Carnival Cruise at $4.4 Billion Loss Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic

Carnival Cruises, which includes brands such as Princess Cruises, Cunard and P&O, selling SIX ships is a sign of the industry’s bleak future

As the Coronavirus crisis continues to collapse the cruise industry, Carnival Cruise is planning to sell SIX ships out of 27 vessels the company operates, as a result of a $4.4 billion loss reported in the second quarter of 2020.

Carnival Cruise which includes leading cruise lines such as Princess Cruises, Cunard and P&O is one of ten cruise lines owned by the world’s largest cruise ship operator, the American-British corporation. In 2018 the company was estimated to hold an 8.9% share of cruise industry revenue and 22.0% of passengers.

The company reported a fall in revenues in the period to May 31, taking in $700 million, a small portion of its $4.8 billion revenues for the same period in 2019, The Guardian reported.

All the company’s cruises were suspended in mid-March after there had been coronavirus outbreaks on 36 cruise ships across the industry worldwide.

The company said it was “unable to definitively predict” when cruises would return to normal, making it impossible to make an earnings forecast.
Carnival has offered travelers the opportunity to suspend their bookings for a future date, but half of them requested a cash refund, the company added.

Maintenance of ships and administration costs the company $250 million a month.
The company said an estimated 21,000 ship staff are still stuck on board of 49 ships, which cannot dock due to government restrictions.

Read more about: Carnival Cruises, Coronavirus, Pandemics