NCL: Apollo has Landed!

Private equity group Apollo Management agreed in September 2007, to become a major shareholder in NCL. This has now been finalised and Apollo have spent $1 billion for a 50 percent share of NCL. Star Cruises, NCL’s previous sole shareholder, still holds the other 50 percent.

A cruise line statement said “the money and backing will enable the line to implement Freestyle 2.0, a series of fleet-wide enhancements announced aboard Norwegian Gem just after its naming ceremony in New York last month”.

NCL has spent massively over the last few years with many new builds as they try and see off the threat of the Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean International. With two F3 prototypes on order at over $1.1 billion per ship, (first one due in 2009) it is no surprise to see some form of outside investment.

So what does this do for Apollo, well in a short period of time they now own 50% of NCL, Oceania Cruises and have agreed to purchase Regent Seven Seas. Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas are to be run independently under the banner of Prestige Cruise Holdings.

Not sure about reaching for the stars but in the cruising world Apollo has landed!

Travelscopes MS Van Gogh Starts World Cruise

Travelscopes MS Van Gogh Started her world cruise today even though some 40,000 potential passengers will not enjoy their cruises this year. The Travelscope world cruise was sold through a Dutch based cruise club and is not affected by the troubles that Travelscope find themselves in following by the December announcement that they are in receivership.

P&O Juggle with Activities

P&O Cruises have announced they are to introduce “Cirque Ventura” onboard Victoria when she joins the fleet this Spring.

Cirque Ventura
is a Circus School that will include training in tight wire walking, acro balance, break-dancing, juggling, stilt walking and (I am not joking here) clowning.

Along with these features are four bungee trampolines, first seen on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas, which will spring passengers to up to 60 metres above sea level, if that is not enough, how about a flying trapeze. The flying trapeze will be offered in conjunction with other activities during a two-hour circus workshop, with up to eight people at a time able to participate.

Dubai Costa Double

After a very succesful season with CostaClassica cruising out of Dubai, Costa Cruises have announced that CostaRomantica and CostaEuropa wil both cruise from Dubai this year.

They will complete 25 cruises between them, each cruising to Muscat (Oman), Fujairah and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), and Bahrain on a 7 night cruises.

Noro-Victoria Strikes

It has been reported that the legendary though unwanted Norovirus has struck passengers and crew on Queen Victoria’s maiden voyage. A type of gastrointestinal flu that causes vomiting and diarrhea, the Norovirus is found all to often in enclosed spaces such as ships and hospitals.

Travelscope Sink into Administration

A message on Travelscopes website states that the company has gone into administration. Based in Gloucester UK, Travelscope charters the Dutch owned MS Van Gogh a small15,420-ton, 506-passenger ship that was built in 1975.

Some 40,000 passengers will be affected during 2008, except for those on the January 4th World cruise, this apparently was sold through another company, a Dutch based cruise club and has been paid for in full.

Crystal Symphony Opens for Sushi

Chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa is to open two new restaurants aboard Crystal Symphony called Silk Road and the Sushi Bar. This follows on from the success seen from his two restaurants on-board her sister ship Crystal Serenity.

Nobu, as he is known by, is famously linked with Robert De Niro, the actor as they share ownership of the restaurant Nobu in New York.

Fred. Olsen Add Fuel Surcharge

Fred. Olsen Cruises, the independent UK based has, like many other cruise lines, introduced a fuel surcharge on their cruises.

The surcharge has been set at £2.50 per person per day (about $5) and applies to double occupancy only (third and fourth passengers sharing a cabin will not have to pay). Fred. Olsen have said that they will place a cap of £50 per person ($100) for longer voyages.

Aida Get Two New Builds

Aida Cruises, a Germany based company and part of the Carnival Corporation are to receive two new builds, they will be 71,000-ton, 2,174-passengers vessels and scheduled to enter service in April 2011 and May 2012. The cost Euro 380 million each. A third new build has had its design modified to be the same size as the two new orders, this as of yet an unnamed ship will arrive in service in 2010.

Already on order are the AIDAbella, due out in April 2008, and an as-yet-unnamed sister ship in April 2009. AIDAdiva, was introduced earlier this year when Aida Cruises lost AIDAblue to Ocean Village a division of P&O Cruises, which at the time looked good for Ocean Village and yet they would probably benefit more from a new build than Aida Cruises.

Aida Cruises are in direct competition with TUI AG, the other German line that is being bought by Royal Caribbean.

Norwegian Dream Gets a Rude Awakening

Norwegian Dream got a rude awakening today when she hit a barge in Montevideo (Uruguay). The result was damage to the bow of the ship, which will be repaired in port before the cruise can continue.

The port was closed for a few hours as 5 containers and a few new cars were retrieved from the water. This affected Celebrity’s Infinity and Orient Lines Marco Polo, Infinity was unable to leave the port on time, while Marco Polo was unable to enter the port.

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