the resumption of cruising aboard the Quantum of the Seas from Singapore.
Here are the main moves that took place for the cruise line since the pandemic started:
Newbuilds Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas Delayed
Under construction in Germany, the Quantum-Class ship was delayed six months and is now scheduled to join the fleet in April.
A few weeks later, the company revealed that the Wonder of the Seas was also delayed. The China-bound Oasis-Class ship was previously scheduled for a mid-2021 delivery and is now expected in 2022.
In both cases, Royal Caribbean cited the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts as the main reason for the changes.
Royal Amplified Postponed Until Further Notice
When the pandemic started, Royal Caribbean was in the middle of a program of fleet modernization called Royal Amplified.
Two ships were scheduled to go trough the work in the second quarter of 2021, including the Allure of the Seas. The Oasis-Class vessel was set to undergo a 58-day, $165 million drydock, starting in March.
Grandeur of the Seas Stays and Debuts a New Homeport
A few weeks after confirming the Majesty and Empress departures, Royal Caribbean announced that the Grandeur of the Seas will operate a new program from Barbados, starting in December.
Built in 1996, the ship was in limbo after the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros filed for insolvency last June. The sister company was set to receive the Grandeur early this year, which was announced back in 2019.
Healthy Sail Panel Launched in Partnership with Norwegian
Putting together a group of experts, the companies formed the “Healthy Sail Panel”, which, in September, revealed a 65-plus-page report detailing 74 best practices to protect the public health and safety of guests, crew and the communities where cruise ships call.
The new protocol is expected to be adopted by Royal Caribbean International when sailings are resumed globally.
Cruises Resumed in Singapore and Global Resumption Plans
With the approval from local authorities, Royal Caribbean started sailing from Singapore in early December. Sailing a program of short cruises to nowhere, the Quantum of the Seas became the first ship to resume service in the company’s fleet.
P&O Cruises is still planning a celebration for when new ship Iona arrives in Southampton to begin her maiden sailings but said it would “judge the mood of the nation” first. President Paul Ludlow said the new ship was looking “stunning” and would be “unlike anything ever seen before for the British market”. He said: “It’s our intention to keep her in Europe when she comes to Southampton and we will absolutely celebrate her arrival into the UK. It will be such a feel-good moment that it would be remiss of us not to. But we will have to judge the mood of the nation. “It’s difficult to predict the future at the moment, so until things are more certain, we will hold back with details of this event.” Speaking as he launched the line’s summer 2022 programme, Ludlow said Iona’s sister ship was still on track for delivery in December 2022 and that steel-cutting for this vessel was due to take place in Germany before the end of this year. He said bookings for the second half of 2021 were at the “upper end of historic levels”, those for spring 2022 had “surpassed the upper end of historic levels” and that summer 2022 pre-registrations were “akin to previous years”.
Ludlow said some bookings for 2022 were by customers whose 2020 cruises had been cancelled and who were redeeming their Future Cruise Credits. “The majority of people took FCCs over a refund when their cruises were cancelled,” he said. “And of those who took an FCC, 50% have utilised it already. So that leaves 50% who are still waiting to utilise it. There were some who had bookings for 2020 and 2021, so they have been waiting to use the 2020 FCC in 2022.” Ludlow also said that not all bookings were by loyal guests and that the “new to cruise market hasn’t completely gone away”. “In the first, three or four months, new to cruise volumes actually exceeded my expectations,” he said. “That’s slowed down a little bit but even so, it’s exceeded my expectations as to how many new-to-cruise people wanted to book.” Ludlow added: “For people taking their first cruise, the consideration period is lengthy. By the time they had invested all that time, [the pandemic] has not been enough for them to say ‘it’s no longer for me’.”
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