Carnival relocating Cunard to California

Jason · July 18, 2004

Associated Press

Carnival to Relocate Cunard to California

07.16.2004, 09:59 AM

Cruise vacation group Carnival Corp. said Friday it will relocate Cunard Line's North American operations to Santa Clarita, Calif., part of a wider restructuring to integrate Cunard's fleet operations with that of sister company Princess Cruises.

As reported, Cunard's British operations were recently combined with Carnival brands in the United Kingdom, where Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is based.

Cunard, formerly based in Miami, will share administrative, finance and IT functions with Princess. The relocation is expected to reduce future overhead costs by about $20 million per year. Carnival said it will record relocation charges in the range of $10 million to $15 million mostly over the remainder of 2004.

"Cunard has one of the most time honored names in cruising, and with the introduction of the Queen Mary 2 and the upcoming delivery of Queen Victoria, the brand is poised for growth," said Peter Ratcliffe, CEO of Carnival Corp.'s P&O Princess division, which includes Cunard. "This move provides Cunard the opportunity to utilize the significant resources of one of its sister companies while retaining its unique identity."

The reorganization also included changes to Cunard's managerial structure. During the reorganization period Pamela Conover will remain as president of Cunard Line and will oversee the transition of the Cunard organization to Santa Clarita.

Once the relocation is complete, Conover will assume the new position of senior vice president, Carnival Shared Services, a corporate office function reporting directly to Howard Frank, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Carnival Corp. The current Cunard field sales force remains intact, and will continue to represent the Seabourn Cruise Line in addition to Cunard.

Carnival said Seabourn will remain based in Miami, and operate as an independent brand within Carnival, led by newly-appointed president Deborah Natansohn.

Shares of Carnival were up 24 cents at $46.05 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's stock also trades on the London Stock Exchange.