Apollo Management L.p. Makes Strategic Investment In Oceania Cruises

[sandancer]

Smoking on one's balcony is not only hazardous to one's health, it is also anextreme fire hazard, a la the episode on Princess. I don't think smoking is allowed on ANY balcony, regardless of cruiseline for this very reason. Non-smoking ships work for me.

 

Mark

I wish someone had told that to the people on either side of us on the Radiance. From 6am we had to keep the doors closed for the smoke wafting in - not to mention the smokers cough which woke us each day. I don't think you have it right about any cruise line and any balcony. Sorry.

[Apex Cruiser]

Observations here are from my experience in corporate finance.

 

NH you may be right but I think you are a bit ahead of yourself in timing. O needs to gain some more size in revenue and EBITDA before they would be a truly viable IPO. Once they gain a couple of additional ships they will probably have that mass. Many companies including the one I work for now have investment partners but are not public. There are many advantages to not being public especially for a high growth company. We don’t have to worry about keeping shareholders happy while expansion takes place. Once you reach the right size that will raise optimal equity dollars for the partners involved the company is usually brought public or sold to another investment company. So I am looking for O to go public in 2010 or 2011 with a five or six ship fleet.

 

Congratulations to FDR in finding a very good partner willing to help grow the company independently.

[Saga Ruby]

Congratulations to FDR in finding a very good partner willing to help grow the company independently.

 

Amen to that one. It was my personal belief that RCI would have ruined the current excellent onboard standards at Oceania as they did with Celebrity. RCI is all about shareholders, Oceania is all about exquisite service to passengers.

 

Some people run a fine corporation, some people want only the financial deals. It all depends on what the corporate goals are. The heart and soul of a corporation is easily identified by which choice is made.

 

I'm sure that, under the direction of FDR, Oceania will continue to be the outstanding cruise line it has been since inception.

 

Ruby

[garykool81]

I would hope that Oceania does *not* go for an IPO and remains a privately-owned line. I have come to hate publicly traded/owned companies. I see how going public leads to the slow chipping away of services/benefits for both employees AND customers.

 

The best large companies I can think of that are adored by both employees and customers are almost always privately-held corporations....Bose (audio company) comes to mind.

[Jancruz]

APOLLO MANAGEMENT L.P. MAKES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN OCEANIA CRUISES

Oceania Cruises to Remain an Independent Brand

 

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/T_MainContentPage.aspx?PageUID=ff31de0e-912e-46fb-bf54-9dfc4f87b228&PRUID=ece42d73-43e4-463e-958b-f4c61bff3eeb

 

 

 

*****

 

Host Kat, I took this straight off my email from the company so at the time had no link..

Jan

*****

[dougnewmanatsea]

Is it Apollo or Oceania that we deal with onboard ?

It depends on who you are dealing with!

 

Some people on board do work for Oceania. Some work for Apollo. Some work for V.Ships. Yet others for the casino, spa, shop and photography concessionaires. Oh, and I'm forgetting the medical staff who are "independent contractors"!

 

It is not as simple as you think.

[garykool81]

It depends on who you are dealing with!

 

Some people on board do work for Oceania. Some work for Apollo. Some work for V.Ships. Yet others for the casino, spa, shop and photography concessionaires. Oh, and I'm forgetting the medical staff who are "independent contractors"!

 

It is not as simple as you think.

 

...and, more importantly, this is not a situation that is unique to Oceania. Staffing scenerios like this are standard across the entire industry. Nothing here is "unusual," etc.

[spindrift]

So where is Joe Watters in this mix?

[dougnewmanatsea]

...and, more importantly, this is not a situation that is unique to Oceania. Staffing scenerios like this are standard across the entire industry. Nothing here is "unusual," etc.

Exactly. Nothing unusual about it at all. Even cruise lines that do not actually have others manage their ships usually don't do their own crewing.

[brian_uk]

...and, more importantly, this is not a situation that is unique to Oceania. Staffing scenerios like this are standard across the entire industry. Nothing here is "unusual," etc.

 

I take your point of course.....but then should these Boards not actually be saying for example

 

" Had a great cruise with Apollo Chandlers who provided 75% of the Staff of this cruise compared to my last cruise which was staffed by Smith Chandlers (just a name) who were less efficient "

 

I mean what impact does O have on the actual Cruise other than maybe setting a standard that they want to reach and therefore a budget that Apollo can spend.

 

Having said all that....we are still booked for 2 more of the same....

 

Brian

[garykool81]

I mean what impact does O have on the actual Cruise other than maybe setting a standard that they want to reach and therefore a budget that Apollo can spend.

 

My guess, and this is entirely speculation (FDR or another Oceania employee surely can elaborate), is that Oceania's corporate office very clearly communicates protocal and standards of customer service, etc., to the staffing agencies. They probably have entirely customized training programs for each particular line that the agency works with, each setting different policies and expectations of those onboard associates.

 

This is not much different than an office hiring a temporary employee to fill a vacancy for a month or two via a local staffing agency. That agency provides talent that meets the specified requirements for the opening, however, it is usually up to the folks on-site to train that associate to their own company's standards.

 

When running a cruise line that employees literally thousands of folks on rotating contracts, you can imagine the absolute logisitcal nightmare it would be to try and handle your recruiting in-house. It is likely easier and less expensive to outsource these responsibilities to an outside firm, while still achieving the same (or better) results.

[surfklutz]

Maybe I am just plain Stooopid but.....

 

I have read the Apollo website page by page and it seems to me that they already run Oceania. Other than the Naval crew everyone else comes from Apollo....as does all the food, booze, etc. All cleaning services are contracted to them. So it would appear that all Oceania actually do is plan the trips and marketing and lease the ships.

 

Has anyone ever seen O's headquarters ? Probably just 2 rooms in Miami which is why FDR has the time to dwell on here.

 

Maybe this is my next business move Oceabriana Cruises inc

 

Brian

 

My thoughts exactly - what is he doing on these boards? I think it is a joke - don't you?

[LHT28]

My thoughts exactly - what is he doing on these boards? I think it is a joke - don't you?

 

NO JOKE

The forums are free for all so why not FDR??

 

FDR does post here and he DOES read the boards.

[garykool81]

How remarkably rude and uneducated to insinuate that someone such as FDR has no business making posts on the boards here, or "shouldn't have the time to."

 

Where many modern day executives at almost any corporation wouldn’t dare set foot into a public forum such as this one, Frank Del Rio has shown with his simple presence here the enormous pride, passion and dedication he has not only for his line, but the industry itself.

 

We should all be thrilled that someone in his position actually cares enough to make appearances on message boards to speak with every-day customers, genuinely listening to what they have to say and addressing problems, etc. . I cannot think of any other cruise line executive who ever does such a thing.

 

Shame on you…frankly, I think an apology is in order.

[surfklutz]

How remarkably rude and uneducated to insinuate that someone such as FDR has no business making posts on the boards here, or "shouldn't have the time to."

 

Where many modern day executives at almost any corporation wouldn’t dare set foot into a public forum such as this one, Frank Del Rio has shown with his simple presence here the enormous pride, passion and dedication he has not only for his line, but the industry itself.

 

We should all be thrilled that someone in his position actually cares enough to make appearances on message boards to speak with every-day customers, genuinely listening to what they have to say and addressing problems, etc. . I cannot think of any other cruise line executive who ever does such a thing.

 

Shame on you…frankly, I think an apology is in order.

 

An apology - hardly. Go back a few and see if Frank doesn't need to issue come apologies of his own.

[surfklutz]

How remarkably rude and uneducated to insinuate that someone such as FDR has no business making posts on the boards here, or "shouldn't have the time to."

 

Where many modern day executives at almost any corporation wouldn’t dare set foot into a public forum such as this one, Frank Del Rio has shown with his simple presence here the enormous pride, passion and dedication he has not only for his line, but the industry itself.

 

We should all be thrilled that someone in his position actually cares enough to make appearances on message boards to speak with every-day customers, genuinely listening to what they have to say and addressing problems, etc. . I cannot think of any other cruise line executive who ever does such a thing.

 

Shame on you…frankly, I think an apology is in order.

 

An apology - hardly. Go back a few and see if Frank doesn't need to issue some apologies of his own.

[RetiredFL]

I have read this entire thread.

I don't see anything Frank has to apologise for.

He stated his company's policy clearly.

Anyone who has worked in the corporate world knows financial deals and oursourcing goes on all the time. At my last employer the HR department was in Pakistan and the word processing was in Central America! Our mail room was run by a independent contractor as was the cafeteria.

What matters is the product and Oceania and Frank have pledged to keep it at the high level it has been in the past. I don't care if aliens from outer space are providing services as long as they are up to Oceania's standards.

As to Frank being on these boards, at the above last job we had a dedicated e-mail adress to the president to bring issues to his attention and he always responded within 24 hours! CEOs no longer sit in splendid isolation unless they run ENRON (nuf said)

[garykool81]

An apology - hardly. Go back a few and see if Frank doesn't need to issue some apologies of his own.

 

Frank has absolutely nothing to apologize for. If you are referring to him chastising someone for making completely speculative comments as if they were fact, that hardly warrants an apology.

 

And, to be honest, he didn’t become very harsh at all. He simply stated what the facts were in response to allegations of multiple PR agencies and legal counsels conjuring up some press release for Oceania, noting to the original poster and the rest of us that the allegations were not true, and that he had personally authored the news release.

 

Again, the fact that he is dedicated and passionate enough about his line and the industry to participate in these boards speaks highly of him and Oceania. To attack him as having “too much free time” for a cruise line exec just for being on the Internet is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard -- and as I said before, is inappropriate on every level.

 

Perhaps some here would like CEOs of companies to start filing weekly reports of how they spend their lunch breaks or evenings at home? Is the Internet off limits? Should they simply be wired into their company via Blackberry 24/7 with no life whatsoever?

 

Gimmie a break. Sheesh.

[surfklutz]

Oops - I left out a very important word in my post - go back a few years and see if he might have some apologizing to do. I'm really not so much concerned how Frank fills him time these days.

[brian_uk]

I never thought that for one second my usual flippant comments (albeit with a ring of truth always) would provoke an outburst from anyone............

 

Surfklutz you have an axe to grind from somewhere in the past but please DO NOT associate ME with your vehemence towards Oceania or FDR.

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my two O Cruises and have rebooked another two and hopefully will enjoy both.

 

Brian

[garykool81]

Surfklutz you have an axe to grind from somewhere in the past but please DO NOT associate ME with your vehemence towards Oceania or FDR.

 

Agreed...

 

...and I didn't so much mean for an outburst, but rather that we should be careful in valuing the time FDR *CHOOSES* to spend speaking with us all.

[tak2]

Oops - I left out a very important word in my post - go back a few years and see if he might have some apologizing to do. I'm really not so much concerned how Frank fills him time these days.

 

I have not read his posts in past years, but I do appreciate what he has said in the last few months.

I do not care how good a reputation a cruiseline has built up years ago, I'm looking at how they have performed recently when choosing my cruise vacation. It has been written numerous times on this website as to how certain lines have slipped in quality over the years. We should encourage someone who is striving to improve rather than dwelling on past errors, IF THERE WAS EVER AN ERROR to begin with.

[Boreus]

I mean what impact does O have on the actual Cruise other than maybe setting a standard that they want to reach and therefore a budget that Apollo can spend.

Brian

 

Setting the standard, allocating resources, and seeing that the standard is met (one point not mentioned) is what management is all about. Oceania has to do a number of other things, such as coordinating other providers (V. Ships, independent contractors), setting standards for them, insuring they are met; and over the long run providing for the fiscal health of the organization, which includes strategic alliances with money people such as Apollo. I welcome FDR's presence on these boards as part of O's effort to monitor standards and communicate with customers, and some previous posters must have broken new ground by taking exception to having their views heard by upper management. The thread about berries on board O and FDR's reaction to it (he set a standard, and a high one) is only the most recent productive example of this collaborative use of the boards. There have been others and I hope to see more.

[mmark14]

Spindrift's question came to my mind as well--Joe Watters was not mentioned in the press release---

is he still associated with Oceania?

[mike35]

It seems that I recently read that Joe Watters' title was changed to "founding director", if that tells you something.

 

Mike