The large cruise ship operator, Carnival Corporation, has rerouted cruise itineraries for 12 ships that were scheduled to go through the Red Sea after two months of missile, drone and hijacking attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
The company said that “given recent developments and in close consultation with global security experts and government authorities,” it has made the decision to reroute itineraries for 12 ships across seven brands, which were scheduled for Red Sea transits through May 2024.
The cruise operator highlighted the fact that the rerouting is expected to have an adjusted earnings per share impact of $0.07 to $0.08 for full year 2024, with the vast majority of the impact in the second quarter.
However, it is believed that the company’s continued strong bookings momentum will deliver outperformance during the year, offsetting the Red Sea rerouting impact.
A growing list of companies have rerouted vessels as the Yemen Houthis group steps up attacks on Israeli ships or ships heading towards Israel.
The company has not seen an impact on booking trends due to the Red Sea situation and has no other Red Sea transits until November 2024.
As it is claimed by Carnival, it has seen an “early and robust start” to the wave season (the cruise industry’s peak booking period), exceeding expectations, with bookings volumes since November hitting an all-time high.
“For 2024, the company continues to have the best booked position on record, with both pricing (in constant currency) and occupancy considerably higher than 2023 levels. In fact, the first half of 2024 is almost fully booked,” the cruise major notes.
Carnival Corporation has a portfolio of cruise lines like AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (UK), Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.
