Marine Log - February 2008 - (Page 24)

CRUISESHIPPING earlier that it would withdraw and reflag the Pride of Hawaii, and has also sold the Marco Polo, the only ship in its Orient Lines brand. Also in the works at NCL is the introduction of the “F3” concept ships in 2010, under construction now in France at a cost of over $1.1 billion per ship. Steve Martinez, partner at Apollo Management, noted that NCL’s relatively young fleet, Freestyle Cruising product and the upcoming introduction of its F3 concept ships, give NCL “sizeable growth potential.” In the Royal Caribbean family, Azamara Cruises has been created as a deluxe brand under the Celebrity banner, operating two 710-passenger vessels transferred from Pullmantur Cruises, in a swap for Celebrity’s Zenith and RCCL’s Sovereign of the Seas. Another new brand, Croisieres de France, dedicated exclusively to the French market, will utilize another Pullmantur vessel to be renamed Bleu de France. Pullmantur has also recently purchased the Pacific Star from P&O Cruises Australia. Royal Caribbean has entered into a joint ven- ICE CLASS TANKERS ture with German tour operator TUI to create a new brand for the German market with one transferred ship in 2009 and two newbuilds 2-3 years later. Carnival sold Windstar Cruises to Ambassadors International early in 2007 and completed formation of its joint venture with Spanish Orizonia Corporation to service the rapidly growing Spanish market. IberoCruceros is intended to expand upon the current Iberojet operation and will receive Carnival’s Celebration early this year. Among the independents, Silversea will enter the expedition market later this year with the World Discoverer, and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines will enter the U.S. market with sailings from Miami for the 2008-2009 Caribbean season. Pearl Seas Cruises will also debut in August with its first 214-passenger ship. ECONOMIC IMPACT In its study of the contribution of the North American cruise industry to the U.S. Economy in 2006, CLIA reported $17.2 billion in direct spending by cruise lines and passengers (up 9% from one year earlier), and $35.7 billion in total outputs, an increase of 10.2% from 2005. This supported just under 348,000 jobs paying $14.7 billion in wages. The ECC will release its similar 2006 study for the European economies this month. The study will report significant double-digit growth in all categories that comprise the 19.1 billion EURO total outputs reported for 2005. OUTLOOK There continues to be a strong case for optimism in the cruise industry, particularly in Europe. Following successes there in 2007, with rapid growth and high yields, the cruise lines are looking forward to the delivery of 10 more ships and a 7% capacity increase. There are solid prospects for winter deployments away from the Caribbean as the cruise lines cope with seasonality issues. Winter cruising is coming to the Mediterranean. Double-digit growth is projected for South American cruises this winter, and there is growing interest in Asia, Australia and New Zealand as more capacity is deployed to those regions. ML 24 MARINE LOG FEBRUARY 2008 www.marinelog.com http://www.klevenmaritime.no/index.php?page_id=126 http://www.klevenmaritime.no/index.php?page_id=126 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - February 2008

Marine Log - February 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Cruise Growth: Driven by Megaships and Europe Another Piece of the Short Sea Transport Puzzle Putting Together a More Advanced Jones Act Tanker Evolving Propulsion Options for Diesel Electric Ships In Search of Smarter Shipbuilding Seatrade Peview Events Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Website Directory Infodirect ML Marketplace Opinions

Marine Log - February 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.