Hebridean Cruise Line Goes Bust

Hebridean International Cruises was forced to sell their ship Hebridean Spirit due to high operating costs and the weakness of the sterling. However, the sale of the Hebridean Spirit was still not enough to save the Hebridean Cruises and has now gone into administration. The Hebridean Spirit, which was believed to be sold for almost £5 million to a Middle Eastern buyer will not re-emerge as a cruise ship but will be converted into a private yacht.

The ship Hebridean Princess, which the Queen chartered for her 80th birthday, will continue to provide the companies programs for cruises as they search for a buyer.

Swan Hallenic offers discounts on deals for their 320 passenger ship Minerva, larger than Hebridean ships, to passengers whose cruises on Spirit were canceled. Swan, headed by former P&O boss Lord Sterling, is also a potential buyer for the Hebridean Princess.

For more information please visit Cruise News

Battling Sea Piracy

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announces during a two-day trip to the nation's war colleges, that there are almost daily meetings at the White House discussing the problems with Somali Pirates. He also said that so far, the National Security Council has found no solution and that there would be no easy way to combat this piracy.

A number of private companies are willing to pay for the ransom of the captured crews and ships as it is a price of doing business. This could be a problem as Mr. Gates has said, “Clearly if they didn't pay the ransoms we would be in stronger position”.

Mr. Gates says to a group of officers at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. “I wish I could give you a one-two-three, here’s what we’re going to do, but the truth of the matter is, I don’t think we know yet,’’

“We can put a lot in jail and we can kill a lot, but there’ll still be more,’’ added Mr. Gates as he discussed that poverty in Somalia has attracted a lot of people to engage in such activities and eliminating the problem with piracy may be difficult with this kinds of economic condition.

The Defense secretary announced that some senior military officials are now deciding whether to negotiate with the country's central Government about the problem or to strengthen relationships with local Government units in Somali.

For more information please visit The New York Times

Broadway Pier – Cruise Ships New Home

A vote to allow the San Diego Port District to build a $28 million facility to make Broadway Pier a new permanent cruise ship terminal was made by the California Coastal Commission last Wednesday.

A few controversy about the new terminal has risen as there are opponents who declare the views of the San Diego Bay could be blocked by the buildings they will build and it violates the spirit of a 2005 waterfront makeover plan to show the pier as a public plaza.

Bayfront Complex Coalition's Don Wood expresses that the port is attending to the cruise ship industry at the expense of the public. “The port has reneged on those promises and the public is losing important access to the waterfront,” he said, adding that litigation might be coming.

Coastal Commission has said that the terminal will have insignificant impact on coastal resources and supporters say that the terminal and the cruise ships will bring economic benefits to San Diego along with hundreds of new jobs. The public is still welcome to the area when ships are not in port to enjoy a 15,000 square foot viewing area of the 1,000 foot pier.

Marguerite Elicone, a port spokeswoman, reports that the terminal is expected to seek construction bids very soon and it will be ready by 2011.

Coastal Commission reports show that the project was supported by San Diego Port Tenants Association and is being opposed by the San Francisco-based Public Trust Alliance, Bayfront Complex Coalition, Save Our Forest and Ranchlands and some private citizens along with some concerns from The American Institute of Architects from San Diego's Chapter.

Due to the post-September 11 security restrictions, what started out as a temporary building in a tent structure to handle cruise ships while some parts of the terminal is getting a makeover, the tent was replaced by permanent metal structure. Officials from San Diego objected to this change since the port and the city were supposed to spend more than $200 million on a bayfront project called the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan and that a building like that didn't belong in that scene.

A 60, 000 square foot building was proposed to be constructed 400 feet back from the Harbor Drive as a result.

A $12 million loan from the Carnival Cruise line and a $28 million fund from the port will be used to cover for the construction of the terminal.

To learn more about this news, please visit SignOnSanDiego.com

Los Angeles-New Home of Disney Cruise Ship And 2600 Jobs

Los Angeles officials has signed off last Thursday, March 30, 2009, for the plans of bringing the Disney Wonder Cruise Ship, beginning January 1, 2011, to San Pedro. The ship, running on low-sulfur fuel, will use the port's existing cruise terminal and berths.

The approval for this arrangement is expected to be approved by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners later this week. The two year contract includes a three-year extension option that will allow the Disney Wonder to operate for a series of cruises until December 31, 2015. During the summer of 2005 and 2008, Disney also operated cruises out of the Los Angeles Port sailing along the coast of Mexico although, final itineraries for the Disney Wonder is not yet finalized as said by Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo.

The city, port and Disney officials made their announcement saying that the arrival of the cruise line to Los Angeles from Florida, will also generate 2600 new jobs and millions of dollars for the state and local in terms of tax revenue.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is very pleased with this and at a Hollywood theater he announced “during these tough times when the day's top stories beat us down with news of the recession, layoffs and drops in tourism, 2,600 new jobs with 250,000 visitors is a headline I'd like to see more often”.

Moving the Disney Wonder to Los Angeles despite of recession and economic turndown, is actually a sign of the company's expansion as it will make way for two new larger ships: Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy which when finished, will be anchored at Port Canaveral, Florida.

Cruise Industry Renovates Old Ships To Look New

Cruise Line Companies came up with other ways to improve their service for new and old passengers who loves to take a cruise to relax and pamper themselves. As cruising is one of the fastest growing trend in tourism, the need for more cruise ships and crews is also climbing. But with this problematic economy, and the price tag a new cruise ship has, which is more or less a billion dollars, would it still be best to build new ships?

Well, most cruise companies have other solutions for this and that is to overhaul older vessels to make it look new for a fraction of the cost of building a new one. They've found out that renovating older ships are more financially sound for the company.

The cost of renovating a cruise ship is cheaper and faster than building a new one. Workers inspect, refurbish and repair ships from all of its sides and parts at a dry dock. It is a place where most people, even within the cruise industry has never seen. It may take hundreds of contractors to work alongside a cruise ship regular crew to work on a cruise ship that can take a few weeks to a few months.

Captain Hoyt, a pilot of Norwegian Spirit vessel, says that “The capital investment on one of this ships is enormous... Even if you have the money to build a new ship, the availability of shipyards and the delay in time for the construction for one of these is quite a bit”.

"The whole point is to keep the quality of the ship up and this is our opportunity here to to do all the upgrades that will bring us up to the premier level of the rest of the fleet."

"I think when the passengers come on, the overall impact will be that of a new ship," Hoyt said. "That's what were shooting for."

To learn more about this news and to see how the Norwegian Spirit vessel has been overhauled, please visit CNBC NEWS.

Hebridean May Upset Travelers and Crew After Selling Vessel

As Hebridean International Cruises downsizes by selling the larger of the two vessels, hundreds of jobs are gone as well as the company withdraws from international operations. This coming summer of 2009, the 98 Berth Hebridean Spirit will be withdrawn.

“We have made the decision to withdraw from international operations to concentrate on our core, which is the operation of the Hebridean Princess in Scotland.” said the managing director Mike Deegan.

A refund or a transfer to a cruise with Hebridean Princess, a cruise operation not affected by the withdrawal of the company from international operations, is offered to all tourists and clients booked for cruise on the vessel Hebridean Spirit.

Hebridean Princess will continue to offer cruises throughout the Western Isles of Scotland in its 21st season of operation. The vessel was chartered by the Queen for a family holiday back in 2006.

One of the reasons that they had was because of the increase in cost of operating the Hebridean Spirit due to the deterioration of the pound sterling against Euro and US dollar currency. They declared that they cannot keep up with this as the vessel is operating in a market where discounts are the best way to get passengers.

The vessel Hebridean Spirit was launched in 2001 and has operated in South America, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and in Northern Europe.

They also have said that they will work with all affected customers as they are aware that the cancellation of an anticipated holiday could be very upsetting. It is also one of their concern that they shall be losing some good staff who has rendered years of service for the cruise ship.

For more information about this news, visit Travel Bite News