NCL’S NEW SHIP PRIMA BREAKS COMPANY SALES RECORDS

Posted on 17 May, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has claimed to have broken company booking records after its newly announced ship Norwegian Prima went on sale last week.

Prima, the first in a new series of six vessels, brought NCL it’s best-performing opening sales day and week in the line’s 54-year history.

Launching in August 2022, Prima will feature a number of brand firsts for NCL across its design, venues and guest experience – including Ocean Boulevard, Indulge Food Hall, Infinity Beach and Oceanwalk.

Prima will also see the line’s suite “ship-within-a-ship” concept, The Haven, expanded and moved to the aft.

NCL president and chief executive Harry Sommer said Prima’s sales during its open booking day has doubled the record set by Norwegian Bliss in 2018.

Nearly 20% of bookings made for Prima were for Haven suites, which Sommer said showed NCL guests’ “desire for top-of-the-line experiences”.

“Norwegian Prima is already proving to be a game-changer for NCL,” he said.

“Every aspect of Prima, from bow to stern, was conceptualised with the guest in mind. With this world-class ship, we are providing our guests with more wide-open spaces, elevated service, thoughtful design and a variety of experiences that go beyond expectation.

“Our record-breaking sales are a clear indicator of our guests’ excitement to return to the ocean and of the significant demand for a premium vacation experience.”

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Differ on July U.S. Cruising Plans

Posted on 14 May, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

The three largest cruise brands are targeting different restart plans that should get the green light to cruise in July from U.S. ports, according to recent announcements and comments from executives.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line said earlier this week it is hoping for a July restart in the U.S. on select ships.

Carnival hopes to begin operating sailings on three ships from Florida and Texas, including the Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze from Galveston, and Carnival Horizon from Miami.

The Miami-based company also said that if it can find a solution to allow cruise ships to visit Alaska, the Carnival Miracle will assume some of the Carnival Freedom’s departures from Seattle.

Royal Caribbean International

“We believe we are now seeing a clear way forward to safe cruising in the near future,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group, on the company’s business update call in late April.

Added Michael Bayley, CEO and president of the Royal Caribbean International brand: “With what (CDC letter) we received last night July looks very realistic (for restarting cruises in North America).”

As for the Alaska season, Fain noted there are uncertainties and that service resumption may require a waiver from the Passenger Vessels Service Act as long as Canada will not allow ship calls. Alternatively, Canada could allow technical calls.

“Given the momentum, there is the reason for optimism,” he added.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line had intended to restart in the United States on July 4, having submitted what it referred to as an ironclad plan and letter to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in early April.

But as of early May, and with no reply from the CDC, company executives said that a July restart from U.S. ports won’t be happening.

“The July U.S. launch at least from our company, it’s just not possible,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO, on the company’s first-quarter earnings call in early May.

“It was possible back in early April when we proposed to the CDC 100 per cent vaccination. We’ve always said it takes about 90 days to stand up a vessel.

“So from April 5, when we submitted our proposal, 90 days would have been early July and that was possible, but today we’re in early May, so now we’re looking past that. But look there is more to it than just what the CDC says, there is only so much capacity to be able to stand up vessels.”

Del Rio said getting a cruise ship ready to sail after a 15 to 18-month layup was not an overnight process.

Cruise Industry Capacity Growth Concerns Have Been Debunked

Posted on 10 May, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

With the cruise industry set to grow at between 4 and 6 per cent per year according to the 2021 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, are there concerns about too many ships and weakened pricing?

No, according to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings President and CEO Frank Del Rio.

“I think that the narrative of too much capacity coming online pre-pandemic had pretty much been debunked,” he said, on the company’s first-quarter earnings call. “All the cruise line were taking on the new (ships), digesting that new capacity very nicely and increasing pricing. And so we always – our comeback always was, we only have 28 ships. There are many underserved markets that we simply don’t have ships to operate in.

“And so we’re eager to get our hands on our new vessels, all nine of them across the three brands. And what we’re seeing now within the pandemic is pricing is strong, demand is stronger than ever. I mean, to give you a nugget of data. The Oceania and Regent brands reached their 50 per cent load factor for 2022 over 100 days earlier than they did for the record year of 2019 … pricing power is there.”