Post by ferryfast admin on Mar 30, 2006 17:50:51 GMT -5
Carnival cancels 4 remaining cruises for Star Princess
Bank Rate Monitor
By Tom Stieghorst
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
www.sun-sentinel.com/
March 29, 2006
The fire-damaged Star Princess will be sent to Germany for repairs, and the four voyages remaining in its Caribbean cruise season will be canceled, Carnival Corp. said Tuesday.
That means Carnival will pay refunds on trips departing Port Everglades on April 9, 16, 23 and 30. The trips scheduled for March 26 and April 2 already had been canceled. Passengers also will get 25 percent off a future cruise.
One person died and 11 were injured in a March 23 fire on the ship near Jamaica that left more than 100 cabins charred.
Star Princess will sail this week from the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport to the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany, where permanent repairs will be made.
The ship will be back in service for its first European cruise, which will depart from Copenhagen on May 15, Carnival said.
Star Princess can carry 2,600 passengers at standard occupancy, suggesting that more than 15,000 vacations will be canceled because of the fire.
Carnival, which owns Princess Cruises, estimated Tuesday that the cost of repairs and refunds would reduce its earnings in the second quarter by $34 million to $42 million, or 4 cents to 5 cents a share. Wall Street analysts had expected Carnival to earn about $425 million, or about 50 cents a share, in the quarter ending May 31.
The 109,000-ton Star Princess pays Port Everglades a docking fee and a per-passenger charge for each cruise. Port spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy said the canceled cruises will reduce revenue to the port by about $231,000.
Great Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch is leading the investigation of the fire. It has not said anything about the cause of the five-hour blaze.
The agency is asking passengers who were on the ship when the fire occurred, or had previously sailed on Star Princess, to complete a questionnaire on its Web site.
To access the form, visit www.maib.gov.uk/latest_news/star_princess.cfm.
Bank Rate Monitor
By Tom Stieghorst
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
www.sun-sentinel.com/
March 29, 2006
The fire-damaged Star Princess will be sent to Germany for repairs, and the four voyages remaining in its Caribbean cruise season will be canceled, Carnival Corp. said Tuesday.
That means Carnival will pay refunds on trips departing Port Everglades on April 9, 16, 23 and 30. The trips scheduled for March 26 and April 2 already had been canceled. Passengers also will get 25 percent off a future cruise.
One person died and 11 were injured in a March 23 fire on the ship near Jamaica that left more than 100 cabins charred.
Star Princess will sail this week from the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport to the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany, where permanent repairs will be made.
The ship will be back in service for its first European cruise, which will depart from Copenhagen on May 15, Carnival said.
Star Princess can carry 2,600 passengers at standard occupancy, suggesting that more than 15,000 vacations will be canceled because of the fire.
Carnival, which owns Princess Cruises, estimated Tuesday that the cost of repairs and refunds would reduce its earnings in the second quarter by $34 million to $42 million, or 4 cents to 5 cents a share. Wall Street analysts had expected Carnival to earn about $425 million, or about 50 cents a share, in the quarter ending May 31.
The 109,000-ton Star Princess pays Port Everglades a docking fee and a per-passenger charge for each cruise. Port spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy said the canceled cruises will reduce revenue to the port by about $231,000.
Great Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch is leading the investigation of the fire. It has not said anything about the cause of the five-hour blaze.
The agency is asking passengers who were on the ship when the fire occurred, or had previously sailed on Star Princess, to complete a questionnaire on its Web site.
To access the form, visit www.maib.gov.uk/latest_news/star_princess.cfm.