Cunard Line shacking up with Princess Cruises in Los Angeles

[eroller]

I had a strong feeling this would eventually happen. Next I think we will see Carnival Corp. dump Seabourn all together. I don't think they add to the bottom line any longer and the fact they are not relocating with Cunard sends a warning sign.

 

Ernie

 

 

NOTE: PLease LINK to stories in the news as opposed to posting them; see CC community guidelines.. Because this thread had value and I did not want to delete this post in its entirety (OR edit) I have inserted this note as a reminder! Thanks for your cooperation. Caroline

 

Carnival Corporation & plc Restructures Cunard's North America Organization

Friday July 16, 9:00 am ET

 

 

MIAMI, July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK - News) has announced a restructuring of Cunard Line's North American organization designed to position the company for continued growth while streamlining operations and maximizing efficiencies. The line will be relocated to Santa Clarita, California, home to sister company Princess Cruises, by December 2004. In addition to the recently announced fleet operations reorganization, Cunard will share administrative, finance and IT functions with Princess.

 

This relocation follows the recent announcement in the United Kingdom, where Cunard's British operations were combined with those of the other Carnival Corporation & plc U.K. brands.

 

"Cunard has one of the most time honored names in cruising, and with the introduction of the Queen Mary 2 and the upcoming delivery of Queen Victoria, the brand is poised for growth," said Peter Ratcliffe, CEO of Carnival Corporation's P&O Princess division, which includes Cunard. "This move provides Cunard the opportunity to utilize the significant resources of one of its sister companies while retaining its unique identity."

 

The relocation is expected to reduce future overhead costs by approximately $20 million on an annual basis. Non-recurring charges related to the cost of the relocation of between $10 million and $15 million are expected to be recorded primarily over the remainder of 2004.

 

During the reorganization period Pamela Conover will remain as president of Cunard Line and will oversee the transition of the Cunard organization to Santa Clarita. Once the relocation is complete, Conover will assume the new position of senior vice president, Carnival Shared Services, a corporate office function reporting directly to Howard Frank, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Carnival Corporation & plc.

 

"It has been an honor to lead Cunard for the past three years, but it is quite clear that this move will further strengthen Cunard Line and will lay the foundations for further growth and success," said Conover. "In Miami we have an amazing team of dedicated staff who have been instrumental to Cunard's success over the years, and I would like to thank them for their support and many contributions, and wish them well for the future."

 

The line's North American Sales and Customer Services department will report to Lee Robinson, vice president of sales and customer service for Cunard, and the North American Marketing and Revenue department will be led by David Gevanthor, Cunard's vice president of yield management and marketing. Gevanthor and Robinson, together with Carol Marlow and Jackie Foggitt, the heads of sales and marketing in the United Kingdom and Australia, respectively, will report to Peter Ratcliffe once the transition is complete.

 

The current Cunard field sales force remains intact, and will continue to represent the Seabourn Cruise Line in addition to Cunard.

 

"We remain committed to continuing the proud tradition of Cunard and the unique values of its ocean liner product as the company moves forward," said Gevanthor. "Travel agents can be completely confident that they and their clients will continue to experience Cunard's renowned White Star Service now and into the future," said Robinson.

 

Seabourn Cruise Line will remain based in Miami and operate as an independent brand within Carnival Corporation & plc led by Deborah Natansohn, who has been newly appointed its president. She had previously been senior vice president, sales and marketing, for Cunard. Natansohn will report to Carnival's Howard Frank. In a related move, Richard D. Meadows, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Seabourn, has been named senior vice president of sales and marketing for Carnival's Holland America Line.

 

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, with a portfolio of 12 cruise brands in North America, Europe and Australia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic, and P&O Cruises Australia.

 

Together, these brands operate 77 ships totaling more than 128,000 lower berths with eight new ships scheduled for delivery between November 2004 and December 2006. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, Holland America Tours and Princess Tours. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

[CharlotteVale]

I have only one comment.....

 

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 

Miss Vale

[lknick]

The adoption of the Princess IS system throughout Carnival Corp was announced somewhile ago.

 

The sale of Seabourn was hinted at some time ago.

 

This is only implimentation of this.

[eroller]

The adoption of the Princess IS system throughout Carnival Corp was announced somewhile ago.

 

The sale of Seabourn was hinted at some time ago.

 

This is only implimentation of this.

 

 

The adoption of the Princess IS system throughout Carnival was never announced, only suggested. Carnival Corp. *is* developing a common platform reservation system, but nothing else has been announced.

 

Moving Cunard to Princess headquarters in LA is far more involved then just using their reservation system.

 

As for Seabourn, anything at this point is only speculation.

 

Maybe you would like to enlighten us with a few of your own predictions?

 

 

Ernie

[guernseyguy]

I for one would prefer Princess IT systems over Cunard's any day & who is going to mourn the loss of Cunard Miami? The issue will be can they differentiate their brands successfully enough - and does a 2-3 ship operation need a separate President? Guess they are saying no - and I can understand why. The people who make Ivory also make Tide (for us on this side of the pond thats Fairy & Ariel) - they are different brands with different benefits, characters & products. Why not for cruise lines?

 

Peter

(former VP of the people who make Fairy & Ariel....)

[Linerguy]

Thanks, Ernie ... be it old news or not, I appreciate the post.

 

I'm sad to see this happen.

 

Russ

[eroller]

I don't think any combining of the Princess and Cunard brands will be visible to the consumer. That would certainly defeat the entire purpose of Carnival Corp. buying the well known Cunard name to begin with (not to mention building the most expensive liner in the world).

 

I do think Cunard will benefit from the excellent back office organizational skills of Princess Cruises. Princess Cruises really has their act together when it comes to their head office and reservations. Not to mention their ticket packages and website. I see Cunard taking advantage of all this. There are a lot of great people at Princess so I think Cunard will be in good hands.

 

Ernie

[eroller]

Thanks, Ernie ... be it old news or not, I appreciate the post.

 

I'm sad to see this happen.

 

Russ

 

 

Russ,

This certainly was not old news. I did see this eventually happening as did a few others, but it was purely speculation on our part.

 

As for Cunard, I actually think they will benefit from Princess and their excellent back office organization.

 

Ernie

[lknick]

ernie, you asked for my predictions:

 

1. Standardization and centralization of all back office activities throughout Carnival. Just as P&G may have multiple brands, but P&G's Laundry division [or whatever it's called these days] accounting is centralized.

 

2. Transfer of labor between lines. The difficulties in staffing QM2 has indicated to corporate management the problems with launching new hulls without staff to partially fill them. Soon, the 'friendly indonesian' at HAL will speak Polish.

 

3. Standardization of hulls throughout the operating divisions. One hull fits all.

 

4. Sale of Seabourn as it does not fit the current hull configuration and niche plan.

 

Now, look back if you can and you will see I did post that Carnival was planning to adopt the Princess IS platform and the first candidate was Cunard for the transition.

[Linerguy]

Ernie:

 

The only negative thing behind the loss of Cunard Miami is that several folks stand to loose their jobs; and that's always unfortunate. While I'm not as big a fan of Princess' back office operations as you are, this move certainly makes sense from a cost saving point of view.

 

And now the circle is complete. I have an old P&O brochure for Canberra and, on the cover, is the Cunard logo ... they were handling the bookings.

 

BTW, my "old news or not" comment was really directed elsewhere. I'm sure you know that.

 

Russ

[dougnewmanatsea]

I agree with Ernie here - I don't see this as a bad thing at all. To me it is perfectly natural that IT, reservations, and all other backoffice functions at Carnival be centralised. Doing so doesn't need to have an impact on the "character" of the various brands. Other major corporations have operated that way for years; Carnival's traditonal strategy of operating each brand as a separate company no longer makes any sense now that the group is so huge. That strategy has been progressively going the way of the dodo since Carnival and P&O Princess merged and I expect it to disappear completely after a while. It only makes sense.

 

And yes, Cunard can benefit from the expertise of Princess' LA operation. They have resources and experience that a comparitively tiny operation like Cunard could only dream of. Again, it only makes sense that the smaller brands of Carnival Corp & plc combine their behind-the-scenes operations with the larger ones in order to take advantage of their resources and expertise.

 

All in all I think this is an excellent decision on the part of Carnival/P&O Princess, probably the best one we've seen in a while.

[Seems_to_me]

BTW, my "old news or not" comment was really directed elsewhere. I'm sure you know that.

Russ, you're like a dog worrying a bone.

 

So a person doesn't agree with you? Give it a rest.

[Linerguy]

In regards to Pamela Conover:

 

"Conover will assume the new position of senior vice president, Carnival Shared Services".

 

Anytime I hear about someone moving to a "new position", it sounds as though they really don't know what to do with that person; so they create a job for them simply to keep them around.

 

I wonder just how long she'll hang in there.

 

Russ

[eroller]

In regards to Pamela Conover:

 

"Conover will assume the new position of senior vice president, Carnival Shared Services".

 

Anytime I hear about someone moving to a "new position", it sounds as though they really don't know what to do with that person; so they create a job for them simply to keep them around.

 

I wonder just how long she'll hang in there.

 

Russ

 

 

Russ,

What do you think of "Shared Services"? That is obviously a department that is looking for ways to reduce costs across all brands by combining synergies when appropriate. It's a little scary to me, as I only hope the individual brands don't lose any more of their identity. So long as the paying passenger never notices everything is fine, but unfortunately as accountants get creative and companies get greedy, sometimes that is forgotten.

 

I do think Cunard will be better managed under Princess, but lets hope Cunard will retain it's own style and flair (something I feel Princess has little of on their ships).

 

Ernie

 

ps - a friend in Sydney called me earlier today to talk about Cunard moving. He is pretty close with things happening in the cruise industry. He also feels Cunard operating under Princess will be good, but what was not mentioned is all the people in Miami losing their jobs. It seems most were not even offered to move with Cunard to LA if they wanted. That is very sad.

[ricker]

Perhaps the Miami employees had rumor of this move and it resulted in somewhat less than satisfactory customer service for those of us who called and got little help. Or perhaps it was the other way around. The poor service resulted in the change.

Rick

[assam]

Regarding losing jobs, if that is the case that is VERY sad. Our Cunard vacation consultant is FABULOUS and he was a great help when we planned our crossing. He definitely sold us on the entire thing and was there for us from start to finish and beyond! A very sad day for Cunard if they lose Herlan!!! :(

[dougnewmanatsea]

What do you think of "Shared Services"?

"Shared Services" could be anything - I haven't seen a real description of just what they'll do.

 

Personally I've always thought there are great opportunities for vertical integration within Carnival that don't seem to have been taken advantage of.

 

It's a little scary to me, as I only hope the individual brands don't lose any more of their identity.

If they really want to they can keep individual brand identities very distinct while merging a lot of things behind the scenes. Whether they do it remains to be seen; even though there isn't all that much behind-the-scenes integration there is still rather too much blurring of brand identities I think.

 

I do think Cunard will be better managed under Princess, but lets hope Cunard will retain it's own style and flair (something I feel Princess has little of on their ships).

Princess has a very strong identity, even if they don't have the identity we used to know and love (and you knew and loved it more than probably anyone else I know). To you and I it seems completely generic but somehow most people don't seem to see them that way at all - there are a lot of very loyal Princess pax (the mark of a good brand) even if they're not the same loyal Princess pax as the ones of just five or ten years ago. I think Princess may have fallen victim to homogenization in the industry in general, as has everyone else, but not to homogenization with other brands under the same corporate umbrella.

 

He also feels Cunard operating under Princess will be good, but what was not mentioned is all the people in Miami losing their jobs. It seems most were not even offered to move with Cunard to LA if they wanted. That is very sad.

Ouch. I hadn't heard that. Of course job redundancies is the dark side of corporate integrations like this.

 

But I agree with you and him that in general Cunard being run by P&O is most likely going to be for the most part a good thing. As he said (no, I haven't been tapping your phone, I was just e-mailing with him about the same thing not long ago, but before the official announcement), running Cunard as a distinct two or three ship line is just not economically feasible, besides which they should benefit from the resources and expertise of P&O Princess.

[eroller]

Doug,

It's good you seem to be embracing the idea of Cunard and Princess under one roof. I recall only a few weeks ago on another board when I mentioned this might happen you felt it wouldn't "feel" right. I guess Cunard in Los Angeles didn't sound right, and you mentioned it would be too far from the actual ships. Personally I feel the headquarters could be in a land locked state, as in this day and age it really doesn't matter how close the office is to where the ships dock.

 

I also received several emails (not from you) telling me this would never happen. Never say never. ;)

 

Ernie

[Linerguy]

Ernie:

 

Sorry for the delay in responding.

 

Like Doug said, Shared Services could be just about anything: purchasing, maintenance, reservation systems, documentation, training, employment, etc.

I just wonder if this department really needs a VP or was the posititon created just to keep Conover out of her lawyer's office.

 

Another thought: now that folks at Princess will get to know what real ships are suppose to look like, maybe their design team will abandon these silly, militant pelican looking abominations.

 

Russ

[dougnewmanatsea]

I recall only a few weeks ago on another board when I mentioned this might happen you felt it wouldn't "feel" right. I guess Cunard in Los Angeles didn't sound right

Neither did Cunard in Miami. As I said on that other board yesterday, it doesn't make that much of a difference whether their in Miami or some LA suburb, they both don't sound "right".

 

At least QUEEN MARY is in LA. Maybe the Cunard people will fall in love with her and convince Carnival to buy out the RMS Foundation and treat the ship to a big refit to bring her back to her former glory. Ah well, one can dream ;) ...

 

I also received several emails (not from you) telling me this would never happen.

Well, even if I didn't like the idea when you brought it up, I've been expecting it to happen ever since. It made too much sense not for Carnival/P&O to pick up on the idea.

[eroller]

 

 

NOTE: PLease LINK to stories in the news as opposed to posting them; see CC community guidelines.. Because this thread had value and I did not want to delete this post in its entirety (OR edit) I have inserted this note as a reminder! Thanks for your cooperation. Caroline

 

 

 

If this is the case, then why did Host Terry post basically post the same press release under a different heading? Shouldn't that be "linked" as well or do posts by "hosts" come under a different set of rules?

 

Ernie

[guernseyguy]

From the Guidelines:

 

However, Cruise Line press releases are welcome on the boards, if you clearly indicate the source

 

So Host Caroline I guess I'm confused - wasn't Ernie's post a Press Release from PRNewswire-FirstCall?

 

Peter

[eroller]

Ernie:

 

Sorry for the delay in responding.

 

Like Doug said, Shared Services could be just about anything: purchasing, maintenance, reservation systems, documentation, training, employment, etc.

I just wonder if this department really needs a VP or was the posititon created just to keep Conover out of her lawyer's office.

 

Another thought: now that folks at Princess will get to know what real ships are suppose to look like, maybe their design team will abandon these silly, militant pelican looking abominations.

 

Russ

 

 

Russ,

What worries me about "Shared Services" is that suddenly it's becoming big enough to where it requires it's own VP. What else are we going to see "shared" between brands in the future? I just don't want to see further downgrading of certain products and any more loss of individuality. Conover is basically an Accountant so she is probably right where she belongs. I'm not sure if running an entire cruise line was a bit beyond her?

 

As for future Princess newbuilds and what they will look like, who knows? I do that Carnival has combined all the shipbuilding departments from the various brands into one division in the UK. They will be responsible for designing all the vessels for the various brands, with input from each individual executive team of course. :) Get ready for more clones! Maybe a Vista/Spirit Class for Princess. That would put this class of ship within six of the Carnival Corp. brands. Might as well go for broke and order one for Seabroun and Windstar as well! ;)

 

Ernie

[eroller]

 

At least QUEEN MARY is in LA. Maybe the Cunard people will fall in love with her and convince Carnival to buy out the RMS Foundation and treat the ship to a big refit to bring her back to her former glory. Ah well, one can dream ;) ...

 

 

 

Yes, that would be a dream! Of course if Carnival ever ran the QM in LA, who knows what horrors would be in store for the ship? We know that Micky Arison is not the least bit nostalgic when it comes to ships. It's all about profit. The QM would probably be turned into some tacky money making cash cow. How about an Indian run casino with Carnival getting a nice chuck of the profits! ;) Yikes, I better not give them any ideas!

 

Ernie

[eroller]

ernie, you asked for my predictions:

 

1. Standardization and centralization of all back office activities throughout Carnival. Just as P&G may have multiple brands, but P&G's Laundry division [or whatever it's called these days] accounting is centralized.

 

2. Transfer of labor between lines. The difficulties in staffing QM2 has indicated to corporate management the problems with launching new hulls without staff to partially fill them. Soon, the 'friendly indonesian' at HAL will speak Polish.

 

3. Standardization of hulls throughout the operating divisions. One hull fits all.

 

4. Sale of Seabourn as it does not fit the current hull configuration and niche plan.

 

Now, look back if you can and you will see I did post that Carnival was planning to adopt the Princess IS platform and the first candidate was Cunard for the transition.

 

 

Thanks for your predictions. Most are already happening *now* so they really don't come across as anything earth shattering. Maybe that is a good thing? The biggest change you suggest would be non-Indonesian's working as crew on HAL. This would be a major change, but then again so was eliminating the "no tipping required" policy which many felt would never happen. It's a new world as far as the cruise industry is concerned, so nothing comes as a surprise anymore.

 

Regarding a common reservation platform for all brands, nothing official has been announced from Carnival. It has been hinted at in several industry magazines I receive, but Carnival is keeping mum on the subject.

 

I'm not sure if many people know this, but Carnival is testing a reservation center in Malaysia. Basically farming out jobs to cheaper labor overseas like so many other customer service companies are doing. Currently it's in a "test phase" and takes after hour reservation calls. According to Dickinson, there are currently no plans to expand the facility. Famous last words. :(

 

Ernie