From Fridays edition of Seatrader
NCL upbeat on '04, still mulling Norway's fate
14/11/2003
Norwegian Cruise Line made encouraging remarks about 2004 during the
Star Group's third-quarter conference call late yesterday, according
to a UBS Warburg research note. Management said the company is in a
similar booking position to where it was last year at this time
before Norovirus outbreaks and the Iraq buildup began to impact
bookings. If no similar events occur, NCL expects '04 to show yield
growth even on the brand's 12% capacity increase, writes UBS analyst
Robin Farley.
The Caribbean looks challenging, specifically out of Miami and San
Juan, with short cruises and seven-day itineraries remaining highly
competitive, NCL management said. However, summer routes like Alaska,
North Europe and New York-to-Bahamas look quite strong, as do Hawaii
bookings.
NCL is in discussions with insurers while also considering
alternative uses for the Norway, including sending the ship to Asian
service in the Star fleet, UBS reports. [As earlier disclosed here, a
Dutch company is also interested in acquiring the Norway as a
floating entertainment venue.]
Farley doubts the Norway will re-enter North American service, which
she says could reduce industry capacity increases by a full
percentage point. She also thinks the timetable for Project America 2
has moved back since the company contracted two newbuilds at Meyer
Werft. Counting Pride of America from Lloyd Werft, it will deliver a
ship a year for the next three years. NCL previously said it was
waiting for a currency shift before moving forward on Project America
2, Farley notes. `We believe that the ship would not enter service
until 2006/2007 at the earliest, after the two-ship order from Meyer
Werft,' she adds.
