Carnival Corporation Announces Additional Steps to Further Strengthen Ability to Manage through Extended Pause in Guest Operations
Last month the company completed a successful financing effort with a heavily oversubscribed offering of senior secured notes, senior convertible notes and common stock, netting
Since the company paused its guest cruise operations in early March, workforce changes were largely placed on hold, even in the face of no meaningful revenue, to forestall the financial impact on its employees while still meeting its fiscal responsibilities – deferring employee actions beyond that of many others in similar situations during this pandemic. The company continues to support its travel agent partners by paying commissions on canceled cruises and on future cruise credits when guests rebook.
In addition to its continuing efforts to repatriate the many thousands of crew members still on its ships to their home countries, the company is also working closely with governments, regulatory agencies, health and infectious disease care experts around the globe to develop the best practice public health protocols to address the threat of COVID-19 for when guest operations resume. Repatriation efforts include chartered flights as well as rerouting its ships to crew home ports where those ships would not have otherwise sailed. The company is also working closely with its many destination partners as it continues to evaluate the best options and safety protocols for return to service.
"Taking these extremely difficult employee actions involving our highly dedicated workforce is a very tough thing to do. Unfortunately, it's necessary, given the current low level of guest operations and to further endure this pause," said
Added Donald, "We also want to thank our guests for their many thoughtful notes and overall outpouring of support. It is clear there is tremendous anticipation for a return to cruising. It's also encouraging to note that the majority of guests affected by our schedule changes want to sail with us at a later date, with fewer than 38 percent requesting refunds to date. Our booking trends for the first half of 2021, which remain within historical ranges, demonstrate the resilience of our brands and the strength of our loyal recurring customer base, of which 66% are repeat cruisers. In addition, we plan to stagger fleet reentry to optimize demand and operating performance over time."
The cruise industry is a significant contributor to the
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Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
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SOURCE
Roger Frizzell, Carnival Corporation, rfrizzell@carnival.com, (305) 406-7862; Mike Flanagan, LDWW, mike@ldwwgroup.com, (727) 452-4538