Industry Insider

 

NCL To proceed with the construction of one F3 ship

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) said it has reached an agreement with STX France Cruise SA, STX Europe’s French shipyard, to move forward with the construction of the F3 cruise ship project. NCL and STX Europe have agreed to revise the original F3 order and build only one F3 ship instead of two. STX France Cruise is currently building one F3 at 150,000 gross registered tons with a total of 4,200 passenger berths, representing the largest ship in NCL’s fleet. NCL said this will mean a continuation of the original hull, which is currently in the early phases of construction, with delivery set for late May 2010, as originally scheduled. The planned second vessel, currently only in the preparatory stages, will not be built. Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“With this agreement, we can all focus on completing the new vessel successfully,” said Kevin Sheehan, NCL’s president and CEO. “We are looking forward to the arrival of our much-anticipated F3 ship as it represents a major step forward for NCL in terms of ship size, design and innovation.” Added Jacques Hardelay, president of STX France Cruise SA: We are pleased that the ongoing construction of the ship for NCL will continue. We, along with our subcontractors, will now make the necessary adjustments to our plans for this project.”

Press reports earlier this year had suggested NCL was having difficulties financing the F3 project and that the shipyard had been trying to find other buyers for the existing F3 hull. NCL has never commented publicly on financing issues or the status of the F3 project until today. To date, information has only been revealed regarding F3’s staterooms and nightlife. NCL plans to unveil the full F3 plan in the near future.

China's booming tourism sector receive cruise boost

Two industry giants sign contract to invest in China’s first customer service and consulting firm targeted at the Chinese cruise industry, in order to support the doubling of the offer planned with Costa Classica positioning in April 2009. Costa Cruises, Italy and Europe’s leading international cruise company and the first international cruise company to enter the Chinese cruise market, has signed a contract with the Shanghai Port International Group Co. Ltd (SPIG) to jointly invest and set up China’s first customer service and consulting firm targeted at the Chinese cruise industry. The contract was signed in Genoa, the city where the headquarters for Costa Cruises have always been based, by Mr Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman and C.E.O. of Costa Crociere S.p.A, and Mr Lu Hai Gu, Chairman, Shanghai Port International Group Co. Ltd.

The joint venture will be tasked to provide a comprehensive consulting service support to its Chinese travel agents, as well as championing the sales of Costa cruise holiday packages in China and around the world. According to the contract, the business scope of the joint venture includes commercial consulting, tourist information consulting, cruise and passenger shipping information consulting.

In April, Costa will launch the Costa Classica in the Chinese market and will increase the number of voyages from China to 36, with 23 operating from Shanghai.

RCCL Gets Loan to Finance New Ship
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has agreed to borrow up to 485.6 million euros (about $680 million at Wednesday’s exchange rate) from Germany’s KFW IPEX-Bank.

The proceeds will be used to pay for Celebrity’s fifth Solstice-class ship, which is scheduled for delivery in 2012. The ship will be built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

MSC Cruises attempting to renegotiate the price of its two Musica-class ships
A reliable industry source mentioned that MSC Cruises is in discussion with STX Europe to renegotiate the price of its two Musica-class ships, the MSC Meraviglia and MSC Favolosa, both on order at the St. Nazaire yard and due for delivery in spring 2011 and spring 2012, respectively.

The report comes not long after MSC Cruises CEO Pierfrancesco Vago said, at a Naples press conference during the naming celebrations of its new FSC Fantasia, that the company wanted to renegotiate the pricing.

"With the economic crisis the world context has changed and the cruise industry's economics as well," Seatrade Insider quoted him as saying.

The St. Nazaire yard is scheduled to deliver two more ships to the cruise line next year -- the MSC Splendida in the summer and the MSC Magnifica (Musica-class) in December. The two ships will increase MSC Cruises' capacity 50% by the end of 2009.

Pimental to step down - Atle Brynestad to step up
Larry Pimentel, CEO of SeaDream Yacht Club since 2001, is stepping down from his post. Atle Brynestad, the owner and chairman of SeaDream will assume Pimentel's duties.

Brynestad has a long history in the luxury cruise industry having founded Seabourn in 1987 where he was chairman for 10 years. He also has CEO experience having been Seabourn's CEO during its fledgling years. He has also been chairman of Cunard Line and a board member of Carnival Cruise Lines. 

In 2001, he established SeaDream, which operates two 102-passenger yachts, SeaDream I and SeaDream II. The yachts sail mostly seven-day voyages in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Greek Islands, the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia and into the Black Sea.

No reason was given for the departure of Pimentel, who had been highly instrumental in growing SeaDream's product into one of the preeminent luxury cruise experiences.

SeaDream Yacht Club owner Atle Brynestad named Bob Lepisto president of SeaDream

Lepisto replaces Larry Pimentel, who abruptly left the company Jan. 5, citing “fundamental disagreements with the principals of the organization.” Upon Pimentel’s departure, Brynestad assumed the CEO title and will remain in that position, continuing to be based in Oslo. Lepisto will oversee the Miami office with responsibilities for sales and marketing in North America.

Lepisto has been with SeaDream since its beginning in 2001, serving as senior vice president-sales and marketing. “I was part of the original team that put the whole program together and built the product alongside Atle, Larry and other team members,” Lepisto told Travel Pulse. “We have a strong team here in Miami and in Oslo, which will remain intact. Business will move on and remains very good. We completed 2008 with record-breaking numbers. Not surprisingly, 2009 is down a little, but still looks to be a very good year for us.”

No major changes are planned, he said. “We will retain the focus on the yachts we have and continue our extraordinary service and a focus on our very important past guests,” Lepisto said. “We will continue the ‘it’s yachting, not cruising’ focus, because that constantly has to be reinforced so people can tell the difference. There are not a lot of major changes other than this announcement. I’ve hired most of the people here who have been part of the team since the start.”

Lepisto started his travel career at Continental Airlines as a flight attendant and over 22 years moved up to the position of vice president-sales for the airline. He was president of The Travel Institute (formerly ICTA) for six years before moving on to head the sales operation for the combined Cunard-Seabourn company under Pimentel. He joined Pimentel and Brynestad to start SeaDream.

Lepisto said he considers both Pimentel and Brynestad close friends, but declined to discuss why the former left the company so suddenly. “Larry made a decision to move on, which was accepted by Atle. No other comment than that is necessary or appropriate,” Lepisto said. SeaDream II just emerged from a 17-day dry-dock that freshened up the ship and added one new Admiral Suite, which increased total capacity from 110 to 112. SeaDream I will also gain the new Suite she dry-docks in May.