Royal Caribbean Reports Decline In Bookings & Increased Cancellations For Near-term Sailings

(RTTNews) - Royal Caribbean Group, in an update on COVID-19 and Omicron variant impact, said that following a very strong Cyber weekend, the company experienced a decline in bookings and increased cancellations for near-term sailings but to a lesser degree than that experienced with the Delta variant.

Load factors for sailings in the first half of 2022 remain below historical levels. However, sailings for the second half of 2022 continue to be booked within historical ranges, at higher prices with and without Future Cruise Credits (FCCs), with strong demand from the critical U.S. market.

The company is experiencing service disruptions at selected destinations and to date has cancelled or significantly modified 16 destination calls out of 331. The company expects these disruptions to continue in the near term and then decline as the world adjusts to the current trends.

The company said it is constantly learning and adjusting as Omicron appears to be ushering in a new phase in the fight against COVID-19. It expects these factors to have a negative impact in the short term but are optimistic they will lead us to a more pervasive but less severe health environment. It should enable the company to produce a strong transitional year in 2022 and a very strong 2023.