Top Headlines

Carnival Cruise Lines reports record sales

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 03 February 2014 03 February 2014

Carnival Cruise Lines set a one-month reservations record, taking net bookings (new reservations minus cancellations) for more than 565,000 guests between January 1 and January 31, 2014. The record number of reservations was 17 percent higher than the same one-month period a year ago. Additionally, traffic to the cruise line’s web site carnival.com also reached an all-time high with 13 million visits during the one-month period.

Bookings were at unprecedented levels across the line’s 24-ship fleet, which operates three- to 23-day voyages from a wide range of convenient North American homeports as well as cruises from Australia.

Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill attributed the record booking activity to a number of factors, including continued product enhancements and innovations being introduced across the Carnival fleet, very attractive promotions in the marketplace, strong support from travel agent partners, and a new “Moments that Matter” advertising campaign launched last fall, which is currently in heavy rotation in broadcast and digital channels. Cahill also cited increasing recognition among consumers that Carnival cruises provide a truly exceptional vacation value.

"Now is the time of year when many people focus on their upcoming vacation plans and the cruise industry typically sees an escalation in booking activity. We are definitely observing a strong uptick in reservations with bookings coming in at unprecedented levels,” said Cahill. “We are seeing heavy sales growth in all channels, particularly via our travel agent partners, and we would like to express our tremendous appreciation for their support,” he added. Cahill also pointed out that Carnival did not introduce any new ships in 2013 so added capacity would not account for the stronger booking activity. “More than anything, I believe consumers are increasingly recognizing that, when it comes to an exceptional vacation experience at a great value, Carnival easily comes out on top.”

Among the new initiatives introduced over past several months are a one-of-kind vacation guarantee that gives consumers the option of ending their voyage early and flying home at Carnival’s expense if they are dissatisfied for any reason, a comprehensive revamp of the line’s main dining room offerings, and a fun and exciting partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to enhance the activities programming for Carnival’s youngest guests. Last month, the line announced an enhancement to its live music offerings through upgraded house bands and the Carnival LIVE concert series which features performances by many of today's top artists including Jennifer Hudson, Gavin DeGraw, Lady Antebellum, Olivia Newton-John, Daughtry, Styx, Martina McBride, Jewel and many others.

Additionally, the line has continued to roll out its $500 million Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancement program across the fleet, which includes a variety of hugely popular new dining, bar and entertainment upgrades. In 2014, a total of 11 Carnival ships will feature major Fun Ship 2.0 enhancements, including vessels that sail from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston.

NYK's cruise operations continue solid strengthening

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 31 January 2014 31 January 2014

Cruise operations of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), the Tokyo based giant shipping group, have continued to perform strongly also in the third quarter of its financial year on solid demand for cruises of both of its brands.

Revenues from cruise operations increased to JPY34.4 billion in nine months to 31 December from JPY25.7 billion in the same period a year earlier, while operating profit amounted to JPY1.2 billion compared to a loss of JPY2.6 billion. Net profit reached JPY1.0 billion, a marked improvement from a loss of JPY2.8 billion in the same period in 2012.

"In the North American market, Crystal Cruises posted a significant year-on-year increase in revenues due to overall robust sales. In the Japanese market, Asuka Cruises sales increased year on year due to generally firm sales, particularly for peak-season summer cruises," NYK said in a statement.

"As a result, the cruises segment posted a profit on sharply higher revenues compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year," the company stated.

Carnival, Port of Baltimore announce resumption of year-round service from Baltimore in March 2015

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 30 January 2014 30 January 2014

Carnival Cruise Lines and the Port of Baltimore today announced that the cruise line will resume year-round departures from Baltimore when the 2,124-passenger Carnival Pride begins seven-day cruises in spring 2015.

Carnival Pride is currently based in Baltimore where it will remain through October 2014 then reposition to Tampa for a winter cruise schedule before returning to Baltimore for year-round service in March 2015, hosting nearly 120,000 guests annually.

In anticipation of Carnival Pride’s return to Baltimore, the ship will undergo an extensive multi-million-dollar makeover in fall 2014 that will add a host of dining, bar and entertainment innovations that are part of the line’s $500 million Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancement program.

In addition to the new on-board features, Carnival Pride is one of several Carnival Cruise Lines ships that will be outfitted with exhaust gas cleaning technology – known as scrubbers –designed to reduce air emissions from cruise ships and large marine vessels. Scrubber technology will be installed on Carnival Pride prior to its Baltimore deployment in spring 2015. This new technology will enable the Carnival Pride to exceed the stricter air emission standards established for operation within the North American Emission Control Area (ECA).

“Baltimore is a convenient mid-Atlantic embarkation point for ‘Fun Ship’ cruising and we’re pleased to resume these attractive year-round departures which offer our guests an opportunity to visit a variety of beautiful, tropical destinations,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival’s president and CEO. “We would like to extend our thanks to officials from the port and the state of Maryland for their outstanding support in our efforts to resume year-round cruising from Baltimore,” he added.

“We are pleased to welcome Carnival Cruise Lines back to Maryland and the Carnival Pride cruise ship back to the Port of Baltimore,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “Our Administration has a proven track record of advocating for a strong, healthy environment and fighting for high-quality jobs for Maryland families. I’m pleased Carnival and the Environmental Protection Agency and Coast Guard have agreed on a plan that will keep family-supporting jobs in Maryland and allow a cleaner and even greener Carnival Pride to return to this thriving cruise market.”

Year-Round 7-night Cruises From Baltimore

On its year-round deployment from Baltimore, Carnival Pride will offer two distinctly different itineraries with voyages departing every Sunday beginning March 29, 2015. Week-long exotic eastern Caribbean cruises will visit Grand Turk, the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay and Freeport, The Bahamas, while a Florida/Bahamas schedule will feature Port Canaveral, Fla. (Orlando), and Nassau and Freeport, The Bahamas.

During these cruises, guests can relax on beautiful white-sand beaches, participate in fun watersports activities and visit popular landmarks and attractions throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Central Florida.

Howard Frank named Chairman of Costa Crociere

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 28 January 2014 28 January 2014

Carnival Corporation & plc today announced Howard Frank has been named Chairman of Costa Crociere S.p.A, the largest Italian travel group and a major force in cruising throughout Europe, Asia and South America.

In this role, Frank will support Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Crociere S.p.A.

Last November, after 25 years with Carnival Corporation which included serving as Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman since 1998, Frank stepped down to serve as special advisor to the CEO and to the Chairman of Carnival Corporation.

Frank currently serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world’s largest cruise industry trade organization.

Costa Crociere (www.costacruises.com), which operates Costa Cruises, AIDA and Iberocruceros brands, is Europe’s number one cruise company and the only Italian-flagged cruise line. For 65 years, the ships of Costa Cruises have plied the seas of the world, offering the best in Italian style, hospitality and cuisine and providing dream holidays with the utmost in terms of fun and relaxation. Its fleet, the largest in Europe, has a total of 14 ships in service, flying the Italian flag, and one new ship to be delivered in October 2014. All the ships in the Costa fleet have been assigned RINA’s Green Star notation certifying that they are operated in compliance with the highest environmental protection standards.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages takes over Transocean Kreuzfahrten

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 27 January 2014 27 January 2014

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), the UK based operator of three cruise ships, has agreed to acquire Transocean Kreuzfahrten, the German operator one deep sea cruise ship and four river cruise vessels from Premicon AG, the German private equity company.

This marks entry to the German market of CMV that is currently operating for its first season in Australia and which opened an office in Ft Lauderdale in the US a short while before that.

CMV has chartered from Transocean the 20,606 gross ton Astor for a series of cruises from Perth in Australia for three consecutive Austral summer seasons, plus for line voyages there and back to Britain. Transocean continues to operate the ship in Germany under its own brand name.

The deal also includes four river cruise vessels that will remain marketed in Germany by Transocean. CMV has chartered one river cruise vessel for the British market that promotes under the CMV Signature brand.