Firering Strategic Minerals: From explorer to producer. Watch the video here.
With regards to Saga cruise customer age profiles - I would say definitely toward the higher two-thirds of Saga's demographic.
Over the years I worked for Saga, I enjoyed several lunches aboard the previous Saga ships whilst they were on turnaround days at Dover. These lunches were always superb and were meant as a little treat for certain employees from time to time.
On each occasion, our presence aboard would inevitably overlap with some customers either leaving or joining the ship. I would say they were typically 65 and above, rather than in the 50 to 65 age group.
Anecdotal, granted, but I thought I'd add that personal observation to the discussion.
Yes, sorry about the sloppy wording.
Definite intention by the company to sail but subject to travel being permitted by May - which seems reasonable.
I think they've been rather cautious on this and rightly so.
343,163 additional people in the UK were vaccinated yesterday - the most ever in one day so far - giving a total of 4,609,740 vaccinated, potential Saga travel customers - ready to roll.
The greatest thing is that this grand total is only going to go up every single day - what a superb position to be in.
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Update flashed on Bloomberg regarding the biggest vaccination campaign in history.
More than 51.9 million doses in 51 countries have been administered, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 2.35 million doses a day, on average.
The end of the economically restricting period of this pandemic is getting nearer with every day.
Yawn.
Don't tell me - the misleading Israel story that is doing the rounds.
I'll save you the effort. In that story, it turned out that the practice in Israel is to ALWAYS provide the second vaccine at three weeks. They had no data on with-holding the 2nd vaccine, but yet they made some story out of a fictitious 33% effective rate when not administering the 2nd dose.
... and in The Telegraph.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/20/travel-news-covid-restrictions-ban-corridors-tests-uk-holidays/
Live - Travel news latest: Saga Holidays to refuse travellers who haven't been vaccinated
Commentary:
Refusing non-vaccinated travellers is 'sensible'
Is Saga right to say no to non-vaccinated travellers?
James Cole, founder and managing director of Panache Cruises, thinks they are. He told Telegraph Travel:
As a retailer of cruise, we will support whatever the cruise lines believe is the most sensible course of action that they need to take to ensure their ships are the safest way to travel – and that customers have the best possible cruising experience.
Considering every adult in the UK will be offered a vaccination for free, and medical research shows the vaccine to be exceptionally safe, the move seems to be a very sensible one.”
Yep, it looks like that will be a pretty perfect match for the 65 to 75 demographic.
Ages 70 and up all done by Feb 15th (first jab). 12 weeks maximum to 2nd jab gives May 10th.
Ages 65-69 (assume plus 2 weeks) all done by March 1st (first jab). 12 weeks maximum to 2nd jab gives May 24th.
First 2 Spirit of Adventure cruises are May 4th and 20th.
First 2 Spirit of Discovery cruises are June 17th and 25th.
Great news - our expectations for a May restart for cruising met with firmed up guidance for guests to ensure maximum safety.
All looks set and ready to roll ....
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Update January 20, 2021
A message to all guests booked on cruises aboard Spirit of Discovery from April 2021, and cruises aboard Spirit of Adventure from May 2021 to December 2021.
First and foremost, I hope this message finds you well. Since I last wrote to you, we have welcomed the news that the COVID-19 vaccination programme has started to be rolled out across the country, with many of our guests amongst the first groups of people being offered the vaccine.
It is with this in mind that we have once more reviewed our health and safety procedures to ensure we are providing the safest possible cruise experience. We have taken the decision to introduce the requirement that all guests must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least 14 days before sailing with us. This new measure will be in addition to the detailed arrangements we have already made in preparation for our return to service, which have been recognised and led to us being the first operator to receive the highest possible standard of health and safety protocols from Lloyd’s Register.
In order to allow our guests sufficient time to be fully vaccinated, we have decided to delay the restart of our cruise programme which was due to commence on 3rd April with Spirit of Discovery. Instead our programme will begin with Spirit of Adventure’s inaugural voyage on 4th May and our Secrets of Corsica and Sardinia cruise aboard Spirit of Discovery will now sail on the 2nd June. We will be contacting all guests affected to discuss their options.
Https://travel.saga.co.uk/travel-updates/coronavirus-cruise-passengers.aspx
Confirmation today that Saga's programme will begin in May as we expected.
Specifically with Spirit of Adventure’s inaugural voyage on 4th May and the Secrets of Corsica and Sardinia cruise aboard Spirit of Discovery will sail on the 2nd June.
New data on the progress of vaccinations.
204,076 additional people in the UK were vaccinated yesterday, giving a total of 4,266,577 vaccinated, potential Saga travel customers - ready to roll.
The greatest thing is that this grand total is only going to go up every single day - what a superb position to be in.
Update on Bloomberg regarding the biggest vaccination campaign in history.
More than 44 million doses in 51 countries have been administered, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 2.27 million doses a day, on average.
The end of the economically restricting period of this pandemic is getting nearer with every day.
Carnival Corp. says it's booked more cruises for 2022 than 2019
Https://www.foxnews.com/travel/carnival-cruises-says-booked-cruises-2022-2019
Anchors aweigh!
Powerhouse cruise operator Carnival Corp. says it’s already booked more cruises for the first half of 2022 than it did in 2019, possibly signaling a brighter horizon for the industry.
CFO David Bernstein shared the news during a fourth quarter earnings call on Monday, explaining why things are looking up.
"At this point in time, our cumulative advance bookings for the second half of 2021 are within the historical range. Even better, our cumulative advance bookings for the first half of 2022 are ahead of a very strong 2019," Bernstein said, according to The Motley Fool.
CEO Arnold Donald described demand as "robust" even before the coronavirus vaccine was announced, "with minimal advertising and marketing."
"The forward booking trends we have consistently experienced throughout this period in spite of the extended pause in our operations, in spite of our minimal advertising efforts and even in spite of the abundance of negative global news affirm the underlying demand that will facilitate our staggered resumption," Donald said. "And, we have not only seen tremendous support for our brands from our loyal guests, it is also very encouraging to see demand from new guests."
"Upon resuming service, we believe we are well positioned to optimize that pent-up demand for our leading brands around the world," he added.
After my top-ups, I've got about 15 pence left over. We could club together and buy one share in old money at 18p. :)
And now is probably a great time to do it. An update just flashed on Bloomberg regarding the biggest vaccination campaign in history.
More than 42.2 million doses in 51 countries have been administered, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 2.43 million doses a day, on average.
The end of the economically restricting period of this pandemic is getting nearer with every day.
And there's more good news.
Https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/01/16/18s-could-have-vaccine-end-june/
All over 18s could have vaccine by 'end of June'
Whitehall sources say plan is to vaccinate four to five million people a week within months
Extract
Every adult in Britain will be vaccinated by the end of June, senior Government figures hope, as they grow increasingly optimistic they will be able to accelerate the rollout.
The Telegraph can reveal Whitehall sources believe this target could now realistically be achieved as they plan to vaccinate four to five million people a week within months.
A further two vaccines in the pipeline, from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, could help Britain speed up the process to vaccinate all 54 million adults. A source said: "All over-18s by June – yes." They added: "It is delivery, delivery, delivery.”
While senior Government figures are now privately working to this target, the Department of Health – which said it hoped to have vaccinated "tens of millions" of Britons by April – are reluctant to publicly acknowledge a deadline.
Separately, the chief executive of Britain's new £158 million Government vaccine factory in Oxfordshire told The Telegraph it will be able to vaccinate the entire nation against dangerous new Covid strains within four months when it opens in full by the end of the year.
Report in this weekend's Daily Mail online:
Https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/escape/article-9152347/Our-guide-best-coach-holidays-Britain-beyond.html
ANYONE FOR LONG HAUL?
Saga Holidays, the over-50s travel specialist, reports a 90 per cent growth in bookings for long-haul trips made a year in advance.
Bookings for 2022 are soaring, with India/Indian Ocean, Australasia and Africa the top choices.
The length of trip being booked is up, too, from an average of 13 days to 18 days. Incentives to book include savings of as much as 24 per cent.
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of people booking winter sun breaks are opting for 21 days or more for the travel period covering this November up to January 2022.
A spokeswoman for Saga believes people are dipping into pockets for 'once-in-a-lifetime' getaways after being stuck at home for so long. Visit travel.saga.co.uk.
324,233 additional people in the UK were vaccinated yesterday, giving a total of 3,559,179 vaccinated, potential Saga travel customers - ready to roll.
The greatest thing is that this grand total is only going to go up every single day - what a superb position to be in.
This board really is great.
When one of our long term posters says "I've sold X amount hoping to buy back lower at Y", there's never anything less than good intent and humour offered.
How great is that?
I'm rather proud to be a minor part of such a decent online community.
Banbury,
I don't know but as an honest best guesstimate I'd say that the value of Enbrook must be pretty close to the value of those 3 combined. To confirm, all 3 properties for sale are fully inclusive of freehold.
You should google images of Enbrook Park to see how pleasant and extensive that site is - I actually miss it. I don't miss having to go to work every day though :)
I'm not keen on posting this link as its content can at times be somewhat contentious but this article does contain some of the data that you want. However, any opinion on this site comes without my recommendation or endorsement.
https://shepwayvox.org/2020/12/24/the-great-saga-sell-off/
I hope that helps.
As I posted a few days ago, it's not just the Thanet Contact Centre building that is on the market as Saga has moved largely to a remote working model retaining the superb Enbrook Park as its headquarters.
In total, 3 major offices (Middelburg, Cheriton Parc & the Thanet Contact Centre) have been retired and put up for sale. I read recently, but can't confirm, that the collective price that these buildings "changed hands" for between 2008 and 2013 was around £14.8 million. Today's values - higher or lower - who knows?
Thanet Contact Centre
Https://www.onthemarket.com/details/9656930/?channel=commercial
Cheriton Parc
Https://www.onthemarket.com/details/9656929/?channel=commercial
Middelburg
Https://www.onthemarket.com/details/9656928/?channel=commercial
I worked here for Saga in the mid-1980s after leaving the original Enbrook . This building is actually larger than the Thanet one and is right in the middle of Folkestone. Goodness only knows what this site could be worth if permission was granted to rebuild as domestic residences. Conveniently, there is a 550 space NCP car park right next door and it is only 5 minutes walk from Folkestone Central station (54 minutes to London St Pancras).
But I suppose Folkestone will badly need this office capacity when the economy picks up again, so conversion is probably a poor idea.
Whatever way one looks at it, there is a lot of value in these 3 properties.