More News

CMV unveils Amy Johnson’s 2021 itineraries

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 April 2020 23 April 2020

Cruise & Maritime Voyages, the UK based destinational cruise operator, has unveiled the 2021 itineraries of Amy Johnson, one of the two ships it acquired from P&O Cruises Australia last year.

Following a maiden voyage from Singapore to London in April, the ship will make a series of cruises from London Tilbury to Iceland, Greenland and Norway, plus a 35 night cruise to Canada.

After that the ship will head to the Black Sea for another month long cruise, followed by another cruise of about the same duration to the Caribbean.

Ida Pfeiffer, the other vessels that CMV bought, will be introduced on the German market under the company’s Transocean Cruises brand next spring.

Color Group raises NOK300 million in notes issue

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 April 2020 23 April 2020

Color Group, the privately owned parent company of the Norwegian ferry company Color Lone, has raised NOK300 million in a tap issue of notes due 23September 2023.

After this issue, the company has raised NOK1.0 billion in the notes.

“The bonds were priced at 85% of par value. The net proceeds from the bond tap issue will be used for general corporate purposes. Arctic Securities acted as manager in connection with the placement of the bond tap issue,” Color Group said.

Several passenger shipping companies have raised both debt and equity to carry them through the coronavirus outbreak.

Viking Line warns 2020 profit unlikely

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 April 2020 23 April 2020

Viking Line, the listed Finnish cruise ferry company that should nor be confused with the cruise shipping company Viking, warns that it is unlikely to reach a profit this year.

This marks a change from a previous guidance, when the company had said that it would be too early to estimate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic to the company’s result.

Viking Line reported a net loss of €23.4 million for the first quarter of 2020, a deterioration from a loss of €15.4 million a year earlier, while operating loss deepened to €21.5 million from €14.2 million. Revenues decreased to €75.0 million from €95.8 million.

Four of the seven vessels of the company remain in service, carrying freight. Passengers are only carried between the Aland Islands and the Finnish mainland.

Viking Line held €34.2 million in cash at the end of March, but it needs to strengthen its cash position and talks are ongoing with various parties to achieve this objective, the company said.

P&O Cruises, Cunard extend suspension to 31 July

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 23 April 2020 23 April 2020

P&O Cruises and Cunard Line, both units of Carnival Corporation & plc, have decided to end the suspension of cruises until 31 July.

"These are extraordinary times and this global outbreak continues to challenge Cunard and the travel industry as a whole," said Simon Palethorpe, President of Cunard Line, said in a statement.

"We would love nothing more than to bring our fleet back in to service, and give our guests the holidays they deserve and long for, but with the lockdowns and travel restrictions in place around the world, this is simply not possible at this time."

Paul Ludlow, President of P&O Cruises that is the UK focused contemporary market unit of the Carnival group, made a similar announcement on Twitter.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines extends standstill

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 22 April 2020 22 April 2020

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK base destinational cruise operator, has confirmed that it will be extending its pause in sailings beyond 23 May 2020 in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but added it is unable to state a date when operations would resume.

Peter Deer, Managing Director at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “At this stage I am not able to confirm a date when we can expect to resume normal operations, as what I don’t want to do is set an expectation and not be able to deliver what we promise. What I can say is that we are keeping a very close eye on the latest guidance from the relevant authorities, including the UK Government and Public Health England, as well as overseas policies.”

“We are very clear on our position that we will not resume cruising until we know that it is safe for us to do so. The safety of our guests and crew is always our utmost priority, and this is especially true now. All guests on affected cruises will be notified with at least 30 days’ notice before their cruise was due to depart,” Deer said in a statement.

“It is regrettable that we won’t be welcoming guests back on board at the end of May as we had initially hoped, but we can’t wait to start sailing again as soon as the world is ready for us to do so.”

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' ocean fleet - Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch - will remain in Scotland’s Firth of Forth, just outside the Port of Rosyth, during the company’s pause in cruise operations.