lostsoulcruiser

Not familiar with all the damage to Grand Turk but it is more than just the dock. The rest of the tourism infrastructure must be in place including power, water, and other facilities. Plus a sufficient workforce must be able to return to work. It takes time and I hope for the island the damage was not extensive.

Incorrect on a number of levels based on Carnival's latest balance sheet information: Total Assets=51917; Liabilities = 43538 Plant Property Equipment (ships) = 39300 Plus they still have 7 billion cash on hand They are still bleeding cash but that slowed down in the last quarter as they were positive on EBITDA which is the first steps towards overall return to profitability. Would not be surprised if they started to slow down or delay new builds as the interest rates on new debt will be crushing. Make no mistake they have a long way to go and they probably cannot handle another shock but again future bookings are up, on-board spending is up and the cabins are filling up again.

Headline numbers were not good. Carnival reported higher food and fuel costs but if you look behind the headlines there was some good stuff. Occupancy was up, onboard spending was up and future cruise bookings continue to rise and adjusted EBITDA was positive for the first time since COVID. I wonder how much of the earnings report is a kitchen sink type report (throw in all the losses to clear the decks so to speak) since this is the first earning report under a new CEO (Weinstein vs. Donald). For those commenting on cheap cruises, last minute voyages have always been bargain basement prices. I am scheduled to go on the Glory in April and the prices now are higher than the prices I booked at (balcony stateroom). I am not a financial advisor but I bought a few shares today at a bargain basement price.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/refresh/AL092022_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind+png/125324_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png Here is the latest NHC projections/path. The NHC also said "Hurricane or tropical storm conditions are expected on Grand Cayman beginning early Monday". You can see the NHC strength projections by date.

The latest National Hurricane Center predictions brings this storm into the gulf coast of Florida by wednesday next week. The center of the cone seems to predict a strike near Fort Meyer but uncertainty is such that most of the coast is in the cone. Several things can happen: 1. Carnival could delay the start of the cruise by a day or so if Tampa could get significant storm impact. 2. The cruise could get cancelled and you receive a future cruise credit or refund. 3. Nothing if the storm hits close to Fort Meyers and it is not too large a storm. Carnival can steer around these things. This is standard hurricane season cruising conditions so stay tuned to the path of the storm and keep in touch with Carnival (although their incentives are to get you on the ship). Good luck.

Time will be necessary to evaluate the damage to the island's dock and other infrastructure (power, water etc). Interestingly there is nothing yet on Carnival's website which is probably best since the assessments will just be starting.

There is another show called "The Voyages with Josh Garcia" that is still on Saturday mornings (NBC). Carnival Corp produced it. I don't know if they are making new episodes but it showcases shore activities at different ports across the Carnival Corp lines. Always has some shots of the ship.

Stock at $10.50 at this writing based on strong future bookings. Prices of cruises are up also. My present booking for a balcony on the Glory (4-16-23) is now $80 per person higher than when I secured the booking. With the trend towards relaxation of COVID restrictions (increased passenger capacity), higher prices, and increased on-board spending cruises lines should begin to return to profitability. Doubtful they will return to pre-Covid prices due to the heavy debt load needed to survive. Increasing interest rates will impact the refinancing of their present debt and could impact future profitability.

To add to what others have already contributed, there will be several times when organized activity centered around the atrium area will happen. These will be scheduled, there will be noise but it will not run deep into the night (sleep time).

You should have received an email confirming the submission quickly (24 to 72 hours). Actual confirmation of the OBC should take several weeks (3 or 4).

Two questions, and if they were answered earlier in the thread my apologies for re-visiting: 1. Given that passports are not the only method of identification for cruisers, how does Carnival get your picture for the S&S card? I did not think the Department of State passport database was available for private companies. 2. How does Carnival establish your S&S account if one chooses cash? BTW neither of the above apply to me but I would think someone fitting one of these categories would gum up the works a bit.

Wife and I are on the Glory in April 2023. Looking forward to your review. Love the start of the thread. Enjoy your cruise.

Yes, as long as it is Carnival specific shares. Print the last 401K showing the shares (it should specifically list Carnival), blackout everything else except your name and the statement date ( I use the end of month statement when I submit) and submit. Mine looks like a redacted CIA document when finalized for submitting.

Curious, was the port tax refunded also?

My experience with the guarantee cabin category is similar to others already posted which is about 1 month before hearing about the cabin assignment. My only addition is that casino offers are typically good rates so maybe not expect any great deal on an upgrades.

Upgrades are a function on how full the ship is and the distribution of passengers across the cabin categories. Never a guarantee of an upgrade offer especially on nearly full ships. The upgrade offers I have received in the past have always been within two months before leaving, never earlier. I assume Carnival wants to book the rooms thru other channels to optimize revenue. I have not taken any of the upgrades because they were either not worth it or I already was happy with the room I had booked. IMHO, call either your TA or Carnival, depending on how you booked the room, and just upgrade the booking. You may not lose the OBC but at least you will know for sure and can make your decision accordingly. BTW, good luck getting in touch with Carnival.

From a May 2022 Travel Weekly article: Carnival Corp. is considering selling its luxury Seabourn cruise line to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, according to a CNBC report. The report, citing unnamed sources, said that Carnival was in "preliminary discussions" to sell Seabourn. It said that the deal would give the Saudis a "stronger footprint" in the cruise industry while also giving Carnival access to more capital. Carnival may also want to pare down debt. Last week, Carnival Corp. priced a private debt offering of $1 billion in senior unsecured notes at an interest rate of 10.5%. The proceeds will be used in fiscal 2023 to make scheduled principal payments on prior debt. Too much debt to service. If the cruises can generate cash in excess of the cost of cruising (variable costs), they will run the ships to pay down fixed costs (debt, overhead etc). Both CCL and RCL have reported advanced bookings to be strong, an indicator that customers want to return to vacations (count me in). As long as these bookings stay strong and unemployment does not drift up significantly, prices will stay elevated (simple supply and demand).

Carnival today running about $8.60 per share. Purchasing 100 shares about $860, then if you cruise and get the $100 OBC (7 day cruise) your essential share price becomes $7.60 per share (less if you cruise more than once per year). IMHO, stock price will languish as any significant increase in price due to increased profitability will become an opportunity to sell more shares and reduce the debt undertaken during the COVID shutdown. Look at what they just did as the stock hit $11, they sold $1 billion of shares. Wash, rinse, repeat. Enjoy the cruise and the OBC, it will be the best payout for awhile.

Cafe Beignet excellent choice. Two young ladies needing to be camera ready, been there. Enjoy

Depends upon where you are staying the evening before and how you are getting to the port on cruise embarkation day. Some nice beignets and coffee, at the French Market for example, could be a nice way to start the day as an alternative to a hotel breakfast (nothing wrong with that either). Some hotels have transportation to the port or you can Uber over quickly. In my limited experience, I find the Carnival terminal easy to get into and out of when driving to the port (and my wife uses a wheelchair). While Carnival expects you to be there between 10 and 10:30, expect some delays for a variety of reasons (Covid debarkations, police, etc). You might get lucky and have no problems ( I have had no problems in New Orleans but I do a later embarkation time). The fact that the parking lot is part of the cruise terminal makes New Orleans easy to negotiate. Have a great cruise

MIAMI -- Norwegian Cruise Line is dropping a requirement that passengers test negative for COVID-19 before sailing unless it is required by local rules. The company said Wednesday that it will drop the testing requirement Aug. 1 except on ships sailing from places with local testing rules, including in the United States, Canada, Bermuda and Greece. The above is from July 8 ABC news. If NCL is successful, Carnival will do it shortly thereafter. The CDC presently lists all Carnival ships as code orange (0.3% positive testing for Covid). That is 6 infections for each 2000 passengers ( I am not looking at crew for the moment).

https://youtu.be/9fb7WCSf8GM First Coast News video of altercation

Onboard Service Updates: Securing working visas for the crew is currently a challenge for the entire cruise industry. It’s unfortunately impacting our staffing levels, particularly for Carnival’s culinary and beverage teams. We’ve made some temporary adjustments to our onboard offerings for sailings through July 31st, mostly around hours of operation and special events. This will help us provide guests with the best possible service. When you’re sailing, check the Carnival HUB App to see exactly what’s available. I was just looking at the Carnival website, after rescheduling my October cruise to next April, and saw the above note at the top of Carnival's webpage. Seems an acknowledgement/admission of the long line problem on certain ships at certain times. Not surprising.

The last quarterly reports had Carnival as cash flow positive for the quarter, meaning they covered operating cost plus debt interest. It is a nice start towards recovery. The main future difficulty is the ability and cost to refinance their current debt at an affordable interest rate. It is likely they may have to issue more equity (stock) to reduce the debt which will result in lower stock price.

Forget about $10 per share, stock now flirting with breaking below $9.