Carnival Forecast
Carnival Corporation has reaffirmed its previous earnings guidance in the range of $2.25 to $2.35, compared to 2009 earnings of $2.24, while the cost of fuel is expected to increase $440 million over 2009 or an additional $0.55 per share. In the company’s recent Q2 earnings call, Vice Chairman and COO Howard Frank said that booking volume and pricing for the rest of the year are holding up well. With analysts’ average estimate being $2.35, the market reaction was tempered; the stock moved down from reaching $36 the day before the June 22 earnings to call to just below $33 by the end of the week. The stock continued to drop this week in a general market decline pushed down by low consumer confidence.
Carnival Cruise Lines’ Deployment 2011
Cruise Industry News has estimated Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2011 deployment based on published itineraries. The cruise line will see a 2.7 percent increase in capacity to 3,534,666 passengers compared to 3,441,688 in 2010. Notable changes include Carnival sailing additional varied itineraries in the Caribbean, offering passengers more choices on the same vessels in terms of short and week-long cruises. Seven-day Caribbean cruises see a 3.4 percent increase in capacity; while short cruises jump 5.1 percent.
Korean Cruising
South Korea sees itself as uniquely positioned to take advantage of any major breakthrough in Asian cruising and has undertaken aggressive cruise development plans in nearly every corner of the peninsula. Most cruise calls are currently in Jeju, Busan, Incheon and Mokpo, but Korea expects the world to know the city of Yeosu when it hosts Expo 2012. Korea is also touting the cities of Donghae, Sokcho, Ulsan, Masan, Pyeongtaek, and Gunsan as potential new cruise ports.
And there is more: Legislation has been introduced by Senator John McCain that would fully repeal the Jones Act, allowing foreign flag ships to sail between U.S. ports without calling at a foreign port as is now the requirement; Cruise Industry News has also noted the exterior design of new ships, or rather, the lack of such, introducing ships that some call ugly.
