Kari Tarnowski named SVP of Marketing for American Queen Steamboat Company

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 16 November 2020 16 November 2020

Hornblower Group announced today that Kari Tarnowski has been named senior vice president of marketing for American Queen Steamboat Company. Tarnowski joins the company after serving as vice president of marketing for Crystal Cruises.

“We are thrilled to have Kari join the Hornblower Family as senior vice president of marketing for American Queen Steamboat Company,” said Kristina Heney, chief marketing officer, Hornblower Group. “Kari has enjoyed an impressive career bringing with her valuable experience in the cruising industry and we are sure she will have a great impact on our operation. I am confident her considerable talent and leadership skills will help us drive business growth and build upon the loyal fanbase of our customers.”

As senior vice president of marketing, Tarnowski will be responsible for developing and implementing the organization’s overall marketing strategy including multi-channel customer demand generation, brand positioning, public relations, customer insights, guest feedback, loyalty and retention, competitive analysis and partnership marketing. Tarnowski will work closely with the Hornblower Group leadership team to build a first-class marketing organization that emphasizes consumer experience and competing through technology and performance marketing methods to attract and acquire customers. Tarnowski will lead the development of new channels for growth, design and communicate the portfolio of American Queen Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise Lines brands and create business partnerships that open the door to new revenue streams.

“I’m excited to join the Hornblower Group and lead the marketing strategy behind American Queen Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise Lines as we prepare to welcome back our customers,” said Tarnowski, “I look forward to working together with the leadership team and bringing my background in the travel and cruise industries to help establish clear marketing goals for the company that will both strengthen and enhance the division as we continue to provide a best-in-class experience for our guests.”

Tarnowski joins Hornblower Group with her more than two decades of strategic marketing experience in the cruise and hotel industries. Tarnowski joins American Queen Steamboat Company from Crystal Cruises, where she served as vice president of marketing leading their marketing efforts including advertising, digital, direct mail, loyalty programs and marketing communications. Additionally, Tarnowski’s experience in the cruise industry extends through her senior marketing roles she previously served for luxury cruise lines including Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises. Previous to Crystal Cruises, Tarnowski was chief marketing officer for Elite Island Resorts where she led marketing efforts for 10 all-inclusive resorts across five islands in the Caribbean. She also served as senior vice president of marketing for Sandals and Beaches Resorts. Tarnowski also played a key role in the inception Hotels.com, where she was part of the company’s launch team in 2002.

UK government seen to allow cruises to resume from late January – report

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 13 November 2020 13 November 2020

 

The UK government is reportedly working on a package of measures that would include the restart of cruising from the country in late January, Travel Weekly reports on its website.

The measures would include the reduction of quarantine period for arrivals from countries where this is necessary from 14 to seven days. A new testing regime that would be introduced to take effect on 2 December, when the present month-long lockdown in England is expected to end, would also be part of the measures.

“It will initially be trialled for passengers on flights returning from a small number of destinations before being rapidly expanded if it proves successful. Ministers are also expected to agree a package for a restart of the UK cruise industry from late January providing lines can demonstrate they have stringent testing and infection control measures in place,” Travel Weekly reported.

“Foreign cruises may resume in the following months if cruise operators agree to take full responsibility for repatriating any passengers or crew stranded due to the virus,” the report added.

The UK source market has generated about two million passengers annually in the past few years, but all operations came to a standstill in July, when the Foreign & Commonwealth Office – as the country’s foreign ministry is called – introduced a guidance against cruises.

Since then, P&O Cruises has taken delivery of Iona and Saga Cruises of Spirit of Adventure, neither of which has carried a single fare paying passenger as a result of the situation. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ two second hand acquisitions from Holland America Line are also waiting to boar their firstpassengersunder the new ownership of the vessels.

The crisis also led to the collapse of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, a destination focused budget operator of chartered in second hand vessels.

Windstar cancels all cruises until late March

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 13 November 2020 13 November 2020

Windstar Cruises, the US based boutique cruise vessel operator, said it would cancel all cruises until late March 2021 and then gradually bring its six vessels into operation, so that all of them should sail by early July.

“Due to rising Covid-19 outbreaks around the world, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our cruise departures further out. We are eager to return to sailing when we believe that the environment will support it,” the company said in a statement.

“We previously canceled all remaining cruises in 2020 and are now canceling cruises for January and February 2021 for all of our yachts, and into March and April 2021 depending on the itinerary,” continued.

The company now expects its vessels to resume sailing on these dates:

Wind Spirit – March 25, 2021 – Tahiti

Star Breeze – March 27, 2021 – Caribbean

Star Legend – April 7, 2021 – Mediterranean

Wind Star – April 13, 2021 – Mediterranean

Wind Surf – April 24, 2021 – Mediterranean

Star Pride – July 6, 2021 – Northern Europe

Windstar said it is reviewing and updating its health and safety practices including enhanced sanitation protocols, health screenings, adding more medical staff on board, flexible dining, and crew training during the extended suspension of operations.

Fincantieri’s net debt doubles on business cycle, rescheduling of deliveries

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 13 November 2020 13 November 2020

 

Fincantieri, the listed Italian company that is the world’s largest cruise ship builder, said its net debt doubled and operating profit shrank significantly in the first nine months of the year.

Net debt amounted to €1.43 billion at the end of September, about twice the level of €736 million on 31 December 2019.  Revenues decreased to €3.54 billion in the first nine months of this year from €4.22 billion in the same period a year earlier, while EBITDA contracted to €200 million from €306 million.

The company said the increase in debt was consistent with the working capital cycle typical of the cruise shipbuilding business, intensified by the rescheduling of two deliveries in quarter four, and by the partial cash-in of expected trade receivables.

“The deferrals granted to the clients fall within the Group’s strategy to preserve the sizable backlog, as well as to further strengthen the relationship with ship owners, now committed to improve the efficiency of their fleets also through new ships, fully compliant with the demanding environmental, health and safety standards in force,” it said in a statement.

The increase in funding requirements was only partially offset by the lower production volumes led by the Italian operations downtime.

Covid-19 related expenses of €149 millio, are accounted as extraordinary expenses and are mainly attributable to a lower operating leverage led by the downturn of production volumes during operations downtime and gradual ramp up, as well as to expenses for ensuring staff health and safety

On 30 September, the group had an order backlog, including soft backlog such as options, of €36.8 billion, which is almost 6.3 times its 2019 revenues. New orders amounted to €1.9 billion.

Fincantieri said that in the medium-long run, it will be involved in developing the considerable workload acquired while converting the remarkable soft backlog into confirmed orders. “Backlog preservation, pursued through a consolidated relationship with its clients, and the Group’s ability to meet the challenges of global markets through its diversification strategy, both suggest that the Group will resume the growth, profitability and margins embedded in the current backlog,” it concluded.