Tag Archives: turkey

Cruise lines ‘to return to Turkey this year’

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A Busy Cruise port in Turkey

Cruise lines plan a return to Turkey this year following a period of uncertainty due to terrorism and political upheaval.

Ports operator Global Ports Holdings today signalled a possible recovery after reporting a 6.3% slump in overall cruise revenue to $50.3 million last year over 2016.

Earnings [Ebitda] from cruise fell by 12.7% to $32.2 million as the company reported an annual loss of $14.1 million from a profit of $4.4 million the previous year.

This came despite the company’s ports outside Turkey, including Barcelona, Malaga and Valletta, recording 2017 passenger growth of almost 26%

The company’s ports handled more than 2,801 cruise ship calls and 4.1 million passengers.

However, cruise calls to Ege port in Kusadasi in Turkey fell by 53% with passenger numbers down by 66% to 118,954 year-on-year. The company also runs the Turkish ports of Bodrum and Antalya.

“Current trading in our cruise segment in our non-Turkish based ports remains strong. The weakness in Turkish cruise ports is expected to continue into 2018, although passengers and revenue are expected to stabilise compared to the decline experienced in 2017,” GPH said.

“A number of cruise lines have begun to communicate their plans to visit our Turkish ports in 2018, which we see as a good sign of a possible recovery.”

The company added: “Transit passengers recorded a 20.3% increase in 2017, while the expansion of more profitable turnaround passengers was relatively lower at 8%, resulting in two percentage point decrease in the share of turnaround passengers.”

Chairman and co-founder Mehmet Kutman said: “In May 2017 we listed on the London Stock Exchange. Despite the geopolitical challenges in Turkey since then, we have been able to deliver stable revenues and underlying profits, achieve strong operating cash flow and attractive dividends.

“Operating profit was down year on year mainly reflecting the costs of the IPO. Delivering shareholder value remains a key priority for the group as we look to the year ahead.”

Chief executive Emre Sayın added: “Our 2017 financial performance reflects the importance of our diversified business, with robust contributions from our commercial operations and strong performance in our cruise ports outside Turkey, where the geopolitical situation continues to be challenging.

“We are making progress with our strategy set out at the IPO to expand our global footprint of cruise ports, also reducing the significance of Turkey on our overall business.

“M&A [merger and acquisitions] discussions both in and outside Europe are progressing well and we have strengthened our global team as we pursue the next phase of growth. We feel good about 2018 as it starts growing again.”

P&O and Cunard remove Turkey from all itineraries in 2017

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All calls into Turkey by P&O Cruises and Cunard ships have been cancelled for the whole of next year.

The sister lines confirmed that Turkish ports of call have been replaced with alternatives in Greece and Albania,

A joint statement from the Carnival UK brands said: “After careful consideration, we have taken the decision to remove Turkey from all itineraries in 2017 for both Cunard and P&O Cruises, based upon various sources including advice given by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

“The Turkish ports have been replaced with either Greek ports of call or Sarande which is in Albania.”

Turkey has been the target of numerous terrorist attacks this year, most notably on Istanbul airport in June, which killed 26 people.

The country also suffered from a failed military coup.

Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line and MSC Cruises dropped calls in Turkey this year.

NCL reports slump in American demand for European cruises

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Photo taken by Dave Jones

Cruises in Europe are suffering from a slump in demand from American passengers, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings confirmed today.

The parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, followed rival Royal Caribbean Cruises in describing the European demand as being ‘soft”.

Neither company gave a reason but security fears following terrorist attacks in Mediterranean destinations such as Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia plus those in Paris and Brussels are seen as the likely cause.

Wendy Beck, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said: “Continued strong demand in the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda, and Hawaii is offsetting softness in Europe which comes mainly as a result of lower demand from North American consumers.

“While this softness is tempering yield growth mainly in the second quarter, strong bookings and pricing in other core markets, as well as the addition of Seven Seas Explorer to our fleet, are contributing to strong yield performance in the back half of the year, keeping us on track to deliver expected earnings growth of approximately 30%.”

The current booked position for 2016 was described as being “on par” with last year record levels and at higher prices.

This came as the company revealed that booking trends for the first half of 2017 remain strong at higher prices.

Small ship Sirena joined the Oceania Cruises’ fleet in March, with its first sailing in late April following a multi-million dollar upgrade and refurbishment.

Seven Seas Explorer, the first new build for Regent Seven Seas Cruises in more than 13 years, will join the fleet in the third quarter.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings also disclosed the disposal of an interest in an unspecified land-based operation in Hawaii.

The company moved back into the black in the three months to March 31 with net income of $73.2 million compared to a loss of $21.5 million for the same winter period last year.

Total revenue increased 14.9% to $1.1 billion compared to $938.2 million year-on-year.

Adjusted net cruise costs increased 1.5%, primarily due to an increase in marketing expense as well as two scheduled dry-docks in the quarter compared to the prior year which had one dry-dock in the period, according to the company.

President and chief executive, Frank Del Rio, said: “We are pleased to report another quarter of solid financial performance and significant earnings growth driven primarily by strong pricing with robust demand in the Caribbean driving net yield growth above our expectations.

“Our recent announcements regarding our China-dedicated ship, Norwegian Joy, have been extremely well-received in the Chinese market giving us strong momentum prior to the ship’s introduction in 2017.”