Costa Cruise Lines News

Carnival Corp, the world's largest cruise operator, forecast an adjusted profit below market estimates for the current quarter, blaming increased competition in the Caribbean. Shares of the company, which operates the Carnival, Holland America and Costa cruise lines, fell as much as 3 percent. "The North American brands are ahead on price but are still behind on occupancy as a result of the large increase in industry capacity in the Caribbean," Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein said on a conference call.

Despite legal obstacles that might force them to sue in Italy litigants seek damages from Miami-based Carnival Corp. in US courts. The lawsuits filed in both federal and state courts contend that Carnival is the corporate parent of the Costa brand, which operated the vessel, and is ultimately responsible for any safety violations, negligence or recklessness that may have led to the Jan. 13 accident that claimed 32 lives, reports 'The Washington Post'. Investigators say the ship rammed a reef while passing too close to Giglio Island, off Italy’s Tuscan coast. “Costa Cruise Lines is the alter ego of Carnival,” said Edward Ricci, whose lawsuit seeks to represent Giglio Island tourist-related businesses that claim the disaster deterred visitors…

Royal Caribbean and Costa Cruise Lines are said to be considering reopening routes to the island nation of Bahrain In an effort to spur the tourism market, the government of Bahrain set numerous new policies to make it even more desirable to add Bahrain again as a destination, including reducing port fees. Bahrain's tourism marketing and promotion acting director, Mohammed Al Subaie, of the Ministry of Tourism states that the cruise lines are considering retuning ships to Bahrain based on the progress and stabilization made in the previous months. The cruise lines postponed service to Bahrain last year due to political unrest, but with a conscious government effort towards reconciliation, tourism has steadily increased.

Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), the government authority charged with regulating, coordinating and supervising all aspects of the maritime sector in Dubai, has announced that the Cruise Ship Emergency Response Task Force, convened in September, 2011, to address the challenges presented by the introduction of ever larger cruise ships to the UAE waters, hosted the first cruise sector mass casualty table top exercise and drill last week. The Task Force, comprised of federal and local emergency responders…

Costa Cruises and Carnival Corporation & plc Reiterate Commitment to Support Costa Concordia Passengers and Crew. Costa Cruise Lines and its parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, today confirmed their commitment to provide full support to those passengers, crew and families of the victims of the Costa Concordia grounding. "I give my personal assurance that we will take care of each and every one of our guests, crew and their families affected by this tragic event. Our company was founded on this principle and it will remain our focus," said Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc. In this spirit, Costa has been arranging lodging and transportation for affected passengers and crew members to return home.

Maurice Zarmati has been named president and CEO of Costa Cruise Lines—North America. Zarmati, who is currently vice president of sales for Carnival Cruise Lines, will assume his new role beginning March 31, 2008. An accomplished sales executive, Zarmati has been with Carnival Cruise Lines since 1972, leading one of the largest and most successful sales teams in North America. In his new role as president and CEO of Costa Cruise Lines—North America, Zarmati will report directly to Gianni Onorato, president of Costa Crociere, and will be responsible for all sales and marketing efforts for Costa’s North and Central American regions. This includes sales development, marketing, revenue management, finance, human resources and passenger services.

The ordinary general meeting of shareholders of Costa Crociere S.p.A, held March 31, 2004, adopted the financial statement for the period December 1, 2002/November 30, 2003. 2003 was a record year for Costa Crociere: the company topped the half-million mark for the number of passengers carried in a 12-month period (a historic achievement and a first for a European cruise operator) with 557,300 guests, compared to 462,036 the year before (+21%), amounting to 4,300,000 passenger days (up 19% on 2002). Sales rose by 7.2%, at euro 785.6 million. Operating income was also substantial, at euro 105 million, although down on the figure recorded in 2002 on account of the strong pressure on prices that occurred throughout the year.

Broward County’s Port Everglades is experiencing record cruise passenger growth in 2004 and just nine months into the current fiscal year already surpassed 2003’s total number of passengers. Just one month later, the South Florida cruise port powered past its all-time annual high mark, which was set in 2002. By the end of this year, Port Everglades expects to top the four million annual passenger milestone for the first time. “Broward County has become the hub of the cruise industry and this year’s phenomenal passenger growth demonstrates that Port Everglades’ appeal continues to grow,” said Ken Krauter, Port Director. In June, just nine months into the current fiscal year, Port Everglades hosted 3,409,116 cruise passengers, surpassing last year’s 12-month total of 3,375,671 passengers.

Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises announced that it is expanding its executive team with the appointment of Tom Russell as its new senior vice president of product development. He will join the company on October 14 and will be based in the Fort Lauderdale office. His appointment follows on the heels of the line's recent purchase of the expedition ship World Discoverer. While Russell will coordinate a variety of major projects and initiatives across departments, his primary focus will be to oversee the establishment of the new luxury expeditionary cruise product, having responsibility for its design, deployment and itinerary development. Russell is no stranger to Silversea.