Tag Archives: Ocean Cruise

Top Reason to Cruise is Value for Money

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 The top reason for choosing an ocean cruise is value for money, according to new trade research.

Clia’s first Travel Agent Research Panel Questionnaire found the value of a cruise was ranked first, ahead of itineraries and standards of services. More than 75% of respondents said customers spent more on ocean cruising in 2016.

High standards of dining and promotional offers were ranked fourth and fifth as key reasons in choosing an ocean cruise.

Clia surveyed just under 100 agencies from the high street and online, as well as homeworkers.

Almost 75% of agents said the industry had grown in the past year, the biggest increase being sales from couples, followed by families.

The survey’s results were released at Clia’s cruise forum in Windsor this week, where it also announced that Royal Caribbean’s vice-president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Stuart Leven, will succeed Lynn Narraway, managing director of Holland America Line and Seabourn, as chairman of the association.

Andy Harmer, director of Clia UK and Ireland, said: “I don’t think it’s a surprise that customers are choosing cruise for value for money.

“People are more conscious of not only a holiday’s price, but what they spend during the trip.

“More people want to go all-inclusive. Cruise is the best value for money because so much is included.”

Phil Evans, managing director of agency Cruise Nation, said: “Consumers take everything into account including spending and activities. This is why families are a massive, growing market segment.”

The key factor in customers choosing a river cruise was destination, followed by standards of service and value for money.

Fourth Viking Ocean Cruises ship floated out

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Viking Ocean Cruises’ fourth ship has been floated out a year before its planned debut.

The 930-passenger Viking Sun is under construction at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard in Italy.

The vessel is due to enter service in late 2017 in the Caribbean before undertaking a 141-day world cruise covering 35 countries and 66 ports.

Yi Lou, vice president of China Merchant Bank Financial Leasing (CMBFL), served as Viking Sun’s madrina during the float out ceremony.

Viking Cruises chairman Torstein Hagen said: “It is always a proud moment for the entire Viking family when a new ship meets water for the first time.

“CMBFL is an important partner, and we wanted to honour our relationship by naming one of their executives as madrina to our newest ship.”

Viking, one of the most interesting stories in cruising, just got more interesting

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Viking Cruises quietly turned an important corner last week – one that signals the company may be on the cusp of significant growth.

The transition came through a vehicle called MISA Investments Ltd., which received a $500 million equity infusion from TPG Capital and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.

Few in the cruise world recognize MISA Investments as the parent company of Viking Cruises. I know I didn’t. But after the deal, 17% of MISA will be owned by Canada’s retirement plan and TPG.

The significance of that is that until now, Viking has been a privately held company, financed primarily by European banks.  The new financing represents Viking’s first institutional equity.

There’s only so far private money can take a cruise line. With the notable exception of MSC Cruises, big cruise companies turn big when they gain access to other people’s money.

The latest example of that was Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. It became publicly-held in 2013, but before it went public it benefitted from private equity interest as well.

And TPG Capital was one of two funds (along with Apollo Group) to put money into Norwegian. Their dollars paid off debt and financed new ships at Norwegian, which led to higher cash flows, taking the company to its long-anticipated public offering.

Now TPG could be setting the stage for something similar at Viking.

“Having been a long-time investor in the cruise industry, we see Viking as a market innovator that has reimagined how people explore the world, with an iconic brand and strong product offering that has significant growth potential,” said Paul Hackwell, principal at TPG, in announcing the investment.

Hackwell said he looked forward to working with Viking CEO Torstein Hagen to expand, “both in products offered and regions served.”

TPG once held north of 10% of NCLH, but it has harvested its gains and now holds about 5 million shares, or 2.3% according to a 2016 proxy statement

For his part, Hagen said the new equity “will give us great opportunities to grow further, particularly in destination-focused ocean cruising as well as cruising in Europe for Chinese consumers.”

In short, one of the most interesting stories in cruising just got more interesting.