MSC Meraviglia Set for European Return in 2026

MSC Meraviglia Set for European Return in 2026

The MSC Meraviglia is set to return to Europe in 2026 after sailing exclusively from New York City in April 2023.

According to the MSC Cruises website, the 2017-built vessel will offer a summer season in the Western Mediterranean starting in early May 2026, ahead of returning to North America later in the year.

As part of the deployment, the Meraviglia will offer a series of seven-night cruises to destinations in Italy, France, Spain and Tunisia, scheduled through October 2026.

The summer season in the region includes a series of seven-night itineraries to the ports of Livorno, Naples, Palermo, Tunis, Barcelona and Marseille.

Upon completing its European schedule, the 4,500-guest ship is scheduled to return to North America ahead of the 2026-27 winter season.

Starting in November 2026, the vessel offers a series of seven-night cruises to the Bahamas and Florida, departing from New York City.

In addition to MSC’s private island destination of Ocean Cay, the itinerary is scheduled to visit Nassau and Port Canaveral.

The MSC Meraviglia is also set to offer trans-Atlantic crossings before and after its summer season in the Western Mediterranean.

On its way to Europe, the vessel sails from New York City on April 19, 2026, offering a 16-night cruise that sails to destinations in Canada, Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar and France.

The ship then offers a similar itinerary on October 20, 2026, sailing from Barcelona for a 19-night crossing to the United States.

After repositioning from Port Canaveral, the MSC Meraviglia arrived at its homeport in New York City in April 2023.

As part of a year-round deployment on the U.S. East Coast, the vessel has been offering itineraries to Florida, the Bahamas and Bermuda, as well as Canada and New England.

Carnival Corp Posts 109% Occupancy in Third Quarter

Carnival Corp Posts 109% Occupancy in Third Quarter

P&O one of the Carnival Group, photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr account)

Carnival Corporation’s nine brands enjoyed full ships in the third quarter of 2023 as the company delivered a profit of over $1 billion and record revenue.

The ships on average were 109 percent full. Cruise ship occupancy is calculated by having two people in each stateroom, bringing a ship to 100 per cent. Any additional guests, such as children, will push a ship over the 100 per cent mark.

The company said that the 109 per cent occupancy number was better than its own expectations and marked a return to historical levels, compared to just 84 per cent in 2022 and 113 per cent in 2019, the last normal year prior to the pandemic.

“On the European front, occupancy came in better than anticipated for Costa and AIDA, with both brands hitting 119 per cent occupancy in August. Not to be outdone, P&O Cruises achieved its highest occupancy in over a decade,” said Josh Weinstein, president and CEO, on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

“And so I can’t say that their yields were higher. But I can tell you that their occupancy is back, and they are well on their way, and that’s absolutely as expected,” said Weinstein, commenting on the company’s P&O brand.

Royal Caribbean Sees Increased Demand for European Cruise Itineraries

Royal Caribbean Sees Increased Demand for European Cruise Itineraries

Royal Caribbean Group is pleased with the increased demand for European itineraries, resulting in a better-than-expected yield performance.

“While the Caribbean remains a standout performer this year, we were particularly pleased with the strength and quality of cruising [Ph] demand for European itineraries. This acceleration of demand for Europe contributed to the better-than-expected yield performance for the quarter,” said Chief Executive Officer Jason Liberty, speaking on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

Liberty added that volumes from European consumers looking to book their summer vacations have accelerated, leading to double-digit yield growth expectations for this year compared to 2019.

“Europe sailings account for 17 per cent of our full-year capacity and 35 per cent in the third quarter. The acceleration in demand is increasing our revenue expectations for Europe sailings,“ said Chief Financial Officer Naftali Holtz.

“The better-than-expected performance has mostly been driven by our European customers, which underscores our nimble and global sourcing model,” he added.

Commenting on the somewhat surprising takeaway regarding the European market, Liberty explained that Europeans’ willingness to spend was very competitive with the North American consumer. Still, the difference is that they were delayed in activating their vacation.

“We expected Europe to be a little bit lighter versus 2019, in terms of load factor and it came roaring back,” continued Liberty.

Explora Announces Winter 2024-25 Program for Explora I

Explora Announces Winter 2024-25 Program for Explora I

Explora Journeys today announced its itineraries for the autumn and winter 2024-25 season of Explora I, according to a press release.

Featuring 23 journeys and two grand journeys between September 2024 and April 2025, the itineraries will encompass 73 different destinations in 24 countries, the company said in a statement.

Eight of them will be a first for Explora Journeys, including Macapá, Alter-do-Chaõ and Manaus in the Amazon, and the Devil’s Island in French Guiana.

Sacha Rougier, Head of Itinerary Planning and Destination Experiences, at Explora Journeys, said: “Guests will have the chance to delve into an exhilarating celebration of diversity: From private tours of MoMA in New York City to thrilling boat expeditions up the Amazon; discovering new shades of blue on a hidden Caribbean island or being fully immersed in the biggest show on earth with our exclusive Explora Journeys carnival experience in Rio, where they’ll be granted insider access to join the vibrant performers.”

The voyages start in the far north of North America’s East Coast, then sail to the Caribbean and South America before crossing the Atlantic to Europe.

Highlights include an 8-night Journey to Trailing Whales and Falling Leaves, sailing from New York City on Oct. 8 2024 for Boston, Portland and Halifax, the mystical Whale Corridors and the Gulf of St Lawrence, and finishing in Quebec City.

The ship will offer journeys up the Amazon River and into the Brazilian rainforest, complete with torchlit kayak tours and forest trails to hidden tribal villages.  In Manaus, guests will witness the confluence of where the Rio Negro joins the Rio Solimoes and in Santarem where the Amazon meets the waters of the Tapajos.

Journey into Wild and Wonderful Amazonia will depart Bridgetown, Barbados, on November 22 2024, and sail to French Guiana’s Devil’s Island before heading to Macapá, Alter-do-Chaõ and Manaus in Brazil.

A Journey to the Meeting Waters on the Almighty Amazon will set off on November 29 2024 and travel up the Amazon to Macapá and Bequia before returning to Bridgetown.

A Journey of Tantalising Transatlantic Adventures sails on April 3 2025 from Bridgetown on a 14-night transatlantic crossing. Guests can enjoy leisurely days at sea before exploring Cape Verde, the 10-island Creole-Portuguese archipelago.  EXPLORA I will stop to take in the natural attractions of the Canary Islands, followed by Madeira, before arriving in Lisbon, Portugal on April 18, 2025.

The ship’s grand journeys, A Grand Journey to Amazonia & Tropical Isles (28 nights) and A Grand Transatlantic Odyssey in the Atlantic (32 nights), give guests the opportunity to visit the Caribbean, the Amazon and the vastness of the ocean beyond.

 

Royal Caribbean Aiming for Return to Normality, Strong 2023

Royal Caribbean Aiming for Return to Normality, Strong 2023

Jason Liberty, President and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group, shared some insight on the company’s deployment and sourcing plans for the upcoming year.

Speaking on Thursday’s third-quarter earnings call, he revealed hopes for a return to normality in 2023, focusing on a strong U.S. market.

“While we are still early in our planning cycle, 2023 is shaping up to be a strong year for the company and in the return to normal, typical business,” Liberty said.  

“Our overall capacity will grow 14 per cent compared to 2019 on account of ten new ships which have joined or will join the fleet across our brands during this period,” he added, noting that the growth will be achieved despite previous ship disposals.

Liberty also said that deployment across markets is “relatively unchanged” compared to 2019 with the Caribbean representing just over half of the overall deployment and Europe with almost 20 per cent.

“Asia is in the low single digits, with no planned deployment in the high-yielding China market,” he said.

About 18 per cent of the U.S. population is within driving distance to a U.S. homeport, Liberty added, with the “Short Caribbean” product upsized by 35 per cent compared to 2019.

Perfect Day at CocoCay has also been an important part of the deployment, with 65 per cent of the guests sailing on Royal Caribbean International’s Caribbean itineraries in 2023 set to visit the private destination in the Bahamas. The number of calls is up 30 per cent from 2019, he said.

“We expect almost 80 per cent of 2023 guest sourcing to come from North America as we continue to see particularly strong demand from that customer,” Liberty said.

Royal Caribbean’s multi-brand strategy also allows for efficient guest sourcing around the world, he added.

“Our global brands' appeal and nimble source model allows us to attract the highest yielding guest and partially mitigate the impact from a strong dollar.”

MSC Seashore Completes First Year in Service

MSC Seashore Completes First Year in Service

The MSC Seashore completes its first year in service today. Currently sailing in the Caribbean, the vessel entered service for MSC Cruises in Europe on August 9, 2021.

Third, in a series of four Seaside-Class cruise ships, the ship was built in Italy by the Fincantieri shipyard.

After leaving its construction dock, the vessel spent its inaugural summer season in the Western Mediterranean.

Featuring seven-night cruises, the debut program featured regular itineraries to Spain, France, Italy and Malta visiting Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Messina and Valletta.

In November, the MSC Seashore crossed the Atlantic for the first time while sailing to Miami – its new homeport.

Once in the United States, the vessel kicked off a series of seven-night Caribbean cruises, sailing two different itineraries – which are still being offered in 2022. 

The first, in the Western Caribbean, includes calls to Ocho Rios in Jamaica, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Cozumel in Mexico.

The second, meanwhile, sails to the Eastern Caribbean and features visits to San Juan in Puerto Rico, Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

Both voyages also include a stop at Ocean Cay, MSC’s private island destination in the Bahamas.

Before kicking off service in North America, the vessel was also christened at the island during a ceremony that received the godmother Sofia Loren and other VIPs and stakeholders.

Following its season serving the U.S. market, the MSC Seashore is set to debut in Brazil in late 2022.

As part of MSC’s local program, the 4,560-guest ship will offer domestic cruising in the South American country until early 2023.

In April, the Seashore is set to return to Europe for a second summer program in the Western Mediterranean.  

The second season in North America is also on the plans. In November 2023, the vessel is set to debut in Port Canaveral for a year-round program of cruises leaving from Central Florida.

Norwegian Cruise Line Onboard Revenue Up on Initial Sailings

Initial onboard revenue metrics off the Norwegian Jade's initial European cruises from Athens were very strong.

"As an indication of this top-notch service delivery, our onboard revenue on this first crew significantly exceeded our target, which was focused on 2019 actual results by over 50 per cent," said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

It's a sign of pent up demand, according to Del Rio, with the consumer willing to spend.

Added Mark Kempa, executive vice president and CFO: "And when you look at the spending trends of it, it was your normal areas. Shore ex was very intense, food and beverage and then casino. So it's great to see that we're seeing the trends that we're used to. Customers are willing to spend. While it's early, it is certainly very, very encouraging."

PRINCESS EXTENDS PAUSE IN SAILINGS TO MID-MAY

Princess Cruises’ sailings will remain paused until mid-May, the line has confirmed.

All Caribbean, California coast, early-season Alaska and Europe cruises have been placed on hold.

The line said the pause would allow it to prepare and develop its plans to meet the stipulations of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s framework for conditional sailing order, which allows passenger cruising to resume under strict new Covid health and safety arrangements.

Additionally, Princess said there remained uncertainty around travel restrictions owing to Covid.

All cruises departing up to, and including 14 May have been suspended, Princess confirmed late on Wednesday (6 January). Princess had previous announced an operational pause valid until 31 March.

"We appreciate the patience from our loyal guests and travel agents as we work to meet the health and safety requirements for our return to service," said Princess president Jan Swartz.

"We continue to prepare our ships for our return to service and we are eager to see our guests back onboard to create summertime memories."

Guests booked on cancelled cruises can opt for refundable future cruise credit worth 100% of their cruise fare paid, plus a non-refundable bonus equivalent to 25% of the fare paid.

Full refunds are available on request until 15 February, otherwise, guests will receive the FCC offers.

Travel agent commission on bookings for all cancelled cruises will be paid in full.

MSC Pausing Cruise Operations in Europe

MSC Grandiosa.

MSC Cruises today said that it will temporarily pause the operation of the MSC Grandiosa later this month per a directive from the Italian government.

MSC also said it will move the planned restart of MSC Magnifica to January as a result of new travel measures introduced by the Italian government for the Christmas and New Year period.

The new rules include extensive restrictions to people’s mobility across the entire country that will severely impact the ability of future guests - Italian residents, plus those from overseas - to reach any of the ships’ embarkation ports in Italy, the company said.

The Italian government has said it will tighten the movement of its residents between regions, cities and towns in its efforts to combat the pandemic ashore between 21 December 2020 and 6 January 2021, which will also restrict the ability of holidaymakers from abroad to travel to, through and from Italy.

This has caused the cancellation of three future planned voyages of MSC Grandiosa and three sailings of MSC Magnifica.

The MSC Grandiosa will temporarily pause her current program of seven-night voyage sailings on Dec. 20 in Genoa, Italy and will resume her Western Mediterranean cruises on Jan. 10, 2021, also from Genoa.

The MSC Magnifica, which was due to re-start 10-night voyages in the West and East Mediterranean on Dec. 18 from Genoa, will now commence its sailing programme on Jan. 15, 2021, following the cancellation of three previous sailings.

Carnival Legend to Offer Europe and More in 2020

Carnival Legend in the port of Dover.

Carnival Legend will sail a European season in 2020 with nine- to 16-day voyages calling at 34 ports in 16 countries, Carnival Cruise Line announced.

“We’ve put together an unmatched program of European cruises, featuring off-the-beaten-path destinations as well as some of the most popular seaside port cities.  There’s no better way to Choose Fun in Europe,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Itinerary Highlights:

A 16-day Northern trans-Atlantic crossing from New York to London (Dover) June 3-19, featuring day-long visits to these spectacular destinations: Qaqortoq, Greenland; Reykjavik, Iceland; Lerwick, Shetland Islands; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Cork (Cobh), Ireland. 

A nine-day Norwegian Fjords cruise round-trip from London June 19-28, visiting six scenic Norwegian ports:  Bergen, Olden, Molde, Trondheim, Alesund, and Stavanger, with ample opportunities to view the Norwegian fjords.

A nine-day Western Europe cruise June 28 – July 7 from London to Barcelona, visiting Le Havre (Paris), France; La Coruña, Spain; Leixoes and Lisbon, Portugal; Gibraltar; and Malaga, Spain.

Nine- to 12-day Mediterranean cruises between Venice and Barcelona with stops including Marseilles, France; Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Rome (Civitavecchia) and Naples, Italy; Kotor, Montenegro; Corfu, Greece; Valletta, Malta; and Dubrovnik and Rijeka, Croatia. 

A 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing from Barcelona to Tampa Oct. 30 – Nov. 15, highlighted by visits to Malaga, Spain; Funchal (Madeira), Portugal; Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands; Antigua; San Juan; and Amber Cove (Dominican Republic).

Carnival Legend Voyages from Tampa, New York

Before her summer in Europe, the Carnival Legend will operate a 13-day Carnival Journeys Panama Canal voyage from Tampa to New York May 3-16, 2020, with calls in Cozumel, Mexico and Limon, Costa Rica prior to a partial Panama Canal transit followed by visits to Cartagena, Colombia; Aruba; and Grand Turk.

Once in New York, Carnival Legend will operate two nine-day Caribbean sailings departing May 16 and 25, 2020 and featuring San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Grand Turk.

Carnival Legend will also offer a schedule of six- and seven-day Caribbean sailings featuring calls at a variety of tropical islands, including Grand Cayman, Belize, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), as well as eight-day partial Panama Canal voyages, round-trip from Tampa in winter 2020-21.

Celebrity Edge to sail in Europe in summer 2019

Celebrity Edge to sail in Europe in summer 2019

Celebrity Cruises’ president and chief executive has told UK agents to “sell the hell out of Celebrity Edge” to ensure one of the next Edge-class ships is based in Southampton.

Speaking as she announced European deployment for Celebrity Edge in summer 2019, including a two-night cruise from Southampton for UK agents, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said: “It’s in agents’ hands. We have five Edge-class ships coming between 2018 and 2023 and depending on how the UK trade reacts to the first ship, then there’s always a chance I could deploy a future ship to Southampton.

“It’s in your hands. Sell the hell out of Celebrity Edge and you will leave me no choice but to bring a future one to Southampton.”

Jo Rzymowska, vice-president and managing director, UK & Ireland and Asia, said: “The fact that our president and chief executive is coming to London to make the announcement about Edge’s European deployment speaks volumes for how she views the UK cruise market. It’s hugely important to Celebrity Cruises.”

She added that Celebrity hadn’t staged an inaugural sailing for trade partners in Southampton since the launch of Celebrity Eclipse in 2010.

“Seeing truly is believing so this will give us the chance to show agent partners exactly why Celebrity Edge is so revolutionary and so unique,” said Rzymowska, adding: “Edge is such an outward-facing ship, connecting guests to the sea wherever possible, so we wanted to showcase her in Southampton in the spring rather than in the depths of winter.”

The next generation ship, which launches in October 2018, is Celebrity’s first new build for six years and first of a new class of vessel for a decade.

It will be showcased to the UK travel trade from May 13-15 in Southampton before setting off on a 10-night Iberian Peninsular cruise to Rome, calling at various ports in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

From there, it will offer seven, nine, 10 or 11-night sailings from Rome and Barcelona. Customers wanting to sail for 14 nights can book the two full cruises back-to-back and will call at only one repeat port during the fortnight.

Rzymowska said: “For the UK audience, we expect the 14-night open jaw sailing to be really popular. The only repeat port is Florence, so guests can go to Florence one way, and then Pisa the other.”

Ports of call include Monte Carlo, Capri and Mykonos, along with the likes of Ibiza and Valencia where Celebrity Edge will offer longer evening stays in port.

The ship will also visit two brand new ports – Nauplion in the Peloponnese region of Greece and Santa Margherita, on the Italian Riviera close to Portofino.

Rzymowska added: “We’ve taken a lot of time to really plan itineraries that will appeal to the modern luxury lover. In total, Edge will sail to 30 ports of call, to 10 countries with five overnights in one season [May-October].”

The announcement of Edge’s 2019 summer season in Europe takes Celebrity’s European deployment to five ships, and cements Celebrity’s commitment to the region and its European markets.

Edge’s summer 2019 European season will go on sale at 8pm tonight (Tuesday) and the operator warned agents to be ready for an anticipated surge in calls and bookings.

“We expect there to be quite a race for space for the high-end affluent suites on this ship,” said Rzymowska. She added that all of the line’s 2019 summer deployment would be released at the same time.

Celebrity Cruises has developed a range of supporting materials and assets for the trade to enable agents to promote the new itineraries on their websites. This will include a 20-page direct mailer that agents can over-brand and distribute to their own customers; digital guides, itineraries and images.

Rzymowska revealed a new shore excursion programme, offering in-depth, authentic and locally-inspired experiences, was being curated.

Lutoff-Perlo said: “The UK & Ireland is such a significant market for us that we wanted to celebrate the start of her summer season by offering guests the first scheduled European cruise direct from Southampton.

“To further support our key trade partners, we will also be hosting an exclusive 2-night preview, so that our beloved agents have the opportunity to experience Celebrity Edge first-hand.”

Lindblad's National Geographic Orion to cruise Europe

Lindblad Expeditions' National Geographic Orion vessel will spend the spring, summer and fall on a series of one-week cruises in Europe.

Itineraries include exploring Portugal, Spain, France, England, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, the Baltic republics and Scandinavia.

“A ship like National Geographic Orion depends heavily on past guests, and a vast majority of her past guests have been to the Kimberley and the South Pacific,” said Sven Lindblad, founder and president of Lindblad Expeditions. “We are committed to providing them the most compelling opportunities available on the Orion and have listened to their feedback for new destinations."

Lindblad said the 22 voyages on the 102-guest ship will be led by a team with a a diverse scope of expertise about history, political science, art, viniculture and music of the destinations, and will include active options like hiking, biking and kayaking.

RCCL aims to double earnings per share over next three years

By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) set a dual goal of boosting its return on invested capital to double digits and doubling its 2014 earnings per share over the next three years.

The “Double-Double” program was announced in its second-quarter earnings report, which showed net profit soared to $137.7 million, up from $24.7 million a year earlier.

In publicly announcing its financial targets, RCCL said "articulating clear and specific goals helps guide internal decision-making as well as better informing investors of the path of the business.”

Net yields for the quarter were up 2.6%, at the top of RCCL’s guidance, driven by strong booking trends for Europe and China sailings. There was continued softness in the Caribbean.

RCCL said that because of the strong quarter, it was boosting 2014 projected profit by $22 million to a range of $755 million to $777 million.

Second-quarter revenue rose to $1.98 billion from $1.88 billion a year earlier.

Carnival Sunshine was set back by vandalism, reveals CEO

By Tom Stieghorst

When the Carnival Sunshine was delivered after a two-month, $155 million drydock, a large group of cabins wasn't fully ready for passengers.

On Saturday, Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill revealed the reason why.

He said vandalism to the plumbing and electrical systems "very late in the process" of building new cabins for Sunshine left damage that had to be fixed.

"Because of that, they were not delivered to the crew until almost the day before passengers were sailing," Cahill said. "We did not realize then there was all this damage done to the cabins. We were caught by surprise, quite frankly."

Cahill disclosed the incident in a question-and-answer session for media on the Sunshine, which is doing a nine-day cruise in the Mediterranean.

He would not talk about who was responsible for the damage. When it was suggested that only construction contractors would have had access to the ship, Cahill responded, "Right," but declined to elaborate.
The work on the Sunshine was done at the Fincantieri shipyard near Venice, where about 3,000 workers transformed the former Carnival Destiny into a substantially different ship. But a group of cabins in the forward section of decks 9 through 12 near the spa area weren't ready.

It took several cruises before all the workmen were off the ship, and Carnival had to displace passengers to make room for those contractors.

The WaterWorks area with water slides and other aquatic features also was unfinished, an issue Cahill attributed to heavy rains, which made it hard for the deck coatings beneath the slides to cure.

Europe’s woes could lure more Americans to cruise there

By Tom Stieghorst

As the European financial crisis drags on and various countries’ austerity measures push unemployment skyward, cruise lines could once again find their Europe-based ships filled with North Americans this summer.

With many ships now departed on transatlantic repositioning trips, the cruise lines say that demand within Europe has been softer than anticipated, particularly in southern European countries.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) recently announced it will cut capacity in Europe again in 2014, reducing it to 25% of its total berths, compared with 31% as recently as 2011.
To a greater degree than in the past, passengers from the U.S. and Canada will be filling those ships, because their economies are performing relatively better than those in most of Europe.

“We will have more Americans cruising with us on itineraries away from North America in 2013 than we had expected,” Royal Caribbean International CEO Adam Goldstein said in a recent conference call.

On the other hand, an enticing whiff of demand in February from European travelers complicates the outlook. It might yet turn out that Europeans will cruise this year, despite unemployment rates that in some countries have risen to more than 25%.

But Europeans tend to wait until they’re close to sailing to book. So cruise executives are left to project, without a lot of certainty, how lines such as Costa, P&O and Pullmantur will do.
“Because of the closer-in booking pattern in Europe, that [makes] forecasting European yields much more difficult,” Carnival Corp. Chairman Micky Arison said in a mid-March conference call.

For travel agents selling European cruises to U.S. travelers, this year has been a modest improvement, at best, over 2012.

“My Europe sales are pretty consistent with last year,” said CruiseOne agent Becky Piper of Strongsville, Ohio, near Cleveland. “I can’t say they’re tremendous, but they’re OK.”

Kevin la Van, manager of Village Cruise & Travel on the southwest side of Chicago, said he’s selling one or two European cruises a month.

“The prices aren’t bad,” la Van said. “That certainly helps. But the airfares are higher. It’s kind of a wash.”

For many agents, summer is the key season, and most of those cruises have been booked.

“It’s difficult to move Europe last minute,” said Mark Fletcher, executive vice president of Mann Travels in Charlotte, N.C. He said escorted tours and river cruises are doing better than deep-water cruises.

Some agents said the European cruises they sell now tend to be for 2014.

Gayle Fortin, director of sales at Legendary Journeys in Sarasota, Fla., said a “No Air Europe” trip combining two transatlantic voyages on Oasis of the Seas next year, with a 15-day land tour sandwiched in between, is very popular.
She said her core business is seniors: “If their heart’s desire is to go to Italy, they’re going to go. They don’t have five years to wait.”

Meanwhile, the economies in some European countries continue to worsen. In Spain, which accounts for 9% of European cruise passengers, unemployment recently hit 27%.

Both RCCL and Carnival Corp. have written down their investments in Spanish cruise lines, based on a bleak forecast for future revenue growth. Those lines are looking outside Spain for passengers. In one example, Pullmantur will use the Monarch of the Seas, recently transferred from Royal Caribbean International, to offer southern Caribbean cruises to Latin Americans.

But the picture is far from uniform. Demand in Germany and much of northern Europe remains healthy.

Beyond Spain, Royal has indicated that the U.K., Europe’s top cruise market, is weaker than expected. Carnival officials said in March that economic uncertainty in Italy was hurting confidence in that country, Europe’s third-largest cruise market.

“With the situation with the [Italian] government basically in a stalemate, that’s not helping either,” Arison said.

However, in late February, Carnival reported a “significant uptick” in European brands’ bookings, and Royal officials said they saw “meaningful demand” from European source markets.

But Carnival also said that was partly in response to pricing actions taken in Germany and the U.K. to maintain full occupancy. Overall, prices and occupancies remain lower year over year for European cruises, Carnival said.

RCCL Vice Chairman Brian Rice said that Royal’s strategy is to divert capacity from Europe to other markets such as the Caribbean and Asia so that prices hold up even if demand is weak.

“We are happy that we took 10% of our capacity out of Europe this year,” Rice said. “We are dealing with an easy comparable [and] we think we are in a good place in terms of our capacity relative to what the market condition is right now.”

From that perspective, Royal’s forecast for European business is a little stronger than what the economy there would predict, he said.

“We view Europe as slightly better than we did three months ago,” Rice said. “But we’re not ready to declare victory there and say that that is the new treasure chest of the industry.”

Despite the current difficulties, there are good reasons for the cruise industry to stick with a European deployment strategy, according to Robin Farley, a leisure analyst for UBS Securities.

In a recent report, she wrote that although European passenger growth was only 1% last year, it has averaged 10% over the past decade, more than double the rate for North America.

European cruises tend to be more profitable than those in North America, and only 1% of Europeans cruised last year, compared with 3.7% of North Americans, a sign of higher potential growth.

Still, Farley noted that the big winner in Europe this year might be Norwegian Cruise Line, because just 15% of its passenger base comes from outside North America.

“We believe Europe, longer term, is an important market for the cruise industry, given low penetration rates,” Farley said. “But 2013 is a good year to have limited exposure to European passenger sourcing.”

Royal Caribbean will reduce European capacity in 2014

Royal Caribbean will reduce European capacity in 2014 IN: 

• Europe

Royal Caribbean is planning to make more reductions to its fleet of cruise ships offering European sailings in 2014.

Included in Royal Caribbean's first quarter financial results, the company indicated it plans to reduce 2014 year-over-year capacity in Europe by an additional 10%.  This change will mean in 2014 its European cruises will account for 25% of its capacity.
Royal Caribbean has steadily been scaling back the number of cruise ships it sends to Europe after a few years in a row of mediocre sales thanks in part to financial instability in the region as well as negative media related to the Costa Concordia tragedy.
Royal Caribbean did report demand for its "micro-deployment" of Oasis of the Seas to Europe in 2014 is showing "exceptionally strong" demand.  The two-month adventure to Europe for Oasis of the Seas centers around a scheduled drydock stop in Rotterdam.

Carnival cancels more Triumph cruises, plus Sunshine sailings

Carnival cancels more Triumph cruises, plus Sunshine sailings

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said it will cancel an additional 10 scheduled sailings of the Carnival Triumph, moving back the date the ship resumes service from mid-April to June 3.

Also, Carnival canceled the first two cruises of the Carnival Sunshine, which was scheduled to emerge from drydock in April after a $155 million refurbishment of the former Carnival Destiny.

Carnival said it is pushing back the re-entry of service for both ships to install additional operating redundancies and fire-control measures, and to broaden the scope of hotel services that can be run off of emergency power supplies.

The changes are the first implementation of measures covered in Carnival's fleet-wide operations review following the Carnival Triumph engine room fire in February.

The Sunshine's first European cruise is now scheduled for May 5. Guests on the two canceled cruises will get a full refund, reimbursement for nonrefundable travel costs and a 25% discount on a future cruise.

Guests on the canceled Triumph cruises will get similar compensation.

Norwegian to deploy two ships in Europe in winter 2014-15

By Tom Stieghorst

Norwegian Cruise Line said it will keep two ships in Europe in the winter of 2014-15.

Norwegian Jade will sail 7- and 10-day cruises in the eastern Mediterranean and an 11-day western Med itinerary.

Norwegian Spirit will offer 12-day Grand Mediterranean cruises and 10-day Canary Islands and Morocco itineraries.

The cruises are now on sale.