Royal Caribbean orders third Oasis ship from STX France

Posted on 31 December, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

Royal Caribbean orders third Oasis ship from STX France

By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean finalized a long negotiation by ordering a third ship in the 5,400-passenger Oasis class from the STX France shipyard.

The ship will be the same size as the Oasis and Allure of the Seas, and is intended for delivery in mid-2016.

Royal Caribbean had been negotiating with STX Finland, but financial support from the Finnish government apparently could not be worked out.

Royal Caribbean did not divulge the cost of the new ship. It said its capital spending for the next few years would be $1.3 billion in 2012, $700 million in 2013, $1.2 billion in 2014, $1.2 billion in 2015 and $1.3 billion in 2016, when the third Oasis ship is scheduled to be delivered.

When Royal Caribbean confirmed in November that it was negotiating for a third Oasis-class vessel, it said the price per berth would be less than the original two ships.

Royal Caribbean has a one-year option to build a fourth Oasis-class ship from STX France.

The contract with STX France includes the transfer of Pullmantur’s Atlantic Star as part of the consideration.

Drink packages now available on 13 Royal Caribbean ships

Posted on 20 December, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

Drink packages now available on 13 Royal Caribbean ships

By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean has begun offering all-inclusive drink packages on 13 ships and plans to make them available on all of its vessels sailing voyages of at least seven nights by early next year.

Passengers can now purchase “Classic” or “Premium” packages. Royal Caribbean has been testing the idea on several ships this year.

The Classic package includes beer and house wines, plus non-alcoholic beverages, for $45 a day. Premium, for $55 a day, adds frozen drinks and cocktails, including premium brands, to the Classic lineup.

Packages must be bought on or before the first day of the cruise and cover every day of the cruise. Also, if one passenger in a cabin buys the package, everyone over 21 in the same cabin must also buy one.

Carnival Cruise Lines began testing a similar package this summer and has it available on a half-dozen ships, while Norwegian Cruise Line has said it is evaluating such a package.

Fans of the idea say it helps them manage their bar bills; opponents say it facilitates excessive drinking.

Report: Finnish government rejects financing for third Oasis-class ship

Posted on 27 November, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

The Finnish government rejected a financing package for shipyard STX Finland to build a third Oasis-class ship, according to a report in Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

The paper said the shipyard in Turku and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will try to renegotiate an acceptable financing package.

Royal Caribbean, which had the Oasis and Allure of the Seas ships built in Turku, confirmed in an earnings call last month that it was negotiating for a third 5,400-passenger ship.

Oasis cost $1.4 billion or about $220,000 per berth when it was ordered in 2006. Royal Caribbean said the new ship could be ordered at a lower cost per berth than the Oasis or sister ship the Allure of the Seas, which cost $1.2 billion.

Outside of the Oct. 25 earnings call, Royal has declined to comment on the negotiations.

A second Finnish paper, Yle Uutiset, quoted former Turku shipyard CEO Martin Saarikangas, as saying he was confident the deal would get done.

“I’d take the silence as a positive signal,” he said to the paper. “If history is correct, there is sure to be something pending. The situation is not hopeless.”
Yle Uutiset said Finnish Economic Minister Jan Free Mount and Defense Minister Carl Haglund refused to comment on the financing of the project.