Carnival Corporation & plc, the Anglo-American cruise shipping group, said it forecasts a sharp rise in net cruise costs per available lower bed day (ALBD) due to continued gradual resumption of operations.

“While the company will benefit from the disposal of 19 smaller, less efficient ships since the beginning of the pause in guest cruise operations, the company is forecasting net cruise costs without fuel per ALBD in 2022 to be significantly higher than 2019m” the company said in a statement. 

“This is driven by a portion of our fleet being in pause status for part of the year, restart related expenses, the cost of maintaining enhanced health and safety protocols and inflation,” Carnival said. 

At the end of November, 50 ships had resumed service and they accounted for 61% of the group’s capacity. All 94 ships should be back in service in June 2022, Carnival said.

Most of these costs and expenses would end in 2022 and they would not reoccur in fiscal 2023. In 2022, fuel consumption is forecasted to be 2.9 million metric tons. The blended spot price for fuel is currently $563 per metric ton.

The company has worked closely with health and medical experts globally and nationally, as well as with authorities in destination countries, to put in place comprehensive health and safety protocols for protection against and mitigation of COVID-19 across the entire cruise experience for all of the company's nine brands. 

This includes cross-industry learnings and best practices based on the proven health and safety record of industry-wide sailings, and input from top scientists and public health, epidemiological and policy experts. 

Protocols have been and will continue to be updated based on evolving scientific and medical knowledge related to mitigation strategies. Details about enhanced protocols, including the latest information and requirements for each of the company's brands, is available on their websites, Carnival said