Things aren’t going right for the cruise industry at all. With world’s biggest cruise line Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd announcing a more than expected loss in the quarter 2, two other cruise companies Seabourn and Holland America Line have cancelled their upcoming operations for more than three months. These news are certainly not going to cheer up the travel industry looking for some silver lining in these gloomy times. Just a week ago Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) had announced that its ocean-going cruise line members have agreed to voluntarily suspend U.S. cruise operations until at least 31 October 2020. The Association had then issued a statement on behalf of its members.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd has announced that its revenues fell a gut-wrenching 93% year over year to $175.8 million, beating estimates by more than $17 million. The company warned that the “magnitude, duration, and speed of COVID-19 remains uncertain” and expects losses of “unknown magnitude” in the third quarter and fiscal year 2020.
Meanwhile, Seabourn, the ultra-luxury travel experience, announced that it will cancel upcoming voyages for three cruise ships in its fleet as a part of its pause in global ship operations. The announcement applies to Seabourn Encore, Seabourn Ovation, and Seabourn Sojourn with each ship having a different “effective through” date. The brand had previously announced a pause in its global ship operations from March 14 to November 20, 2020, depending on the ship, effectively cancelling all voyages scheduled to operate during that timeframe. The decision to cancel additional voyages is a proactive action to deal with the circumstances continuing to evolve from the global response to the COVID-19 situation.
“We’ve been saying for some time that our resumption of service will come gradually, and this action reflects that discussion. The health, safety and well-being of our guests, crew and the people in destinations we visit remain a top priority,” said Josh Leibowitz, president of Seabourn. “Like many who watch the travel industry, we are encouraged by the signs emerging around the world that point to travel’s progress toward return. When our expert science and medical advisors and our destinations support the ability to resume travel on Seabourn, we’ll be ready.”
Another US based cruise company Holland America Line extended its cruise operations pause through December 15. It said that with the continuation of travel and port restrictions due to global health concerns, Holland America Line is extending its pause of cruise operations and cancelling departures on all ships through Dec. 15, 2020. The pause extension affects Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal, Pacific Coastal, South America, Antarctica, Hawaii, South Pacific, Australia and Asia itineraries.
Recognizing the vital role travel advisors play in the success of the cruise industry, Holland America Line has said that it will protect travel advisor commissions on bookings for cancelled cruises. As previously announced, Holland America Line paused global cruise operations and cancelled all Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England cruises for 2020; as well as additional departures from the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 2020; and select Hawaii itineraries for early 2021.
So, its still some time, before we can see a happy cruise sailing in the sea and with many countries witnessing a second wave of COVID-19 infections, we are surely looking towards an uncertain future.