Carnival Cruise Line (CCL 4.45%) has been hit as hard as nearly any company by the coronavirus pandemic. It has had all of its operations suspended globally since mid-March and it plans to keep all of its ships docked until at least May 1.
The company also had to raise money in order to fund its survival, selling bonds with a 12.5% coupon rate to raise $4 billion. That's a hefty price to pay but it should allow the cruise line to come out the other side of this crisis.
Now, the company has canceled a number of cruises well past its May 11 planned closure.
Carnival has canceled some cruises past its planned shutdown. Image source: Carnival Cruise Line.
What has Carnival done?
The cruise line has had to cancel a number of cruises based on the ports certain ships leave from or stop in. These decisions are due to the impact of the coronavirus in specific areas and/or local decisions that have taken the choice out of the company's hands. These cancellations include:
- All Alaska sailings through and including June 30, 2020.
- All San Francisco sailings through 2020.
- All Carnival Radiance sailings through and including November 1, 2020.
- All Carnival Legend sailings through and including October 30, 2020.
San Francisco would have been a new port for the company. Carnival Radiance sailings are being pushed back because the ship's remodel has been delayed.
Rough seas ahead
The reality is that Carnival does not know when any of its ships will set sail again. May 11 is an ambitious date that does not seem likely unless something changes in the current coronavirus pandemic.
