Luxury cruise liner operator Carnival Corp is planning to sell at least six cruise ships in the coming days as the company attempt to shore up its financing given the continued slump in demand. The announcement comes just days after Carnival Corp's chief executive officer, Arnold Donald, had told investors that the company would be accelerating the retirement of some of its ships.
Apart from the six cruise ships, Carnival Corp divulged that it was engaging in talks and negotiations with various companies that would result in more of its ships leaving its fleet. Donald revealed the company's plans during an online webinar after he was asked about their plans for their older cruise ships. During the discussion, Donald hinted that the first ships to be let go will likely be the company's Fantasy-class ships, the oldest in its fleet.
The Fantasy-class ships include the Carnival Fantasy, the oldest of the fleet (built in 1990), the Ecstasy, Sensation, Fascination, Imagination, Inspiration, Elation, and Paradise. Donald clarified that most of the ships are still functionally sound and most of the company's customers do love sailing on the particular class of cruise liners.
A preliminary statement released before the disclosure of the company's earnings for the second quarter revealed that the Carnival Corp is moving ahead with the removal of some ships during its fiscal 2020 year. The company originally didn't plan to sell any of its ships, but the circumstances have forced them to do so. The statement indicated that they had already found buyers for six of their ships, all of which are expected to leave the fleet within the next 90 days.
When asked about the company's yet-to-be delivered cruise ships, Donald stated that most, if not all, of the shipyards that are building their ships, had to be shut down when the pandemic hit. This included the shipyard that is constructing its highly-anticipated new cruise liner called the Mardi Gras.
Donald had explained during the webinar that Carnival Corp will be restarting its business with significantly fewer ships than those in active operation before the coronavirus pandemic happened. He added that the change will affect some destinations and some routes will be temporarily suspended depending on the applicable rules and regulations that apply.
Each destination that is visited by the company's cruise ships has its own pandemic control and regulations in place, which means that passengers simply cannot disembark without following protocol. The executive noted that it will still take quite some time for the company to return to pre-pandemic levels in terms of its destinations.
