Tag Archives: Royal Caribbean Corp.

Royal Caribbean Group extends cruise suspension

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Independence of the Seas in Southampton

Royal Caribbean Group has extended the suspension of its cruise operation in line with the US Centers for Disease Control’s

Cruise lines under the Royal Caribbean Group banner, including Royal Caribbean International, Celerity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea, will not sail before October.

Agents will be contacted about cruises their customers are booked on.

The move follow’s the US Centers for Disease Control’s No Cruise Order, essentially banning cruising up to July 24 to September 30.

Members of Cruise Lines International Association (Clia) had already voluntarily suspended cruises up to September 15.

A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson said: “The health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is our top priority. As we work with the CDC and others toward this shared goal, Royal Caribbean Group will be extending the suspension of sailings to include those departing on or before September 30, 2020.

“We will be reaching out to our guests and travel partners to share further details and address any questions or concerns they may have.”

Pullmantur Fleet Will Likely Be Scrapped

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Monarch

The end may be nearing for the Monarch, Sovereign and Horizon as the trio of former Pullmantur ships could be heading for dismantling in Turkey, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Pullmantur filed for reorganization under Spanish insolvency laws in June, with Royal Caribbean Cruises essentially taking the ships back from the Spanish brand at the same time, and telling Cruise Industry News the vessels were being transitioned to cold lay-up.

Crew members aboard the fleet said important items of value have been removed from the vessels, which will now end up in Aliaga, Turkey, a coastal town known for its ship-scrapping business.

A request for further information sent to Royal Caribbean Cruises went unanswered.

The Pullmantur Fleet:

Horizon

Horizon
Built: 1990
Capacity: 1,828
Notes: Launched as the Celebrity Horizon. Has also spent time under the Island Cruises and CDF umbrellas.

Monarch

Monarch
Built: 1991
Capacity: 2,850
Notes: Launched as the Monarch of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International in 1988; moved to Pullmantur in 2013.

Sovereign

Sovereign
Built: 1988
Capacity: 2,850
Notes: Launched as the Sovereign of the Sea for Royal Caribbean International in 1988, becoming the largest cruise ship in the world at the time. Transferred to Pullmantur in 2008.

Carnival Corporation Downgraded to Junk Status

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A person stretches at a park overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Carnival Panorama cruise ship as authorities encourage social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Long Beach, California Sunday, March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday downgraded bonds of Carnival Corp to junk status, forecasting continued weak demand for the cruise industry hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on the world’s biggest cruise operator’s secured bonds to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-‘, and its unsecured bonds to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BBB-‘. Both are now regarded as non-investment grade or junk bonds.

Carnival’s overall issuer credit rating was also lowered to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BBB-‘. Last month, Moody’s Investors Service also cut the company’s rating to junk status.

Earlier in June, Carnival reported a record $4.4 billion in preliminary quarterly losses after its business was crippled by the health crisis, forcing it to take major write-downs on the disposal of some docked ships.

The company, which in recent weeks fully drew down a $3 billion credit line and issued $6.6 billion in bonds and equity, has also been looking for further waivers on debt repayments due next year, without which it could breach some loan conditions.

“We forecast that the company’s credit measures will remain very weak through 2021 and anticipate that its adjusted leverage may potentially exceed 10x in 2021 following a significant deterioration in its performance in 2020,” S&P said in a statement.

S&P has a “BB” issuer credit rating, also a junk status, on Carnival rival Royal Caribbean Corp. (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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