HURRICANE
KATRINA prompted Carnival Cruise Lines to reposition
several cruise ships before the storm slammed into the Gulf Coast
near New Orleans and Gulfport, Miss., Monday. The Carnival
Conquest, which sails from New Orleans on Sundays, was redirected
on Aug. 28 to Galveston, Texas, and remained there overnight in
order to facilitate transportation for passengers still onboard.
The ship is undergoing scheduled maintenance this week and did not
embark new passengers.
CARNIVAL said it anticipated that the Holiday
will arrive in Mobile, Ala., two days late, on Aug. 31; the cruise
that was to depart on Aug. 29 will be changed to a three-day
cruise-to-nowhere. The line added that plans could change based on
the direction and severity of Katrina. Meanwhile, passengers on the
Carnival Miracle and the Inspiration caught their cruises at Fort
Lauderdale on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, respectively, instead of in
Tampa. Carnival provided complimentary bus transportation between
Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.
HOLLAND AMERICA is upping the passenger capacity
on its annual world cruise in 2007 by putting the 1,380-passenger
Amsterdam on the route and reassigning the 793-passenger Prinsendam
to a 66-day circumnavigation of South America and a subsequent
56-day cruise to Europe and North Africa. The Amsterdam, which did
the world cruise until the Prinsendam took over in 2004, will
depart Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 15, 2007. The Prinsendam departs
Fort Lauderdale Jan. 5, 2007, and heads south to South America and
Antarctica. The Med voyage kicks off from Fort Lauderdale on March
12, 2007; passengers can opt to combine the two cruises for a
122-day journey.
IT MUST BE FALL: The kids are heading back to
school, the temperatures dip a few degrees and cruise lines are
starting to advertise a new slate of product seminars. Princess
Cruises' just-announced fall seminar series kicks off Sept. 16 and
runs through Oct. 27 and includes eight events to be held aboard
Princess ships in port cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston and Newport, R.I. Royal Caribbean International and
Celebrity Cruises, meanwhile, are promoting their joint Royal
Celebrity Alaska Cruisetours by bringing one of their Alaska-based
tour buses to drive around the Lower 48 and act as a mobile
classroom.
STAR CRUISES turned a $6.2 million profit during
the quarter that ended June 30. Revenue for the quarter was $439
million, up 16% compared with second-quarter 2004. The company
recorded a 5.3% increase in net yields, which it attributed to an
increase in ticket prices and onboard spending, and an 8.3%
increase in capacity. Negative impacts included a $2.7 million
impairment loss on a recently concluded charter and sale of a
catamaran, higher fuel prices (average fuel prices increased 41%)
and the higher cost structure of Hawaii-based NCL
America.