Tag Archives: royal caribbean cruises

Quantum to Join Ovation in Australia for Royal Caribbean

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Quantum of the Seas

Royal Caribbean International is boosting its Australian presence in 2021-2022 according to local reports.

The Quantum of the Seas will move from Singapore to the Down Under market, joining the Ovation and giving the brand two Quantum-class ships in the market sailing from Sydney.

Those two ships are expected to be joined by the Radiance, sailing from Brisbane.

Originally debuting in North America and then moving to the Chinese market, the Quantum was based year-round in China before Royal Caribbean split her season between China and Singapore. Now, the ship will sail in Alaska for the 2021 summer and then move to Australia, moving tonnage out of the Chinese and Asian markets.

 

Royal Caribbean puts up 28 ships as collateral for $3.2bn bond

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Fleet guide - Royal Caribbean Discussion - Royal Caribbean Blog
Royal Caribbean fleet fact sheet.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has launched a $3.2 billion bond offering while pledging 28 of its ships and “material intellectual property” as collateral.

The move followed the world’s second-largest cruise group forecasting heavy losses for the first quarter of the year as Covid-19 brought global sailings to a standstill.

The company expects to report a preliminary first-quarter net loss of $1.44 billion compared to a profit of $249.7 million a year earlier.

Royal Caribbean, which was forced to suspend its cruises globally and cut about 23% of its US workforce, said the health crisis has dented its quarterly net income by about $453 million.

Preliminary total revenue for the three months ended March 31 fell 16.7% to $2 billion against the same period last year.

Royal Caribbean declined to specify which ships it had pledged for its debt offering. It had vessels with a net book value of about $22.7 billion as of December 31, including Symphony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.

The net proceeds from the offering of the $3.3 billion notes will be used to repay a $2.35 billion 364-day loan.

The remainder will be used for “general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of additional indebtedness”.

The parent company of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea, estimates its cash burn to be about $250 million to $275 million a month during a prolonged suspension of operations.

Carnival Cruise bookings up 600 PERCENT

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  • Carnival Cruise Line bookings rose 600 per cent after the company said it will resume some of its cruises in August
  • That’s 200 per cent more bookings than this same time last year, reports a travel industry representative
  • Customers were primarily focused on locking down reservations and getting premium deals, says an American Express travel agent
  • Most of the travellers calling are described as young, healthy and eager to travel after being forced to stay home during COVID-19 lockdowns
  • The customers are ‘not a bit concerned about travelling at this time,’ says the representative

Carnival Cruise Line bookings rose 600 per cent after the company said it will resume some of its cruises in August, says a member of the travel industry.

The sharp rise in bookings is 200 per cent higher than this same time last year, reports an American Express travel agent.

An Instagram post from Carnival (pictured) explains 'enhanced protocols and social gathering guidelines will be put in place' once the company starts sailing again

Customers were primarily focused on locking down reservations and getting premium deals, says the agent.

Most of the travellers calling in at the moment were described as young, healthy and eager to travel after being forced to stay home during nationwide coronavirus quarantines, TMZ reports.

The customers are ‘not a bit concerned about travelling at this time,’ the representative told the news outlet.

So far, there have been 1,366,962 confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 80,696 deaths.

An Instagram post from Carnival explains that ‘enhanced protocols and social gathering guidelines will be put in place’ once the company starts sailing again.

While Carnival says it hopes to get back on the high seas by August, the company warns that plans could change and that there are no guarantees because of the potential for further delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘We continue to work with various government agencies, including the CDC, as we introduce new onboard protocols, but there is no assurance of a return on August 1,’ Carnival wrote in its announcement.

Carnival had previously hoped to return in April or May after it first suspended its voyages in March. The date was later pushed to June 26 and now August 1.

One-fifth of all global ocean cruise ships were infected with the coronavirus after the outbreak began, leaving at least 2,592 crew and passengers infected and killing at least 65, according to research compiled last month detailing the pandemic’s impact on the cruise ship industry.

The data revealed that cases of the deadly virus were directly linked to at least 54 cruise ships, as they continued to travel the waters while the pandemic ravaged communities on land.

All four of the world’s largest cruise lines – Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises – were struck by outbreaks, as well as several smaller lines.

At least 922 of those infected and 11 who died were crew members working on the ships.

The stark findings, collated into a study by the Miami Herald using data from the CDC, cruise companies and passenger testimonies, show that the situation on board ships was far worse than official figures revealed.