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Ship swap as Royal Caribbean gains Pullmantur approval
Royal Caribbean Cruises is to swap a ship from its Celebrity brand with Pullmantur after winning approval for the takeover of the Spanish operator.
Madrid-based Pullmantur’s ship Blue Dream is to join Celebrity while Celebrity ship Zenith is to join the European operator.
Blue Dream – which entered service as R6 in 2000 and carries 718 passengers – is to be renamed Celebrity Journey and will replace Zenith on sailings to Bermuda from New Jersey from May 5, 2007 after a one-month refurbishment. The vessel will operate under the Celebrity Expeditions brand.
Zenith is to move to Pullmantur to run seven-night itineraries for the Spanish market between Athens and Venice from June next year after more balcony cabins are added.
The ship swap plans emerged as Royal Caribbean won antiturst approval from Spanish and Portuguese authorities for the Pullmantur takeover, which is now expected to be completed by mid-November.
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean revealed a 12% rise in net profits to $345.4 million on revenue of $1.6 billion for the third quarter of the year.
The line admitted that, while fuel prices had come down, they remain “volatile”. This means that if 2007 at-the-pump prices remain at current levels, the company expects fuel costs to drop by $35 million despite a 5% increase in capacity.
“Looking into 2007, overall booking levels and ticket prices are in line with levels achieved at the same time last year,” a statement said. “The beginning of the year is down slightly, with bookings beyond the first quarter more robust.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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