Royal Caribbean Group Reports Bookings Up as More Ships Set Sail

Royal Caribbean Group announced that despite continued financial losses associated with the slow restart of the cruise industry amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, bookings are climbing and ships are sailing again.

According to financial results for the second quarter of 2021, Royal Caribbean reported a U.S. GAAP Net Loss of $1.3 billion and an Adjusted Net Loss of $1.3 billion, an improvement from the U.S. GAAP Net Loss of $1.6 billion reported during the same period in 2020.

The cruise company also revealed monthly cash burn for the second quarter was approximately $330 million, a slight increase attributed to the costs of returning additional ships into operation. In the U.S. alone, Royal Caribbean will have 12 ships sailing by August 31.

The cruise company announced it would be sailing its full fleet once again by the spring of 2022 and detailed the lineup of ships returning to service, led by the return of Oasis of the Seas in September.

“As we look forward, there is very positive momentum with our ships resuming operations and a healthy demand environment,” Royal Caribbean CFO Jason T. Liberty said. “We are very optimistic with our accelerated start in the United States and globally. We anticipate 80 percent of our fleet to be back in service by year-end delivering the world’s best vacations. That is the first step on our pathway back to delivering superior returns.”

Royal Caribbean revealed it received about 50 percent more new bookings than the first quarter, with trends improving each month. The cruise company was also accepting about 90 percent more bookings each week when compared to the first quarter.

“We are very encouraged by the continued pent-up demand for cruising shown by our accelerated booking trends globally and the elevated onboard spend we are seeing from our guests on current sailings,” Liberty continued. “We remain confident we are on track to resuming our trajectory of delivering superior results.”