Longtime executives promoted to lead Celebrity, Royal Caribbean

Posted on 8 December, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Jerry Limone

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) has named Michael Bayley president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, transferring to the company’s largest brand from the helm of Celebrity Cruises.

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo replaces Bayley as Celebrity’s president and CEO, promoted from her position as Royal Caribbean’s executive vice president of operations.

Each executive has 30 years of experience in the industry.

Bayley had Lisa Lutoff-Perlo been Celebrity’s president and CEO since July 2012. At that time, Bayley had been promoted from his position as Royal Caribbean’s executive vice president of operations, and Lutoff-Perlo was promoted to replace Bayley.

The top spot at Royal Caribbean International had been vacant since April, when Adam Goldstein was promoted to president and COO of the parent company.

In a statement, RCCL said Bayley “delivered strong results” at Celebrity “while building the company’s ‘modern luxury’ positioning, which resonated successfully with Celebrity’s sophisticated customer base.”

RCCL said Lutoff-Perlo “played a critical role in the recent successful launch of Quantum of the Seas.”

Celebrity Cruises orders pair of 2,900-passenger ships

Posted on 8 December, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

Celebrity Cruises said it has ordered two 2,900-passenger ships from the STX France shipyard in St. Nazaire.

The ships are scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2018 and early 2020.

Celebrity’s most recent ship, the 3,046-passenger Celebrity Reflection, was delivered in the fall of 2012.The line recently agreed to send its oldest ship, Celebrity Century, to a new joint venture in China.

Celebrity’s parent, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., said the ships are being built under the Project Edge name. RCCL said they will deliver small-ship itineraries with large-ship amenities.

“STX France designs and builds some of the most innovative and stylish cruise ships in the world, and Project Edge offers them the opportunity to again set a new standard for modern iconic architecture,” said Michael Bayley, presdient and CEO of Celebrity.

Contract costs for the ship were not disclosed. With the addition of the two new orders, RCCL said company-wide capacity is scheduled to increase by 2.4% this year, 5.5% next year, 6.7% in 2016, 3.8% in 2017 and 4.3% in 2018.

The 117,000-gross-ton ships will be part of a new class of vessels for Celebrity. the line currently operates five Solstice-class vessels, including Celebrity Reflection, and four Millennium-class vessels.

Celebrity competes in the premium segment with Holland America Line, which has a 2,650-passenger ship called Koningsdam under construction for delivery in February 2016.

St. Thomas cruise port to expand

Posted on 4 December, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Gay Nagle Myers

St. Thomas LongBay Landing St. Thomas is moving ahead with plans to build a new pier at the Havensight cruise terminal, which would enable the busy port to accommodate more ships, including the industry’s largest ships.

The Long Bay Landing project calls for two 1,350-foot-long parallel berths that will be divided by a pier. No construction time line has been announced.

Today, mega-ships such as Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class vessels must dock at the Crown Bay terminal when calling in St. Thomas. Crown Bay opened in 2007 with two berths.
Of the two ports, Havensight is the busier one. The dock was extended earlier this year so that it could accommodate three ships, but there are times when three berths aren’t enough. Ships sometimes have to anchor in the harbor and tender passengers to and from shore when the pier is full.

The Long Bay Landing project will keep the U.S. Virgin Islands competitive with other Caribbean destinations as well as increase government revenue, according to Joseph Boschulte, president and CEO of West Indian Company (WICO), operator of the Havensight terminal.

“We thought long and hard about how this would affect not only our bottom line, but also the territory as a whole. We had to be sure that any new development would not be at the expense of our environment and our community,” Boschulte said.

Cruise-related revenue accounts for more than 70% of the Virgin Islands economy.

“We can no longer rest on our laurels, thinking that our islands are the automatic first choice for travelers,” Boschulte said. “The competition is tough, and our neighbors have watched both the good and bad choices we have made in order to improve our products.”

St. Thomas cruise passengers numbers totaled 1.47 million through September, up 4% over the same period in 2013. Year-end passenger numbers in 2013 came close to the 2 million mark (1.99 million), up 4.9% over 2012.