TUI AG remains upbeat of performance of its cruise brands
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- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 13 August 2015 13 August 2015
TUI AG, the Hannover bawd travel group whose shares are main listed in London, retains an upbeat outlook of its cruise shipping activities.
The company owns 50% of the premium market TUI Cruises unit that caters for the German market, plus 100% of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten.
"In Cruises, TUI Cruises underlying EBITA grew by €11m in the quarter, reflecting the full year benefit of Mein Schiff 3 (launched June 2014) and the launch of Mein Schiff 4 (launched June 2015),” the company said in its none month to 30 june interim result statement.
In addition, the continued turnaround of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten and €4m benefit from the refinancing of Europa 2 meant that Cruises delivered a €21m increase in underlying EBITA.
“TUI Cruises operates in the high growth, underpenetrated premium German market. We have a strong competitive advantage, having secured additional capacity. In June 2015, TUI Cruises launched Mein Schiff 4 and announced that it will add two further ships (Mein Schiff 7 & 8) in 2018 and 2019, with Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 to be redeployed to Thomson Cruises as it modernises its fleet,” TUI said.
With Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten, we continue to focus on luxury and expedition cruises. The successful repositioning of the brand has been completed and the turnaround is on-track for this year.
The Supervisory Board of TUI AG and the Board of Royal Caribbean Cruises have decided in May to convert the purchase options for Mein Schiff 7 and Mein Schiff 8 into firm orders as the German cruise market is enjoying further growth. The ships are expected to be delivered in 2018 and 2019.
The new cruise liners will be slightly bigger than their predecessors, having 2,860 lower berth each. Both ships will be built by Meyer Turku (Finland) as all new TUI Cruises ships. The purchase will be financed within the TUI Cruises Joint Venture without further contribution from TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, (RCCL), which owns the other 50% of TUI Cruises.
“In the framework of exercising our purchase option it was agreed that Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will be moved to Thomson Cruises in the next few years in order to continue the modernisation of the UK cruise operations. These two steps will complete our growth and modernisation roadmap in the cruise segment,” TUI said.
CLIA President & CEO resigns
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 12 August 2015 12 August 2015
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) today announced that Thomas P. Ostebo who recently joined CLIA as President and CEO has stepped down from the position immediately, due to personal reasons.
In the interim, Cindy D'Aoust, Executive Vice President of Membership and Operations, will assume the role of acting CEO and oversee the management of global operations and the CLIA leadership teams until CLIA appoints a permanent CEO.
"CLIA's current leadership team is doing an outstanding job supporting our membership and driving the vision of the organization globally, even during this time of transition," said Global CLIA Chairman Adam M. Goldstein, President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "While it is unfortunate that Tom is departing CLIA, his desire to put his family first is a testament to his character, and we wish him the best in all his future endeavors."
Port of Seattle signs 15-year lease with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines
- Published: 12 August 2015 12 August 2015
The Port of Seattle signed a historic 15-year lease yesterday with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The deal secures NCLH ships in Seattle for the full term of the lease and provides passenger volume guarantees estimated to bring $73 million dollars of revenue to the port.
“We thank Norwegian Cruise Line for their commitment to Seattle and the Alaska cruise business,” said Commissioner John Creighton. “Cruise in Seattle means $440 million in annual economic impact for this region. This deal means more growth, which means more jobs.”
“Alaska is a favorite cruise destination for guests on all three of our brands and Seattle, with its incredible culinary offerings, luxurious accommodations and outstanding attractions, makes for an ideal homeport,” shared Frank Del Rio, chief executive officer for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “With primary use of the world-class facilities at Pier 66, we can further customize our guests’ pre- and post-cruise experience and better align it with the superior service levels offered by our three award-winning brands.”
“This is a historic deal for the Port of Seattle,” said Port of Seattle CEO Ted Fick. “A 15-year lease for a cruise terminal is unprecedented on the West Coast. Norwegian Cruise Line is showing real vision by investing in the economic growth of this region.”
In addition NCLH will make tenant improvements to the Bell Street Cruise Terminal estimated at $30 million which will significantly expand the portion of the P66 facilities used for processing cruise passengers. Under the new lease NCLH will manage the cruise operations at P66 and will have priority rights to the cruise vessel berth during the cruise season. The port will operate the facilities outside the cruise season. The capital investment to complete the terminal improvements will be shared between the Port and NCLH. The 15-year business commitment is estimated to generate over $2 billion in total business revenue for the region, nearly 900 jobs, and over $65 million in state and local taxes.
The agreement also includes language that will establish a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) between the tenant’s general contractor and the building trades.
"We commend the Port of Seattle for their expansion of Project Labor Agreements." said Monty Anderson of the Seattle Building Trades. “This not only insures quality construction, this expansion opens the door for local residents to join apprenticeship programs that lead into great paying construction careers.”
Seattle’s cruise business—currently leading all cruise homeports on the U.S. west coast in passenger volume—is responsible for over 3,600 jobs, $441 million in annual business revenue, and $17.2 million annually in state and local tax revenues. Each homeport vessel call generates $2.5 million for the local economy.
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