Cunard

Carnival Purchases Remainder Of Cunard

Carnival Corp. has exercised its option to purchase the remaining 32 percent minority interest in Cunard Line Ltd. in a deal worth about $205 million. Carnival acquired a 68 percent interest in Cunard Line Ltd. in May 1998. With the purchase of the 32 percent minority interest, Carnival will own 100 percent of Cunard. Under its option, Carnival said it has the right to purchase the minority interest for shares of Carnival common stock. In exercising its option, Carnival also offered the minority shareholders a cash alternative of $39.50 per Carnival share. Cunard Line Ltd. owns two luxury cruise lines - Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruise Line, which together operate eight luxury ships, including the world-renowned Queen Elizabeth 2. According to Carnival Corp. Chairman and CEO Micky Arison, the purchase of the remaining 32 percent of Cunard is being made in anticipation of the future expansion of the brand. "Considering the strength of the Cunard brand and its plans to build the largest ocean liner in the world to complement the Queen Elizabeth 2, it simply makes sense for Carnival to own 100 percent of Cunard," Arison said. - (Reuters)

QM2 to Arrive in NYC

When QE2 arrives in New York on 25 April and berths next to Queen Mary 2 it will be the first time since March 1940 that two Cunard Queens have berthed together in the port. The send-off will include fireworks as both vessels anchor off the Statue of Liberty. During the six-day crossing both vessels will remain within sight of each other – another event not witnessed since September 1967. Both ships will arrive in their home port of Southampton on 1 May

Queen to Name QM2

Cunard is delighted to confirm that Her Majesty The Queen will name the company's new flagship Queen Mary 2 at a ceremony to take place in Southampton, England, on Thursday, January 8, 2004. Her Majesty will be accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. The launch will be a milestone in British maritime history and will be a major event of worldwide interest. According to Pamela Conover, president of Cunard Line: "This will be an historic occasion in the true sense of the word

Fincantieri to Construct New Liner for British Market

Cunard Line's parent company, Carnival Corporation, has signed a letter of intent with Italian shipyard Fincantieri for the construction of a new 1,968-passenger liner to serve the British market. The ship, which will cost approximately $400 million, will be delivered to Cunard in January 2005, just one year after the launch of the line's much anticipated Queen Mary 2. The order solidifies Cunard's strategic initiative, announced earlier this

Comsat Wins Contract with Cunard

Comsat Mobile Communications (CMC) has signed a three-year agreement with Cunard Line Limited to provide worldwide data and satellite communications for the Line's fleet of eight cruise vessels - including renowned Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE 2). Virtually doubling the capacity of satellite communications available to crew and passengers on all Cunard vessels, the increased capacity will allow for greater access to e-mail, online services and telephone service

Cunard’s Queen Victoria Gets SAM Electronics

Cunard’s new Fincantieri-built 90,000gt cruiseliner, Queen Victoria, due to be named in Southampton by the Duchess of Cornwall accompanied by the Prince of Wales in December, has been fitted with a SAM Electronics’ NACOS 65-5 integrated navigation command system featuring a radar-controlled trackpilot, Ecdis and other state-of-the-art sensors. Designed to DNV NAUT AW and LR IBS standards and also featuring particularly high levels of system redundancy

Cruise Ship QE2 To Become Floating Hotel

Cunard’s QE2 will become a luxury floating hotel according to Sky News The 70,000-ton vessel, launched by the Queen in 1967, is to be sold to the Dubai World company. The ship will be delivered to Dubai World in November next year. It will be berthed, from 2009, at a specially-constructed pier at The Palm Jumeirah development in Dubai. The QE2 is the longest-serving vessel in the 168-year history of Cunard, which is owned by Carnival Corp, a British/American company.

Carnival Heads Into Rough Waters

According to Lazard Freres and Co., the impact on Carnival's (CCL) business in the first week following terrorist attacks on September 11th is estimated at around $20 million, including loss of revenue from canceled cruises, port reposition costs, and additional transportation expenses. They have since dropped to about 50 to 60 percent of typical levels for this period, but cancellations, which had increased sharply in the days immediately following September 11th

Carnival Corp. Finalizes Contract For Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2

Carnival Corp. announced it has finalized a contract with France's Alstom Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard for the construction of the Queen Mary 2, a new 150,000-ton "liner-style" vessel for its Cunard Line unit. The largest ocean liner ever constructed, Queen Mary 2 will have a basis-two capacity of 2,620 and will be built at a cost of approximately $780 million. Expected to enter service in late 2003, the Queen Mary 2 represents the first new ocean liner constructed in more than three

Cunard Unveils QM2 Itineraries

In what perhaps will become one of the most ambitious and widely publicized ship launching this Century, Cunard Line announced the itineraries for Queen Mary 2's maiden voyage at a press conference held in New York this morning. The vessel, which is expected to be the largest ocean liner ever constructed, will include a traditional six-day transatlantic crossing, Caribbean voyages from New York, Rio de Janeiro sailings at Carnival time and journeys to Europe and the Americas are just a