Pullmantur Fleet Will Likely Be Scrapped

The end may be nearing for the Monarch, Sovereign and Horizon as the trio of former Pullmantur ships could be heading for dismantling in Turkey, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Pullmantur filed for reorganization under Spanish insolvency laws in June, with Royal Caribbean Cruises essentially taking the ships back from the Spanish brand at the same time, and telling Cruise Industry News the vessels were being transitioned to cold lay-up.

Crew members aboard the fleet said important items of value have been removed from the vessels, which will now end up in Aliaga, Turkey, a coastal town known for its ship-scrapping business. 

A request for further information sent to Royal Caribbean Cruises went unanswered.

The Pullmantur Fleet:

Horizon
Built: 1990
Capacity: 1,828
Notes: Launched as the Celebrity Horizon. Has also spent time under the Island Cruises and CDF umbrellas.

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MonarchBuilt: 1991
Capacity: 2,850
Notes: Launched as the Monarch of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International in 1988; moved to Pullmantur in 2013.

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Sovereign
Built: 1988
Capacity: 2,850
Notes: Launched as the Sovereign of the Sea for Royal Caribbean International in 1988, becoming the largest cruise ship in the world at the time. Transferred to Pullmantur in 2008.

Cruise1st attracts potential buyers as owner Royal Caribbean puts agency up for sale

Royal Caribbean-owned cruise agency Cruise1st has been put up for sale and is understood to have attracted at least three potential trade buyers.

It is known that at least one of the cruise specialist agencies interested in buying the business has submitted an offer for Cruise1st, which is a trading division of Sunshine Cruise Holidays and employs more than 100 staff in the UK, Australia and Singapore.

In a statement, Manchester-based Cruise1st said it was “exploring the possibility” of an external sale and also strongly considering a management buyout.

Royal Caribbean declined to comment.

A source told Travel Weekly that a deal could be struck within the next couple of weeks.

Dan Townsley, chief executive of Cruise1st, said he was eager to weigh up options for the business, adding: “We’re in a position to explore our options and make the right choice for the business that will support our ambitious growth plans.”

The agency launched in 2000 and was acquired by Island Cruises three years later. Following the merger of First Choice and Tui UK, Cruise1st became wholly owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises in 2008.

In the past four years the agency’s booking numbers are claimed to have grown by 83%, and Townsley said the business had “aggressive expansion plans”.

The cruise sector has witnessed several acquisitions in recent years, including Iglu Cruise’s purchase of Planet Cruise in 2013 and dnata taking a stake in Imagine Cruising last month.

Private equity firms have also shown interest in cruise businesses, with both Cruise.co.uk and Iglu Cruise receiving backing.

The latter received further investment last week in a deal, believed to be worth £60 million, with private equity backer LDC. This prompted Iglu founder Richard Downs to say he was looking at acquisitions.

Questions remain over Celebrity Century's future

Questions remain over Celebrity Century's future

Questions remain over the future of the Celebrity Century, the oldest serving vessel in the cruise giant's fleet.

French cruise line Croisieres de France has stated that it is to take possession of the vessel in 2015.

But according to Cruise Critic, a spokeswoman for Celebrity said that this is just a rumour.

The situation is made even muddier by the fact that the line claiming to be purchasing the ship is a subsidiary of Pullmantur Cruises, which is a division of Royal Caribbean Cruises - the company that also owns and operates Celebrity Cruises.

As a result, it seems there is still some internal confusion as to whose livery the ship will be sailing with in little over a year's time.

The spokeswoman, Celebrity public relations director Elizabeth Jakeway, told the news provider: "You asked if we had made an announcement about Celebrity Century, and no, we haven't It appears a rumour surfaced via a post on a French website last week."

Established in 2007, Croisieres de France offers Mediterranean voyages aboard the MV Horizon, which formerly served as the Pacific Dream for Celebrity Cruises and the Island Star for Island Cruises.

Next year, the company is due to take on a second vessel, MV Zenith, which also previously served Celebrity Cruises as the Celebrity Zenith.