South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Carnival Corp. expects full fleet back to be in service in spring 2022
While Carnival Corp. posted an adjusted net loss of $2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021, CEO Arnold Donald said 61% of the fleet was operating as of Nov. 30.
In addition, he said, the full fleet was expected back by spring of 2022.
“Since resuming guest cruise operations, we have established effective protocols for COVID-19 and its variants and have returned
65,000 team members and
50 ships, all while delivering an exceptional guest experience to over 1.2 million guests and counting,” Donald said. “Our cash from operations turned positive in the month of November, and we expect consistently positive cash flow beginning in the second quarter of 2022 as additional ships resume guest cruise operations.”
He said the company enters the new year with $9.4 billion of liquidity, essentially the same as last year but with significantly improved cash flow generation ahead. Carnival has strengthened its financial position in 2021 to withstand potential volatility, Donald said.
Customer deposits increased $360 million in the fourth quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter the company has seen an increase in customer deposits.
Occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 58%, an improvement over the 54% in the third quarter.
“With over 60% of our capacity now in operation and the remainder planned by spring, we are well-positioned for our seasonally strong summer period,” Donald said.
“Booking volumes continue to build for the remainder of 2022 and well into 2023 and we are achieving those early bookings with strong demand and pricing.”