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Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) has announced that it has agreed to sell its 50%
interest in Island Cruises to First Choice Holidays Ltd., the other
50% owner in the joint venture. First Choice Holidays Ltd. is a
subsidiary of British-based tour operator TUI Travel Plc (TUI).
As part of the
transaction, RCCL and TUI agreed to an early termination of the
charter of Island Star, one of two ships in the Island Cruises
fleet. RCCL is the owner of Island Star and had been chartering it
to Island Cruises.
RCCL will also see a small gain on the sale of its interest in
Island Cruises, as well as the early termination of the Island Star
charter. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval in
Ireland.
"We thank TUI for their efforts and cooperation throughout the life
of the joint venture," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "Island Cruises has been a rewarding
investment for us, but over the past year our priorities have
shifted."
"We believe by focusing on developing and expanding the Royal
Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises brands in the UK we
will be better able to serve our customers and create value for our
shareholders," Fain added, pointing to the success of the
Independence of the Seas' inaugural season, which has served the UK
market from Southampton, UK since May 2008.
Upon its return in April 2009, Royal Caribbean plans to redeploy the
Island Star to Pullmantur Cruises, its Spanish brand. |
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Aker Yards reportedly has stopped construction and
halted supply deliveries on the second F3 ship ordered by NCL Corp.
Industry reports from Europe offered varying status reports on the
controversial project. Lloyd’s List reported that Aker stopped work
on the second of two vessels. However, in a conflicting report an
Aker spokesperson was quoted as saying "that work on the first
newbuild is continuing and that Aker had suspended supplier to the
second vessel for six weeks while working with NCL to resolve cost
overruns.
As we reported in an earlier issue NCL told
employees that it has cancelled the first F3 order. Yesterday, NCL
again declined to address the situation, saying it does “not comment
on commercial or legal disputes.” |
 Carnival
Cruise Lines has created a new department focusing solely on
developing innovative new onboard product opportunities and
enhancing existing aspects of the “Fun Ship” experience.
Overseeing the new guest experience and business
development effort will be Christine Arnholt, a 17-year Carnival
veteran who has served as the company’s vice president of marketing
services for the past eight years. In her new role, Arnholt will
assume the title of vice president of guest experience and business
development. She will report to Ruben Rodriguez, Carnival’s
executive vice president of marketing and guest experience.
“The ‘Fun Ship’ experience continues to evolve, and this new
department will be responsible for developing new and exciting
onboard features and programming while building upon our proven
strategies that will enable us to continue to deliver fun, memorable
vacations for our guests,” said Rodriguez. “We are grateful that
someone as talented and knowledgeable as Chris will be heading up
this new team. Chris’ years of experience, keen insight into
consumer trends and in-depth knowledge of our brand will be of
tremendous value as we move forward with this important initiative.”
Arnholt will oversee a team of product development professionals,
including Mike Hunssinger, a five-year veteran of Carnival’s revenue
management team, who will serve as director of guest experience and
business development. Another member of the department is Senior
Director Sara Rosenberg, whose experience includes leading branding
and product development opportunities at Burger King and the Miami
Herald. For the past five years, Rosenberg was also the owner and
president of Skirt Smart, a consulting group which focused on
branding, product development and consumer research for companies
within the restaurant and hospitality industries.
Additionally, Renata Ribeiro will be joining Carnival on Oct. 15,
also as a senior director. Ribeiro has spent three years
spearheading the strategic planning and commercial innovation
efforts for Natura, Brazil’s largest cosmetic company, and five
years in the consumer goods and retail practice at The Boston
Consulting Group. Until Carnival’s current search for a new
marketing chief is completed, Arnholt will continue in her current
marketing responsibilities. |
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Two seasoned marketing executives have joined Regent
Seven Seas Cruises. Karen Callahan is director, consumer and loyalty
marketing, and Colleen Scott is director, travel agency and national
account marketing.
Callahan's background includes Royal Viking Line
and United Airlines, and she brings extensive experience in
partnership and loyalty marketing.
Scott has expertise in the luxury cruise sector from positions with
Cunard Line and Silversea Cruises.
Both executives report to Kari Tarnowski, senior director of
marketing. |