Disruptions from the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus intensified during the holiday season and in early January, with the spread of the variant, and impacted the company's cancellations and bookings for near-term sailings, Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement.

“Load factors for sailings in the first half of 2022 are expected to remain below historical levels, consistent with the company's return to service schedule, which includes the impact from Omicron. Load factors for sailings in the second half of 2022 continue to be booked within historical ranges, at higher prices with and without FCCs. (Future cruise credits),” the company said.

However, bookings have since recovered to pre-Omicron levels at the same time as the pace of cancellations is slowing down.

Two new ships, Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Beyond.are scheduled to enter service this year.  “These new ships add to the six new ships that joined the fleet over the last 20 months and are expected to be important contributors to yield growth and profitability,” Royal Caribbean Group said.. 

As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately $3.2 billion in customer deposits. This represents an improvement of about $400 million over the previous quarter despite the significant quarter-over-quarter increase in revenue recognition and near-term cancellations due to Omicron, both of which reduce the customer deposits balance. 

The customer deposit balance at year-end for Q2 2022 forward sailings was higher than the balance held at the end of 2019 for Q2 2022 forward sailings. Approximately 32% of the customer deposit balance is related to FCCs compared to 35% in the prior quarter, a positive trend indicating new demand, the company said.