Passengers hoping to sail with Norwegian Cruise Line during the summer will now have to wait until fall.
The cruise line, third largest behind Carnival and Royal Caribbean, extended its suspension of cruise sailings until at least October 1, 2020. A previous sail date announcement had the cruise line sailing again on August 1.
Per the South Florida Business Journal, “the trip cancellations exclude September voyages departing from Seattle that would visit Alaskan ports.
Norwegian is also canceling some voyages throughout the month of October, particularly in Canada and New England states, because of travel and port restrictions. Six ships will experience additional canceled trips throughout October, according to announcement from the company.”
Three Norwegian cruise line brands will be impacted: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas.
Motley Fool reports that, “it’s likely only a matter of time before Carnival and Royal Caribbean follow Norwegian’s lead and suspend voyages until at least October.”
The current stock price for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings LTD is $19.10 per share as of June 18.
Additional reporting from Motley Fool suggests that the three main cruise lines will continue to take a beat in terms of stock prices as the companies do not yet have approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to resume cruise ship itineraries. Similarly, other countries have not yet granted access to their ports.
Recent reports from the Caribbean from CARICOM member countries show that the much visited island destinations for cruise lines are still fighting against the spread of Covid-19.
Haiti, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic continue to struggle with infections. Other ports of call – Barbado, Bahamas, Cayman Islands and others – are also dealing with outbreaks and deaths.
As Motley Fool continues to report, “All three major cruise lines have taken significant steps to protect liquidity. Employees have been furloughed and laid off, capital expenses have been pushed back, and marketing budgets have been eliminated. The problem is that it costs money to keep cruise ships operational. Carnival, for example, still burns roughly $1 billion each month to keep its ships in working order.
If cruising returns in the fall and gets somewhat back to normal next year, then all three of these brands are likely to make it through without filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Loyal cruisers may return for short sailings with stops at private islands and social distancing while on board. That’s not a profitable model for the cruise lines as many of those customers pay lower prices in general. While those limited sailings may break even or eke out a small profit, the overall business will still lose money.”
At Waks and Barnett, aka, CruiseLawyers.com, we’ve been speaking with both crewmembers and passengers from many cruise lines who are victims of cruise ship accidents, harrassment, sexual assault or who have been impacted by Coronavirus. If you want to speak with an attorney, we’re here to help. Our contact information is: 1-800-905-2891. Call today for a free review of your claim.