Friday, June 28, 2013

Cruise News Daily Headlines for June 28, 2013

* The Cities Not Listed
When Carnival Cruise Lines announced a number of deployment changes yesterday for Florida homeports, a couple of ships were added to the list of those to be based in Florida. Focusing on the new itineraries, they didn’t mention ships replacing them in the northern ports where those ships are currently homeported.

Those cities - Baltimore, Norfolk, Boston - and ports where they call on those itineraries noticed it and realized those programs aren’t being replaced.


* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about an update on Zenith ... and Grandeur to return


The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Cruise News Daily Headlines for June 27, 2013

* Spreading Around the Sunshine
Carnival announced several deployment changes today for their Florida-based ships. As they are moved around, naturally that affects things elsewhere. The difference in ship types brings different features - and different capacity - to other ports.

* Cruise Terminal Dream Sinks at Savannah
Savannah’s city council today voted unanimously to not move forward with the next step of a study to determine where and how to build a cruise terminal in the city.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Cruise News Daily Headlines for June 26, 2013

* Beer: The New Wine
Artisan beer has become the new wine. Enthusiasts savor a favorite brew just as a wine lover enjoys a particular vintage. They anticipate trying new ones just as a wine enthusiast goes to a wine tasting.

Because Crystal Cruises knows their customers like to be at the forefront of trends - and they have refined palates - Crystal’s European cruises this summer will feature a new Connoisseur’s beer menu.


* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about remembering her first ... and double medevac.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.


Update on Zenith Fire

Royal Caribbean's Spanish brand, Pullmantur, reports that m/v Zenith safely docked in Marghera, Italy (near Venice) yesterday (June 25) and as of 7:08am this morning (June 26, local time in Madrid) all 1,672 passengers have been repatriated to Spain when the last of the charter flights from Italy landed in Madrid.

Zenith experienced an engine room fire on June 25 at 3:48am while in the Lagoon of Venice. The ship initially anchored 17 nautical miles south of Venice Harbor. The line said the fire was quickly extinguished, but as a precaution passengers and crew members were mustered on open decks. One engine was disabled, and the vessel was towed to Marghera.

In addition to the cruise line, Pullmantur also operates charter air packages to resorts in various locales in Europe and the Caribbean with a fleet of their own charter aircraft. The company immediately sent six of their aircraft to Venice to return passengers to Spain when the ship arrived at Marghera. Pullmantur CEO Gonzalo Chico Barbier traveled to Marghera to personally meet with passengers and crew and offer his support. A special Passenger Service Team was also dispatched from Spain to assist passengers with any needs they had.

Pullmantur said they will begin issuing full refunds to passengers on June 27. The company will also refund all passengers' travel costs. Passengers will also receive a 25% discount on a future cruise.

The company is still assessing damage and repair possibilities. The ship is currently in the Port of Marghera where Fincantieri has a shipyard. 

Zenith was on a Mediterranean itinerary, sailing from Ravenna to Venice, when the incident occurred.

The 47,000-gross ton Zenith was originally constructed for Celebrity Cruises in 1992. It was transferred to the Pullmantur brand in 2007, and it is scheduled to be transferred next year to RCCL’s French brand, CDF. All of the brands are owned by Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Cruise News Daily Headlines for June 25, 2013

* The Top of the News from Carnival
During today’s conference call for financial analysts to discuss Carnival’s second quarter earnings, there were two big topics of conversation.

One was that the company was splitting the roles of CEO and Chairman of the Board, and the other was about the rebuilding of the Carnival brand’s image. There were also a couple of other interesting comments that almost slipped by under the radar.


* Zenith Disabled by Fire
An engine fire early Tuesday morning partially disabled Zenith in the Venice lagoon. Reports say the fire was extinguished quickly, but it will cause an early end to the cruise. No passengers or crew members were injured.

The ship is operated by Royal Caribbean’s Spanish brand, Pullmantur, and they are in the process of arranging flights to repatriate all passengers.

Update on Zenith Fire - 06/26/13

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Carnival Corp & PLC to Split Roles of Chairman and CEO

Arnold Donald to assume role of CEO
Micky Arison will continue as Chairman of the Board

MIAMI (June 25, 2013) – Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) today announced its plan to split the roles of chairman and chief executive officer. Micky Arison will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of the company and Arnold W. Donald, a highly experienced and respected business leader who has served on the company’s board for the past 12 years, will assume the CEO role effective July 3.

Arison became CEO in 1979. At that time the company was privately held and operated three cruise ships under one brand, generating $44 million in revenues and carrying approximately 160,000 passengers a year. By 1987, Carnival Cruise Lines had become the world’s largest cruise operator and Arison took the company public. Working in partnership with current vice chairman and COO Howard Frank, Arison led the company through an aggressive expansion that included the acquisition of several iconic cruise brands, including Holland America Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard and Seabourn. In 2003, a merger between Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess Cruises plc – comprised of Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK), P&O Cruises (Australia), and German cruise brand AIDA – was completed, creating the first global cruise operator and one of the largest leisure travel companies in the world. In addition, the company undertook an ambitious schedule of new ship introductions. Under Arison’s leadership, Carnival Corporation & plc has grown to more than 100 ships, carrying 10 million passengers a year and generating more than $15 billion in annual revenues.

In his role as chairman, Arison will continue to provide board level oversight for the company and will remain the company’s largest shareholder. Donald will lead the executive team, initially focusing on achieving the company’s long-term strategic goals while working directly with the operating brand executives. Frank will continue to serve in his current role as vice chairman and COO of the company, supporting Donald in working with the corporate level executive team. The move has received unanimous approval from the company’s nominating and governance committee as well as the full board of directors.

“I have been discussing this with the board for some time now and feel the timing is right to align our company with corporate governance best practices and turn over the reins after 34 years as CEO,” said Arison. “Arnold is an exceptional professional with extensive experience in organizational leadership who will bring a fresh perspective to the company. I have come to value and rely on his judgment and insight during the 12 years he has served on the company’s board and I am very confident in his ability to move the organization forward.” Arison added, “As chairman, I will still be working closely with Arnold to ensure a great future for all our stakeholders.”

Donald’s expansive career includes numerous global leadership roles including a large publicly traded company, private equity firms, governmental appointments and large not-for-profits as well as serving on boards of directors on companies across many business sectors. He has a strong working knowledge of the cruise business gained through 12 years serving on the Carnival board. Donald founded and led Merisant, a company whose products include tabletop sweetener brands Equal and Canderel. He also held multiple senior management roles at Monsanto over the course of 20-plus years, including president of the company’s consumer and nutrition sector and president of its agricultural sector. Additionally, Donald is former president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, a professional network and leadership forum for African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies. Donald has also held roles within a number of civic and charitable organizations including serving as president and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. Donald also currently serves on the board of Bank of America Corporation. He will continue to serve on Carnival’s board of directors but will relinquish his committee roles.

“I am honored and privileged to have this opportunity to lead the next stage of growth for Carnival Corporation & plc,” said Donald. “As a board member, I have come to know Micky, Howard and the company well. I have a first-hand appreciation of what it has taken to develop this highly successful business, an understanding for the dynamics and challenges we face, and a great deal of confidence in the company’s management team and their ability to execute. I have enormous respect for Micky as a visionary in our industry, and as the builder and leader of Carnival. I have come to know many of the talented professionals who work within Carnival during my time on the board and I look forward to working with the company’s many stakeholders including our 90,000 employees, 10 million guests, thousands of travel agent partners, vendors and shareholders around the globe.”

Source: Carnival Corp
 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Cruise News Daily Headlines for June 24, 2013

* The End Should Be Near
Customs come and go on cruises. Lots of time-honored traditions have dropped by the wayside. Among others, gone are the midnight buffet, skeet shooting off the stern, and cabin stewards rummaging through your belongings looking for your night clothes to lay them out. They were retired because they just didn’t fit with the current lifestyle anymore.

It’s time to retire another one.


* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about more Banana ... and the British industry continuing to grow.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers.

Princess Cruises Appoints Gordon Ho as SVP of Marketing

Gordon Ho moves to Princess marketing from Disney
David deMerlier moves to international marketing

Gordon Ho
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (June 24, 2013) – Princess Cruises has appointed Gordon Ho as senior vice president of marketing. In this newly-created position he will lead the company’s global marketing, public relations and digital activities.


Ho brings extensive marketing experience to his new role with Princess, in areas including worldwide creative development, brand management, partnership marketing, digital marketing, CRM and public relations.

“We’re delighted to welcome Gordon to Princess and look forward to his contributions supporting our expansion into new international markets as well as strengthening the Princess brand in our established markets including North America, UK and Australia,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises’ executive vice president. He reports directly to Swartz.

Ho previously spent 18 years at the Walt Disney Company where he last served as executive vice president of worldwide marketing for its $4 billion Disney Studios Home Entertainment division. In that position he created a highly successful global marketing team in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Most recently he served as chief marketing officer of 24/7 Card and as co-founder and president of MyMovieDeals.com.

He earned his B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. with concentrations in marketing and finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

In related news, David deMerlier, previously vice president of marketing, has been appointed to the new role of vice president of international marketing for the line. Reporting to Ho, deMerlier now oversees Princess’ marketing efforts throughout Asia, and in the UK and Australia.


Source: Princess Cruises