Tag Archives: Oceania Cruises

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The benefits of acquiring Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises began to “hit their full stride” in the second quarter, Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd., said Tuesday as the company reported that Q2 net income rose 42%, to $158.5 million.

Revenue also increased 42%, to $1.09 billion.

The company completed its $3 billion acquisition of Oceania and Regent last November.

Norwegian also said a strong Wave season at the start of 2015 had continued into the second and third quarters, with “volumes continually outpacing the same time last year.”

The company now expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.80 to $2.90 for the full-year 2015. The previous guidance was $2.75 to $2.90.

Oceania touts new O Life incentives

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Oceania Cruises is consolidating and expanding its early booking incentives programs under a new name, O Life Advantage.  “The O Life Advantage is a dramatic shift in the way to go to market,” said Jason Montague, Oceania’s president and CEO.Oceania has previously had incentives to encourage early bookings at favorable prices, but some sailings were excluded and programs varied in exact benefits, Montague said. 

Jason Montague
Jason Montague

The new, streamlined program is being offered on the 2016 summer season on veranda cabins and above for bookings made by Sept. 30.In addition to being more comprehensive, the O Life package of incentives includes a more robust offering of free shore excursions. O Life provides three free excursions per person on sailings up to nine days, four free excursions on journeys of between 10 and 13 days, and five free excursions on itineraries of 14 days or more.Prepaid gratuities and complimentary Internet are also part of the offer.Montague said bookings for the summer 2016 season opened in March.  With the addition of O Life benefits starting July 6, prices will rise about $300 per person, he said.Guests who are already booked and who qualify for O Life benefits can either rebook at the higher rate or stick with the more basic cruise, he said.Montague said agents will benefit from selling the more-inclusive O Life program because more of what would be onboard spending is bundled into Oceania’s commissionable fare“It gives them the ability to earn commissions on a good price point,” Montague said.

The details will also be easier to remember than the current lineup of incentive programs, he said.

Reinventing Norwegian

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Perhaps no company has had more revolution in the top management than Norwegian Cruise Line, which has had to structure new roles for executives following the $3.03 billion acquisition of Prestige Cruise Holdings and its two brands, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. 

Closing the deal in November set off a cascade of changes that began with a new corporate structure under a parent company, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH). 

Next, Prestige President Kunal Kamlani resigned, followed two months later by NCLH CEO Kevin Sheehan.

With former Prestige Chairman and CEO Frank Del Rio stepping up to take Sheehan’s place, openings were created for Stuart, 51, and Montague, 41, to step into brand president roles. 

Stuart, a 27-year Norwegian Cruise Line veteran with a long history on the sales side of the company, said in an interview after being promoted that he would continue to be more involved in sales than the average brand president.

“The key part of this role really is driving demand for the brand,” Stuart said. “I’m going to be very, very involved with travel partners.”

For their part, travel agents are thrilled to have Stuart in such a high-profile role because, said Signature’s Sharpe, they credit him with the line’s “Partners First” initiative and its support for the agent distribution channel.

“I keep getting members calling me,” Sharpe said. “They’re so happy for him and for us.”

Only time will tell whether all the change at the top is ultimately good for the cruise industry and travel retailers. But like Sharpe, Wall is optimistic that the positive energy of new blood will outweigh the loss of experience and institutional memory at some lines.

“It’s easy to have tunnel vision and automatically assume the way to go is the way it’s always been,” Wall said.

Coggins, too, said that on balance the changes are positive. 

“If you bring someone in from another industry, they come with fresh ideas,” Coggins said. “They bring the perspective that will help attract the first-time cruiser.”