CBWIR

2 hours ago, greykitty said:

 a customer, I would prefer to be treated as an adult and just told that this was a deliberate choice to control labor and refund costs, and not me just being left in a dark hole wondering what my status was.

First, you have said you have never sailed on Regent. Perhaps you should have said as a potential customer. Earlier this week, you predicted gloom and doom and when it was explained what was going on, you continued to post until you were proven completely wrong. You talk about your Big 4 experience but you were not on the core of the business (audit practice). Now it is public relations expertise. Please explain your experience as you asked someone else about their experience and they responded.

Thank you.

Of course things will be tough. But they have over eighteen months of cash to fund operations even if there is no revenue and they would be in violation of security laws if this statement is untrue. If cruising doesn't resume in eighteen months, the whole world has a lot more problems than the solvency of cruise lines.

31 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

Yes, and cruises from US ports have currently been banned until July 24. And because our Federal government has gone dysfunctional for the time being, we don’t have a clue when cruises will be allowed again. I’m not blaming anybody, but we just have no info on how the pandemic will progress,  we are not booking a cruise or a flight or a hotel we can drive to until more is known about this mess! And if cruises are opened up again, can you get flights to and I’m the port(s)?  Some people in the NW US say they can;t book flights to Miami, Fla. Many international flights are no-go as the destination country has banned them. We can’t even get a flight to Canada for this reason. Any cruise line that tells you that you can book a cruise in early July, and have it go, is lying. It will not go, and then they will want to give you FFCs which will be nice, if the cruise line is still around in the future.. 

Always the optimist. Last week it was NCLH had 0% chance of avoiding bankruptcy. 

1 hour ago, Observer said:

 

I was not aware of any NCL "development" other than their seeking additional funding and stating in the prospectus all possible adverse conditions surrounding the company.  As far as I know, this was standard boilerplate in such offerings and not a distress call.  At the same time, I gather that NCL's financial situation is less favorable than that of Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

Not any more.

4 hours ago, Foyt said:

Latest, more junk bonds sold/  Still not enough to meet the 1 Billion of other buys for the L. Catterton purchase to close.

 

(Bloomberg) -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. sold a larger-than-expected $675 million of junk bonds that have a pledge on the company’s vessels and islands as it seeks to raise as much as $2 billion from a broader financing to survive the travel industry shutdown.

The cruise line operator priced the four-year secured bonds, which were increased from $600 million, at a coupon of 12.25% and a discount of 99 cents on the dollar for an all-in yield of 12.575%, according to people with knowledge of the transaction. The bond was earlier offered with a coupon of 12.25% to 12.5% with a discount between 98.5 to 99, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.

A representative for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which is leading the sale, declined to comment.

The financing also includes $650 million of exchangeable notes, a public offering of $350 million ordinary shares and a $400 million investment by an affiliate of private equity firm L Catterton, which will be entitled to nominate one director to the company’s board, according to a statement.

The shares priced at $11 each, raising $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information wasn’t public yet.

Norwegian has the youngest fleet, a strong management team and the highest yield among all cruise lines, said Scott Dahnke, L Catterton’s global co-chief executive officer.

“We love NCL’s positioning, it has an extremely strong consumer proposition.,” Dahnke said. “The research is unequivocal that cruisers want to cruise.”

Norwegian said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that disruption from the pandemic and debt maturities over the next year have raised “substantial doubt” over its ability to remain a going concern, assuming no additional financing. Norwegian also said it would delay its first-quarter earnings report. Preliminary earnings showed the company expects a first-quarter net loss of as much as $1.93 billion.

The company’s shares closed 23% lower at $11.18 on Tuesday.

Islands Pledged

Norwegian said the junk bond will be secured by first-priority claims on two of the company’s vessels, two islands used in the operations of its business and intellectual property.

Read more: Norwegian Cruise pledges islands and ships in bond sale talks

The new exchangeable notes are expected to carry a 20% to 25% conversion premium with a coupon between 5.75% and 6.25%, according to terms reviewed by Bloomberg. The stock sale does not have an offering range. Both are expected to price Tuesday evening in New York.

Norwegian’s revenue has been squeezed as governments around the world instruct their residents to stay at home for all but essential travel to stem the spread of Covid-19. It has suspended cruises until at least June 30, recently furloughed about 20% of its workforce and is burning about $110 million to $150 million of cash each month, according to an April 27 news release.

The company’s 3.625% unsecured notes due in 2024 have fallen to distressed levels. They last traded at 64.625 cents on the dollar -- from above par in late February -- for a yield of 14.4%, according to Trace data.

Norwegian is also improving liquidity by an additional $1 billion through a series of amendments on existing loans that allows the company to defer certain debt payments, according to a filing. Some of this relief has already been granted and some is dependent on the company successfully raising at least $1 billion in financing by June 30.

“Contingent on completion of the transactions, the company expects to have approximately $3 billion of liquidity,” a spokesperson for Norwegian said in an email to Bloomberg. It will leave the company positioned to withstand well over 12 months of voyage suspensions in a potential downside scenario, the spokesperson added.

(Updates with pricing in fifth paragraph.)

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Your comment "still not enough" for the closing is simply not true. 

14 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Agree above with Stumblefoot that the marketing promo of EBB has been a way to borrow money by Silversea to fund operations and cover some major capital costs.  But, correctly, it is a "LIABILITY" on their balance sheets and a risk to those who have been trusting in paying that far ahead.   Part of yesterday's announcement by NCL as to their "risk of bankruptcy" was accounting boiler-plate required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and accounting rules. How much is the real risk to us as consumers paying deposits and advanced payments?  That's an unknown now, especially with the risks rising that these limits on sailing could run later into the summer, fall or next year.  Many questions and uncertainty right now.    

 

From the MarketWatch news site this morning, they had this headline: “Cruise stocks rocked after Norwegian Cruise issues ‘going concern’ warning” with these highlights: “Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. took a dive Tuesday, after the cruise operator issued a “going concern” warning, citing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its business. Norwegian’s warning also weighed heavily on the stocks of rivals Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The stocks’ selloffs come despite Norwegian also announcing a series of financial transactions that if completed would provide enough liquidity to fund operations even if its cruises remain suspended for over 12 months.”

 

Full story at:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cruise-stocks-rocked-after-norwegian-cruise-issues-going-concern-warning-2020-05-05?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D26590460344851675384236876298279048508|MCORGID%3DCB68E4BA55144CAA0A4C98A5%40AdobeOrg|TS%3D1588783851

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.).  Now at 66,245 views:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

 

From my Wall Street Journal on-line subscription at 12:45 pm today, below are the stock charts for the past week on the three largest cruise ship operators.  After an earlier re-bound, things have been down, down during the past five days.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

 

Old news. NCLH raised over $2billion in an oversubscribed offering and the "going concern" language is gone.

2 hours ago, bissel said:

CBWIR, Pcardad and Greykitty.  Your postings were absolutely the best. Experience, knowledge, and a clear eye brought lucidity and hope amongst all the random postings.

Thanks to you 🎉

Thank you. I'll just reiterate that the "going concern" language was perfunctory, it has been removed, PWC was not fired,  and patience is a virtue. And I will  stick to the facts and not speculate on what the new PE investment will require.

I guess no apology is forthcoming.

28 minutes ago, wishIweretravelling said:

To those discussing the need for the 8k filing before a prospectus, be aware that a prospectus also was filed today.

Exactly. They are  in the process of and will complete a huge financing

4 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I don't recall CCL issuing language like this before their recent re-financing – but was that a private deal, so they didn't need a prospectus?

Yes.

14 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Pcardad, I think you'd agree that SEC filings can be required both in respect to stock offerings, and in recognition of a material change in financial reporting and/or going concern issues.  In any event, NCLH does have regulatory requirements as a publically held company that it simply must adhere to.  It's not a voluntary exercise on their part, although I don't think you're implying that.

 

It's going to be,again, interesting watching the SEC filings going forward....although, if they suddenly swap external auditors I'll be very very curious as to what's up.

Promise me an apology if the financing gets done?

Just now, CBWIR said:

An 8-K is required before an offering. The offering happened today and I will bet it  is successful.

24 minutes ago, greykitty said:

What Is an 8-K?

An 8-K is a report of unscheduled material events or corporate changes at a company that could be of importance to the shareholders or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Also known as a Form 8-K, the report notifies the public of events reported including acquisition, bankruptcy, resignation of directors, or a change in the fiscal year.

An 8-K is required before an offering. The offering happened today and I will bet it successful.

15 minutes ago, greykitty said:

I disagree that 'going concern' and reissuance of a year-end opinion is ever perfunctory, but I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

The only way they could issue a Prospectus was with this language. We'll see who is right. And if they raise the funds, PWC will remove the going concern opinion.

1 hour ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

I’m putting my recently retired auditor hat on...

 

It’s a big deal for a public company to re-issue December financial statements, especially to add a going concern footnote and auditor’s opinion. While the company may expect to raise $2 billion dollars, there wasn’t enough certainty of success on that front or on other cited plans to avoid the auditor’s going concern opinion. A going concern opinion essentially means that there is lots of worry (“substantial doubt”) about the company being a viable business a year from when the report is issued. 
 

Obviously, getting another $1.6 billion would make a huge difference.

 

I will be interested to see if other companies, cruise lines or not, re-issue their December financial statements similarly. 
 

For those of us awaiting refunds, I get some comfort from this disclosure: The Company also has agreements with its credit card processors that govern approximately $1.6 billion at December 31, 2019 in advance ticket sales that have been received by the Company relating to future voyages. These agreements allow the credit card processors to require under certain circumstances, including the existence of a material adverse change, excessive chargebacks and other triggering events, that the Company maintain a reserve which could be satisfied by posting collateral. The Company is in discussions regarding the nature of collateral, if any, relating to these agreements.

It makes sense that the credit card companies don’t want to be on the hook for a merchant’s financial difficulties. 

1 hour ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

I’m putting my recently retired auditor hat on...

 

It’s a big deal for a public company to re-issue December financial statements, especially to add a going concern footnote and auditor’s opinion. While the company may expect to raise $2 billion dollars, there wasn’t enough certainty of success on that front or on other cited plans to avoid the auditor’s going concern opinion. A going concern opinion essentially means that there is lots of worry (“substantial doubt”) about the company being a viable business a year from when the report is issued. 
 

Obviously, getting another $1.6 billion would make a 

 

Perfunctory 8-K language before an offering.  If they raise the $2billion, they will be in good shape. Wait to see what happens and then follow the money. I'll bet it gets done and fairly quickly.

Patience. As I said on another board, if they raise the $2billion, bankruptcy will be out the equation for a long time. Follow the money.

The predicate of the going concern was if they are not able to raise the $2billion. Typical boilerplate language. Goldman Sachs would not be bringing it to market unless they were confident they could raise the entire amount. Give it a week or two and if they are unable to raise the funds, then start to worry. If they raise the funds, then the smart money is saying they will survive.

Perhaps a double gin martini and two tranquilizers.

49 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

I'm not sure who's posting that you are referring to but maybe it is one of mine, so I will respond. Multiple people made the argument that Regent is no worse in customer communications and timely refunds than any other luxury cruise line. My point was that this was an opportunity for Regent to up their game and be better than their direct competition in the luxury market. I understand that all cruise lines are trying to manage cash with all of the cancellations that they are dealing with because of COVID-19. It is truly a fight to stay alive as a business. My experience through this ordeal is that Regent has not been forthcoming when I would receive my refund. Multiple times different people have told my TA and me that the refund has been processed and I should see my money in a couple of days. It's now 6 weeks and I'm still waiting. Others have expressed the same issue. My friend who cancelled the same cruise with the same TA got his back in 2 days. As far as Regent inclusiveness, yes they have the most inclusive product in the market. It also comes with a big price tag. I think some of the included services add good value and other services don't. Some folks on this board are Regent loyalist and consider any less than glowing positive remarks about Regent as people being negative and unkind to Regent. I for one, love the onboard Regent experience but I also have been equally satisfied with other luxu

Tranquilizers and a good gin martini. Again.

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

I am aware of how profitable the Navigator is but it is also a money pit.  It is rather a low blow to bring up a friend that I do not discuss Regent with.  Let’s try to keep our posts calm and supportive.

 

Stay safe!

Please explain how the most profitable ship in the Regent fleet can be a "money pit." 

7 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Interesting!  This shows how much the Navigator needs this refurbishment.  It is a shame that this ship is such a money pit.

 

In terms of your previous posts, if we ever meet onboard a Regent ship, I'll share the story (not long) of our luggage not arriving until we were in Agra (the luggage was in Mumbai) and a man was instructed to deliver it to us.  Wow - such a long way!

I would suggest that you talk to your friend FDR about how profitable the Navigator is. I think he will tell you a completely different story.

1 hour ago, Dolebludger said:

CBWIR, 

 

This trdead has degenerated into a lot or relaxed subjects. But for some of us, if air that we find suitable for a suitable price is not available to get to and from the cruise, we just will not go, and the cruise line surfers, I suppose. Satisfactory air to get to a cruise is part of the cruise. In the past two years, we have canceled two attractive cruises, because the necessary air was an expensive hassle.

Relaxed subjects???? DAH.

How did this thread denigrate into a creed on airline seats. At least there was no comment on the expert counsel about 0% that NCLH will not be bankrupt. As I said on another thread. tranquilizers and a gin martini will help

Tranquilizers and a good gin martini will help. Might be worth a try.

1 hour ago, Dolebludger said:

Agreed, and I have received advice from our financial advisor. I have no information indicating that cruise line bankruptcy is imminent. But I have received information that it is a possibility. And is a possibility for which we should be prepared. I would call a local bankruptcy attorney, except there are none here. Thus my question.

In post #491 above, you said NCLH has 0% chance of coming out of  this without filing for bankruptcy. Now it is a possibility. What changed in the fifteen hours between posts?

Why would you call a local attorney if you have no skin in the game?

The price of NCLH stock has more than doubled from its low. I think I'll follow their lead. 

As someone else mentioned, at least no discussion of cramped domestic flights.

4 hours ago, flossie009 said:

In these extremely difficult times for Regent, and indeed all the cruise lines worldwide, isn't all this talk about tinkering with peripheral services such as excursions, hotels & air-fares akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on Titanic?

 

Bravo. I have been reading the Regent board for long enough to realize that you will never have the last word with certain posters now matter how much you try.