Another cruise line bites the dust

[orville99]

21 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It  will be interesting is to see how many of these companies that declare bankruptcy will still sail and are using this as a means to restructure as opposed to how many actually cease operations. 

Bankruptcy process and emergence options vary widely in different countries. What we know as a Chapter 11 reorganization may not be an available option depending on where the company is housed.

[Justmekaren918]

21 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

With regards to Pulmantur there were already plans in the works for Grandeur to move over there.  It would not surprise me to see the rest of the Vision  class Head there.  Win/ Win. Royal gets rid of excess capacity, Pulmantur gets newer ships 

Best private B-day dinner on a RCL balcony in Vision 8088 wrapped part & having Roast beef & lobster tail 😎🥳!  

[donnajo]

Personally I wouldn't call a company with one ship a cruise line.  I mean I have 1 car, is that a fleet?

[Dennis#1]

1 hour ago, donnajo said:

Personally I wouldn't call a company with one ship a cruise line.  I mean I have 1 car, is that a fleet?

Good point.  

[MADflyer]

The current holding company for Birka Cruise Line did operate the Swedish ship and had changed the name to Birka Cruises actually. They have a total of 8 ships among 3 lines. 

 

These Baltic lines do have a very rich history and they have actually had a great impact on modern cruises as many of the innovations, such as the Promenade first appeared on ships sailing the Baltic, with the Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony.

 

Without those advancements in the early 90s you would not have many of the features on the Voyager and Freedom class, such as the Royal Promenade 9 years after the introduction in the Baltic. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Silja_Serenade

 

Having lived in Sweden for the 90s, I do recall Birka's ship as one of the 'stars' of the Swedish soap TV show, Rederiet that ran for 10 seasons. It was referred to as the Swedish television's 'Dynasty'.

 

I only sailed with them one time when they had the former Royal Viking Sky for one year after NCL had operated the ship for a while. I had sailed on this ship around South America and on a Panama Canal sailing both in the 80s and it was nice being able to walk from my home to the 'Cruise' Terminal for boarding 45 minutes prior to departure. 

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103523/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

 

 

 

 

[time4u2go]

5 minutes ago, MADflyer said:

The current holding company for Birka Cruise Line did operate the Swedish ship and had changed the name to Birka Cruises actually. They have a total of 8 ships among 3 lines. 

 

These Baltic lines do have a very rich history and they have actually had a great impact on modern cruises as many of the innovations, such as the Promenade first appeared on ships sailing the Baltic, with the Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony.

 

Without those advancements in the early 90s you would not have many of the features on the Voyager and Freedom class, such as the Royal Promenade 9 years after the introduction in the Baltic. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Silja_Serenade

 

Having lived in Sweden for the 90s, I do recall Birka's ship as one of the 'stars' of the Swedish soap TV show, Rederiet that ran for 10 seasons. It was referred to as the Swedish television's 'Dynasty'.

 

I only sailed with them one time when they had the former Royal Viking Sky for one year after NCL had operated the ship for a while. I had sailed on this ship around South America and on a Panama Canal sailing both in the 80s and it was nice being able to walk from my home to the 'Cruise' Terminal for boarding 45 minutes prior to departure. 

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103523/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

 

 

 

 

Interesting stuff!  Here's a picture of the MS Silja Serenade's promenade:

[Tree_skier]

20 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It  will be interesting is to see how many of these companies that declare bankruptcy will still sail and are using this as a means to restructure as opposed to how many actually cease operations. 

 

Exactly like the auto sector back in 2008/09, chapter 11 bankruptcy will be used to forestall debt payments. Operations will continue but inefficiencies will be purged and unprofitable ships mothballed. Does anyone remember the Saturn brand of car?  Have you bought a Pontiac lately?  The bean counters in Miami will determine which ships live and which ships die.  The ships with the best revenue streams live to fight another day while others are sold off to lines like Pullmantur or similar.  The same is going to be true for itineraries. Some Itineraries don't generate the same amount of onboard revenue as other itineraries.  Expect the accountants to be making the decisions about operations going forward.

[npcl]

52 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

 

Exactly like the auto sector back in 2008/09, chapter 11 bankruptcy will be used to forestall debt payments. Operations will continue but inefficiencies will be purged and unprofitable ships mothballed. Does anyone remember the Saturn brand of car?  Have you bought a Pontiac lately?  The bean counters in Miami will determine which ships live and which ships die.  The ships with the best revenue streams live to fight another day while others are sold off to lines like Pullmantur or similar.  The same is going to be true for itineraries. Some Itineraries don't generate the same amount of onboard revenue as other itineraries.  Expect the accountants to be making the decisions about operations going forward.

The accountants have been making decisions about operations already.  No different in BK than it normal operations.  Not profitable routes are not run, and older less economically efficient ships are sold off.

 

If one of the majors restructures it will be more to get rid of debt and rights size the fleet, than any change in the role of finanee in operations, Just as airlines have been doing for years.

Edited July 7, 2020 by npcl

[Tree_skier]

On 7/5/2020 at 12:59 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

It  will be interesting is to see how many of these companies that declare bankruptcy will still sail and are using this as a means to restructure as opposed to how many actually cease operations. 

In most business models, in good times the front end (operations) has preeminence in the business and makes most decisions,  in bad times it's the back end (finance).  We have gone from good to bad in such a short time I doubt there has been a real transition from front end to backend control.  Going forward, expect when finance is making the decisions them to not make sense to the consumer.  Ops is consumer focused and finance is balance sheet focused.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Tree_skier

[xpcdoojk]

On 7/5/2020 at 5:34 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Count me in that group

Obviously, I am in that group. Of course, not being retired hampers my ability to enjoy nearly as many.

 

jc

[fandash]

On 7/5/2020 at 10:40 PM, coaster said:

Some of us like Vision class. Why you feel it is a win/win for those of us who like variety? 

royal will be looking to move some of their ships cos they have excess and they wont get rid of their newest one or bigger ships.

i like both the big and small ships however as there are more things to do on the bigger newer ships those are my favourtie

 

 

[fandash]

On 7/5/2020 at 7:27 PM, livingonthebeach said:

After Pullmantur, comes another casualty.  This time it's the Swedish cruise line Birka Cruises.  Granted, these two were small cruise lines but the idea that they could only last for 3 1/2 months without revenue is a scary thing for the industry.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/birka-cruise-line-shuts-down/

i dont know either of those cruise lines but it is sad to here businesses going out of business

Edited July 8, 2020 by fandash
to add to it

[Blue Eyed Belfast Belle]

Just read that Cruise and Maratime Voyages (CMV) have gone into administration.

 

https://www.cruiseandmaritime.com/

[livingonthebeach]

26 minutes ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

Just read that Cruise and Maratime Voyages (CMV) have gone into administration.

 

https://www.cruiseandmaritime.com/

 

How sad.  Yet another casualty.  Hopefully the big lines will not suffer the same fate. 🤞

[Dennis#1]

Wonder which cruise line will be next in declaring bankruptcy.

[MADflyer]

I sure hope their Astoria gets saved and not sent to the scrap yard. She is the former Stockholm, built in 1948 as a Ocean Liner and converted to a cruise ship in 1993 and the longest serving current cruise ship sailing at 72 years old. 

 

Some might remember her as the vessel that collided with the Andrea Doria off the coast of Nantucket.  

 

Some ships should be saved as a museum piece and not just sent to the scrapyard. 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Dennis#1 said:

Wonder which cruise line will be next in declaring bankruptcy.

CMV  Cruise and Maritime Voyages a British based cruiseline has gone into administration today.

They had 6 older ships including Marco Polo and Magellan and 4000 employees.

[livingonthebeach]

Sad to see all these going down. Let's hope the big ones can overcome these "headwinds". 

 

"Cruise & Maritime’s collapse comes just two weeks after Sweden-based Birka Cruises shut down, citing the financial pressures of the coronavirus pandemic. Relatively unknown in North America, Birka Cruises offered two- to four-night Baltic cruises out of Stockholm, Sweden, as well as day trips around the Stockholm archipelago.

The coronavirus crisis also has led to the insolvency of Spain-based Pullmantur Cruises. The three-ship operator, which is partly owned by Royal Caribbean Group, announced last month that it had filed for reorganization under Spanish insolvency laws.

Pullmantur blamed headwinds from the coronavirus pandemic that were “too strong … to overcome.”

https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-maritime-voyages-shuts-down/

[ONECRUISER]

7 hours ago, grapau27 said:

CMV  Cruise and Maritime Voyages a British based cruiseline has gone into administration today.

They had 6 older ships including Marco Polo and Magellan and 4000 employees.

Sad, had feeling she might be one of the next...

[livingonthebeach]

Yet another one just announced today:

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/germany-s-fti-cruises-becomes-fourth-cruise-line-to-cease-operations

 

"Germany's FTI Cruises Becomes Fourth Cruise Line to Cease Operations"

[John&LaLa]

On 7/20/2020 at 3:55 PM, MADflyer said:

I sure hope their Astoria gets saved and not sent to the scrap yard. She is the former Stockholm, built in 1948 as a Ocean Liner and converted to a cruise ship in 1993 and the longest serving current cruise ship sailing at 72 years old. 

 

Some might remember her as the vessel that collided with the Andrea Doria off the coast of Nantucket.  

 

Some ships should be saved as a museum piece and not just sent to the scrapyard. 

 

I can only think of one right now

 

And she has some serious expenses to see that happen

[Biker19]

Not quite there yet, but:

 

Genting Hong Kong has suspended all payments to creditors, sparking a 33% drop in the company’s share price.

 

Genting cited COVID-19’s impact on its operations  — which include Dream Cruises, Star Cruises and Crystal Cruises — for the cash crunch, in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Wednesday night.

 

‘The Group has undertaken a number of cost reduction and cash conservation measures to mitigate the effects of the resultant loss of revenues from its operations,’ the statement said.

 

The company owed a total of $3.4bn as of July 31.

 

Bank fees due on newbuilds

On August 17, Dream Global One Ltd and Dream Global Two Ltd (subsidiaries of Genting HK) were required to pay bank fees amounting to  €3.7m in connection with the financing of the construction of ‘certain ships’, said the company statement. Those fees were not paid.

 

Earlier this month Genting warned of a year delay in deliveries of Crystal Endeavor and Global Dream both under construction at own yards MV Werften and severely  restricted  operations  and  revenue  generation at  entertainment and leisure businesses Resorts World Manila and Zouk, Singapore.

 

Taiwan cruises

In late July, Dream Cruises did return to service with Explorer Dream on short sailings from Taiwan for the local market.

 

Planned restructure

Genting HK said it will use its available funds to maintain critical services for the company’s operations and asked creditors to form a steering committee to evaluate a planned restructuring proposal.

 

Analysts in Asia were suggesting Genting may look to sell assets, or possibly liquidate the entire company.

[Biker19]

A small operator:

 

 

Family-owned US-flag operator Blount Small Ship Adventures is ceasing operations due to the coronavirus pandemic and has put its three vessels up for sale.

 

Focus on shipbuilding business

According to news reports, the Warren, Rhode Island-based company is going to focus on its shipbuilding business.

 

'Yes, this is confirmation that Blount Small Ship Cruise Lines has ceased operations,' Julie Blount, EVP of Blount Boats Inc., told TravelPulse. 'The Blount family is selling its three overnight cruise ships and putting all its emphasis on the family shipbuilding business. The reason was due to the coronavirus pandemic.'

 

Blount operates Grande Caribe, Grande Mariner and Niagara Prince.

 

WorkBoat lists vessel prices

Last week WorkBoat reported the 98-passenger Grande Mariner is listed at $6m, the 100-passenger Grande Caribe at $5.6m and the 76-passenger Niagara Prince at $2m.

 

[Germancruiser]

Oh  remember the old Berlin very well- family and I sailed her in 1990- then still " Germans Loveboat"! ( TRaumschiff) I fear that one will end up at breakers as well. 40 years of service- she´s done her bit! That´s waht she looked like back then:

Edited August 26, 2020 by Germancruiser

[Biker19]

 

Greek ropax operator Marios Iliopoulos has taken his spending on, acquiring six cruise ships for an estimated outlay of between $65m and $70m.

 

The flamboyant Piraeus-based owner has just purchased his fifth and sixth cruise ship in four months. Best known as the head of Greek ferry company Seajets, Iliopoulos after buying four cruise ships privately from Carnival Corp. & plc-affiliated companies has now scooped up two at auction.

 

Magellan and Columbus

This week Seajets emerged as the new owner of the 46,052gt Magellan, built 1985, and 63,786gt Columbus, built 1989. The pair were formerly owned by UK-based Greek-linked Cruise & Maritime Voyages, which collapsed into administration in July.

 

At layup in Tilbury each vessel was sold by separate sealed tender, ‘as is, where is’ on behalf of the UK’s Admiralty Marshal by exclusive broker CW Kellock & Co Ltd. The prices have not yet been revealed but analyst VesselsValue estimates Magellan is worth $8.36m and Columbus $11.2m, which is the same as their scrap values.

 

The two ships are expected to be brought to Greece and join the other four purchases in layup while their future is decided though Iliopoulos is not likely to enter the cruise business, with market watchers believing he is engaged in an asset play and will lay up the six ships until the cruise market is again in full swing.

'Such a ploy to lay up the six units will be costly anyway,' one Piraeus broker said.

 

Follows Pacific Aria, Veendam, Maasdam, Oceana

The other four cruise ships were purchased from Carnival Corp. Most recently the 55,900gt Pacific Aria, built 1994, was acquired from Carnival subsidiary P&O Cruises Australia. As was the case with the three earlier buys, no price details were disclosed for the vessel which was anchored off Limassol, Cyprus.

Pacific Aria’s identical sister ship, the year older Pacific Eden, also part of the CMV fleet and also in Tilbury, went under the hammer earlier this month as Vasco da Gama, now in the hands of Portuguese cruise company Mystic Invest for a reported €9.5m ($11.1m).

 

Iliopoulos’ buying spree began in June when the 77,500gt Oceana, built 2000, was acquired from Carnival subsidiary P&O Cruises. The 57,100gt Veendam (1996) and the 55,600gt Maasdam (1993), which were operated by Holland America Line, were acquired in August.

 

Oceana is now Queen of the Oceans and under the ownership of an affiliate of Iliopoulos’ Seajets. The two HAL ships were registered to separate single-ship entities, with Veendam becoming Aegean Majesty and Maasdam, Aegean Myth.

 

Technical management of the three first purchases was assigned to Optimum Shipmanagement, a company with close links to Piraeus-based Celestyal Cruises.

 

Buyer(s) of Astor, Marco Polo not yet known

Meanwhile, the market is waiting for the identification of the buyer(s) of the final two ex-CMV vessels also sold at auction. Bidding for the 20,704gt Astor, built 1987, ended October 8 and that for the 22,080gt Marco Polo, built 1965, ended October 20.