"Robust" 2025 is in the Cards for Cruise Vessels, says Carnival

Flash back to March 2020, and cruise shipping as the global poster-child for COVID, with passengers stuck on ships in ports around the wordl, unable to leave as far more questions than answers lingered regarding the mysterious illness.

Less than four years later, the global cruise ship industry is booming again, led by the world's largest, Carnival Corp, which forecast strong bookings for 2025 ahead of the busy summer travel season, riding the wave of strong spending on experiences even as prices increase, sending its shares up about 5% late last week. The resilient demand for cruise vacations also helped Carnival post better-than-expected profit and sales for the fourth quarter, but the company forecast annual profit below estimates due to rising input costs and advertising spending. Adjusted cruise costs, excluding fuel, for the quarter increased 7.4% from 2023 but were better than the firm's projections of about 8%, announced in September.

"2025 is shaping up to be another banner year, with yield growth expected to far outpace historical growth rates and again exceed unit cost growth," CEO Josh Weinstein said in a statement.

The Miami, Florida-based company reported quarterly revenue of $5.94 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $5.93 billion, per data compiled by LSEG.  Its adjusted profit for the quarter was 14 cents per share, above estimates of 8 cents. Still, the company projected annual profit to be $1.70 per share, below estimates of $1.74.

Carnival, like peers Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, has been investing in private-island destinations, seeking to attract young voyagers and boost returns. Operating costs associated with these investments, maintenance costs due to increased dry dock days and expenses from the deal-heavy wave season weighed on the profit forecast.

(Reuters + staff report)