Tui Travel has announced that it is to buy out Royal Caribbean's 50% share of Island Cruises.
Tui Travel, which already owns 50% of the Brighton based company, will integrate the business into its head offices in Luton. The decision ends months of speculation following last year’s merger between Thomson owned Tui UK Ltd and First Choice holidays.
Island Cruises has two ships, the Island Star and the Island Escape. The Island Star will be returned to Celebrity Cruises, from which it was on long-term charter, whilst the Island Escape will be retained by Tui. One of Island Cruises main rivals Thomson Cruises currently also operates under Tui, however, a decision has yet to be made on the future of the Island Cruises brand.
Island Cruises MD Patrick Ryan will not stay with the company, whilst many of the 29 existing staff members are to be offered new positions at Tui HQ in Luton.
