Carnival Corporation has reported unprecedented earnings for the third quarter of 2023 in a remarkable show of resilience. The results beat all prior predictions and set the cruise company on a solid path for future growth.

With few new ships on the program except Carnival Jubilee, two Princess cruise ships, and one Cunard ship, Queen Anne, Carnival Corporation has time and money at its hand to bring down the massive mountain of debt it has accumulated over the last three years—something it is doing with considerable success.

Strong Third Quarter Performance

Carnival Corporation, which owns and operates nine different cruise brands, has released its financial results for the third quarter of 2023. 

The company has reported a total revenue of just over 6 billion, a net income of $1.07 billion, and an adjusted net income of $1.18 billion for Q3. This far exceeds the guidance the company released in the second quarter outlook in June. 

The adjusted EBITDA has also surpassed expectations, clocking in at a remarkable $2.22 billion. These figures underscore a trend of increased earnings we have seen from the cruise company over the last year, and which marks a promising phase for Carnival.

Carnival Corporation’s CEO, Josh Weinstein, said: “We delivered over $1 billion to the bottom line with revenue reaching an all-time high. Both revenue and earnings significantly exceeded expectations this quarter enabling us to take up expectations for the year.”

Bookings Surge for All Carnival Brands

Bookings surged during the third quarter of 2023, marking a period of robust growth that exceeded previous records. According to Weinstein, the booking volumes were running nearly 20% above the record-breaking year 2019. 

While the US Market has been performing strongly since the start of operations post-pandemic, the increased level of guests booking cruises wasn’t confined to just one market; both North American brands such as Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, and Carnival Cruise Line and European brands such as AIDA and Costa saw significant demand, reverting to pre-pause levels in Europe.

“We are maintaining strong momentum and continuing to build demand through our improved commercial execution. Booking volumes during the quarter were running nearly 20 percent above 2019 levels and multiples of our capacity growth, which has continued into September.

Read Also: What Cruise Lines Does Carnival Own?

“This has helped us extend the booking curve even further, with our North American brands exceeding historical highs and our European brands essentially achieving pre-pause levels,” said Weinstein.

The data also revealed that the booked position for 2024 exceeds historical ranges at higher prices. 

Weinstein highlighted that this trend aligns well with the company’s strategy: “Our booked position for 2024 is further out than we have ever seen and at strong prices. With less remaining inventory to sell, despite a five percent increase in capacity, we are well positioned to drive pricing higher and deliver strong yield improvement in 2024.”

Looking Ahead to 2023

For 2023, Carnival expects adjusted EBITDA to come in just shy of $4.2 billion. The company also projects net per diems to increase approximately 7.0% compared to 2019. And with booking levels where they are now, ships are expected to sail at 100% occupancy rates or higher for the year.

However, the best piece of news is the fact that Carnival has started chipping away at the vast mountain of debt it has accumulated over the last couple of years.

David Bernstein, Carnival Corporation & plc Chief Financial Officer: “We are accelerating our debt repayment efforts and aggressively managing down our interest expense. In just the last six months, we have reduced our debt balance by over 10 percent or nearly $4 billion. With improving performance, growing operating cash flows and $5.7 billion of liquidity, we are on a path to end the year with less than $31 billion of debt.”

With just four news ships on the horizon; Carnival Jubilee, Cunard Line’s Queen Anne, Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess (all three due in 2024), and Star Princess (expected 2025), Carnival Corporation has set itself up for a period of consolidating its financial growth without introducing additional risk factors.

While there has been a negative vibe around Carnival Corporation’s financial position since the pandemic, it seems that Josh Weinstein has found the magic formula to bring the world’s largest cruise company back on top. 

However, as we’ve seen in 2020, it takes one major event to bring havoc to the cruise industry, and it would be interesting to see how Weinstein plans to protect his company from potential events in the future. 

Carnival Cruise Line has confirmed that Wi-Fi pricing will be increasing for Australia cruises beginning on Monday, October 16, 2023.

Guests who are currently booked or book before mid-October can still lock in the current pricing for their sailing no matter what the departure date, but after October 16 the package prices are set to increase.

Carnival Australia Wi-Fi Prices Increasing

Guests booked on upcoming Australian sailings with Carnival Cruise Line have noticed encouragement to lock in lower rates on Wi-Fi packages before October 16, 2023, when package prices will be increased.

“You should know that we are adjusting Wi-Fi pricing,” the notification through the cruise line’s app reads. “Make sure to add your Wi-Fi package early to lock in the current package price for your upcoming cruise.”

The current pricing for packages depends on the service selected. Carnival offers three plans – social, value, and premium – that are priced at AUD $15.30, $17.85, and $21.25 per person, per day ($9.83, $11.47, and $13.65 in USD, respectively).

While the new prices have not been revealed, a further note on the lock-in notification notes that the current savings are “up to 15% (and up to 34% vs new onboard pricing” when packages are booked before sailing.

This would indicate a price increase of approximately 19%, which could make the purchase rates approximately AUD $18.20, $21.24, and $25.29 after the price hike.

At the moment, pricing for the Wi-Fi packages for US sailings is $12.75 for the social plan, $17 for the value plan, and $18.70 for the premium plan. Even after the price increase, the Australian package prices will still likely be below the rates charged on US sailings.

The “Social” plan offers guests access to popular social media websites and apps, such as Facebook, Instagram, X, SnapChat, and others, but does not permit access to general websites or apps.

The “Value” plan offers social media as well as email, news, sports, weather, and banking access, but does not support streaming services.

The “Premium” plan is the most extensive, covering everything in the Social and Value plans as well as video calling, Skype, Zoom, and other options at speeds up to three times faster than the Value plan.

All Wi-Fi packages must be purchased for the full length of the cruise, and are not available to purchase for a single day or prorated partial cruise.

Carnival Cruise Line has been rolling out StarLink Maritime access across its fleet, bringing more reliable connectivity and faster speeds to guests no matter where they may be sailing. As of July 2023, eleven ships in the Carnival fleet have been StarLink equipped, with more ships being outfitted each month.

“For many of our guests, it has become more and more important to maintain the type of connectivity at sea that they’ve become accustomed to at home, and of course, to share the unforgettable experiences of their cruise with friends and family,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation.

While Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Splendor – the two ships currently offering Australian cruises – are not yet equipped with StarLink, that upgrade is likely coming in the near future.

Will US Wi-Fi Package Prices Change?

There is some speculation that upping the Wi-Fi package fees for Australian cruises indicates a price change is also coming to Carnival Cruise Line’s Wi-Fi packages for US cruises, though this is not likely.

The price increase has been brought to the attention of the cruise line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, who confirmed the increase and where it applies. “This is for Australian cruises only,” Heald said.

Of course, pricing on any cruise vacation add-ons – whether it is Wi-Fi, a drinks package, shore excursions, gratuities, etc. – are also subject to change at any time. Booking packages early ensures guests the best prices and availability no matter where or when they set sail.

The Port of Dover has ended its season with Carnival Pride after the ship made 10 total sailings from the UK homeport, offering a range of European sailings through the summer months.

Thousands of passengers have sailed on the ship this season, creating amazing experiences with the cruise line’s distinctive FUN voyages to a variety of remarkable ports of call.

Dover Bids Farewell to Carnival Ship

Carnival Pride sailed away from Dover, UK for the last time on September 10, 2023, and the port has now been able to verify that the ship’s 10 sailings from the homeport have been a brilliant success. In fact, 2023 has been the port’s most successful season ever with Carnival Cruise Line.

“It’s been an amazing season with Carnival Pride. We have loved seeing her take pride of place in front of the White Cliffs week after week and her guests’ embarking on their holiday of a lifetime,” said Sonia Limbrick, Head of Cruise at the Port of Dover.

The 88,500-gross-ton, Spirit-class Carnival Pride visited diverse European ports of call during her season from Dover, including destinations in Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, and more.

This year’s sailings of Carnival Pride continue the long-standing partnership between the Port of Dover and Carnival Cruise Line, a collaboration that both parties are eager to continue.

“15 years since our first visit from Carnival Splendor, I’m proud to see our brilliant relationship with Carnival reach a new level of success. We eagerly await their return in June 2024 and are already preparing more world class travel experiences for their passengers,” said Limbrick.

Carnival Pride is now spending a short autumn season offering sailings from Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy, covering top eastern Mediterranean ports in Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro, and Italy. On October 28, the ship will depart Europe on a 15-night transatlantic sailing that will bring her to Tampa, Florida to spend the winter offering Caribbean sailings before she moves to Baltimore, Maryland in April 2024.

Carnival Legend in 2024

Up next for Dover will be Carnival Legend, sister ship to Carnival Pride, scheduled to begin sailing from the UK homeport in June 2024 with a short series of longer European sailings through August.

“Carnival Pride’s sailings this season have given thousands of guests great memories to look back on, and now we are planning to create more special experiences for Carnival Legend’s deployment during our next European season in 2024,” said Sarah Beth Reno, Senior Vice President of Guest Operations at Carnival Cruise Line.

Carnival Legend will offer four 9-night sailings from Dover in 2024, all of which will be roundtrip voyages except the August 18 departure that will be a one-way trip to Rome. Three longer, 12-night cruises are also on offer, two of which will go to Iceland and the third, departing Dover on July 28, 2024, which will visit Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Scotland.

As both Spirit-class ships, Carnival Pride and Carnival Legend can each welcome 2,124 guests per cruise at double occupancy, and onboard are approximately 900 international crew members to provide the cruise line’s distinctive service.

In addition to Carnival Cruise Line, other lines that feature Dover as a port visit or homeport include TUI Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, and more. The port is also a leading operator for cargo and ferry traffic, handling one-third of the UK’s cargo trade with the European Union and more than 11 million passengers annually.