Norwegian Cruise Line Gives Up on 2020
Cruise line stocks initially rallied on Friday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) replaced its expiring "no sail order" with a conditional one to allow for the eventual restart of the industry. Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL), Carnival (NYSE: CCL)(NYSE: CUK), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH) had previously suspended all cruises through the end of November, and this was seen as the first step toward getting passengers on the gangway again.
However, industry leaders have a different take on things after diving into the framework of the new and beefy 40-page conditional sailing order. Each of the companies will have to install labs for COVID-19 testing at sea on every ship, put those vessels through costly cruising simulations, and follow a number of additional regulations that go beyond those that Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line had proposed in late September via the Healthy Sail Panel they formed. Getting back to business by next month doesn't seem feasible anymore, and Norwegian Cruise Line on Monday morning became the first of the three giant operators to officially cancel the remainder of its 2020 voyages.
Image source: Getty Images.
Source Fool.com
