Norwegian cruise line eyeing test. The CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, on Tuesday, stated that test cruises required by the CDC could begin in January.
“It’s not a race for us, we want to get this 100 percent right with flawless execution,” he said in a conference call with financial analysts.
“There’s still a lot to learn. Nuances on how to execute those orders and how to implement the 74 recommendations (from the Sail Healthy Panel) seamlessly.”
The CEO stated this in a conference call. The call took place when the company released third-quarter 2020 results. The results showed an adjusted net loss of $638.7 million, compared to an adjusted net income of $481.5 million in the same period in 2019.
While progress is being made, Del Rio said he is looking at 2021 as “a transition year” and 2022 as the first full year for full fleet operation since 2019. “2021 is the road to normalization and 2022 is normalization,” he said.
Norwegian Cruise Line Eyeing Cruises: CDC Lifts No-Sail Order
The CDC has had a no-sail order for cruise ships in place since the COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March. There hasn’t been a single cruise out of a U.S. port since then. The cruise industry has been designing new COVID-related protocols to put in place when cruising resumes. Norwegian cruise line eyeing test. A panel of experts created by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in September released a 66-page report. The report contained 74 recommendations for things lines could do to bring back cruising safely.
The recommendations include a call to install testing equipment for all passengers and crew. Also, social distancing on ships, and restrictions on passenger movements in ports. The major trade group for the cruise industry is the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). In September, CLIA also released guidelines for a healthy restart to cruising.
Stocks Rise on COVID-19 Vaccine announcement
Pfizer announced on Monday that it’s COVID-19 vaccine was showing more than 90% efficacy among participants. This news has made the stock market reach an all-time high. Stocks soared, including that of major cruise lines.
According to Del Rio, “Over the last 24 hours, bookings were pretty good, better than the previous four or five Mondays.”
“I think that’s linked to the vaccine news since we don’t have any promotion or marketing. I do think that was positive news.”
He noted that the vaccine may take some time and Pfizer won’t be the only producer. More therapeutics are showing progress since there are new and faster ways to test.
“We now have some wind at our back,” Del Rio said. “The encouragement level hasn’t been this high in a long time.”
Pfizer’s encouraging vaccine news on Monday gave some consumers the confidence to book cruises. The data from Pfizer’s late-stage vaccine trial news sent the U.S. stock markets rising. Norwegian and other organizations grew by almost 30%. Although most industries have suffered from the pandemic, the cruise industry is among the hardest hit. The industry came to a halt in mid-March when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a no-sail order. The order came after coronavirus outbreaks occurred on several ships.
In lifting the no-sail order, the CDC laid out a phased approach which would help cruise companies resume operations in U.S. waters. With the replacement of the no-sail order and the advances in COVID-19 vaccines, Del Rio said;
“The excitement level hasn’t been this high in a long time.”
Norwegian is in talks with the CDC about how to interpret the conditional sailing order, according to Del Rio. They hope to launch some “trial sailings” with the CDC in January. The test cruises would work to review the health protocols Norwegian put in place. It would see if they limit the spread of the virus and protect passengers.
Norwegian CFO Mark Kempa said the company has set aside $300 million for investments in health and safety. Del Rio added that the funds would likely span over the “next few quarters.”
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