USA: US Government Bans All Cuba Cruises Stranding Over 800,000 Passengers

US cruise lines have been forced to cancel trips to Cuba, affecting almost 800,000 passengers worldwide.

The US government yesterday announced an immediate implementation of new regulations banning previously approved cruises from the States to the Caribbean island.

As a result, CLIA said US cruise lines had been forced to eliminate all Cuba destinations from itineraries immediately.

It said this affects almost 800,000 passenger bookings that are currently scheduled or already underway.

US citizens have long been banned from taking independent trips to Cuba, but under previous US President Barack Obama's regime new rules allowing 'people to people' or group travel were introduced.

However, the Trump administration said it wants to steer American dollars away from the Cuban regime, and its military and security services, who control the tourism industry in Cuba.

We are disappointed that cruises will no longer be operating to Cuba, said CLIA chairman Adam Goldstein.

While out of our control, we are genuinely sorry for all cruise line guests who were looking forward to their previously booked itineraries to Cuba.

Norwegian Cruise Line said it is closely monitoring the situation and will contact guests and travel partners with information when details are available.

Royal Caribbean has dropped Cuba from today's itineraries.

Carnival Corporation said its brands would no longer be permitted to sail to Cuba effective immediately.

Currently, Carnival Corporation is sailing to Cuba on Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line, and Seabourn has been scheduled to begin sailing in November to Cuba. Additional details will be provided for currently booked cruises by the cruise lines, it said.

MSC Cruises said it is currently reviewing and working through the details of the administration's Cuba policy to assess the scale and timing of its effect on its cruise sailings from the US to Cuba.

Viking Ocean Cruises said it has one remaining call in late December 2019 and is currently reviewing its options for that and early 2020 sailings. Once confirmed, guests and travel partners will be notified directly, it added.

The ban is a blow to Virgin Voyages, whose first trip was due to sail from Miami to Cuba. In a statement, the new cruise line said: While we are disappointed, the beauty of sea travel means that we have the flexibility to take our ships to many wonderful destinations.

The Virgin Voyages' crew is hard at work making necessary adjustments to any affected sailings that feature a stop in Cuba next year.

Virgin Voyages will be announcing and opening sales on adjusted voyages featuring a new destination early next week.

Virgin Voyages' existing booking policies allow all sailors the flexibility to move to another voyage date without penalty. When we announce a new port-of-call next week, we will implement a special policy for affected Cuba bookings.


Tourism Observer

USA: Hurricane Irma Affects Florida's Tourism Industry

Hurricane Irma's path of destruction up Florida's Gulf Coast on Sunday threatens to disrupt a thriving state tourism industry worth more than $100 billion annually just months ahead of the busy winter travel season.

Some of the state's biggest attractions have announced temporary closures, including amusement park giants Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Legoland, and Sea World, which all planned to close through Monday.

About 20 cruise lines have Miami as a home port or a port of call, according to the PortMiami website, and many have had to move ships out of the area and revise schedules.

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean have canceled and revised several sailings as a result of the storm and have offered credits and waivers on trips where passengers are unable to travel.

A Carnival spokesman said the situation in Florida on Sunday was still not clear enough to fully assess how widespread the effects will be.

We will know more in the hours ahead since the hurricane is active in Florida right now, spokesman Roger Frizzell said.

Irma made a second Florida landfall on Sunday on southwestern Marco Island as a Category 3 storm bringing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 kph) and life-threatening sea surge.

Disney canceled the Monday sailing of one of its cruise ships and said it is assessing future sailings, which stop throughout the Caribbean and in the Bahamas.

Florida is one of the world's top tourism destinations.

Last year nearly 113 million people visited the state, a new record, and spent $109 billion, state officials said earlier this year.

The first half of 2017 was on track to beat that record pace, officials said.

The damage Irma's winds and storm surge do to Florida's 660 miles (1,060 km) of beaches and the structures built along them during more than 30 years of explosive population growth will be critical to how quickly the state's No. 1 industry recovers.

The Gulf beaches west of St. Petersburg and Clearwater, are squarely in the storm's path.

In 2016, more than 6.3 million people visited Pinellas County, which encompasses those cities, and generated more $9.7 billion in economic activity.

Up and down the wide, sandy beaches of Pinellas County are traditional "old Florida" water-front hotels such as the Don Cesar, a coral pink 1920s hotel on St. Pete Beach, which was closed by the storm. There are also modern high-rises and resorts that are part of the nation's biggest chains and brands including Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The low-lying barrier islands would be inundated if Irma's storm surge reaches forecast heights of as high as 15 feet (4.6 meters).

While some newer structures in the area are built on elevated pilings, many older homes and businesses are not.



Tourism Observer

VIRGIN ISLANDS: 75% Decrease In Cruise Ship Passengers To St. Croix This Year

Steps are being taken to counter an almost 75 percent decrease in cruise ship passengers to St. Croix this year, the Virgin Islands Tourism commissioner told the Source this week.

The V.I. Bureau of Economic Research reported a 74 percent drop, from just under 69,000 to less than 18,000, in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2016.

St. Thomas also saw a decline of almost 11 percent from 604,572 to 540,154.

The number of cruise ships visits to the Frederiksted Pier decreased from 26 to nine, dragging down the total number of calls to the territory by 13 percent.

“We have lost market share and we are responsible to build market share for St. Croix and the entire territory,” Beverly Nicholson-Doty said. “There have been challenges and we haven’t moved at a fast enough pace.”

Nicholson-Doty did not clarify about the “relationship struggles,” but said that Royal Caribbean, which sails the vast majority, 95 to 96 percent, of the vessels to St. Croix “indicated a repositioning of ships,” possibly to the Western Caribbean.

She discounted speculation that a $5 per passenger fee implemented by the V.I. Port Authority in October 2016 affected the cruise lines decision, saying their schedule was in place 18 months before rates were implemented and that Royal Caribbean agreed to the fees in a negotiated contract.

The cruise lines schedule visits to the Virgin Islands with VIPA and the West Indian Company and don’t notify Tourism, according to Nicholson-Doty.

At the beginning of 2017, Gov. Kenneth Mapp directed the DOT commissioner to “rebuild relationships with the cruise lines” and Nicholson-Doty said she communicates with Royal Caribbean at least twice a month. She met with cruise officials in Miami and one executive recently visited St. Croix and St. Thomas, she added.

Marketing St. Croix is much different than getting visitors to St. Thomas.

Cruise ship passengers are used to Charlotte Amalie, the commissioner said, and 60 percent of the visitors don’t disembark, according to Nicholson-Doty.

St. Croix, on the other hand, has been recognized recently for its history, arts and culture, through events at the Whim Museum, Taste of St. Croix, the St. Croix Food and Wine Experience and restaurants featuring locally sourced products.

The diversity of food – from the decades-old and beloved Villa La Reine Chicken Shack, Villa Morales, which features Cuban dishes with a Puerto Rican touch, and newer venues such as balter, Zion Modern Kitchen and 40 Strand Street that combine the freshest produce and protein with culinary creativity.

Nicholson-Doty listed international and nationally recognized media outlets that have featured St. Croix restaurants and events since the first of the year.

HNA Group A Chinese Travel Corporation To Buy Cruise Line

According to a report by Cruise Industry News, Chinese travel conglomerate HNA Group is eyeing the acquisition of an unnamed “major” cruise line.

The rumors of HNA’s potential acquisition of a cruise line sent cruise line stocks soaring, including industry giants such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival Corp.

The potential move follows a busy last week for HNA Group, when it acquired a 16.79 percent stake in travel retail giant Dufry, as well as acquired a substantial stake in Rio de Janeiro’s Galeo airport. HNA Group previously had an unsuccessful foray into the cruise industry with the HNA Cruises brand and its MS Henna, which was sold for scrap in 2016. HNA cruise operations were suspended in 2015.

Even though HNA’s unsuccessful attempt to penetrate China’s domestic cruise market may be cause for skepticism about the rumored acquisition of an international cruise line, it wouldn’t be the first time HNA makes a substantial investment in a tourism industry giant.

In October last year, HNA Group acquired a 25 percent stake in Hilton Worldwide for $6.5 billion, only a few months after acquiring Carlson Hotels—owner of Radisson hotels. The company holds substantial investments in airlines, airports, airport services providers, duty-free operators, and even owns the third-largest stake in Deutsche Bank.

After withdrawing from China’s cruise market in 2015, it is currently left without a stake in China’s growing cruise market.

According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), China’s cruise industry grew at an annual compounded rate of 66 percent between 2012 and 2015, making it the fastest growing cruise tourism market in the world.

Market leaders in the cruise industry have reacted accordingly, repurposing ships for the Chinese market, building new ships designed with the Chinese market in mind, as well as entering joint ventures with Chinese partners to boost growth and domestic ship construction in China.

The Chinese government is also one of the biggest cruise industry stakeholders with various state-owned enterprises owning stakes in domestic cruise brands and shipbuilding plants.

Among the major players in the market is a domestic cruise brand owned by Carnival Corp, state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), and China Investment Corporation.

For HNA Group, it wouldn’t be the first time it goes into a market where the Chinese state has significant interests. HNA Group’s Hainan Airlines is the largest privately-owned airline in China, trailing only state-owned Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines, and has enjoyed substantial growth as a result of the booming popularity of international tourism in China.

With the growth of cruise tourism outpacing overall tourism growth in China, buying a significant stake in one the Chinese cruise market’s many suitors could present an exciting prospect for HNA Group in its search for future growth through acquisition.

With competition in the Chinese cruise market heating up, HNA Group and its strong foothold in China’s tourism industry could also present an ideal partner for cruise lines looking to China and Asia for future growth.

PUERTO RICO: Harmony Of The Seas Docks And Boosts Puerto Rico tourism

The world's biggest cruise ship has docked in Puerto Rico for the first time as the US territory reports a boost in tourism amid an economic crisis.

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas arrived Wednesday in the historic district of the capital of San Juan. The ship can carry up to 6,700 passengers and 2,300 crew members.

The arrival follows an US$8 million port renovation.

Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla says Puerto Rico expects to welcome a record 1.7 million cruise ship passengers next year.

EUROPE: Europe’s Refugee Crisis Hurts Cruise-Ship Travel

The refugee crisis in Europe is hurting cruise-ship travel in the region, according to Arnold Donald, chief executive officer of Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise-line operator. Images of bodies washing ashore and refugees packed in rafts are having a psychological impact on customer behavior, Donald said in an interview.

Would-be guests are sharing their concerns in Carnival’s customer research and in questions posed to its call center operators. Next Story Skift Global Forum 2015: Crystal Cruises CEO on Building a Lifestyle Brand 1 day ago “They’re asking, ‘Do I want to go to sea and have my vacation disrupted?,’” Donald said. “‘What if the ship has to stop to pick up refugees? I don’t know who they are, what am I exposing myself to?’ There is consternation.”

Carnival got 36 percent of its $15.8 billion in revenue from Europe last year. On Tuesday its shares fell as much as 5.9 percent after the company issued fourth-quarter guidance that missed analysts’ projections. The refugee crisis, coupled with an overall economic malaise, is affecting the entire tourism industry in Europe, but the cruise industry is hurt disproportionately because it involves ocean travel, Donald said.

Carnival has had to stop its ships twice this year to pick up refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. That’s a fraction of the voyages the company’s ships have made, Donald said. In July a Carnival ship, the Island Princess, rescued 117 refugees off the coast of Greece, according the Migrant Report.

The Miami-based company reported third-quarter profit on Tuesday that beat analysts’ expectations. The stock was down 5.5 percent to $49.79 at 2:24 p.m. in New York, after Carnival forecast fourth-quarter profit, excluding some items, of 36 cents to 40 cents a share. Analysts projected 46 cents, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Donald said the business is still strong and he can’t control what analysts anticipate.

“We feel pretty good,” he said. “We feel like we deliver results.” The crisis could have negative impact on Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. the world’s second-largest cruise line operator, and closely held MSC Cruises, Patrick Scholes, an analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc., said in an e-mail. Royal Caribbean didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.