The Royal Caribbean Group expects to be cash-flow positive in about six months, Jason Liberty, senior vice president and CFO, said on the company’s Q2 earnings call.
Liberty noted that the third and fourth quarters of this year will continue to be “painful” and cautioned that 2022 will not be a normal year although trends to normalcy should be picking up during the year.
Going from four ships in service at the end of April, the group now has 29 out of 68 ships sailing and will introduce seven more this month.
By the end of the year, Liberty said, 85 per cent of the Royal Caribbean fleet should be sailing.
As for the newbuilds, Liberty said they will be introduced on 10-month delays from when they originally were expected to enter service.
Richard Fain, chairman and CEO, noted how Royal Caribbean is focused on operating their cruises safely and safer than other vacation alternatives, while still exceeding pre-pandemic guest expectations, and doing so in a fiscally prudent manner.
He underscored that their safety protocols are working and that the ships allow them to control the environment to an unusual extent: 100 per cent of the crew is vaccinated, and in July, 92 per cent of the passengers were vaccinated.
“We have had people test positive, but since people around them have been vaccinated, it means these have been isolated cases,” Fain said. “The vaccines are the ultimate weapon and they work.
“In light of the Delta variant, we have strengthened our protocols further.
“Cruises have become the example of how best to deal with COVID-19,” Fain added.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has approved 13 ships for simulated voyages, also known as test cruises, using volunteers as passengers.
With ships completing a test voyage successfully, each vessel is then issued a Conditional Sailing Certificate, allowing it to sail from U.S. homeports with less than 95 per cent of guests aboard being vaccinated.
With all of its five brands now back in service, the Royal Caribbean Group is building up its restart plans. Over the next few months, 16 additional ships are set to welcome passengers back, sailing in different parts of the world.
Here’s the latest, brand by brand:
Royal Caribbean International First sailing: Five ships in service; nine more to follow starting on July 19 Ships: Quantum of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas in service; Serenade of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas set to follow Regions: Presently sailing in Asia, Caribbean, Mediterranean and the United Kingdom with cruises to Alaska planned
Royal Caribbean International is quickly adding ships back into service. With five vessels currently in action, the operator plans to activate nine more before August.
Most of the restart fleet is poised to sail from the U.S. ports to the Caribbean and Bahamas but plans also call for service resumptions in the Mediterranean, United Kingdom and Alaska.
In Asia, Quantum’s Singapore program was recently extended, adding departures through February 2022.
Celebrity Cruises First sailing: Five ships in service; four more to follow starting on July 24 Ships: Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Silhouette, Celebrity Flora and Celebrity Summit in service; Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Xpedition, Celebrity Equinox and Celebrity Xploration set to follow Regions: Presently sailing in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, United Kingdom and the Galapagos with cruises to Alaska planned
Continuing its phased restart plan, the premium brand will also resume operations in Alaska while adding more ships in the Caribbean and Galapagos.
TUI Cruises First sailing: Five ships in service Ships: Mein Schiff 1, Mein Schiff 2, Mein Schiff 4, Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 6 Regions: Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Greece and Italy
TUI intends to have its entire seven-ship fleet in service this summer. The German brand is currently operating five vessels in different parts of Europe.
After several months of sailing only in the Canaries archipelago, TUI recently expanded operations to Germany and Greece. A return to the Mediterranean was also carried out recently, with cruises in Spain and Italy.
Silversea Cruises First sailing: Two ships in service; two more to follow starting on July 29 Ships: Silver Origin and Silver Moon in service; Silver Muse and Silver Shadow set to follow Region: Presently sailing in Galapagos and Mediterranean, with cruises to Alaska and Iceland planned
Silversea Cruises welcomed its passengers back in June, with the inaugural cruises of two newbuilds, the Silver Moon and the Silver Origin.
Continuing its restart plan, the luxury brand is planning to relaunch service in Alaska and in Iceland, with two additional vessels.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises First sailing: Four ships in service; one more to follow starting on August 26 Ships: Europa 2, Europa, Hanseatic Nature and Hanseatic Inspiration in service; Hanseatic Spirit set to follow Region: Eastern Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Norwegian Fjords
With four ships in service, Hapag-Lloyd is currently offering several itineraries in Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The recently delivered Hanseatic Spirit, meanwhile, is set to start service in August with a series of cruises in Northern Europe.
Wetravel2u's Weblog 