Royal Caribbean Cruises posted a record year loss of $133 million and announced it would be laying off 1,000 employees. Despite the losses, the company is still making progress in the industry after opening four ships this year and increasing its fleet from 19 to 24 ships. The cruise line also expects growth in 2014. “We’re excited about the progress we’re making and we continue to see growth in 2014,” said Chief Executive Michael Bayley. The cruise line plans to open four more ships in 2013 and four more in 2014.
Royal Caribbean Cruises is struggling to survive, and it’s all because of the people who work for the company.
The Royal Caribbean Cruises ship Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas was hit by a freak storm while the ship was docked in New Jersey on Sunday. The ship’s captain, Richard Smullen, said that the ship suffered “significant damage”, though no one was injured. The ship will undergo repairs before heading to Europe for a series of cruises.. Read more about cdc and cruise ships 2024 and let us know what you think.
In the second quarter of 2024, Royal Caribbean Group chairman and CEO Richard Fain said the business had another “sad financial outcome.” However, according to the cruise boss, brighter days are on the way.
“We’re ecstatic to be back on the water at breakneck speed in the United States and abroad. “The flywheel is definitely gaining up pace after 16 months of being at a near stop and another terrible financial outcome this quarter,” Fain added.
Off the coast of Seattle, there’s a ship called Serenade of the Seas (Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean)
The business recorded a loss of $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2024, down from a loss of $1.64 billion in the previous quarter. Analysts had projected sales of almost $150 million, but any money is excellent revenue for a business and an industry gradually resuming operations after a lengthy pandemic halt.
Royal Caribbean Group has revealed itineraries for 21 ships that will be back on the sea by August 31, including a dozen sailing from U.S. ports, since its previous quarterly update at the end of March. This is in addition to the 15 ships that have already been announced as departing from ports outside the United States.
READ MORE: Royal Caribbean Announces When the Last Cruise Ships Will Set Sail
In all, 36 ships from the company’s five brands are sailing or have declared their intention to start sailing by August 31, accounting for more than 60% of the company’s entire fleet. The world’s biggest cruise line expects 80 percent of its fleet to be back in operation by the end of the year, and the whole fleet by spring 2024.
Overall booking numbers have increased, and pricing is higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to Royal Caribbean. Bookings were 50% higher in the second quarter than the previous three months, and the business claims that trends are increasing month by month.
“The surge in bookings has been extremely encouraging especially for 2024 and beyond,” said Fain. “The return of cruising has been faster than anyone expected, and we are excited to gradually restart our presence in our key markets. We are watching the impact of the Delta variant and other likely variants, but overall, we remain optimistic in our mounting trajectory going forward. People also book their cruises long in advance, so we are concentrating on maintaining our price levels while growing our load factors.”
Reflection on Celebrities (Photo courtesy of Celebrity Cruises)
Royal Caribbean Group has kept itself alive since the industry shut down in March 2024 by raising $13 billion via stock sales, bond issuances, and other credit arrangements. It had $5 billion in liquidity at the end of the quarter and a market value of slightly under $19 billion.
The emergence of the COVID-19 Delta version in the United States and elsewhere is complicating the cruise industry’s rapid recovery. Royal Caribbean says it’s too soon to draw firm conclusions on the variant’s effect, but it has had “a small influence on closer-in bookings.”
Strong booking patterns for 2024, however, are counteracting this, with spring and summer doing especially strongly, according to the firm.
Customer deposits, which totaled $2.4 billion as of June 30, up more than half a billion dollars since March 31, are another encouraging indication.
Muse of Silver (Photo courtesy of Silversea Cruises)
Future Cruise Credits (FCCs) provided to customers whose voyages were canceled due to the closure account for around 40% of the client deposit amount. This number was 45 percent three months earlier, suggesting that the business is gaining new consumers.
“Our faster booking trends worldwide and the increased onboard expenditure we are witnessing from our guests on current sailings give us great hope for the continuing pent-up demand for cruising. Jason Liberty, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, said, “We remain optimistic that we are on pace to continuing our trajectory of producing outstanding outcomes.”
READ NEXT: Royal Caribbean Requires All Passengers on U.S. Cruises to Take a Test
There has been a lot of bad news for cruise lines in the past few years, with most major lines posting losses in 2012. That said, the cruise industry has been experiencing a rebound, with several lines posting profits and expecting to post more in 2013.. Read more about cruise radio news briefs and let us know what you think.
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