Radisson Diamond to exit line in June

FORT LAUDERDALE - Radisson Seven Seas Cruises' (RSSC) unique catamaran-style vessel, the Radisson Diamond, will sail in the Caribbean and Europe this year for the last time.

The line last week canceled half of the Diamond's Mediterranean season, beginning with its June 4 cruise. Earlier it had canceled its year-end transatlantic and Caribbean sailings, effective with the Oct. 22 cruise, in anticipation of the ship being transferred to new owners, Hong Kong-based Asia Cruises, in which gaming mogul Stanley Ho is a shareholder.

"I was in Hong Kong from Jan. 10th through the 16th, explaining what we had booked," RSSC CEO Mark Conroy said. "[Asia Cruises is] in a totally different business, and they just want to get the ship launched in the marketplace.

"So we met and met, and I thought they'd allowed it at least through the end of October, but they just told us [Jan. 25] they need the ship immediately."

About 5,500 passengers and $20 million in revenue will be affected, Conroy said.

For the past 13 years, the line chartered the Diamond from a consortium of Finnish banks; the charter contract was to expire at the end of 2006.

The 350-passenger ship's twin-hull design gives the ship stability - as well as an unmistakable profile - but its 12.5-knot cruising speed is about half the speed of more recent builds.

Conroy said RSSC didn't have plans to renew its charter.

Jay Caulk, a travel agent at Peter Berlin's Travel Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., said that the Diamond's fans are "diehard-in-the-wool."

He added, "She's the sweetheart of Sigma Chi of the Radisson fleet.

But there's competition to have more ports in less days, and she can't do that because of her speed."

The Diamond is the latest RSSC ship to move on; while many cruise lines, including RSSC, have worked to expand their fleets, the line also has done a fair amount of downsizing.

Last year, the Paul Gauguin, which RSSC operates under charter, was sold to Grand Circle, although RSSC recently agreed to operate the ship for an additional year, through the end of 2006.

In late 2003, the line sold the Song of Flower.

As new ships came on with bigger and better hardware, Conroy said, "there was a plan to start phasing out older tonnage. We almost created planned obsolescence."

But RSSC faces a new problem: It does not have enough tonnage to shift its ships and keep a full-time ship in the Mediterranean this year.