RADISSON SEVEN SEAS CRUISES christened its latest
700-passenger vessel, the Seven Seas Voyager, on the new cruise
ship pier in the principality of Monaco. Crown Prince Albert
Grimaldi was on hand for the event, as well as parent company
Carlson Cos.' newly-named president and COO Curtis Nelson. During
the ceremony, RSSC president Mark Conroy said some people had
remarked over the unfortunate timing of the event, but he added:
"We're not going to let [world events] stop us from delivering our
product."
THE SEABOURN SPIRIT won't be shuttling
passengers through the Suez Canal this spring as Seabourn cancelled
its April 10 cruise from Mumbai (Bombay), India, to Alexandria,
Egypt. The Spirit will instead deadhead -- sail without stops or
paying passengers -- through the canal and pick up its regularly
scheduled itinerary to Greece April 27. A spokesman said Tuesday
the line decided to cancel the positioning cruise because of its
60% occupancy rate and the "added shakiness" of sailing through the
region. The voyage included stops in Oman, Dubai and Jordan. The
balance of the Spirit's schedule has not changed, a spokesman
said.
RESIDENSEA, citing a growing concern about
SARS, shifted its ship the World away from Asia -- a move that will
alter the World's schedule for a month-and-a-half. Instead of
sailing to Singapore this week, the World will head back to
Australia. The World will spend the next five weeks tooling around
Australia and will sail to Singapore on May 4, call in Brunei and
pick up its published schedule on May 14. At least, that's the plan
for now. "Concern has been mounting for the safety and health of
our guests onboard," a spokeswoman said. ResidenSea was keeping a
close watch on SARS' developments and could again change the
World's schedule, if needed, she added.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD., in a dizzying
transaction, replaced its $1 billion revolving credit facility, set
to expire in June, with a $500 million unsecured revolving credit
facility. RCCL's acting CFO said the Iraq conflict caused
"considerable deteriorations" in financial market conditions during
the negotiations, but said the facility should provide the company
with "sufficient liquidity," including the ability to accept
delivery of RCCL's next three ships.
ALASKA is growing in popularity among cruise
passengers: the Cruise Lines Int'l Assn. said cruise capacity in
the 49th state will increase by 4% this year. "The number of
cruises to Alaska has been rising steadily," said Bob Sharak,
executive director of CLIA. "In 2002 there were 431 Alaska cruises;
we anticipate 460 this year."
CRUISE NEWS
• Carnival Cruise Lines moved up the debut day of the Carnival
Glory and added one five-day inaugural cruise to Mexico. The newly
created cruise will sail July 14 from Port Canaveral, Fla., to
Costa Maya and Cozumel. The 110,000-ton Glory begins its year-round
seven-day Caribbean program from the port July 19.
• Princess Cruises will send three vessels, including two of its
largest ships, to Europe next year. The 2,600-passenger Grand
Princess will offer Baltic itineraries; Princess said it would be
the largest ship to sail in the region. Sister ship Star Princess
will take over Princess' 12-day Grand Mediterranean route, as well
as three new Greek Isles cruises. The 1,200-passenger Royal
Princess, meanwhile, will offer a series of western European
cruises.
• NCL's Crown Odyssey emerged from a multi-million dollar refit
with a new name: The Norwegian Crown. Despite the name change and
new livery -- the hull was painted white -- the Norwegian Crown
will continue to sail under the Orient Lines brand until September,
when it transfers into the NCL fleet and begins a series of cruises
from Baltimore. NCL added three restaurants to the ship, enhanced
the Top of the Crown Lounge, expanded the Lido Bar and renovated
the casino. The line also is adding a new kids' area and is
renovating the spa.
• Cunard Line's new 85,000-ton vessel, scheduled to enter service
in 2005, will be named the Queen Victoria. Dedicated to the British
cruise market, the Queen Victoria will be the second largest Cunard
liner built carrying 1,968 passengers. The Queen Victoria is
currently under construction at at Italy's Fincantieri shipyardand
will operate roundtrip Southampton cruises to the Mediterranean,
Canaries and northern Europe as well as voyages to the
Caribbean.