Carnival CEO Donald ‘Very Disappointed’ in CDC Guidance

Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald said he was “very disappointed” in the CDC’s guidance released last week on the company’s business update call on Tuesday morning.

Donald mentioned the company has 30 ships in U.S. waters that have achieved “green status” per CDC guidelines, and that the company was continuing to work with the agency and current administration to find practical approaches to resume cruising in a way that is in the best interest of public health.

He said he aimed to have all nine Carnival Corp. brands sailing this summer and that ships will come back on a staggered basis with occupancy rates ramping up over time.

Donald noted an acceleration of booking trends globally, with an AIDA ship sailing the Canaries and restarts set in the UK and Italy shortly.

Donald was also quick to note 59 of 90 of the company’s ships were outside of the Conditional Sail Order, and restarts were being worked on in Asia and Australia.

Royal Caribbean Shares Soar As Bookings Rise On Vaccination News

Port of the Bahamas

by Praveen Paramasivam  (Reuters) – Royal Caribbean Group said on Monday it was seeing an uptick in future bookings, following a disastrous year for the cruise operator, as travel enthusiasts look to sail again at a time governments globally have started mass vaccinations.

The company’s shares, down 44% last year, soared 9% in morning trading (and is up 24% in the past five trading days), as Royal Caribbean said it recorded a 30% increase in new bookings since the beginning of the year when compared to November and December.

Analysts have also tipped Royal Caribbean and its peers Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd to resume voyages gradually in the back half of this year, after the pandemic-triggered months-long halt.

“Now after 11 months of the pandemic, I think we all know that COVID fatigue is real. People are clamouring for the opportunity to have experience outside their homes,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Fain said on an earnings call.

Royal Caribbean said bookings for the first half of 2022 were within historical ranges and at higher prices, with some on Reddit and Twitter saying they were itching to go on cruises again.

However, the operator of “Symphony of the Seas” cruise posted a net attributable loss of $1.37 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, taking its annual loss to $5.8 billion.

Royal Caribbean’s total revenue for the quarter was $34.1 million, compared with analysts’ estimates of $35.6 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

On an adjusted basis, the company lost $5.02 per share. Analysts had expected a loss of $5.20.

Miami-based Royal Caribbean forecast a net loss for its first quarter and the 2021 fiscal year.

Carnival Has $7.9 Billion of Cash On Hand; 12 Months of Liquidity

Carnival Corporation Sending Carnival and AIDA Ships to China in 2017

Carnival Corporation said in a regulatory filing on Friday that as of July 31, 2020, the company had $7.9 billion in cash and cash equivalent balance available.

The nine-brand operation said earlier in July that during its pause in guest operations, the monthly average cash burn rate for the second half of 2020 is estimated to be approximately $650 million per month, which could give Carnival approximately 12 months of cash with ships out of operation.