During unprecedented times in the cruise industry, the crew and officers that work onboard are incredibly hard hit. While most have been home for six months, mostly without pay, cruise lines are now starting to scrap positions.
With the sale of four ships, Holland America has been slimmed down considerably. While new ships are on the way, these will come too late for many crew members that counted on these vessels as their income and livelihood.
Carnival Corporation Reducing Costs
Carnival Corporation has been selling ships which have proven to be less effective and not as profitable as other vessels for the last few months. All this has happened to make Carnival Corporation more profitable and the fleet considerably younger.
The corporation has plans to transfer a total of 18 ships from the company. CEO Donald Arnold had this to say about the transfer just a few weeks ago:
“We are accelerating the exit of 18 less-efficient ships from our fleet. This will generate a 12 percent reduction in capacity and a structurally lower cost base while retaining the most cash-generative assets in our portfolio.”
Some ships that are included in this are:
- Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Fascination, Carnival Imagination, and Carnival Inspiration.
- Costa Cruises: Costa Victoria, Costa Atlantica, Costa Mediterranea and Costa neoRomantica.
- P&O Cruises: Pacific Aria, Pacific Dawn, and Oceana.
The company also sold the Holland America ships Maasdam, Veendam, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, leading to the crew and officers being dismissed.
Gus Antorcha: “Starting Formal Process To Reduce Officers And Crew”e
In a statement posted today on the Holland America social media channels, and indirect communication to the crew members, the recently appointed president of Holland America Cruise Line, Gus Antorcha, said the following:
“With our operational pause continuing to be extended, we have taken many aggressive steps together to lower the cost structure of the company and raise capital.”
However, to align with the reduced size of the fleet, we have now made the tough decision to begin a formal process to reduce the number of officers and crew members in our establishment.”
Some officers had already been notified earlier, while the others would be informed within the next 45 days.
Although the company hopes that natural attrition would take effect and fewer people would be impacted, this seems unlikely in a period where more and more people are losing their job.
Cruise Industry Struggles To Survive
More and more unsettling news is coming from all corners of the cruise industry; only recently, Carnival Cruise line had to take the same measures as Holland America Line. Simultaneously, Costa Cruise Line managed to transfer many crew to their new ship, a large amount of crew and officers remain at home.
Also Read: It’s a New Reality for Thousands of Cruise Ship Crew Members
The Expedition cruise market has also been hit extremely hard with both the Arctic and Antarctic seasons canceled for nearly 60 vessels.
Crew members who have counted on the ships for their livelihood, income, and support for years and years are left behind in an industry struggling to stay afloat.
Photo Credit: The Mariner 4291 / Shutterstock.com
