ROYAL
CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD. reported a 5% increase in
second-quarter earnings this year, citing improved ticket sales and
Caribbean pricing and better demand for close-in bookings. The
company recorded $128.7 million in net income, despite higher than
expected fuel costs. The results improved upon the company's first
quarter results, when it reported a 93% drop in net income compared
with first-quarter 2006. Brian Rice, RCCL's CFO, said that the
overall revenue environment had been improving after "a rough first
quarter," particularly for sales of higher-end balcony and deluxe
accommodations. RCCL reported $1.5 billion in revenue in the second
quarter, a 15% increase over the same period last year.
DURING A
CONFERENCE CALL, RCCL brand Celebrity Cruises said that
having to cancel two cruises after the Millennium's propellers were
damaged when they collided with submerged rocks near Villefranche,
France, on July 2, would cost the company approximately $0.14 per
share. Celebrity CEO Dan Hanrahan later said that the "frustrating"
incident was caused by a computer glitch related to the software in
the control system for the port propulsion system, and that the
line had since corrected the problem on the Millennium and on other
Celebrity ships with the same software system. The glitch caused
the ship to go into reverse while it was anchored, causing the
vessel's propellers to hit nearby rocks.
FOUR CRUISE PASSENGERS
and the pilot of a floatplane died when the plane crashed during a
sightseeing excursion near Ketchikan, Alaska, last week. The four
passengers were on the Misty Fjords Seaplane excursion at the time
of the accident, on the second day of a seven-day roundtrip cruise
from Seattle on Princess Cruises' Sun Princess. The flight, which
was operated by Taquan Air, crashed in the Misty Fjords National
Monument, a forest area in Southeast Alaska. The cause of the
accident is under investigation.
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES
will operate out of the Port of New Orleans until at least October
2008 and possibly until 2010, according to a contract that it
signed with the port. Retroactive to October 2006, the terms of the
contract say that Carnival will sail regularly from New Orleans on
the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy, making at least 70 annual
calls at New Orleans' $37 million Erato Street Cruise Terminal on
four- and five-day cruises to the western
Caribbean.
SMOKING WILL BE
PROHIBITED in all cabins and one lounge on each ship in
the Royal Caribbean International fleet beginning in January. The
new smoking policy will go into effect on 18 of the line's 21 ships
initially, and then be added to the Legend of the Seas, the
Rhapsody of the Seas and the Splendour of the Seas in summer 2008.
Smoking will still be permitted on cabin balconies. The company
said that the changes reflect a more contemporary approach to
healthier lifestyles.
Cruise
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