A few weeks ago, John Delaney, president of Seattle-based Windstar Cruises, on a scaffold standing in a historic shipyard in Palermo, Italy, and took a blowtorch to Starbreeze, a year 30, 212 passenger motor yacht. With sparks, and shipyard workers and invited guests cheered, Delany made the final vertical section Stella Breeze in half to cut. But he was not to destroy the small vessel – has done exactly the opposite. In a process called “stretching” of Starbreeze is getting pulled aside for a new room, to make the center section 84-foot, 1,250 tons prefabricated out. Remember how unsnapping (or unsoldering) Two Lego and put another block in the middle. But with a boat. Four months after surgery, the all-star suites Breeze is bigger, more luxurious and more profitable. When debut in February, it will be 50 new House 100 additional guest suites, a 50% increase in passenger capacity and has to get higher prices for their shiny new car. Delaney says they should add to the life of the ship at least 20 years. Stretching, it turns out well for Windstar bottom line is that the company will expand similarly two other ships by the end of 2020 spending increase of $250 million in total for his total of 24% capacity. The cruise ships of stretching is not a new idea. Teijo Niemela, director of CruiseBusiness.com says the concept was borrowed from the Scandinavian ferries that have been cut to add cargo space. He sailed on his first extended ferry in Finland in 1972. It is only six years after Royal Caribbean has added a 85-block walk to expand a ship initially slow down the song of Norway, one, but the constant tendency to start industry. The ships in the late Royal Viking Line extended in 1980; Norwegian Cruise Line has added sections on three ships in 1990. More recently, MSC Cruises extended four ships and announced plans for a fifth cut. , Is scheduled for 2021, the project $143 million dollars, 75,000 square feet will be added to the MSC Magnifica, with 215 new state rooms (most of them in popular balcony category), two restaurants and a water park, as well how technology is environmentally friendly. Last year in Palermo, ultraluxury Silversea line has added a central part of his 49-foot Silver Spirit at a price of $70 million to increase with the addition of 34 suites of 540 to 608 passenger vessel capacity. It took to complete 500 workers and about 450,000 man-hours of the path. “For the cruise lines, it is a quick way to expand the capacity to build in the face of a new cruise ship,” says Niemela. “A new it will take about 22 months or more [] cruise ship to build. Add a new middle section, and is only a few months that the service vessel is absent.” With estimates of about $175 million to build a ship 300-plus passenger, extending meaning older made, says Delaney, particularly when each project will cost $80 million average. By extending its ships Wind Star will add 150 suites that go for an average of $450 to $550 per person per night. These 300 additional passengers, the line to six ship, owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz’Anschutz Corp. could add more than $49.2 million year sales. In addition, there are benefits downstream. During the bowels of the ships are open, Windstar replace seven outdated engines with four new Wärtsilä engines that meet the stringent emission standards of the International Maritime. “Not only do you get the fuel to more people to use, we are in many economic, energy saving, state-of-the-art technology,” says Delaney engines. “We get the advantage and repairs and maintenance reduced with the new engines.” The fixed costs do not change much when a ship is elongated. Create a new, and you should fully staff; an ancient expand, and is the crew-to-guest ratio to obtain a matter of a few additional employees in the same vertical position. (That, and a list slightly longer leading to the kitchen.) “The flow through the additional hundreds of guests that sales, almost 90% of the bottom line is,” says Delaney. “It is important. The return on investment was much, much higher on the track” The entire stretching process is carried out on drydock where access to all sides of a ship workers must -. Including the bottom – and can torch manually with ease through structural walls. There is no room for error when the yacht of 13,000 tons needs to hold (literally) above the water level. Are these expansions included Windstar, Silversea Cruises and MSC, and two others for the ferries that have occurred over the past five years at the court of Palermo master Italian Fincantieri SpA manufacturer. Once all the bowels of a ship are removed, including wherein pipes and cables, engineers pull the front half of the ship forward of huge blocks, so it is possible to install a prefabricated central section using self-propelled platforms on wheels before all back welding together. Unlike Frankenstein, Stella Breeze brings visible scars it leaves the yard early next year. As with the expansion of the Silversea Silver Spirit, which included, among other things, a seafood and steak restaurant, pizzeria, aerobics studio and outdoor additional sunny places to relax, Stella Breeze will also upgrades along the way. “If these ships were built [in 1980], things like a large swimming pool, a really nice spa, large gym were not so important,” says Delaney. Today, he notes, that they are expected. Starbreeze The new pool is five times greater, and the fitness center now has a yoga studio. Other upgrades include a 1,374 square feet Grand Suite management three bedrooms and a handful of restaurants. Moreover, the nature outline becomes longer, more elegant and more beautiful. “It is not as short and stocky as a gasoline engine,” he laughs.
Why Cruise Lines continue to halve their ships?
