Royal Caribbean Cancels 18 Cruises Due To Coronavirus Concerns

(RTTNews) - Luxury cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) Thursday said it has cancelled 18 cruises in Southeast Asia due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The company expects the cancellations to have $0.65 per share impact on its full year 2020 earnings. While not currently planned, if the company was to cancel all of its remaining sailings in Asia through the end of April, it would impact 2020 financial performance by an additional $0.55 per share.

"If the travel restrictions and concerns over the outbreak continue for an extended period of time, they could materially impact the company's overall financial performance," the company said in a statement.

The company said it communicates regularly with the CDC, the WHO and other health authorities around the world and has implemented measures to protect its guests and crew. These include denying boarding to those that have travelled from, to or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days and performing mandatory specialized health screenings on at-risk guests and crew.

"It is important that every organization acts responsibly, and we have already taken aggressive steps to minimize risk through boarding restrictions and itinerary changes," said CEO Richard Fain.

Coronavirus outbreak, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, have made more than 42,000 people sick with the total number of deaths at more than 1,000. Most infections and deaths have been reported in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei Province in China, but at least 25 countries have now reported cases