A further big cruise line is downsizing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luxury line Seabourn on Thursday announced it had sold a single of its six vessels — the 458-passenger Seabourn Odyssey — to a Japanese firm that provides cruises aimed at the Japanese marketplace.
The purchaser of the ship, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., will charter it back to Seabourn for the subsequent 17 months so that Seabourn can continue supplying all the departures that are at present on Seabourn Odyssey’s schedule. No sailings will be canceled.
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Seabourn Odyssey’s final voyage for Seabourn is now Aug. 22, 2024.
Initial unveiled in 2009, Seabourn Odyssey is the oldest of Seabourn’s six vessels. It has sailed for the line for all its 14 years in service.
“We are proud that Seabourn Odyssey carried our guests across the globe for the final 14 years and are satisfied to see her join a good firm, MOL,” Seabourn president Natalya Leahy stated in a statement accompanying the announcement.
The departure of Seabourn Odyssey will represent a considerable downsizing for the Seabourn brand, which is deemed a single of the leaders in luxury cruising. The ship at present accounts for about 16% of Seabourn’s passenger capacity.
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Seabourn Odyssey’s departure from the Seabourn fleet comes as the line’s parent firm, Carnival Corporation, struggles to place its monetary property back in order following a enormous, multiyear downturn in revenues triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The downturn forced the firm to take on an massive quantity of debt to keep solvent — debt that need to now be paid down. As of December, the company’s total debt stood at $34.55 billion, up from much less than $12 billion at the get started of 2020.
For context, Carnival Corporation — the parent firm of Seabourn, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and six other cruise brands — created about $two.9 billion in earnings in its final great year (2019).
Carnival Corporation’s current monetary maneuvers incorporated shedding its least lucrative ships, cutting service on remaining ships and rising charges for shipboard solutions in an work to reduce fees and increase income.
Carnival Corporation has also paused new ship orders for its nine brands for now.
Seabourn did not say how substantially income the sale of Seabourn Odyssey would raise for Carnival Corporation’s coffers.
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In all, Carnival Corporation has shed 23 vessels across its nine brands given that the get started of the pandemic. It went into the pandemic with 105 vessels. The downsizing has incorporated the removal of 4 ships from the company’s Holland America brand and six ships from its Carnival Cruise Line brand.
Even as it sheds a single of its six current vessels, Seabourn is preparing to welcome a new ship to its fleet. Due in August, the 264-passenger Seabourn Pursuit will be a modest expedition ship of the exact same style as its 7-month-old Seabourn Venture.
Provided its modest size, Seabourn Pursuit will only partially make up for the lost passenger capacity triggered by the removal of Seabourn Odyssey.
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