Carnival Corp. Faces Middle-Class Malaise

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Wall Street Journal had a small article today about Carnival Corp’s earnings which were to be reported today. Article further stated “The deeper problem that Carnival faces is one of middle-class malaise. It isn’t a question of how quickly households will recover from the Great Recession, but whether they will at all.” Article further indicated that about half of the company’s profit is in U.S. dollars, 35% in euros and remaining 15% in U.K. sterling. I found this information about HAL’s parent company interesting. Unfortunately, I subscribe to the print edition so cannot provide a link. Barbara

[tcook052]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903374004576581062003684424.html

And Carnival's response:

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/carnival-corporation-we-dont-see-middle-class-malaise-stock-pops-8.html/

Carnival Corporation: We Don’t See Middle Class Malaise, Stock Pops 8% (http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/carnival-corporation-we-dont-see-middle-class-malaise-stock-pops-8.html/)

[jhannah]

A middle class malaise seems to be a logical conclusion to me. All of us with retirement investments have seen significant dives in net worth over the past few years. Perhaps there are many who are cruising less right now or taking a "time out," and are not going to resume booking until/unless they see growth in their financial cushion.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the article.

The middle is getting hit hard. In the last month 5 more homes went up for sale in our 3 block area -- bad. More have lost jobs -- some had to take pay cuts. One thing I have noticed going to my latest rounds of PT -- fewer people there. More companies are opting for less medical coverage and unless a person's has extra monies they are not shelling out the bucks for PT.

Things are getting tight everywhere.

[KirkNC]

No doubt about it and it is going to take a very long time before things get a whole lot better. The US government, states and citizens have spent the last twenty years spending money like a drunken sailor on leave, now the bill has come due. Until all three groups get their finances fixed, the economy will go sideways.

Kirk

[Despegue]

"Middle class "in the EU is just finding it way into cruising... In the future, I expect to see more and more europeans cruising and partly replacing the empoverizing US passengers. Contrary to some reports in the US, the EU is not "on the verge of an economic breakdown" at all. That is only someting speculants and their media ( Fox "news") want you to believe.

[Krazy Kruizers]

"Middle class "in the EU is just finding it way into cruising... In the future, I expect to see more and more europeans cruising and partly replacing the empoverizing US passengers. Contrary to some reports in the US, the EU is not "on the verge of an economic breakdown" at all. That is only someting speculants and their media ( Fox "news") want you to believe.

Very true -- that is one of the reasons why HAL ships will be sailing less in the North American market.

[m steve]

in every price range and they expect an increase in revenue and profits, I don't see any malaise at this time. Maybe it is wishful thinking by supporters of Royal who have seen a large drop in stock value.

[3rdGenCunarder]

in every price range and they expect an increase in revenue and profits, I don't see any malaise at this time. Maybe it is wishful thinking by supporters of Royal who have seen a large drop in stock value.

Yes, Carnival does cover a wide spectrum with its various brands. They have "something for everyone." If one or two of the companies sees a decline in profits, others may still be doing well, keeping the overall bottom line healthy.

[ninkb]

. . . until the 1% tax (or fee?) is passed here in the US and we lose 1% of every deposit into our bank accounts, be it direct deposit or cash/check deposit. Keep your eyes and ears open . . . it would be effective 1/1/12 and would help to "stabilize" the Fed's over spending.

We all need to wake up and keep our finances in order.

[Nasmas]

Arkansas doesn't seem to have had as bad a hit as some of the other states. I hope it isn't just late getting here. But, we have a balanced budget law here. The state cannot spend more than it makes. The rest of the country might do well to look at this. Plus, we have great leadership in our state government. But, that said I'm sure the recession has hit a lot of people in the pocket. Seems like the middle-class which I assume most of us are, always takes the largest hit.

[Sea42]

"Middle class "in the EU is just finding it way into cruising... In the future, I expect to see more and more europeans cruising and partly replacing the empoverizing US passengers. Contrary to some reports in the US, the EU is not "on the verge of an economic breakdown" at all. That is only someting speculants and their media ( Fox "news") want you to believe.
Apparently BBC and WSJ are in on the conspiracy:rolleyes:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14934728
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903791504576584601528811970.html?m od=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

[jhannah]

. . . until the 1% tax (or fee?) is passed here in the US and we lose 1% of every deposit into our bank accounts ... Please check out the whole story on Snopes. The bill had no co-sponsors, and stands no chance of getting anywhere.

[SwissMyst]

What is critical is amending the federal regulations that prevent ship from staring and ending in US ports.

The rest of the world is eager to see America and US port days are keen revenue producers; particularly for those extra overnights pre and post embarkation/disembarkation.

The cruise industry should be lobbying for this change. Why should Ensenada, Mexico a few hours south of the border from San Diego or Vancouver B.C a few hours north from Seattle get this tourism revenue, instead of keeping in the US for the increasingly popular Western US coastal cruises?

[sail7seas]

What is critical is amending the federal regulations that prevent ship from staring and ending in US ports.

The rest of the world is eager to see America and US port days are keen revenue producers; particularly for those extra overnights pre and post embarkation/disembarkation.

The cruise industry should be lobbying for this change. Why should Ensenada, Mexico a few hours south of the border from San Diego or Vancouver B.C a few hours north from Seattle get this tourism revenue, instead of keeping in the US for the increasingly popular Western US coastal cruises?



Yes. That.

I doubt we will see that during our cruising lifetime but it would make a world of difference. IMO

[LAFFNVEGAS]

What is critical is amending the federal regulations that prevent ship from staring and ending in US ports.

The rest of the world is eager to see America and US port days are keen revenue producers; particularly for those extra overnights pre and post embarkation/disembarkation.

The cruise industry should be lobbying for this change. Why should Ensenada, Mexico a few hours south of the border from San Diego or Vancouver B.C a few hours north from Seattle get this tourism revenue, instead of keeping in the US for the increasingly popular Western US coastal cruises?
I seriously doubt cruise lines would want to lobby for this. First off it is the West Coast Cruisers that are not spending any money on board the ships and which is why the cruise lines are taking their ships else where. Most West Coasters get on the ship just to be on the ship while granted it is because they have done the same itinerary over and over. By not having to go to Ensenada or Vancouver I doubt it would help the ships to make more profits. While I personally would love to see this happen, Cruise Lines are a Big Business that makes their decision by profits and unfortunately having this law change would not change the lack of profits they make on the West Coast. Although it would make things easier for Alaska cruises but the cruise lines sells quite a bit of excursions in Victoria and would not want to lose those profits.

[sail7seas]

Think about the East Coast, Lisa.

Cruises down the coast from Maine to the Keys and back to FLL or Miami could be fabulolus.
Boston, NYC, Newport, Charleston, Norfolk, Wilmington, Savanah etc....

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Think about the East Coast, Lisa.

Cruises down the coast from Maine to the Keys and back to FLL or Miami could be fabulolus.
Boston, NYC, Newport, Charleston, Norfolk, Wilmington, Savanah etc....

That is very true and would probably do much better than the Bermuda runs that HAL has lost more money doing than they have on the West Coast. But I think in the scheme of things HAL would not bother to lobby for this because they would rather follow the dollar and right now they think the money is in Europe and in Australia.

[Opinions]

The cruise industry should be lobbying for this change.

The cruise industry has never lobbied for this change...They would certainly welcome it but they are concerned the price they would have to pay would to be subject to all U.S. taxes and labor laws.

[SwissMyst]

I seriously doubt cruise lines would want to lobby for this. First off it is the West Coast Cruisers that are not spending any money on board the ships and which is why the cruise lines are taking their ships else where. Most West Coasters get on the ship just to be on the ship while granted it is because they have done the same itinerary over and over. By not having to go to Ensenada or Vancouver I doubt it would help the ships to make more profits. While I personally would love to see this happen, Cruise Lines are a Big Business that makes their decision by profits and unfortunately having this law change would not change the lack of profits they make on the West Coast. Although it would make things easier for Alaska cruises but the cruise lines sells quite a bit of excursions in Victoria and would not want to lose those profits.

Yes, but ......... if you think the airport security lines are terrible, you ought to see the monumental back-up at the Tiajuana San Ysidro border to get to and from Ensenada Mexico and back into California, plus risk car-jacking just to drive to Ensenada Mexico from San Diego. I think they have a webcam.

If the cruise lines want passengers and the passengers want easy port access and West coastal itineraries which is sounds like more and more do including international passengers, then let's all change this hoary karma claiming it ain't gonna happen. changes. :cool:

[RetiredMustang]

... have spent the last twenty years spending money like a drunken sailor on leave...

Kirk

Hey now, say what you want about liberals/conservatives/whatevers, but now you are talking about my people. :D

(At least we were spending our own money, not everybody else's.)

Dave

[jimmy2x]

Hey now, say what you want about liberals/conservatives/whatevers, but now you are talking about my people. :D

(At least we were spending our own money, not everybody else's.)

Dave

Quite right - and we did it well!

[Hawaiidan]

PREVENTS non us flag ships from carrying passengengers betwween US ports I was put in for the unions to protect their jobs. It is why you cant sail from Hawaii to LA or SF.
It is why goods in Hawaii have to be first shipped to the west coast and then back to Hawaii .
Many have tried to repeal it but the unions have played politics.:rolleyes:

[Opinions]

PREVENTS non us flag ships from carrying passengengers betwween US ports I was put in for the unions to protect their jobs.

The Jones Act has nothing to do with transporting passengers...It was passed in 1920 to support the U.S. Maritime Industry.

[Globaliser]

The relevant legislation for passenger shipping is the PVSA - the Passenger Vessel Services Act.