Cruises are heading to different ports because of the Baltimore bridge collapse, and Carnival says it's only taking a little loss

28.03.2024 - 08:01 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean / Josh Weinstein / Cruises

Tuesday's Baltimore bridge collapse may marginally affect the world's largest cruise company.

All vessel traffic has been halted at Baltimore's port, stopping both containerships and cruise ships.

Josh Weinstein, the CEO of Carnival, addressed the incident at the start of Wednesday's earnings call, thanking emergency services and the Coast Guard. Noting the "fluid" situation, he said the port closure's impact was not factored into full-year guidance or the earnings presentation, which covered the three months ending February 29.

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"We expect the situation to have less than a $10 million impact on a full-year guidance," Weinstein said.

The company said it secured a temporary home port in Norfolk, Virginia, for as long as needed, which should minimize operational changes. One of its cruises, the Carnival Legend, departed on Sunday for a seven-day round trip from the Baltimore port and will return instead to Norfolk. Its passengers will be bussed back to Baltimore, Weinstein said.

Without factoring in the collapse, Carnival's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization for 2024 are expected to be $5.63 billion, according to its earnings release.

Carnival stock fell about 3% at 10:20 a.m. in New York after the earnings call before paring losses. Competitors Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line were up around 3% and 6% respectively at closing.

Other cruise companies that sail out of Baltimore are similarly adjusting their plans.

The second-largest cruise operator, Royal Caribbean, has about 30 cruises out of Baltimore scheduled for the rest of this year. One left Baltimore on Saturday, with plans to return on April 4. The company is working on "alternatives" for that ship and others slated to sail out of the port, per the Washington Post.

American Cruise Line also frequents the Baltimore port on East Coast itineraries — its American Glory cruise is set to sail next week. The company has over 30 cruises scheduled from the Baltimore port for the rest of 2024.

The Baltimore port is the 17th-largest in the US, and the bridge collapse has left six construction workers presumed dead. While the cruise industry has adapted swiftly and does not expect the collapse to affect its bottom line significantly, the port closure is expected to hit the auto industry especially hard.