LUXURY OPERATOR Silversea Cruises confirmed an
agreement with Monaco-based vessel management company V. Ships to
assume Silversea's marine and technical functions. Fort
Lauderdale-based Silversea also is laying off 16 employees and will
focus more strongly on international markets, said Albert Peter,
CEO. Peter blamed the layoffs on the effects of the Sept. 11
attacks, which also led the line to lay up the 212-passenger Silver
Wind through 2002.
AS PART OF Silversea's changes, Capt. Guido
Mazzetti was appointed to vice president of marine and technical
operations, a position vacated by Capt. Ferruccio Rocconi's
retirement earlier this year. Mazzetti will be based in a new
Silversea office in Monaco, from where he will direct the
activities of V. Ships. Silversea's U.S.-based executive team,
including president Bill Smith, senior vice president and CFO
Pradeep Bajaj; Robin Lindsay, senior vice president of vessel
operations and Bill Leiber, senior vice president of sales and
marketing, remains intact. Although Silversea is expanding its
London office to accommodate an increased focus on international
sales, Peter said North America remains the company's strongest
market.
CARNIVAL CORP. and Parque Xcaret Associates
formed a $40 million joint venture to build the Port of Cancun at
Xcaret, a cruise-ship homeport located south of Cancun, said Giora
Israel, Carnival's vice president of strategic planning. The
facility will be located 33 miles south of Cancun International
Airport, accommodate four ships of up to 110,000 tons, and handle
two "turnaround" (passenger embarkation and debarkation) operations
in addition to normal transits. The project will be funded equally
by Carnival and Parque Xcaret, whose majority shareholder, Miguel
Quintana, also owns the Xcaret nature park. Construction is slated
to begin in January 2002 and take 12 to 16 months, said Israel. As
a private port under a government concession, the facility can
accommodate non-Carnival ships but is not required to do so, said
Israel.
WANNA BUY A CRUISE SHIP? The Admiralty Court of
the Supreme Court of Gibraltar will auction the former Renaissance
Cruises ships R1, R2, R5, R6, R8 and Renaissance VII and
Renaissance VIII on Nov. 13 and 14. Photographs and plans of the
vessels, along with terms and conditions of the auction, are posted
at the Web site of ship broker J.E. Hyde & Co. of London at www.jehyde.com/gibraltar/auctions. Also available for
auction from the U.K. Admiralty Marshall's Court is R7, currently
tied up at the Tilbury Docks. The ship will be auctioned Nov. 26.
Auction terms are posted at www.shipauctions.com. Renaissance, which filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sept. 25, relinquished control
of eight its 10 ships to a group of banks led by Credit Agricole
Indosuez in October. Two ships, R3 and R4, remain docked in
Papeete, Tahiti.
ROYAL OLYMPIC CRUISES' long-delayed,
836-passenger Olympia Explorer will be delivered by "the beginning
of 2002," following discussions between Royal Olympic officials and
representatives from the German yard Blohm + Voss. "Both parties
left the meeting feeling highly satisfied with the discussions and
confident that the [ship] will soon be delivered to Royal Olympic
in excellent condition," according to a joint statement on both
companies' Web sites. Olympia Explorer was originally slated for
delivery April 27, 2001, but Royal Olympic balked, claiming
"technical problems" needed to be addressed. Blohm + Voss
maintained the vessel was ready for delivery. Royal Olympic later
said the ship would be ready this fall, but eventually canceled the
ship's entire 2001 schedule. Royal Olympic, which attracts 60% of
its passengers from North America, will offer refunds and
alternative sailings on other company ships for the canceled
itineraries.
CRYSTAL CRUISES selected the name Crystal
Serenity for its newest ship, a 68,000-ton, 1,080-passenger vessel
slated to debut in summer 2003. "The name and ship speak to what
people desire now more than ever -- a soothing yet rejuvenating
travel experience," said Gregg Michel, president of Crystal. The
ship currently is under construction at France's Chantiers de
l'Atlantique shipyard. Serenity will feature balconies in 85% of
its passenger cabins and 100 "penthouse" staterooms featuring
concierge service.