Pullmantur have filed for reorganization

[livingonthebeach]

Rumor has it that Pullmantur, of which Royal owns 49% could be ending operations permanently.

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2020/06/articles/disease/is-pullmantur-cruises-ending-operations/

[drsel]

Rumor has it that Pullmantur, of which Royal owns 49% could be ending operations permanently.
https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2020/06/articles/disease/is-pullmantur-cruises-ending-operations/

What about Azamara, Silverseas and TUI/Thomson/Marela, the other brands owned by the Royal Caribbean group.
I am sure the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity will survive

[Saab4444]

41 minutes ago, drsel said:

What about Azamara, Silverseas and TUI/Thomson/Marela, the other brands owned by the Royal Caribbean group.
I am sure the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity will survive

TUI is not owned by Royal, both have a joined venture to operate TUI Cruises. Marella Cruises (former Thompson) is owned just by TUI.

[Biker19]

After placing ships in cold lay-up, Cruises Investment Holding and Royal Caribbean Group said they have filed for the reorganization of their Pullmantur Cruceros joint venture under the terms of Spanish insolvency laws.

 

Cruises Investment Holding owns 51 percent of the Spanish cruise line, while Royal Caribbean owns the remaining 49 percent.

It could mark the end of the Pullmantur brand as reports from crew aboard the company's ships said that they are removing equipment and other fixtures.

 

According to a statement, Pullmantur's board of directors determined that the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic made the action necessary.

 

Pullmantur management notified employees of the decision after filings were made with Spanish authorities.

"Despite the great progress the company made to achieve a turnaround in 2019 and its huge engagement and best efforts of its dedicated employees, the headwinds caused by the pandemic are too strong for Pullmantur to overcome without a reorganization," the board stated.

 

The company canceled sailings through November 15, 2020. Royal Caribbean Group said that guests already booked to sail on Pullmantur will be offered the option to sail on other Royal Caribbean brands including Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. Pullmantur noted that details of the offer will be shared with guests in the near future.

 

Crew are staffed at minimum maintenance levels on Pullmantur's three ships and the company will take care of their safe return home.

 

Royal Caribbean noted that all of its assets related to the Pullmantur Cruceros joint venture had been included in the non-cash asset impairment charges reported in their first quarter of 2020 results.

[coaster]

Glad  Empress was saved by her transfer to RCI. For now at least......

Edited June 22, 2020 by coaster

[soloadventurer]

Cruises Investment Holding and Royal Caribbean Group said they have filed for the reorganization of their Pullmantur Cruceros joint venture under the terms of Spanish insolvency laws.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23124-pullmantur-files-for-reorganization.html

[coaster]

Wonder where Sovereign's famous clock that was featured on a tv series years back will end up?

[ECCruise]

They filed for reorganization under Spanish law just an hour or so ago.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23124-pullmantur-files-for-reorganization.html

[Lady Hudson]

So now what happens to Grandeur — which was being sold to Pullmantur??  Katherine

[TRUEBLUE66]

3 hours ago, drsel said:

What about Azamara, Silverseas and TUI/Thomson/Marela, the other brands owned by the Royal Caribbean group.
I am sure the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity will survive

With regards to Azamara, their 3 ships are currently in or heading into a dock on the river Clyde in Glasgow for layup.

According to local reports only essential crew will remain along with 1 captain to oversee the 3 ships. 

Doesn't sound like a short term plan.

As an aside, a few other smaller companies are doing likewise:

Fred Olson's 4 ships are currently layed up in a private dock near the Queensferry bridge, Edinburgh. 

At least 3 Viking ships are currently enroute to Belfast for layup with another on the river Thames at Tilbury alongside several others companies.

The south coast of England has 18 cruise ships from Carnival,P&O,Cunard,Royal and Norwegian "parked" and only occasionally pulling into a port for supplies etc. 

I'm not pessimistic about Royal Caribbean and cruising long term, but I doubt anything will be back to normal anytime soon, and I doubt Pullmantur will be the only company we read about in trouble. 

[jwc1027]

1 hour ago, Lady Hudson said:

So now what happens to Grandeur — which was being sold to Pullmantur??  Katherine

According to financial filings, Royal Caribbean had planned to shift one of its Royal Caribbean Interntional ships, the Grandeur of the Seas, to Pullmantur in the second quarter of 2021.

 

Good question, maybe will rejoin RCI's fleet.

Edited June 22, 2020 by jwc1027

[WeMissSeaView]

8 minutes ago, jwc1027 said:

According to financial filings, Royal Caribbean had planned to shift one of its Royal Caribbean Interntional ships, the Grandeur of the Seas, to Pullmantur in the second quarter of 2021.

 

Good question, maybe will rejoin RCI's fleet.

Grandeur is still in the RCI fleet and I am booked for February 2021.  I know many that booked for Grandeur’s last RCI cruise in 2021.  I am very curious what will happen to Grandeur now.

[twangster]

Sign of the times.  Unlikely they will be the only cruise line that is lost due to the pandemic.   

[coaster]

I believe the lines with the oldest ships will go first. CMV is in big trouble. Fred Olsen also has a couple of former Royal Viking ships that are almost 50 years old. 

 

https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/20/uk-authorities-detain-five-cruise-ships-over-welfare-concerns-for-crew

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23122-british-authorities-detain-cmv-ships.html

 

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by coaster

[drsel]

A pity that I never got to try any ship in Pullmantur or CMV.

I came very close to booking Pullmantur for a Cruise last year, just to try it once, but their taxes and fees for a 7 day Cruise were way too high, much higher than that of all the other mass market Cruise lines.

 

And then I read that the bartender service for drinks was not good.

And that non Spanish speaking people were discriminated against.

 

 

 

 

[MADflyer]

41 minutes ago, coaster said:

I believe the lines with the oldest ships will go first. CMV is in big trouble. Fred Olsen also has a couple of former Royal Viking ships that are almost 50 years old. 

 

 

Fred Olsen should be safe. They just announced their 'Four Ladies in Lisbon' cruises yesterday, where all their ships will meet up in Lisbon in 2021. They are a 5th Generation family company with a very strong following. 

 

I have sailed on all the Royal Viking ships and the former Royal Viking Sky is the only ship I have sailed on under 4 different cruise lines. She was fully renovated again in 2018 and was in great shape the last time I was onboard. She followed us out from Lisbon when I was on a Liberty of the Seas' transatlantic some years ago and it was amazing how tiny she looked from that vantage point. 

 

The ship where CMV had the major incident with crew was supposed to leave service I believe. Without having much knowledge of the situation, I am glad a government stepped in to see that these crew members get repatriated to India. 

[zalusky]

I can easily imagine the older ships will require a number of fixes to ventilation, buffets, medical that are just not economical investment relative to their lifespan and revenue per passenger.

[coaster]

Great to hear about the former Royal Viking Sky. Our first cruise was when she was the Sunward under NCL. It spoiled me and got me hooked on cruising. Thought our large cabin was normal until I took cruises after that. I hope they can still be viable and my prediction is totally off-base.

Edited June 22, 2020 by coaster

[Despegue]

This is a bit personal for me, as I have been working in the past  as a Captain, instructor and auditor on BRM /CRM for Pullmantur/ Wamos.

 

It seems that Springwater Capital ,Connected to Cruises Investment Holdings,  which is the majority shareholder , is in stormy water, with also Wamos Air, the Airline branch of Pullmantur on the verge of bankruptcy, relying heavily on both Hajj flights ( cancelled this year) and cruise ship passenger flights.

 

Great cruise line, virtually unknown in the US but All Inclusive, good enterntainment and decent European food. ( and high operational standards 😉).

[Biker19]

I assume none of the Pullmantur ships have history like this one, nor go as cheaply if auctioned:

 

Quote

The RCGS Resolute was sold at auction in Curacao for a slim $600,000 on Monday, according to a source familiar with the auction result. 

 

This is in sharp contrast to just a few years ago, where multiple operators were lining up to charter the former Hapag-Lloyd Cruises expedition ship, which offers a strong ice class hull and capacity for up to 184 guests. The book value of the ship was previously said to have been in the $25 million range for the former Hanseatic.

 

A spokesperson representing the auctioneer confirmed to Cruise Industry News that the ship had indeed been sold, but did not elaborate on the sales price or the buyer.

 

It is also possible the buyer was the existing owner of the vessel, using the auction as a tool to clear any debts on the ship. 

It was a colorful 2019-2020 season for the ship, having been first arrested in Buenos Aires following the demise of One Ocean Expeditions. On the ship's voyage back to Europe, it collided with a Venezuelan naval vessel. The latter ship sank and the Resolute sailed damaged to Curacao, where she has remained since.

 

It is unclear whether Venezuelan authorities will let the ship leave Curacao. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Biker19

[wolfcathorse]

On 6/22/2020 at 8:30 AM, coaster said:

Wonder where Sovereign's famous clock that was featured on a tv series years back will end up?

that was taken out when Sovereign went to Pullmantur so it's long gone in the trash

[wolfcathorse]

22 hours ago, jwc1027 said:

According to financial filings, Royal Caribbean had planned to shift one of its Royal Caribbean Interntional ships, the Grandeur of the Seas, to Pullmantur in the second quarter of 2021.

 

Good question, maybe will rejoin RCI's fleet.

with Monarch and Sovereign being scrapped, RCI can move some of its remaining Vision class ships to Pullmantur when and if the company starts up again.

[wolfcathorse]

2 hours ago, Despegue said:

This is a bit personal for me, as I have been working in the past  as a Captain, instructor and auditor on BRM /CRM for Pullmantur/ Wamos.

 

It seems that Springwater Capital ,Connected to Cruises Investment Holdings,  which is the majority shareholder , is in stormy water, with also Wamos Air, the Airline branch of Pullmantur on the verge of bankruptcy, relying heavily on both Hajj flights ( cancelled this year) and cruise ship passenger flights.

 

Great cruise line, virtually unknown in the US but All Inclusive, good enterntainment and decent European food. ( and high operational standards 😉).

condolences on your loss, it must be heartbreaking to know that a beloved home will be gone. 

[drsel]

condolences on your loss, it must be heartbreaking to know that a beloved home will be gone. 

[emoji444] It must have been love (ly), but it's over now [emoji444]

[gatour]

20 hours ago, MADflyer said:

The ship where CMV had the major incident with crew was supposed to leave service I believe. Without having much knowledge of the situation, I am glad a government stepped in to see that these crew members get repatriated to India. 

The problem was caused by governments in the first place.  Countries were not making exceptions for crew members to disembark and fly from/through the country in question to the crew members home country.

 

Btw, cargo ships are running into the same problem.