Regatta for Sale?

[HiFi43]

As I was looking at a listing for the sale of one of the Crystal ships I found this listing of an an R ship for $150 million dollars. It is located in California , where Regatta is currently, and I I read Regatta’s name on the picture. We are due to sale on the Regatta at the Ed of the summer. Curious? Anyone have any information about this?

 

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1998-cruise-ship---684-824-passengers----stock-no.-s2204-6520634/ 

[PhD-iva]

I’ll bite. I’ll put $1,000 down, w monthly payments of $1,000 till the balance is paid in full!

[gardenbunny]

With the pandemic affecting the cash flow on every cruise line, having to sell older ships is always possible.  Princess, NCL, RCI, Carnival, HAL, etc sold or scrapped a good number of ships in 2020. Rumors were around for years that Pacific Princess was being sold…and it was inevitable when Covid arrived.

[Flatbush Flyer]

With Vista soon to be online and another Allura Class ship to follow, it was expected that one Regatta Class ship might be put on the market if for no other reason than to “test the waters” for eventual replacement of the entire R class.
Though I would sorely miss the ship that started the Oceania story, I expect that Regatta’s sale would catalyze a permanent move of Marina back to the Pacific (with Vista filling the resulting void elsewhere.

[susiesan]

Still think there will be Tahiti cruises in March?

[HiFi43]

At this point I am am taking everything with a grain of salt…I’ll just sit tight until things settle down a bit and not jump to any conclusions until Oceania makes its plans for upcoming cruises clearer. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

38 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Still think there will be Tahiti cruises in March?

The pictures in the link about a possible Regatta sale posted earlier (exterior and, at least, several interior ones) are Regatta. But, who knows...

In any case, the ship advertised isn’t going to be sold/transferred in time to affect a March 2022 cruise or (in the current Covid environment) probably even a March 2023 cruise.

[Host Jazzbeau]

There have been threads from time to time on several CC cruise line forums about yacht broker listings of ships.  The standard cruise line response is that it is not true, and I don't recall ever seeing one of these 'listings' end up with a sale of the ship.  I'm guessing that yacht brokers can get ship info and pictures [often outdated] from the internet and publish 'listings' without the owner's approval or even knowledge.  If it were a true listing authorized by the ship owner, I would expect all the details to be up to date.  But it's also possible that ship owners are slyly testing the waters, and using these red herrings to give them deniability.

[Noxequifans]

7 hours ago, HiFi43 said:

At this point I am am taking everything with a grain of salt…I’ll just sit tight until things settle down a bit and not jump to any conclusions until Oceania makes its plans for upcoming cruises clearer. 

I agree … the dust needs to settle first.

[pinotlover]

Time will tell. From my perspective, I don’t believe a R ship would bring $150 million in the current market. Second, everything that NCLH owns is liened by all those bond holders that lent NCLH cash to survive. It would be their decision, not FDR’s, if the Regatta went at a fire sale price.

 

The R ships have a lifetime in a premium cruise line fleet. I doubt any will be left by 2030.

[Flatbush Flyer]

24 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Time will tell. From my perspective, I don’t believe a R ship would bring $150 million in the current market. Second, everything that NCLH owns is liened by all those bond holders that lent NCLH cash to survive. It would be their decision, not FDR’s, if the Regatta went at a fire sale price.

 

The R ships have a lifetime in a premium cruise line fleet. I doubt any will be left by 2030.

If I remember correctly (too lazy to search), Sycamore Partners bought all the Azamara ships (4?) for about $250M total.

[njhorseman]

12 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If I remember correctly (too lazy to search), Sycamore Partners bought all the Azamara ships (4?) for about $250M total.

Three Azamara ships were purchased from RCCL for $201 million total. Sycamore Partners then bought the former Pacific Princess. I haven't found the sale price of that ship reported in the industry press.

[AlexCherie]

why go forward with dry dock on her sister ship, if you are selling Regatta?

You can gyrate through reasons, but the simplest answer is she isn't for sale right now.

If she is, her net price won't move the needle on debt - at all - and it's an indication that the line is in serious trouble because they cannot operate at a profit at all, nor do they see that as a possibility.

Spending the money on refitting the Nautica (and the fairly significant advertising budget assigned to it) ... signals to me that both are expected to be retained through most of this decade and they need an ROI, and believe they can get it. 

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, AlexCherie said:

why go forward with dry dock on her sister ship, if you are selling Regatta?

You can gyrate through reasons, but the simplest answer is she isn't for sale right now.

If she is, her net price won't move the needle on debt - at all - and it's an indication that the line is in serious trouble because they cannot operate at a profit at all, nor do they see that as a possibility.

Spending the money on refitting the Nautica (and the fairly significant advertising budget assigned to it) ... signals to me that both are expected to be retained through most of this decade and they need an ROI, and believe they can get it. 

We live in a different world now. Sycamore Partners bought those ships, at a hefty discount, believing they’d return to normal sailing by early Spring 2021. Oops! Had they known maybe a year after that date, the price would have been far lower if at all. The Princess ship had been “ rolled hard and put away wet”. Near junker condition needing lots of pampering. 
 

RCCL got rid of an entire division and the cost of the organization that went with it. That’s different from a sale of a single asset.

 

I’m sure the bond holders would entertain an offer that meet or exceeded the net present value of the projected ROI of the ship for its expected lifetime. Calculating that projected ROI is tricky when the restart date keeps sliding and ship occupancy levels are dismal. 
 

Again, I’d be highly surprised if an offer north of “ fire sale” will occur in the current market.

[AlexCherie]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

...

 

I’m sure the bond holders would entertain an offer that meet or exceeded the net present value of the projected ROI of the ship for its expected lifetime. Calculating that projected ROI is tricky when the restart date keeps sliding and ship occupancy levels are dismal. 
 

...

Exactly the point. At 11,650 millions in debt load, they'd be selling the ship not to impact the balance sheet - it's just not enough to impact that piece. Even if you could move the lot of them, you aren't touching nearly $5 Billion in new debt packed on in 2020.

They'd be doing it to help the profit and loss statement. If the R Class ships are sailing at large enough losses, the daily drain could be massive. 

OTOH the combination of both Nautica being in dry dock and the Regatta sale could be enough to cauterize a good part of that particular bleeding. My assumption would be that on a relative basis, those ships are moving with the same sort of absurd capacity constraints we're seeing on Riviera. 

End of the day, I agree they are unlikely to sell any part in a fire sale. If they do, it's because that ROI to even keeps slipping further and further into the decade. Is the juice worth the squeeze?

 

[Hawaiidan]

17 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

I’ll bite. I’ll put $1,000 down, w monthly payments of $1,000 till the balance is paid in full!

Ya' need a co-signer ....     

[DrHemlock]

Darned if I can find an Oceania R-class ship within the link at the top.  Am I going blind or simply missing something?  (If the former, then I guess Mom was right.)

[Hawaiidan]

14 minutes ago, DrHemlock said:

Darned if I can find an Oceania R-class ship within the link at the top.  Am I going blind or simply missing something?  (If the former, then I guess Mom was right.)

nope.....  not there.....   no "blue light Special  on Pier 3"

[ORV]

14 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

There have been threads from time to time on several CC cruise line forums about yacht broker listings of ships.  The standard cruise line response is that it is not true, and I don't recall ever seeing one of these 'listings' end up with a sale of the ship.  I'm guessing that yacht brokers can get ship info and pictures [often outdated] from the internet and publish 'listings' without the owner's approval or even knowledge.  If it were a true listing authorized by the ship owner, I would expect all the details to be up to date.  But it's also possible that ship owners are slyly testing the waters, and using these red herrings to give them deniability.

I've seen posts on CC about an R ship for sale every few months for the past few years also. Many of them on this forum, yet.............nothing. Of course we're in different times. 

[basor]

15 hours ago, susiesan said:

Still think there will be Tahiti cruises in March?

yes

[Flatbush Flyer]

44 minutes ago, DrHemlock said:

Darned if I can find an Oceania R-class ship within the link at the top.  Am I going blind or simply missing something?  (If the former, then I guess Mom was right.)

“Here today (actually, yesterday) gone tomorrow (actually, today).”

[LHT28]

52 minutes ago, DrHemlock said:

Darned if I can find an Oceania R-class ship within the link at the top.  Am I going blind or simply missing something?  (If the former, then I guess Mom was right.)

maybe it was fake news

LOL

[FlyerTalker]

6 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If I remember correctly (too lazy to search), Sycamore Partners bought all the Azamara ships (4?) for about $250M total.

 

And that was for the whole operation, not just the ships.  Name, goodwill etc was in that deal.

[Hawaiidan]

all this might  depend on the X factor which boils down to the fickel public and how quickly that market rebounds and to what extent.  Sort of like the market for used cars the soared  because of supply/demand.        

 

      Several thing to consider is that R class ships work better in many ports that preclude O and Vista class. Which is O's market niche.     

Another niche is the age of those who are in love with the R class and their morbidity.   As long as they are booking , but both the ship and passengers have a finite life each.

  Younger demographics may be  embracing the Vista class when it comes out  and reject the R class and too stodgy. seeking a techno- new age experience rather than a culinary one.  

 (Personally, I find the Vista ships a serious down-grade from O's image and amenities  never get me on one even for free)      

Edited January 31, 2022 by Hawaiidan

[MEFIowa]

17 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And that was for the whole operation, not just the ships.  Name, goodwill etc was in that deal.

Yep, they bought it all, lock, stock and barrel: Royal Caribbean Has Sold Its Azamara Cruise Line, 4 Ships for $201 Million (businessinsider.com)