Regent Seven Seas acquired by Apollo Management

Editor's note: Erica Silverstein will be out of the office through December 25. Check back during the last week in December for new blog entries.

Even the cruise industry sees its fair share of mergers and acquisitions. This week, Regent Seven Seas announced its acquisition by Apollo Management. The deal is expected to go through in the first quarter of 2008.

Although Regent Seven Seas will remain an independent brand and retain its president, Mark Conroy, the acquisition heralds a shift in the world of cruise companies. Apollo also owns Oceania Cruises and shares ownership of Norwegian with Star Cruises. Regent and Oceania will become sister lines, under the auspices of Prestige Cruise Holdings, a corporation owned by Apollo. NCL will remain separate for the time being.

The transition should be unnoticeable to cruisers, and Regent will continue to offer luxury services and amenities onboard its ships. The real changes will only become noticeable later on should Apollo choose to invest in new ships, change the cruise line's name once again (to separate it from the Regent hotels), or create similarities across its new family of cruise brands. I'll keep you posted.