Tag Archives: royal caribbean cruises ltd

Chinese travel agency buys Celebrity Cruises ship

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Chinese travel agency buys Celebrity Cruises ship

By Jerry Limone
Celebrity CenturyRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), parent of Celebrity Cruises, has agreed to sell the Celebrity Century ship to Ctrip.com International, the largest online travel agency in China.

Ctrip is acquiring the ship through a holding company called Exquisite Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of Skyseas Holding International. Skyseas was founded by Ctrip and other investors to offer cruises to Chinese customers.

Ctrip and RCCL said that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to manage the operations of the acquired cruise ship “and potentially broaden the relationship.”

“Ctrip will capitalize on our strong brand, large customer base and superior service quality, as well as our partner’s extensive cruise operating experience, to generate great value to our customers and shareholders,” Ctrip President Min Fan said in a statement.

The 1,815-passenger Century will sail for Celebrity Cruises until April 2015. After that, the ship will be renovated, Ctrip said.

The Century’s final Celebrity cruise has been altered. A 15-night Dubai-to-Rome sailing departing April 5 is now a 14-night cruise from Dubai to Singapore.

Guests have the option to cancel and receive a full refund or take another cruise and receive an onboard credit as well as compensation to cover air change fees.

RCCL said that the sale of Celebrity Century will result in a noncash loss of approximately $20 million. The ship entered service in 1995 and is now the oldest and smallest ship in Celebrity’s fleet.

RCCL Chairman Richard Fain called the ship’s sale “an excellent business opportunity for both Royal Caribbean and Ctrip.”

Quantum to use wrist bands instead of key cards

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By Tom Stieghorst

Guests on Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas will be issued wristbands with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in place of the standard issue key cards, which will be used for cabin access, payment and other traditional key card functions.

The wristbands can also be used to navigate the ship, said Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman Richard Fain, who hosted a live webcast from the ship’s construction site in Germany to announce the innovation.

The webcast will include a chat with former New York Times technology columnist David Pogue, who now works for Yahoo! Those interested can ask questions via Twitter under the hashtag #QuantumoftheSeas.

It was one of half a dozen technology upgrades on the Quantum that promise to make cruising simpler, easier and more hassle-free, Fain said.

Another eye-catching technology will be a robotic bartender which will tend a new venue, the Bionic Bar. Guests will place orders via tablets and then watch the robotic bartenders mix their cocktails.

Quantum will also use RFID to enable guests to track their baggage in real time after they drop it off before the cruise, and after they deliver it to housekeeping on departing the ship. In addition, guests will be able to generate their boarding documents online and upload a photo ID to get digital boarding credentials that will shorten the check-in process. Fain said the process will go from sidewalk to ship in 10 minutes and eliminate the traditional check-in counter and the associated lines.

Quantum is also scheduled to be the second ship to fully utilize the O3B satellite system for telecommunications access, which is expected to dramatically increase Internet speeds. The extra connectivity will enable the Quantum to offer a live global video gaming suite in its new SeaPlex activities area.

The O3B system has been in testing on the Oasis of the Seas and is expected to be fully deployed first on the Allure of the Seas by October.

RCCL aims to double earnings per share over next three years

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By Tom Stieghorst
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) set a dual goal of boosting its return on invested capital to double digits and doubling its 2014 earnings per share over the next three years.

The “Double-Double” program was announced in its second-quarter earnings report, which showed net profit soared to $137.7 million, up from $24.7 million a year earlier.

In publicly announcing its financial targets, RCCL said “articulating clear and specific goals helps guide internal decision-making as well as better informing investors of the path of the business.”

Net yields for the quarter were up 2.6%, at the top of RCCL’s guidance, driven by strong booking trends for Europe and China sailings. There was continued softness in the Caribbean.

RCCL said that because of the strong quarter, it was boosting 2014 projected profit by $22 million to a range of $755 million to $777 million.