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Royal Caribbean acquires Spanish Cruise Line - Pullmantur
Just when you thought all the acquisition news in the cruise industry
was over for good, we get word that as of Aug. 31 Royal Caribbean is
buying Pullmantur, the largest cruise operation in Spain. Pullmantur
has five cruise ships, a tour operation that sells travel packages
which include hotels and resorts to customers in Spain and Latin
America and three planes to fly travelers to its tour destinations.
This will be Royal Caribbean's first wholly-owned European cruise
line, while larger rival Carnival Corporation, owns the largest
cruise lines in Italy (Costa), Britain (P&O) and Germany (A'Rosa).
One downside to now being under the Royal Caribbean umbrella is that
Pullmantur will have to withdraw from the Cuba travel market. The
line's ships formerly sailed seven-day Caribbean cruises from Havana,
with a stop at Isla de la Juventud, a small Cuban island sometimes
called Isle of Pines about 60 miles off the south coast of Cuba.
Royal Caribbean president, Richard Fain, referred to the acquisition
as a strategic opportunity to enter the European cruise market. The
European cruise market, though currently smaller, is growing at a
much more rapid pace than the U.S. market. And indeed, many of
Carnival Corp.'s recent new build ships have been allotted to their
European brands; Costa and Aida (Britain). Europeans, on average, get
more vacation days per year than Americans by almost 300%. The
downside is the lack of places to send the ships during the colder
winter months.
Royal Caribbean looks at the acquisition as an investment and plans
no significant changes to Pullmantur. They don't plan any
cross-selling between the Royal Caribbean brands and the Pullmantur
brand. They don't even plan to put the Royal Caribbean logo or any
Royal Caribbean identification on anything of Pullmantur's.
Houston Floats New Cruise Terminal
Houston was at the forefront of cruising’s “homeland”
concept way back in 1997, when Norwegian Cruise Line launched
seven-day “Texaribbean” sailings to eastern Mexico and the
Caribbean aboard Norwegian Star. The roundtrip Houston departures
proved popular with regional vacationers, who mostly drove to port
from nearby (and less-than-nearby) communities, at the time an
untested concept.
Nearly 10 years later, “homeland” departures are an
industry staple. Yet Houston’s cruise business is largely
overshadowed by another Texas port, Galveston. The historic island
city has used the homeland model to sprint past Houston, in the
process becoming North America’s seventh-largest cruise port,
hosting 435,000 passengers in 2004. That same year, Houston tallied
83,000 cruisers.
Now Houston is seeking to join Galveston and other North American
cities in the close-to-home cruise boom in part through construction
of a new facility. Building is presently underway on Houston’s
Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal, which broke ground in early
June and will be open in the spring of 2007 according to officials at
the Port of Houston Authority (PHA). Houston presently has a cruise
terminal at Barbour’s Cut.
“We anticipate [the new terminal] is going to have a huge
economic impact upon the city,” said Doug Horn, chairman of the
Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, in an interview with KUHF-FM
radio in Houston. “Currently we are looking at $83 million to
$85 million a year from one cruise terminal. That can only double if
not increase more.”
The cruise industry spends more than $700 million in Texas,
supporting nearly 14,000 jobs that pay wages and salaries totaling
over $500 million, according to an International Council of Cruise
Lines economic impact study.
Crystal Invests $23 Million in Most Expensive Refurbishment in
Company History
Ultra-luxury cruise specialist Crystal Cruises is spending $23
million to enhance the award-winning Crystal Symphony in what will be
the cruise line’s largest-ever dry dock. In just two
weeks, from October 31 through November 12, 2006, nearly 1,300 people
will work around the clock on more than 150 separate projects to
create what will essentially be a new ship, especially to those
familiar with it.
Emerging with a decidedly sophisticated and contemporary style,
Crystal Symphony’s comprehensive undertaking will transform all
staterooms, a continuation of the ship’s last dry dock in 2004
when all penthouses were refurbished; much of Tiffany Deck, the
ship’s main entertainment area, including a completely
reconstructed social lounge, new casino and new nightclub; complete
redesign of all boutiques, shops and café; as well as dozens
of behind the scenes improvements.
Italian Fleet Offers 11-Night Cruises in the Mediterranean
Fall is a wonderful time to experience Europe – the summer
tourist crush is over, shop prices are lower, restaurants are less
crowded, and the weather is delightful. Combine that with an MSC
Cruises’ 11-night itinerary and you can regenerate and
rediscover and savor the subtle pleasures of European life, history
and culture while visiting magnificent destinations.
From September to December, the ships in the Italian fleet will sail
ancient routes, from the most beautiful ports in the Mediterranean
and the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, offering unforgettable trips
and Italian-style cruising that is the trademark and pride of MSC Cruises.
Cruising’s US impact $32.4bn in ’05
The cruise industry’s impact on the U.S. economy was $32.4bn in
2005, an 8% increase over 2004, according to a just-released study.
The industry supported more than 330,000 jobs nationwide and paid a
total of $13.5bn in wages and salaries to Americans last year,
determined the annual study commissioned from Business Research and
Economic Advisors by the International Council of Cruise Lines.
HAL books 5 ships for Europe in ’07
2007 will mark a big year in Europe for Holland America Line when
five ships are deployed on the Continent for a nine-month season.
Sailings will begin March 12 and run through Nov. 3.
2008: historic year for Cunard’s trio of Queens
Bookings for the first-ever westbound tandem crossing of two Cunard
Queens (QE2 and Queen Victoria) are now being taken as Cunard
launches its main 2008 World Cruise brochure today. On their arrival
in New York they will be greeted in the harbor by flagship Queen Mary
2 - the first meeting of three Cunard Queens.
QE2 and the newly delivered Queen Victoria will leave their homeport
of Southampton on January 6, 2008, and head for New York at the start
of their 2008 world cruises. QE2, making her 804th Atlantic crossing,
will escort Queen Victoria, making her first, to the US where they
will arrive a week later.
QE2 will then escort Queen Victoria to Fort Lauderdale where they
will arrive two days later. There the ships will set off on different
journeys but will meet again in Sydney on February 24.
Naples A Fertile Region for Mediterranean Cruise Calls
The storied cruise ports of the Mediterranean continue to show strong
growth. Naples, Italy is targeting its first-ever season of one
million cruise passengers in 2006; the port has more than 615 cruise
ships scheduled to call year-around, according to the
cruisecomunity.com Web site.
From 2000 to 2005, Naples experienced a 104.6% increase in cruise
passengers, as ship call increased by 43%. Niccola Coccia, president
of Terminal Napoli, which operates the port’s Molo Angioino
passenger terminal, said the port is expecting 950,000 passengers
this year but could possibly break the one million barrier.
Naples hosted 830,158 cruise vacationers in 2004. Several CLIA
member-line vessels will call at Naples in 2007, including ships from
Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and Costa Cruise Lines.
Cruise ship aids distressed rafters
A Carnival Cruise Lines ship sailing from Costa Maya, Mexico to the
Bahamas recently assisted nine Cuban rafters adrift in the western
Caribbean. The stranded mariners accepted water, food and life
jackets but refused to come aboard, according to a Carnival
spokesman. Staff aboard the Carnival ship notified the U.S. Coast
Guard, which rescued the rafters. Several cruise ships from various
lines have rescued refugees at sea in recent years. “It is
maritime tradition to help mariners in distress,” said the spokesman.
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