Headlines
Port News & Itineraries
Inside the
Industry
News from Worldwide
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Special Features:
For the 17th consecutive year ,
Worldwide will again be exhibiting at the IT&ME Show in
Chicago. This is probably the most important of the Meeting, Incentive & Motivation Shows.
Doors open to the public September 26 thru 28th. Stop by booth
4628 and meet the Worldwide team as well
as Bob Armon from Christina Cruises and Doug Reinmuth from
Ponant Cruises. Worldwide's booth is right at the front of
the show 2nd booth along the isle opposite the Spanish
stand. For a discount entry pass -
click here. To set up a meeting with any of our
team - click here.
Worldwide is
hosting a site inspection for qualified buyers on the
Elation.
We have a limited
number of complimentary staterooms available for this opportunity.
Come see why we feel you have to see and try the "new"
Carnival for yourself. Click here for
details.
The former Bergen Line ship STELLA POLARIS
sinks.
For those of you with an interest in the
cruise ships of old. Another famous name has departed.
The Stella Polaris (constructed in 1927) was under tow to
Shanghai (her first move since 1969) to be prepare for the
long tow to Sweden where she was expected to be used as
floating restaurant in Stockholm. Japan's coast guard have
announced that the SCANDINAVIA (ex STELLA POLARIS) sank off
Japan's southeastern coast on September 2. The Swedish
company, Petro-Fast AB, had planned to operate the vessel as
an hotel-restaurant ship in Stockholm, The towing tug's crew
told authorities that the ship had begun to take on water
about 3 kilometers off Wakayama prefecture, about 450
kilometers southwest of Tokyo. The former Bergen Line ship
appeared to have sunk in about 70 meters (230 feet) of water
and released some 300 liters (80 gallons) of diesel oil.
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The ex-Onassis yacht Christina O in the
news.
Read
the recent press release on this amazing mega charter yacht.
If you have clients who "want to do it big time" this has to
be the product for them. The list of famous names who
have cruised on this yacht reads like a who who list from
the 70 & 80's. Click here to go to the
article. Click here to make an
appointment to
meet with Bob Armon the Owners representative on the
Worldwide Booth #4628 at the upcoming IT&ME Show in Chicago
- September 26-28 at the McCormick Center.
Headlines
RCCL To Buy
Pullmantur
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines recently announced that it
has agreed to buy Spain's Pullmantur. The purchase would be
subject to regulatory approvals but is expected in the
fourth quarter and would give RCCL its first wholly owned
European brand. The price for Madrid-based Pullmantur is 430
million euros (US$552.77 million), plus Pullmantur's debt of
about 270 million euros (US$347.04 million). Pulmantur
formed in 1971, has offices in both Spain and Portugal and
over 2,600 employees. Pullmantur operates five cruise ships
in Europe and Latin America as well as tour operations that
sell travel packages and three aircraft to support its
cruise and tour businesses. One consequence of the
partnership will mean Pullmantur will have to withdraw its
business to Cuba, due to the US trade embargo against that
country.
Pullmantur currently operates the:
OCEANIC
- 1965 (ex STARSHIP OCEANIC, BIG RED BOAT 1)
BLUE
MOON - 2000 (ex R SEVEN)
HOLIDAY
DREAM - 1981 (ex EUROPA, SUPERSTAR EUROPE, SUPERSTAR ARIES)
BLUE
DREAM - 2000 (ex R SIX)
SKY
WONDER - 1984 (ex FAIRSKY, SKY PRINCESS, PACIFIC SKY).
This is something of a
mix bag of cruise ships and apart from the two ex R ships
(both of which are rather small in size to readily
incorporate into the RCCL fleet) the rest of the fleet is
rather old. One has to think RCCL has purchased Pullmantour
for their accessibilty to the European and Spanish speaking
market as well as an outlet to "retire" their older ships
to, much in the way Carnival has/is doing with some of their
older hardware.
Louis
Cruise Line of Cyprus is to Purchase or Lease Aboou Merhi
Line
Louis Cruise Lines has confirmed a deal to purchase or lease
the Beirut-based Abou Merhi Lines, Their sole ship, the 1968
ORIENT QUEEN (ex STARWARD, BOLERO) underwent a US$22m
refurbishment last year. She accommodates 850
passengers in 370 cabins. Many of you will have seen the
ORIENT QUEEN on TV as she was the lead ship in the
evacuation of foreign nationals from Lebanese Ports during
the recent conflict there. She is currently laid up in
Limassol.
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Louis Cruises in the news again - will we
see "EasyLouis"
Louis plc, has signed a significant franchise
agreement with easyCruise for exclusive use of the brand in
the eastern Mediterranean. Louis Cruises Lines currently
operates 12 cruise ships, Louis and easyCruise will increase
the number of new cruise ships of easyCruise's order from
Neorion (shipbuilder, Greece) to three, an optioned three
more. Louis has agreed to allocate one or two cruise ships,
either new or refurbished, and operate them as easyCruise
vessels, in addition to the two easyCruise ships presently
in operation and more on order from the Greek shipyard
Neorion Holdings. Stelios Haji-Ioannou, chairman of
easyCruise, said "by joining forces with Louis, easyCruise
would not only benefit from their operational know-how in
the area, but would also allow the company to grow faster by
ordering more ships and covering more geographical areas
faster. If all the new building contracts and options are
exercised, the total fleet operating under the easyCruise
brand could reach eight vessels by 2011."
We are thinking the Orient Queen purchase
would be one of the two ships Louis will allocate to the
line.
P&O's "Ventura" - Keel laying
ceremony takes place
The keel-laying ceremony for
P&O's new ship "Ventura" took place last week at the
Fincantieri shipyard near Trieste, Italy. The maiden voyage
is is expected to be in April 2008. The 116,000-ton
"Ventura" will be based at Southampton.
Port & Itinerary News
From Planes To Ferries, it's an ill wind etc.
English Channel Ferry operators reported a strong increase
in demand since the recent security alert at UK airports.
SeaFrance, which sails between Calais and Dover, carried
more passengers and cars last week than ever before in the
company's 10-year history. Five SeaFrance ships carried over
26,000 cars in the week beginning August 7, an increase of
up to 17% over the same period last year. Another blow to
the struggling airlines.
Silversea
Cruises say that Australia ‘amazes’ everyone in the
company,
Aris Zarpanely said at
a media lunch yesterday in the Ocean Room at Sydney’s
Overseas Passenger Terminal.. Zarpanely, who is transferring
from London to Monaco to take on the responsibility of
international global projects and new business, said
Australia now accounts for around 10% of total worldwide
sales. He said the Australasian market has grown an
extraordinary 500% in the past four years and is still
growing.
Zarpanely, who is on his third sales trip to Australia, was
in New Zealand earlier this week where he entertained travel
agents and the media and held the country’s first Venetian
Society event for 60 members at Auckland’s exclusive
Northern Club. Last night he entertained travel agents at
the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and this evening he
hosts another Venetian Society reception at the Union Club
before leaving for Melbourne.
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Holland America
Line to deploy 5 ships in Europe for 2007.
Holland America
recently announced that they will deploy 5 of their ships in
Europe in 2007 for a nine-month season with sailings
beginning March 12 and running through Nov. 3. Rick Meadows,
svp marketing and sales for HAL, said 2007 will bring more
time in port including late departures and overnights.
Maiden calls are scheduled at 13 ports, ranging from
Jupivogur, Iceland, to Koper, Slovenia. The season will also
feature more than 500 shore excursions which can be booked
online in advance of sailing.
HAL’s European fleet will consist of the 1,848-passenger
Westerdam, the 1,316-passenger Rotterdam, the
1,258-passenger Veendam and Maasdam and the 793-passenger
Prinsendam.
Northern Europe routes will include 16 itineraries from
Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Select cruises
will visit the Norwegian Fjords and North Cape, transit the
Kiel Canal and circumnavigate the British Isles. Sailings
are 10, 12 and 14 days, with more comprehensive ‘Collector’s
Voyages’ ranging from 24 to 32 days.
Ten- to 28-day Mediterranean, Northern Africa and Black Sea
cruises are planned, with departures from Civitavecchia,
Venice and Piraeus. Tunis and Carthage are featured ports in
North Africa, and Black Sea destinations include Varna,
Constanta, Yalta and Sochi.
Fourteen- to 28-day ‘European Treasures’ sailings bridge
northern and southern regions, from the Greek Isles to the
British Isles, and feature as many as 21 ports in 16
countries. A 56-day odyssey that takes in 30 ports will be
offered on Prinsendam roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.
Inside the Industry
Juicy rumor of the
week links NCL & MSC cruise lines.
Star Cruises / NCL and
the relatively newcomer to the scene Med. Shipping (better
know as MSC in the USA) are two companies with deep pockets
as well as a number of new ships on order. (see article ref.
NCL's two new orders in this issue).
Combining the two fleet under one flag would make for a
formidable competitor to the big two. Under whose flag
they would sail is debatable, both companies products are
somewhat similar in size and quality although NCL being the
more recognized brand cruise line name here in
the US would appear to favor that option. On the other
hand, MSC is a very well established shipping line in its
own right, their foray into the cruise segment has gotten a
lot more serious in recent years and solidly established
them in Europe, a cruise area which has gained enormous
popularity in the last 2 summer seasons.
Combining the two
fleets, with the addition of all the new ships both lines
have on order would certainly allow the company to compete
with the competition on more even terms...
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How cruise lines are dealing with the new
taxes imposed for Alaska cruises.
Alaskan voters
recently approved an initiative that, among other things,
imposes a $50 per person tax on all Alaska cruise
passengers. Cruise lines are legally obligated to collect
the tax from passengers and remit the monies to the state.
It is expected that it will be implemented and impact all of
the cruise industry's 2007 Alaska cruises. Cruise lines will
be collecting the tax as part of the final payment for your
clients' Alaska cruise. If there is any development that
results in either a reduction or elimination of the tax, an
appropriate change will be made our client's booking.
As soon as the final implementation information is made
available, we will promptly send it any of our clients it
impacted. In the meantime, you may want to contact
your clients and advise them of this additional Alaska tax
assessment.
NCL Corporation Ltd. announced today that
it has entered into a contract with Aker Yards S.A. of
France to build up to three new cruise ships.
This will bring the total to 12,600
berths for delivery between 2009 and 2011 for an overall
total of approximately 35,000 lower berths, counting
expected withdrawals of older ships. The contract
price, comprising two firm ships and one option, is €2.17
billion, or approximately $2.8 billion at today’s exchange
rate. NCL’s current capacity of more than 24,000 berths
represents about a 10% chunk of the North American cruise
fleet.
With the Norwegian Pearl due this November,
and the Norwegian Gem arriving one year from now they
represent nearly 5,000 new berths. About 7,000 older berths
are expected to be withdrawn, including the 2007 transfers
of Norwegian Crown to Fred. Olsen and Norwegian Wind to Star
Cruises and the likely, but not yet scheduled, eventual
removal of Norwegian Majesty, Norwegian Dream and Marco Polo
from the NCL fleet. That means that by 2011, NCL’s oldest
ship would be the 1998-built Norwegian Spirit, bringing the
average age of the fleet to just under 6.5 years.
Today’s order is a bold step in NCL’s ongoing fleet renewal
strategy, and NCL president and ceo Colin Veitch called it a
strong statement of confidence in the North American cruise
industry and NCL's stature in it.
‘Our U.S.-flag start-up costs have obscured, for the past
two years, the attractive financial returns on the
international fleet of ships that we have built since Star
Cruises bought NCL,’ Veitch said. ‘All our growth from now
on will be in this strongly profitable sector of our fleet,
and will take us well past the goal we set ourselves of
having the youngest fleet in the industry and a transformed
financial profile by 2010.’
NCL said that by 2010, its average ship size will be more
than 2,500 lower berths, and more than half of its rooms
fleetwide will offer balconies. The newbuilds ordered today
represent the richest cabin mix of any NCL ship, with all
outside rooms sporting balconies for a per-vessel total of
1,415 balcony staterooms and suites. The 150,000gt ships
also will offer 60% more passenger space than the largest
built by NCL so far.
Tan Sri K T Lim, chairman of NCL and Star Cruises, said:
‘This order, placed in NCL’s 40th anniversary year, marks
the culmination of our plans to transform this great
company. By 2010 there will be almost nothing left of the
NCL we bought in 2000 except the name and the people, and in
place of the old, mixed fleet we inherited, there will be
the youngest, most innovative and exciting fleet in the
industry.’
News from Worldwide
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Canadian Trade Show - IncentiveWorks was a
good opportunity to reach our Canadian Clients.
Worldwide's team attended the recent Toronto
Trade Show for the 10 year running. James Castle the
President and CEO remarked that "the show in Toronto is a
great opportunity to reach out to our Canadian Clients many
of who we no longer see at the IT&ME Show which follows a
just a month later".
In what appears to be an on-going tradition,
he also presented Carlson Canada with their second plaque
honoring them as Worldwide's most productive client in
Canada for 2007. This year it was a close race but the
numbers went in Carlson's favor.
Interestingly, even though summer is
traditionally a slow period, Worldwide has seen a number of
charter enquiries as well as a steady demand for group
business.
Possibly due to the true value of cruising in
US Dollar terms, Worldwide continues to field enquiries from
not only the United States but also from many other parts of
the world. For American companies, cruising abroad is still
great value when one considers that practically the whole
program is being denominated in US Dollars. For
foreign companies the same holds true, with a plus that
their currency buys them a lot more dollars to spend on
cruises than it did a few years ago.
Additionally US companies are starting to
become aware of the Tax Free possibilities offered by a few
cruise lines - more information on this is available on our
web-site.
Holland America Line is the most chartered
line by Worldwide with Windstar, Silverseas and Radisson all
close behind. One segment of the market which has seen a
huge increase in interest, possibly due to budgets growing,
is the mega yacht charter segment for corporate use.
For parties up to 80 attendees, especially for meetings
which require the utmost security and privacy, these vessels
are in a class of their own.
Worldwide is
hosting a site inspection for qualified buyers on the
Elation.
We have a limited
number of complimentary staterooms available for this opportunity.
Come see why we feel you have to see and try the "new"
Carnival for yourself. Click here for
details.
Why don't they fit
brakes on these things.
Click on image to enlarge.
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For more
information on any of OUR ASSOCIATES go to our website or,
email us.
