MIAMI--Cunard Line Ltd. said it will consolidate its two-brand
cruise operation in Miami early next year.
The company was formed in May by the merger of Seabourn Cruise
Line and Cunard Line, after the acquisition of Cunard by Seabourn's
owner, Carnival Corp. The lines maintained separate identities
although they comprise one luxury cruise fleet, and Seabourn has
continued to operate from its existing San Francisco headquarters
and Cunard from its offices in Miami.
Seabourn said it will close its West Coast offices at the end of
this year and relocate all functions into Cunard's Miami premises,
a process that should be completed by the end of the first
quarter.
Larry Pimentel, president and chief executive officer of Cunard
Line Ltd., said all of Seabourn's San Francisco-based
employees--currently 83 in all--would be offered jobs in Miami. The
Cunard staff numbers 243 at present.
Pimentel pointed to several advantages to be gained by the
relocation, such as easier access to the parent company, Carnival
Corp., which is also based in Miami, and better contact with the
ships of the fleet, which are more frequently in Florida than San
Francisco.
In announcing the consolidation of the two brands in one
location, Cunard noted that the QE2 would continue to use Miami
when its schedule required a Florida stop. The other ships in the
fleet call at Port Everglades.
Much of the QE2's program, a spokesman noted, is across the
Atlantic, between New York and Southampton, England. But he added
that the ship's round-the-world cruise would begin and end in Miami
and that any Caribbean itinerary it might undertake would be out of
that port as well.
As reported, several Cunard ships, the Royal Viking Sun and the
two Sea Goddess vessels, have been reassigned to the Seabourn fleet
as of the fall of 1999. The moves leaves the Cunard division with
the QE2 and the Vistafjord.
Another superliner, known only as Project Queen Mary will make
its debut from Miami, according to the spokesman. No designer has
been named, no yard has been chosen and the specifics of the ship
have not been determined. At this stage, Cunard said only that it
will be the largest ship in the industry.