Norwegian Cruise Line snaps up Ocean Princess as part of fleet expansion

Posted on 2 December, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has wasted no time in adding to the Oceania Cruises brand it recently acquired as part of its purchase of Prestige Cruises.

The firm has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Princes Cruises to buy Ocean Princess, a 684-passenger ship that will join the Oceania stable.

NCL will not take delivery of the vessel until March 2016, at which point it will undergo a $40 million (£25.4 million) refurbishment in Marseille before becoming the fourth ship sailing under the Oceania Cruises brand, joining Regatta, Nautica and Insignia.

The Ocean Princess is to be renamed Sirena and president and chief executive officer of NCL Kevin Sheehan said the deal ” provides measured capacity growth based on the proven platform of Oceania Cruises’ highly regarded mid-size ships”.

Customers will be able to book their place on Sirena for when it sets sail in April 2016 from March next year and NCL said the extensive refurbishment – set to take 35 days – will “elevate the ship to the Oceania Cruises’ standard of elegance”.

The firm will use the recent refurbishment of the Insignia as inspiration for the facelift and plans to incorporate Oceania’s two speciality restaurants – the Polo Grill and Toscana.

NCL has not yet released details of the routes and destinations and it has in mind for the Sirena, but with Oceania Cruises calling at over 330 points globally it is likely the ship will be well-travelled. President and chief operating officer at Oceania Cruises Kunal S Kamlani said the Sirena addition “opens up an entire array of new itinerary options”.

“The award-winning guest experience delivered on our ships, coupled with a collection of innovative itineraries that cater to new markets, will combine for an alluring siren song for both our current and future guests,” he remarked.

NCL confirmed the purchase of Prestige Cruises – the parent firm of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises – earlier this month. It is paying $3.025 billion for the company and the move means 22 ships – including the Sirena – will be under NCL’s control, with a further four due to be added over the next five years.

The last cruise frontier?

Posted on 30 September, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Maldives: The last cruise frontier?

By Tom Stieghorst

In a recent interview, I asked Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman Richard Fain what travel destination was on his bucket list, and after a moment’s thought he said, “the Maldives.”

The islands in the Indian Ocean are so remote that Fain felt like he could get away from everything by going there.

Indeed, the Indian Ocean may be the most out-of-the-way cruise destination you’d ever want to experience. With the rise in expedition cruises to the Antarctic, the Indian Ocean may be the last frontier.

Among the lines going to the Maldives are Costa Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruises. *TomStieghorst

Seabourn describes the islands as “tiny specks in a vast expanse of ocean.” Male, the main inhabited city in the chain, is described by Conde Nast Traveler as “a combination of the Robinson Crusoe paradise of childhood dreams and a honeymoon destination fit for the Hollywood A-list.”

What is there to do there? “Absolutely nothing,” Fain said.

Most of these lines visit the Maldives on an itinerary from southern or eastern Africa to India or Southeast Asia. It is a long, thin route that involves lots of sea days, a long flight from North America — unless you’re on a world cruise — and a considerable expense.

Seabourn’s cruise next January sandwiches a visit to Male and Colombo, Sri Lanka, in the middle of eight long sea days on a voyage between South Africa and Singapore.

Princess has a 46-day journey on its schedule that takes visitors to the Maldives on an “odyssey” from Australia to South Africa.

Oceania Cruises plans to be there Dec. 3 and 4 on a 30-day cruise from Dubai to Cape Town, South Africa. In the next few years Silversea Cruises has four voyages with the Maldives on the itinerary, including a 17-day trip between Singapore and Mombasa, Kenya, next March.

In 2016, Silversea’s new expedition ship, the Silver Discoverer, will offer a 17-night cruise that starts in Phuket, Thailand and ends in Male, after stops in Myanmar, India’s Andaman Islands and Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.

So the next time a client says they’ve “been there done that” when you suggest an ocean cruise, you might respond with, “Have you thought about going to the Maldives?”

Travel agents seek details on Norwegian-Prestige merger

Posted on 4 September, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Norwegian Cruise Line moved up its regular Wednesday webinar by one day this week to address the agent implications of its $3 billion acquisition of Prestige Cruise Holdings.

Agents listening to the webinar asked Norwegian’s executive vice president, Andy Stuart, and Prestige President Kunal Kamlani about its effect on commissions, about how the loyalty programs will be handled and whether they will see a cheapening of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises to make the acquisition produce financial savings.

Both said several times that it will be “business as usual” for agents and consumers. “In our minds, it all starts with the clients,” Kamlani said.

On commissions, Kamlani said there are no plans in the next three months to change commissions for 2015. He said this is the traditional time of year to review agency agreements but that nothing should change because of the merger. “It is business as usual,” he reiterated.

The two executives said that how or whether to make Norwegian’s past guest loyalty benefits available to Oceania and Regent cruisers, and vice versa, was high on the list of things to consider but no decisions have been made.

Kamlani said in response to a question that he doesn’t expect to begin offering solo cruise rates after the merger. “We probably would never measure very well on that metric,” he said.

A question about merger savings hurting product quality at the Prestige brands drew a strong response from Kamlani.

“That travesty will not occur on any of our watches of anyone involved in this transaction. That’s as direct as I can be,” he said.