Cruise Industry tips

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings doesn’t expect expect to see his a slowdown in its revenue, executives said Wednesday.

Aman, in partnership with Cruise Saudi, plans to debut an ultra-luxury motor yacht in 2027 for small-ship cruising. The luxury group said the vessel will be the world’s first convergence between an ultra-luxury ship and a private yacht.

Norwegian Cruise Line executives are optimistic about demand returning to the Middle East region in 2024 after cutting some trips in response to the Israel-Hamas war.

Norwegian Cruise Line has removed Israel from its itineraries through 2024 due to the country’s ongoing conflict with Hamas.

Carnival Corp’s Australian unit has been ordered to pay the medical expenses of a woman who contracted Covid-19, with a judge ruling that the cruise ship operator misled passengers about safety risks in a landmark class action ruling.

Carnival Cruise executives had their conference call to discuss third-quarter results Friday, and Wall Street analysts kept asking about the risk of a consumer slowdown.

Royal Caribbean Group received a strong boost in its booking volume thanks to relaxed Covid protocols, the cruise company’s executives said on an earnings call Thursday. 

Norwegian Cruise Line grew its occupancy level despite increasing its pricing in the third quarter. The cruise company expects it will fill its ships in 2023 even with higher pricing and uncertain macroeconomic conditions, executives said during an earnings call Tuesday.

Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said, during Wednesday’s earnings call for its fiscal fourth quarter that ended on November 30, some consumers are a bit weary about booking cruises with Covid and flu cases on the rise. But that didn’t dampen his optimism about 2023 with Carnival seeing a surge in bookings for the new year, after years of seeing its business being dogged by the pandemic with onboard outbreaks, deaths, and plenty of bad publicity.

Royal Caribbean Group heads into 2023 with booking demand stronger than it was in 2019, a fully operational fleet, and a passenger market ready to splurge on onboard experiences. 

Lindblad Expeditions expects it will have record revenue in 2023, even though it accumulated a net loss of over $100 million in 2022, Lindblad executives said during a Tuesday earnings call. 

Norwegian Cruise Line plans to cut across the company in 2023, even as demand surges, in order to increase its profit margins, executives said during a Tuesday earnings call.

Frank J. Del Rio will step down as president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, effective June 30, the cruise company announced Monday. Harry J. Sommer, president and CEO of the company’s Norwegian Cruise Line brand, will officially succeed him on July 31. The transition process starts on April 1.

Royal Caribbean Group saw strong revenue growth driven by strong customer onboard spending and guests new to cruises in the first quarter, executives said in an earnings call on Thursday.

Lindblad Expeditions founder and Co-chair of Board of Directors Sven-Olof Lindblad will become CEO, effective June 30, the cruise company announced Wednesday. He will be replacing Dolf Berle, the current CEO, who is pursuing a non-competitive opportunity in Dallas.

Outgoing Norwegian Cruise Line CEO and President Frank Del Rio took first place among the highest paid cruise CEOs, with $8.7 million in compensation in 2022. Cruise executives were evaluated largely based on how well they led their companies as their industry recovered after a rough two years of Covid with little-to-zero demand.

China’s first international cruise in three years set sail on Friday, heading from Shanghai to Japan in a boost for the country’s beleaguered cruise industry following the pandemic, state media reported.