Carnival has announced additional measures it is implementing to help cope with any potential longer extension in suspended cruises.
Carnival Taking Action Incase the Suspension Goes on Longer
With no clear date when the cruise industry will make a full comeback the Carnival Corporation is working on ways to further strengthen its liquidity. This is due to the possibility of another extension on the pause in operations due to the global pandemic.
Last month the company completed a successful financing effort with a heavily oversubscribed offering of senior secured notes, senior convertible notes and common stock, netting $6.4 billion of additional liquidity.
To further strengthen liquidity, Carnival Corporation and its brands are announcing a combination of layoffs, furloughs, reduced work weeks and salary reductions across the company, including senior management. These moves will contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in cash conservation on an annualized basis.
Cruise Hive already posted that Carnival UK is cutting 450 jobs at its headquarters in Southampton. This will impact Carnival-owned brands including P&O Cruises and Cunard Line.
Carnival Corporation & plc President & CEO Arnold Donald, said:
“Taking these extremely difficult employee actions involving our highly dedicated workforce is a very tough thing to do. Unfortunately, it’s necessary, given the current low level of guest operations and to further endure this pause.”
“We care deeply about all our employees and understanding the impact this is having on so many strengthens our resolve to do everything we can to return to operations when the time is right. We look forward to the day when many of those impacted are returning to work with us and we look forward to the day, when appropriate, that once again our ships and crew are delighting millions of people at sea and we can be there for the many nations and millions of people who depend on the cruise industry for their livelihood.”
The repatriation effort continues across the different fleets including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Cunard Line. More than 10,000 have already been repatriated including via arranged charter flights.
The cruise company also needs to be ready for when cruises to resume and crew members will still be paid a base salary to help support them during these difficult times. Carnival is working closely with governments including destinations which ships sail to ready for when services begin.
Also Read: Carnival Cruise Line Sends Letter to Crew Members Detailing Salary
CEO Arnold Donald also revealed that fewer than 38 percent of guests have requested refunds. Instead, they have been re-booking their cruises for a future date and taking advantage of additional perks and Future Cruise Credit the cruise lines have been offering. This will but Carnival in a good position when cruises start to resume.
Carnival continues to work with health agencies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to look at new protocols and procedures to help protect guests and crew moving forward.
Cruises for Carnival owned brands are set to resume from August including eight ships operated by Carnival Cruise Line. However, many ships will remain on hold and a phased return to full capacity will be implemented as demand requires. Cruises aren’t expected to back fully until 2021. You can read our full list of when cruises will resume right here.
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