Updated at 1:54 p.m., Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Weak Hawai'i cruise prices cited in NCL's $61M loss
Advertiser Staff
Norwegian Cruise Line today said its loss widened to $60.8 million in the first quarter of this year and cited a "significant decrease" in cruise ticket prices for the company's interisland Hawai'i cruises.That compared to a loss of $28.8 million in the first-quarter of 2006. The cruise ship company reported total revenues of $490.8 million for the first quarter, an increase of 15.1 percent over the same period a year earlier.
Dragged down by its Hawai'i operations, the company recently announced it will withdraw "Pride of Hawai'i" from this market early in 2008. The ship will be re-flagged, renamed Norwegian Jade and deployed in Europe for the summer of 2008.
The European market has shown strong growth resulting from a combination of an increase in the number of Europeans taking cruises and strong demand from U.S. passengers finding dollar-denominated cruising to be an economically attractive way to experience Europe with the weak dollar. The European deployment of Norwegian Jade along with her two sister ships, Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Gem, should allow the company to further capitalize on the growing demand for European cruises.
