Carnival CEO says bookings for 2021 ‘are strong’ despite coronavirus outbreak
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People apparently still want to cruise.
The cruise industry, like most other travel industries, has been significantly impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Aside from major cruise lines suspending all cruises during the pandemic, multiple outbreaks have been linked to their ships, leaving some temporarily unable to dock and disembark passengers.
Despite all of this, however, one major cruise line’s CEO says that cruise bookings for 2021 “are strong.”
Carnival CEO Arnold Donald recently spoke about the outbreak’s impact on Carnival Cruise Lines and the industry in general with CNBC. Based on his statements, he appears to have an optimistic view of the future.
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“It’s been devastating temporarily,” he said. “Travel is going to return, travel and leisure, and when it does, we’ll return with it. Social gathering at some point will return, and when it does, people will want to cruise.”
He followed this up by confirming, “We’ve had substantial bookings. Bookings for 2021 are strong.”
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Fox News previously reported that analysts at UBS, a global research firm, said that bookings for cruises in 2019 had increased by 9 percent from the same time period the previous year. At the time, however, it was pointed out that some of the increase was possibly due to vacationers rescheduling canceled trips.
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But while Carnival’s CEO may have an optimistic view of 2021, 2020 may still be a difficult year. Several major cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean and Carnival, are currently not operating, and recent news suggests that further suspensions may be on the way: Carnival Cruise Line recently extended the suspension of all cruises through at least June 26, and canceled others through the end of 2020 altogether. The cruise line announced its latest cancellations on Monday in a “Health and Sailing Update” shared in response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Fox News’ Michael Bartiromo contributed to this report.
