Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest travel and leisure company operating nine cruise lines and over 100 cruise ships, has announced that they are disposing of six cruise ships over the next three months.
The announcement came from Carnival’s second quarter earnings report that saw the company post a loss of $4.4 billion.
The six cruise ships were expected to be sold in the ensuing years but will now be removed from their fleet over the next 90 days. Carnival already has preliminary agreements for the disposal of the six ships and is currently working towards additional agreements.
Carnival did not state which of their nine cruise lines were having ships retired earlier than expected.
The company expects to resume guest operations, after collaboration with both government and health authorities, in a phased manner, with specific ships and brands returning to service over time to provide its guests with enjoyable vacation experiences.
Carnival anticipates that initial sailings will be from a select number of easily accessible homeports. The company expects future capacity to be moderated by the phased re-entry of its ships, the removal of capacity from its fleet and delays in new ship deliveries.
In preparation for the resumption of its cruises, and consistent with its commitment to provide its guests with a safe and healthy
environment, Carnival is proactively consulting and working in close cooperation with various medical policy experts and public health authorities to develop enhanced procedures and protocols for health and safety onboard its ships.
The company appreciates the excellent working relationship with the health authorities of federal states and local port authorities in Germany, as well as the Italian Coast Guard, Italian Ministry of Transportation, Italian Ministry of Health and others around the world.
A comprehensive restart protocol may include areas such as medical care, screening, testing, mitigation and sanitization addressing arrival and departure at cruise terminals, the boarding and disembarkation process, onboard experiences and shore excursions.
As of May 31, 2020, cumulative advanced bookings for the full year of 2021 capacity currently available for sale are within historical ranges at prices that are down in the low to mid-single digits range including the negative yield impact of FCCs and onboard credits applied, on a comparable basis.
For the full year of 2021, booking volumes for the six weeks ending May 31, 2020, were running meaningfully behind the prior year. However, the company saw an improvement in booking volumes for the six weeks ending May 31, 2020 compared to the prior six weeks.
