Chandris takes the cautious line
appeared in the October 3 edition of Lloyd's List.
In these days when cruise ships are ordered with ever-increasing rapidity and some companies are openly talking about their next breed of ships before construction of the present class is completed, it is quite a relief to meet a passenger ship owner who is taking an altogether more cautious approach.
One such is John Chandris, chairman of Celebrity Cruises, who said last week it would not be sensible to order new ships before it is known just how well the current spate of new vessels coming on stream in the closing months of this year will be absorbed into the market.
' If Mr. Chandris were one of the more precipitous type of ship owners he would be just at the point when new ships were looming large in the consciousness.
The second of the three new vessels at Meyer Werft in Germany is less than two months away from delivery with the final ship due next year.
It is the sort of situation where some passenger owners would be only too willing to talk about their next ships.
But not Mr. Chandris who expects his company to be in and out of quarterly profits this year, which must signal the beginnings of a recovery in the company's fortunes.
What he has let slip already is that he is unlikely to want to go much higher in size than the near 78,000gt panamax size of the Galaxy which comes on stream next month when she visits Southampton as the largest passenger ship to touch a UK port before going across the Atlantic.
The signs are that things might at last be picking up in the all-important North American market for, according to figures from Cruise Lines International Association, the industry's trade body, passenger numbers were up nearly nine percent in the first half of this year after two static years when numbers may have even fallen back a little.
Good news, indeed, for at that sort of level of increase all thoughts that the industry may have moved into long-term recession can be put to one side. This is the type of expansion which approximates to the historic levels since modern records were begun more than 15 years ago.
The time will surely come when Mr. Chandris decides that the moment is ripe to add to what be then will be a six-ship fleet.
Indeed, he has said so and, in particular, would like to see more ships operating in Europe where Horizon makes the company's debut in the spring of 1998.
Celebrity is one of those companies which stands on the periphery of the big league but, unlike some of its competitors, has the advantage of having a very modern fleet.
It is expanding geographically, having spent the first few years of its life concentrating solely on the North American market.
The speed at which the big boys order their new ships will not have escaped Mr. Chandris's notice.
The question now is whether he plans, eventually, to follow suit or whether the more cautious approach will always remain the hallmark of Celebrity.
In spite of his caution we do not expect Mr. Chandris to be left behind.
UNCHARTED WATERS -- The Horizon heads for Europe in 1998.