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Royal Caribbean is buying majority stake in Silversea for $1bn


Keith1010
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This could spell the end of low single supplements for solo travelers. When Cunard was taken over the supplements went to 75% and when Seabourn was taken over the same thing . Seabourn use to have 25% supplements. I'm not 100% sure but I don't think any of the RCCL corp. lines do any type of discount for solo travelers.:(
I hadn't thought about it. I am getting concerned. I am a solo traveller, cruising Silversea for ages and I feeling I had to find options

 

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This could spell the end of low single supplements for solo travelers. When Cunard was taken over the supplements went to 75% and when Seabourn was taken over the same thing . Seabourn use to have 25% supplements. I'm not 100% sure but I don't think any of the RCCL corp. lines do any type of discount for solo travelers.:(

 

 

 

Egad, if they raise the solo supplement then that’s the end of my relationship with SS. Waiting and seeing, ever hopeful that any changes will be positive.

 

 

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I have sailed with Celebrity over 40 times over the years and the only time I can recall them have a lower Single Supplement is when they have "Happy Hour Pricing" and I don't even know if they do that anymore. They used to offer "HH Pricing" every Tuesday and would have a list of sailings. Most would be within a 2 month time frame so you would have to be travel pretty last minute. Some of the sailings would offer a lower Single Supplement. But as for a regular basis? Nope, 200% would be the normal for solo cruisers. Some of you mentioned 100%...….we are probably saying the same thing but differently...…...example would be, Celebrity has a balcony to the Caribbean for 1500.00 per person (just an example)……..a solo cruiser would pay 3000.00 less the taxes and port charges for one...…...they want 2 people in the cabin.

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I believe this is where the difference between (almost) all inclusive and more a la carte sailing comes into play. The other cruise lines want two people in the cabin because they will make more from alcohol sales etc. Lower cost initially but with more add ons. With SS they charge a much higher rate initially, but the additional potential for income is lower, so they can afford a lower single supplement.

 

 

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Today, heard from Mark Conroy, US managing director who told me he is delighted

with this RCL and SS deal.

 

Mark believes strongly that this deal will improve Silversea's access to capital, technology, resources and data to improve product delivery and expand the brand more than if SS remained a stand along operation.

 

Silversea leadership teams on board and ashore will remain in place.

 

Mark shared SS owner's video below.

 

Links to MLDO’s video message.

https://silversea-1.wistia.com/medias/nxf0r51yi1

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Today, heard from Mark Conroy, US managing director who told me he is delighted

with this RCL and SS deal.

 

Mark believes strongly that this deal will improve Silversea's access to capital, technology, resources and data to improve product delivery and expand the brand more than if SS remained a stand along operation.

 

Silversea leadership teams on board and ashore will remain in place.

 

Mark shared SS owner's video below.

 

Links to MLDO’s video message.

https://silversea-1.wistia.com/medias/nxf0r51yi1

 

That's good to hear Wes.

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That's good to hear Wes.

It is always nice to hear the wisdom of our Colonel Wes.

 

This time, that video from Manfredi sounds a bit like a politician who has lost an election.

 

https://silversea-1.wistia.com/medias/nxf0r51yi1

 

Will continue to serve as an active member of the team, but actually subordinate and answerable to the new leader/owner?;) "Executive Chairman" of a branch plant!

 

If Manfredi still (wants/can) have ultimate control of Silversea, he should have sold 49% and not two-thirds. Then it would be like diluting his share with a new partner. But selling two-thirds is an obvious sign of becoming a subordinate branch.

.

Edited by meow!
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I believe this is where the difference between (almost) all inclusive and more a la carte sailing comes into play. The other cruise lines want two people in the cabin because they will make more from alcohol sales etc. Lower cost initially but with more add ons. With SS they charge a much higher rate initially, but the additional potential for income is lower, so they can afford a lower single supplement.

 

 

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Yes, your statement is correct however there are many more things that the cruise line saves when there is only a single in a suite or cabin. Lower food costs, lower drink costs, lower laundry cost, lower costs of any inclusions. This is why 200% single supplement is absurd on all inclusive and mostly inclusive cruise lines..

 

Let's look at it like the bean counters do, profitability; profit is what is left after all expenses are paid so in a double cabin/suite, let's say based on average usage of meals, drinks, etc. the profit on a double cabin/suite is 15%. Singles paying double will give the cruise line the same 15% plus the value of all of the unused items like food, drink, inclusions that are per person increasing the profitability of that suite/cabin is significantly increased with a 200% supplement Under that scenario, all cruise lines should be pushing for solo travelers as they are more profitable than double rooms, especially on all inclusive or most inclusive cruise lines.

 

For mainstream lines, the profitability of a single cabin is no where near that on an inclusive or mostly inclusive cruise line as main stream cruise line make almost all of their profits on the on board spend. Think the all inclusive and mostly inclusive are simply following the single supplements of the mainstream lines and taking it to the bank!

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Today, heard from Mark Conroy, US managing director who told me he is delighted

with this RCL and SS deal.

 

Mark believes strongly that this deal will improve Silversea's access to capital, technology, resources and data to improve product delivery and expand the brand more than if SS remained a stand along operation.

 

Silversea leadership teams on board and ashore will remain in place.

 

Mark shared SS owner's video below.

 

Links to MLDO’s video message.

https://silversea-1.wistia.com/medias/nxf0r51yi1

Wes, I hope for the best in Mark Conroy's comments. My only concern is what he means by "expand the brand'"

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Wes, I hope for the best in Mark Conroy's comments. My only concern is what he means by "expand the brand'"

The only expanding the brand being done here is by RC. RC now has a luxury brand to compete with likes of NCL (Regent) and Carnival (Seabourn). Purchase makes sense from a RC shareholder perspective. Instant brand with a small investment.

Now have mass market with (RCL, Celebrity), Premium (Azamara) and Luxury (SS).

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I appreciate Wes’ intel from Mark Conroy. Good stuff and I hope it’s true. At the same time I’m not too sure what we would expect Conroy to say especially if he wants to continue working for the line.

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I have not sailed Silversea for a while after two bad cruises.

The Silver Shadow was in poor condition and no longer offered a luxury experience and the management ethos was not to my liking.(The first response to my issue was that it was my problem so tough and when evidence showed it was a Silversea mistake not even an apology was forthcoming.)

So I moved to Seabourn and have had a very positive experience to date.

So I think this change of ownership will be a good thing and overtime I will consider retrying the line.

This global consolidation is happening in many markets and should free up Capex to allow the Silversea fleet to match the new standards being set by Seabourn and Regent.

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Well, the presentation here on the Muse about the "partnership" with RC was just a lot of corporatespeak sounding good, saying nothing. We'll just have to wait and see how the game plays out.

Manfredi and Fain were onboard this morning, now they've headed off to the Whisper, going round all the ships they can get to easily, I guess, to reassure the crew that their jobs are secure ...

We were shown publicity videos and all I could think of is what a pudgy little man Manfredi is! Obviously enjoys life, nothing wrong with that.

 

 

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Well, the presentation here on the Muse about the "partnership" with RC was just a lot of corporatespeak sounding good, saying nothing. We'll just have to wait and see how the game plays out.

Manfredi and Fain were onboard this morning, now they've headed off to the Whisper, going round all the ships they can get to easily, I guess, to reassure the crew that their jobs are secure ...

We were shown publicity videos and all I could think of is what a pudgy little man Manfredi is! Obviously enjoys life, nothing wrong with that.

 

 

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All that I could think of watching it was how much does a new set of teeth cost. Certainly not a billion.

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Judging from the postings on this board, it appears that few have nice praising things to say about Manfredi. In any case, he is now the "executive chairman" of a branch which is two-thirds owned by an American corporation. Silversea is no longer (Manfredi) "family owned and Italian."

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To me it makes sense for them to buy Silversea, but why only 67%? Now RCL has to "deal" with a partial owner. These arrangements are often troublesome. Would have been better to just purchase 100% and run it without any interference.

 

Really hard to say or figure out the why and wherefore without all the details of the deal. Silversea supposedly has a book value of a little less than $2B so 67% for $1B makes sense from more or less pure math. Maybe the full almost $2B was a “bridge too far” for RCCL. What about assumption of Silversea’s existing contractual agreements? There is also the missing detail of Silversea’s indebtness. How much is that? Did RCCL assume none, part, or all of that? Did Silversea insist on a minimum or certain level of ownership and continued management? Just a few questions without answers and there are probably more.

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My thoughts are that it may well turn out for the best for passengers. At present the company is Italian owned but most operational decisions seem to be taken from the States.

 

Bare with me on this one, its complicated.

 

This means that whilst Italian/European customer services aren't as good as we perceive American Customer Services to be and that's why we, in the EU have strong legislation. When SS fail to deliver, then the decision on how to rectify the shortcomings of the Italian/European branch is then handled in the US that are used to better Customer Services in the first place, better problem solving and resultingly, less legislation when things go very wrong.

 

Monaco is nothing other than a P.O. Box to avoiding paying the taxes that you should rightly be paying.

 

Because the US enjoy much better initial Customer Services than we do, they don't have the legislation in place that we have in Europe. Perhaps the merger (takeover) will result in Silversea adopting customer service policies closer to an American standard in the first place rather than the current shrug your shoulders and what are you going to do about it attitude that they seem to adopt right now.

 

I know that this is a complicated thought that makes complete sense in my head and I hope that people can understand what I mean. I'm very grateful to anyone that can interpret my thoughts more eloquently than I am able to.

 

My own personal experience is that US companies make a huge effort to ensure that they meet expectations. I have yet to encounter a US company that I have been disappointed with. The arrogance that I have encountered from Silversea, including perceived threats from CEO's being made to my partner and the Fleet Manager shrugging his shoulders and walking away from me, whilst he and his family stayed in a fully functioning suite, would not be tolerated by a US company.

 

And by the way, Manfredi, I'm sure that however noble your fathers vision was of owning 12 ships in your fleet, the recent sellout of 2/3rds of your company and relinquishment of control, somehow might fall short of what he had hoped for. I do sincerely hope though that you enjoy your billion dollars.

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