RCL to Sell Century to CTRIP

[upwarduk]

I also feel for those who were booked on the affected sailing. That's going to be a dilly of a conversation between TA's/Guests, and the folks at Captains Club and corporate. I sincerely hope that Celebrity will do whatever it takes to make things right.

 

For once I am not too unhappy about this news; I had expected / hoped for an itinerary change, due to our Foreign Office still having a warning about approaching Gaza by sea ( Ashdod)

However I wasn't expecting this bombshell.

I hadn't cancelled this cruise, as I would have lost my deposit as I live in the UK.

Thank goodness we booked our air through Celebrity, although I had to pay a surcharge of £77 p.p, as I had asked for it a week beforehand, as we were going to spend the previous week in Dubai, having never visited.

I just wonder when we will hear from our TA!

 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The excursions were only put on the Celebrity web site last Monday.

Edited September 3, 2014 by upwarduk

[hcat]

Personally feeling sympathy for those who were skunked out of a major cruise experience....not quite the same as having a short local cruise yanked for a charter which is disappointing enough! ...

 

..Don't know what to make of the other company selling cruises and taking deposits if that sale was not firm....,

 

Although the ship was not a favorite with us compared to Mercury, it was a perfect ship for Europe...just the right size for ports and , had a classic decor and ambiance that fit the experience.

 

After her refurb some yrs ago, we greatly missed the T pool and noticed that most of the refurb $ was devoted to revenue areas..the library/map room was left in dust and the pool deck was so unappealing I did not even take a swim..Cabins remained much the same...The big deal was the frozen martini bar, barber shop and expanded spa w/Persian Gardens,,

 

so sorry her departure came earlier than expected and for the upset in many cruisers plans!

[eroller]

This sale makes a bit more sense after reading this article (see link). What RCCL failed to mention in their press release is that a joint venture with Ctrip is in the works which would manage the operations of this ship. That would certainly give RCCL a more local avenue to drive business to QUANTUM and other ships that may be relocated to China.

 

http://www.seaviewcruises.co.uk/news/article/celebrity-century-to-spearhead-joint-venture-between-chinese-and-royal-cari

[The_Big_M]

This sale makes a bit more sense after reading this article (see link). What RCCL failed to mention in their press release is that a joint venture with Ctrip is in the works which would manage the operations of this ship. That would certainly give RCCL a more local avenue to drive business to QUANTUM and other ships that may be relocated to China.

 

 

Thanks for the find.

 

As a joint venture, it couldn't readily use it to drive custom.

 

However, it seems it could be more as a multi-brand strategy, and also relying on someone with better on-the-ground experience of that market, so just overall increases their exposure to the market. It makes sense in that respect.

[Orator]

RCL stock is now at a new high, 65.94. Up 1.57 from yesterdays close. Someone must like the deal.

[jdighton]

we are booked on this cruise and the two previous cruises and this is a real ugly turn of events. I think there should be considerable compensation to those of us who have planned and looked forward to this for a long time.

[smtcan]

we are booked on this cruise and the two previous cruises and this is a real ugly turn of events. I think there should be considerable compensation to those of us who have planned and looked forward to this for a long time.

 

We are booked on the same cruises. I must admit that the Dubai-Rome was the one we were hesitant about, having already been through the Suez Canal and being quite disappointed with it. It is flat with sand on both sides, no locks to break up the monotony. The cheaper flights from Rome made it an option for us, because that meant the effective cost of the cruise was very reasonable.

The Celebrity Facebook page gives more details of options. One of these is to stay on back to Singapore. We will wait to see what the itinerary is before deciding.

 

Sheila

[Celebrity Cruises]

We are booked on the same cruises. I must admit that the Dubai-Rome was the one we were hesitant about, having already been through the Suez Canal and being quite disappointed with it. It is flat with sand on both sides, no locks to break up the monotony. The cheaper flights from Rome made it an option for us, because that meant the effective cost of the cruise was very reasonable.

The Celebrity Facebook page gives more details of options. One of these is to stay on back to Singapore. We will wait to see what the itinerary is before deciding.

 

Sheila

 

Hi all,

 

The additional information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/celebrity-cruises/royal-caribbean-cruises-ltd-to-sell-celebrity-century-to-ctrip/10152739224126934

[cruisestitch]

Here is the statement:

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to Sell Celebrity Century to Ctrip

September 3, 2014 at 7:06am

MIAMI September 2, 2014 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSLO: RCL) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its cruise ship Celebrity Century to Exquisite Marine Ltd., a holding company led by Ctrip International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTRIP). The sale will result in a non-cash loss of approximately $20 million dollars. This loss will be excluded from our adjusted net income in our third quarter results. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will continue to operate Celebrity Century until April 2015.

 

Since its inaugural sailing, Celebrity Century has created many wonderful memories for hundreds of thousands of guests, and we expect this successful history to continue as she transitions to the Chinese cruise market, said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The vessel’s sale is an excellent business opportunity for both Royal Caribbean and Ctrip, and will generate strong value for both companies’ shareholders.

 

Celebrity Century will complete its scheduled sailings through the March 22, 2015, itinerary. The 15-night, Dubai to Rome sailing on April 5, 2015 is being redeployed to a 14-night sailing from Dubai to Singapore. Guests with affected individual bookings and named group bookings on Celebrity Century’s April 5, 2015 sailing from Dubai to Rome have the option to either cancel their booking and receive a full refund or move to an alternative sailing and receive a re-accommodation onboard credit as well as compensation to cover air change fees. Guests with reservations affected by the transition will be proactively contacted by Celebrity Cruises. Guests and Travel Agents with specific questions are welcome to call 1-888-283-7275.Celebrity Century joined the Celebrity Cruises fleet in December 1995, and was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. The 71,545-ton ship carries 1,814 guests (double occupancy) and 860 crew.

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company that owns Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises and CDF Croisières de France, as well as TUI Cruises through a 50 percent joint venture. Together, these six brands operate a combined total of 41 ships with an additional 8 under construction contracts. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on approximately 490 destinations on all seven continents. Additional information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com, http://www.celebritycruises.com, http://www.pullmantur.es, http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com, http://www.cdfcroisieresdefrance.com or http://www.rclinvestor.com.

 

---

Some additional information:

Celebrity Century will complete its scheduled sailings through the March 22, 2015, itinerary.

Celebrity Century’s April 5, 2015, sailing will change from a 15-night Dubai to Rome sailing to a 14-night Dubai to Singapore sailing.

As an alternative, guest may move to select Celebrity Cruises sailings, in like accommodations, at the protected/lowest available rate (see sailings below) or any other Celebrity sailing at prevailing rate. Select sailings include:

Celebrity Century

- January 11, 2015

- January 25, 2015

- April 5, 2015

 

Celebrity Millennium

- March 1, 2015

- April 26, 2015

- September 11, 2015

- November 8, 2015

- November 22, 2015

- December 6, 2015

Guests who choose to rebook on any sailing will receive a $200 per stateroom onboard credit for interior, oceanview and balcony staterooms, or a $400 onboard credit per stateroom for suites.

 

Airfare

Guests that booked air transportation through Celebrity Cruises will receive a full refund.

We will assist those guests that did not purchase air transportation through Celebrity Cruises by paying for their airline change fee, up to $300 per person.

We ask that these guests please send a copy of the receipt for the change fee, along with a brief note explaining that they were booked on the April 5, 2015, sailing of Celebrity Century to the following address: Celebrity Cruises, Customer Service, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132-2096.

 

Travel Partners

For named and deposited bookings only, travel agency’s commission will be protected when guests are rebooked on any Celebrity Cruises sailing.

A $50 rebooking bonus commission per named and deposited stateroom will be offered to Travel Partners when guests rebook one of the select sailings listed above in like accommodations.

 

No Rebook / Cancel Sailing

Should a guest be unable to rebook on one of the alternative sailings and would prefer to cancel, Celebrity Cruises will provide them with a full refund of their cruise fare paid.

Cruise fare refunds will be automatically processed back to the original form of payment. Please allow two to three weeks for all transactions to be processed.

We understand that our guest’s vacation time is very precious and can assure you that we did not take this decision lightly.

Guests and Travel Agents with specific questions are welcome to call 1-888-283-7275.

[C-Dragons]

Maybe RCCL will be running the ships , like hotels mange different properties they do not own

"The vessel's sale is an excellent business opportunity for both Royal Caribbean and Ctrip, and will generate strong value for both companies' shareholders."

 

Someone heard a Rumour that Infinity was to be sold

Even though it's just a rumor, my money would be on Millennium being the next ship sold, quite possibly to the same company.

Guess I should start looking into re-booking another B2B. :rolleyes:

[YOW]

I can't help but feel a bit taken aback at comments by 3 different posters assuming that the new Chinese owners will have such bad taste that they will ruin Century. How would you know? Or is it just because of stereotypical assumptions about their culture / race, that their changes will be tarty or classless? And just because red is known by Asians to be a lucky color, doesn't mean it warrants a snide remark about painting the ship red.

 

THANK you.

 

I felt much the same way. At best, the commentary was politically based, which contravenes CC rules. From there we can only speculate, and I'm willing to give the individuals the benefit of the doubt, but I found the comments to be out of line.

[Orator]

THANK you.

 

I felt much the same way. At best, the commentary was politically based, which contravenes CC rules. From there we can only speculate, and I'm willing to give the individuals the benefit of the doubt, but I found the comments to be out of line.

 

As one of the offenders I just want to say that my response was an attempt at humor as a response to another post. I mentioned "red" since I know how meaningful that color is to the Chinese culture. I have a friend from Taiwan who is the current President of Rotary International. His official tie is red. I would think that any ship cruising in China would use "red" in the hope of bringing good fortune to both those who cruise and those who own the business. You can read into my comment anything you like. No insult was intended and I'd like to say to those who were offended that I regret causing you to feel insulted.

[YOW]

As one of the offenders I just want to say that my response was an attempt at humor as a response to another post. I mentioned "red" since I know how meaningful that color is to the Chinese culture. I have a friend from Taiwan who is the current President of Rotary International. His official tie is red. I would think that any ship cruising in China would use "red" in the hope of bringing good fortune to both those who cruise and those who own the business. You can read into my comment anything you like. No insult was intended and I'd like to say to those who were offended that I regret causing you to feel insulted.

 

Thanks for clarifying. Humour can be tricky, eh... and when it bombs, all bets are off. Take that from someone who's been giving it a go in stand-up comedy for the past couple of years.

 

FWIW yours wasn't the comment I found so egregious. That prize goes to:

 

I shutter (sic) to think what the Chinese will do to her. She will have a large casino that is for sure, and plenty of tacky and garish spaces to go along with it. :-(

[Orator]

Thanks for clarifying. Humour can be tricky, eh... and when it bombs, all bets are off. Take that from someone who's been giving it a go in stand-up comedy for the past couple of years.

 

FWIW yours wasn't the comment I found so egregious. That prize goes to:

 

I don't think that either of us would like to live in a world without humor (humour).

[smtcan]

Hi all,

 

The additional information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/celebrity-cruises/royal-caribbean-cruises-ltd-to-sell-celebrity-century-to-ctrip/10152739224126934

 

When will the Dubai/Singapore itinerary be published?

[c-legs]

Maybe RCCL will be running the ships , like hotels mange different properties they do not own

"The vessel's sale is an excellent business opportunity for both Royal Caribbean and Ctrip, and will generate strong value for both companies' shareholders."

 

Someone heard a Rumour that Infinity was to be sold

 

Hi

1/ the ''hotel'' comparison does not quite apply....if Sheraton takes oveer from Hyatt, for exemple, managing a property, the hotel stays where it is, unlike a vessel which will now go from its originally stated ''location'' in France to a vastly different one in China, even if ''managed by RCCL''...

 

2/ I fail to see how a ''non cash 20 million $ loss'' would generate strong revenues for both companies shareholders.....unless CTRIP ends up being a joint venture with RCCL ( think TUI Tours - RCCL joint venture called TUI CRUISES)...In which case RCCL's press release is curiously silent on that topic...

 

Cheers

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Hi

1/ the ''hotel'' comparison does not quite apply....if Sheraton takes oveer from Hyatt, for exemple, managing a property, the hotel stays where it is, unlike a vessel which will now go from its originally stated ''location'' in France to a vastly different one in China, even if ''managed by RCCL''...

 

2/ I fail to see how a ''non cash 20 million $ loss'' would generate strong revenues for both companies shareholders.....unless CTRIP ends up being a joint venture with RCCL ( think TUI Tours - RCCL joint venture called TUI CRUISES)...In which case RCCL's press release is curiously silent on that topic...

 

Cheers

Actually the hotel comparison does work, a cruise ship is just a floating hotel , and RCCL is going to operate the ship

There was a link posted in this thread about this

[AstridSJ]

Same here .....dumb-founded and blind sided! 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

 

Add us to that list.

 

We will probably end up canceling our B2B and end up having this fiasco cost us money, since there is no mention about those of us that have booked flights to Singapore for the B2B will get any compensation.

This will be the second time that decisions made by Celebrity will cost us money.

I guess, I should learn my lesson.

Thanks Celebrity

 

Astrid

[eileen & jay]

Cannot believe this! Disgusted....:(

[trk_koa]

Add us to the list of those who will probably cancel the B2B. We have air to Singapore and back from Rome, booked separately as each became available. I'm guessing we will have to eat the change fee on the Singapore flights. Not happy.

[C-Dragons]

Add us to the list of those who will probably cancel the B2B. We have air to Singapore and back from Rome, booked separately as each became available. I'm guessing we will have to eat the change fee on the Singapore flights. Not happy.

Same here... :(

[CruisinCindy]

I don't think that either of us would like to live in a world without humor (humour).

 

 

 

I love humor and love to laugh, but there is a difference between wit or nice funny-isms and those acidic or insulting comments delivered with the "I was just kidding" caveat. It seems to be the easy way these days to get away with saying anything one wants, then excusing it by labeling it as "humor". The person who may have rightly taken offense is then made to feel like they have no sense of "humor".

 

 

 

Thanks for letting me vent , I appreciate seeing that I wasn't the only one who found those comments inappropriate.

 

 

 

Cheers

[Orator]

I love humor and love to laugh, but there is a difference between wit or nice funny-isms and those acidic or insulting comments delivered with the "I was just kidding" caveat. It seems to be the easy way these days to get away with saying anything one wants, then excusing it by labeling it as "humor". The person who may have rightly taken offense is then made to feel like they have no sense of "humor".

 

 

 

Thanks for letting me vent , I appreciate seeing that I wasn't the only one who found those comments inappropriate.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

I thought I was expressing regrets. Oh well, vent if you must.

[CruisinCindy]

I thought I was expressing regrets. Oh well, vent if you must.

 

Yeah,no, you were expressing regrets and it was appreciated. I wasn't "venting" about your intention in particular, (maybe not the right choice of word), just soapboxing about the general trend of people saying unkind or stereotypical things under the guise of humor.

[Orator]

Yeah,no, you were expressing regrets and it was appreciated. I wasn't "venting" about your intention in particular, (maybe not the right choice of word), just soapboxing about the general trend of people saying unkind or stereotypical things under the guise of humor.

 

The thing I miss most since my retirement is the daily contact with International students. Travel for me, especially on ships helps to fill the void. I really enjoy conversations I have with members of the crew. I'm in contact with many on another social network. It's these fine young people from all corners of the globe that keeps me cruising.