Tag Archives: pandemic

SAGA POSTPONES SHIP LAUNCH AND TOURING PROGRAMME UNTIL 2021

Posted on by
Reply

Spirit of Adventure had been due to take its first passengers this summer, but the inaugural sailing was first shifted to November and will now be on 5 February next year.

Sister ship Spirit of Discovery will not sail until 7 March next year and tours are postponed until 31 January 2021.

A Saga spokesperson said: “Over the past few months, we have worked hard to put in place detailed plans to safely return to cruising and have made fantastic progress with all this work.

“Sadly, however, with Covid-19 again on the increase and most countries still not accepting cruise ships, we have taken the decision to extend the suspension of our cruise operations to next year. This includes the postponement of the inaugural cruise of the Spirit of Adventure.

“We are in the process of contacting all our guests to discuss their options, which include rolling over their booking or receiving a full refund. We look forward to welcoming our guests onboard our ships and on our tours as soon as we are practicably able to do so.”

Saga said 2022 cruise bookings were “extremely strong” and showed pent-up demand. Covid precautions mean ship capacity will be limited to 800, with enhanced cleaning and upgraded air conditioning.

 

 

TUI CRUISES ISOLATES CREW AFTER COVID SCARE

Posted on by
1

Tui Cruises’ Mein Schiff 6 was the first cruise ship to dock in Greece since the pandemic. An initial dozen crewmembers tested positive but showed no symptoms. All were placed in isolation on board and re-tested, with the first six results proving negative.

 

Tui Cruises communications director Godja Sonnichsen said she expected all the second test results to be confirmed by Tuesday. She added all crewmembers were routinely tested before they boarded and entered 14 days self-isolation before starting work.

“On Monday morning we received positive test results from 12 crew members of Mein Schiff 6, currently sailing with guests in Greece, from an external laboratory.

“As a purely precautionary measure and in accordance with the strict procedures for resuming cruise operations, which have been agreed with the authorities in Greece, the persons concerned were immediately isolated on board.”

 

The ship, which was moored off the island of Milos with 922 passengers, was allowed to continue on its itinerary to Piraeus.

“Thanks to the extensive hygiene measures and clearance rules on board, there is no reason for neither guests nor crew to worry,” Sonnichsen said.

 

 

A More Profitable Carnival Corporation Expected To Emerge

Posted on by
Reply

A leaner, more profitable Carnival Corporation is likely to emerge following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cruise Industry News’ calculations.

One important aspect will be what now seems like the overdue removal of 18 existing ships from the fleet.

When Carnival Corporation announced earlier this week that it expects to dispose of 18 ships, eight of which have already left the fleet, it also said that the ships represent 12 per cent of the company’s pre-pause capacity, but only 3 per cent of operating income in 2019.

That means that the 18 ships generated only approximately $98.3 million in operating income, compared to approximately $3.2 billion for the other 87 ships (Carnival listed its fleet at 105 ships for the end of its fiscal year 2019).

Assuming that the 18 ships represented their fair share of operating costs at 12 per cent, their removal prior to year’s end 2019 would have cut operating costs by approximately $2 billion, potentially resulting in operating income of approximately $5.4 billion.

Thus, according to Cruise Industry News estimates, Carnival’s operating income and net income could have been $2 billion more for 2019 if the 18 ships had left sooner, with net income of approximately $5 billion instead of $3 billion, or approximately $7.37 per share instead of $4.32 per share.

In addition, the disposed of ships will be replaced by larger and more efficient tonnage that will likely command higher ticket revenues and onboard spending while incurring lower operating costs.