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Carnival Corporation & plc achieves highest-ever second quarter operating results

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 June 2025 25 June 2025

Carnival Corporation & plc yesterday announced financial results for the second quarter 2025 and provided an updated outlook for the full year and an outlook for the third quarter 2025.

– Exceeded 2026 SEA Change financial targets 18 months early, with adjusted return on invested capital ("ROIC")1,2 and adjusted EBITDA per available lower berth day ("ALBD")1,2 reaching the highest levels in nearly two decades.
– Improved second quarter net income by nearly $475 million and adjusted net income1 more than tripled compared to 2024, outperforming March guidance by $185 million.
– Delivered record second quarter revenues of $6.3 billion with record net yields1 (in constant currency) significantly outperforming March guidance due to strength in both close-in demand and onboard revenues.
– Cumulative advanced booked position for 2026 is in line with 2025 record levels and at historical high prices (in constant currency).
– Achieved all-time high customer deposits of $8.5 billion.
– Extended and upsized its revolver capacity to $4.5 billion in June, a 50 percent increase.

According to Carnival Corporation & plc's Chief Executive Officer Josh Weinstein, "Our amazing team delivered yet another phenomenal quarter, more than tripling adjusted net income driven by record net yields (in constant currency) and strong close-in demand. We also remain on track for a strong 4 percent net yield growth in the second half, consistent with what we forecasted back in December which was before the complex macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop we have all experienced in the last few months. Combined, this has enabled us to raise full year guidance again."

"On top of this, thanks to our consistent track record of significant outperformance, we have already exceeded our 2026 SEA Change financial targets a full 18 months early, increasing adjusted EBITDA per ALBD by 52 percent and more than doubling adjusted ROIC to over 12.5 percent in less than two years. We also met our third 2026 SEA Change commitment to cut carbon intensity by 20 percent from 2019 levels. That's a win for the planet and our bottom line," he said.

"Our strong results, booked position and outlook are a testament to the success of our ongoing strategy to deliver same-ship, high-margin revenue growth. We continue to set ourselves up well for 2026 and beyond, with so much more potential to take our margins, returns and results even higher over time."

Second quarter 2025 results

– Net income was $565 million, or $0.42 diluted EPS, an improvement of nearly $475 million compared to 2024.
– Adjusted net income of $470 million, or $0.35 adjusted EPS1, outperformed March guidance by $185 million led by higher ticket prices, higher onboard spending and the timing of expenses between the quarters.
– Record operating income3 of $934 million.
– Record adjusted EBITDA1,3 of $1.5 billion exceeded 2024 by 26 percent.
– Operating margins and adjusted EBITDA margins1 increased over 500 and 300 basis points, respectively, compared to 2024 and significantly exceeded 2019 levels.
– Record revenues3 of $6.3 billion, up nearly $550 million compared to the prior year.
– Gross margin yields were over 25 percent higher than 2024.
– Record net yields3 (in constant currency) were 6.4 percent higher than 2024 and significantly outperformed March guidance by 200 basis points.
– Cruise costs per ALBD decreased 0.3 percent compared to 2024. Adjusted cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD1 (in constant currency) increased 3.5 percent compared to 2024 primarily due to higher dry-dock days and was better than March guidance due to the timing of expenses between quarters.
– Fuel consumption per ALBD decreased 6.3 percent compared to the prior year and was better than March guidance by approximately 300 basis points due to the company's efforts and investments to continuously improve the energy efficiency of its operations.
– Total customer deposits reached an all-time high of $8.5 billion.

Bookings

"Our guests continue to look to us as their preferred vacation choice given the amazing experiences our cruise lines provide. Even with the price increases we have achieved over the last few years, our tremendous value compared to land-based alternatives has supported our ability to continue demonstrating remarkable resilience amid heightened volatility. In fact, close-in demand and onboard spending levels were incredibly strong for second quarter sailings and our booking curve continues to be the furthest out on record," Weinstein noted.

The company's cumulative advanced booked position for the remainder of the year remains strong with occupancy the second-highest on record and pricing (in constant currency) at historical highs. While early, the company's booked position for 2026 is in line with 2025 record levels (at the same time last year) and at historical high prices (in constant currency).

2025 outlook

For the full year 2025, the company expects:

– Net yields (in constant currency) approximately 5.0 percent higher than strong 2024 levels, which were up 11 percent and 0.3 percentage points better than March guidance.
– Adjusted cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD (in constant currency) up approximately 3.6 percent compared to 2024, better than March guidance.
– Adjusted net income up over 40 percent compared to 2024 and better than March guidance by $200 million.
– Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $6.9 billion, up over 10 percent compared to 2024 and better than March guidance.
For the third quarter of 2025, the company expects:

– Net yields (in constant currency) up approximately 3.5 percent compared to strong 2024 levels, which were up almost 9 percent.
– Adjusted cruise costs excluding fuel per ALBD (in constant currency) up approximately 7.0 percent compared to the third quarter of 2024 primarily due to operating expenses for the opening of Celebration Key, higher investment in advertising expenses and the impacts of lower 2025 capacity and favorable one-time items in 2024.

Financing

"We continued rebuilding an investment grade balance sheet, working aggressively to reduce interest expense, simplify our capital structure and manage our future debt maturities — refinancing nearly $7 billion of debt already this year at favorable rates. Our success has been recognized with credit rating upgrades that now put us within one notch of achieving investment grade ratings with both S&P and Fitch," commented Carnival Corporation & plc's Chief Financial Officer David Bernstein. "We also recently extended and upsized our revolver capacity by 50 percent on more favorable terms, meaningfully enhancing our liquidity. This, coupled with our well managed near-term maturity towers, enables us to opportunistically accelerate our debt reduction efforts," Bernstein added.

The company continued its efforts to proactively manage its debt profile. Since February 28, 2025, the company has:

– Prepaid $350 million of its $1.4 billion 7.625 percent senior unsecured notes due 2026 and refinanced the remainder with $1.0 billion 5.875 percent senior unsecured notes due 2031. These transactions will reduce net interest expense by over $20 million through its original scheduled maturity in 2026.
– Upsized its euro denominated floating rate loan by $112 million, extended its maturity from 2025 to 2029 and amended its margin at a favorable rate.
– Entered into a new $4.5 billion multi-currency revolving credit facility ("New Revolver") in June, which contains an accordion feature allowing for additional commitments up to $1.0 billion. The New Revolver replaced the existing multi-currency revolving credit facility ("Revolving Facility") and will mature in June 2030.
– During the quarter, S&P upgraded the company's credit rating to BB+ with a stable outlook and Fitch upgraded the company to BB+ with a positive outlook. The company believes this is a reflection of its improved leverage metrics and its strong momentum on its continuing journey to investment grade ratings.

The company ended the quarter with $27.3 billion of total debt. As of May 31, 2025, the company's debt maturities for the remainder of 2025 and full year 2026 are $0.7 billion and $1.4 billion. The company achieved a 3.7x net debt to adjusted EBITDA1 ratio as of May 31, 2025, an improvement from 4.1x as of February 28, 2025.

Other recent highlights

– Ordered two newbuilds for AIDA Cruises, scheduled to be delivered in fiscal years 2030 and 2032, introducing a new mid-size class ship and bringing its newbuild pipeline to eight ships through 2033 (learn more here).
– Carnival Cruise Line announced it will launch "Carnival Rewards," a new loyalty program, in June 2026. The program will be a cruise-industry first by tying status, benefits and rewards to spending on cruise fares and onboard activities. It will also add new features, new ways to earn status and new reward categories.
Introduced the Paradise Collection by Carnival, which will include the following:
– Celebration Key, its new exclusive destination on Grand Bahama Island, opening in July 2025, which will feature five portals built for fun offering an abundance of features and amenities for guests.
– RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, its highly rated and award-winning exclusive destination in the Bahamas, which will be enhanced and expanded to feature a newly constructed pier in the summer of 2026.
– Mahogany Bay, its port destination in Roatan, Honduras, will be renamed to Isla Tropicale in 2026 and expanded to include a pool with a swim up bar and cabanas, beach expansion and a private beach club.
– More enhancements to come for its Caribbean destinations.
– Named one of America's Best Employers for New Grads in 2025 by Forbes (learn more here).
– Sold Costa Fortuna and recorded a gain on the sale. The ship is expected to leave the fleet in September 2026.

Viking announces 14 new ocean itineraries for 2026 and 2027

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 June 2025 11 June 2025

Viking yesterday announced that 14 new ocean itineraries exploring the Mediterranean, United Kingdom, Ireland and Scandinavia in 2026 and 2027 are now open for booking. Ranging from 15 to 36 days, each of the new voyages combines two or more of Viking’s most popular itineraries to allow for more in-depth exploration.

“Viking guests are curious travelers who are interested in enriching their lives by exploring and learning about the world,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking. “With our destination-focused approach and elegant small ships, our voyages have always been designed to bring guests closer to their destination and provide opportunities for cultural immersion. These new voyages offer even more choices for guests who wish to extend their time abroad with one seamless itinerary.”

With a fleet of small sister ships, Viking offers more than 100 itineraries across all five oceans. Viking’s new ocean voyages visit celebrated cultural capitals – as well as emerging destinations – throughout Europe and beyond.

BC Ferries selects CMI Weihai to construct four new ferries

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 11 June 2025 11 June 2025

BC Ferries has selected China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards (CMI Weihai) to build four New Major Vessels (NMVs) following a rigorous global procurement process that included a public Request for Proposals, comprehensive bid evaluations, international site visits, and independent third-party reference checks.

“CMI Weihai is a global leader in passenger ferry construction, and shipbuilding more broadly,” said Nicolas Jimenez, CEO of BC Ferries. “It was the clear choice based on the overall strength of its bid, including its technical capabilities, high-quality and safety standards, ferry-building experience, proven ability to deliver safe, reliable vessels on dependable timelines, and the overall cost and value it delivers for our customers – all essential as we continue to experience growing demand and the urgent need to renew our aging fleet.”

CMI Weihai has a strong track record of building passenger and vehicle vessels for large international operators including Stena RoRo (Sweden) and Grimaldi Lines (Italy). Through its long-term partnership with Stena RoRo, CMI Weihai has built vessels for Canada’s Marine Atlantic ferry company and other major ferry operators such as Corsica Linea and Brittany Ferries (France). CMI Weihai’s work on a vessel for Marine Atlantic gives the shipyard direct experience meeting Transport Canada regulatory requirements.

“BC Ferries will have our own professional team of shipbuilding experts onsite at the shipyard throughout construction to provide ongoing oversight and quality assurance,” said Ed Hooper, BC Ferries’ Head of Fleet Renewal. “Our team inspected the CMI Weihai shipyard as part of the selection process, and the scale and scope of the operations was impressive. Safety is our highest value, and our in-person evaluations focused on safety management, quality systems, engineering capability, materials storage and handling, production facilities, environmental protection, and even the dedicated space for our on-site team, among other factors. We are confident that CMI Weihai will be able to meet our high expectations for safety and quality, while delivering tremendous value for our customers and on-time delivery of the four vessels.”

In their first 10 years of service, BC Ferries anticipates investing over $230 million locally on refits and scheduled maintenance for the four currently approved NMVs, and more than $1 billion over their expected 45-year lifespans. This doesn’t include ongoing maintenance and refits for the rest of the fleet, which will continue to generate economic benefits for BC’s shipbuilding and maritime sectors. In addition to this reinvestment, the NMVs are expected to generate approximately 17,200 job-years of employment, $1.2 billion in wages, and contribute $2.2 billion to B.C.’s GDP over their service lifetime.

The NMVs will replace four aging ships nearing the end of their service lives, each increasingly prone to mechanical issues and service disruptions. The NMVs are a cornerstone of BC Ferries’ long-term fleet renewal strategy, addressing the urgent need to modernize aging vessels and infrastructure, accommodate expected demand growth, and enhance overall system resilience. Since 2016, BC Ferries has added 10 new vessels to its fleet, including four mid-size Salish Class vessels and six smaller Island Class ships. With four more Island Class vessels arriving in 2026, and all four NMVs expected to be in service between 2029-2031, BC Ferries remains on track to introduce 18 new vessels in just 15 years.

Built with diesel-battery hybrid propulsion systems and designed with the capability to operate on full electric power in future, the NMVs are expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve fuel efficiency, and lower underwater radiated noise to better protect marine life. With greater capacity than the vessels they replace, the NMVs will offer more space for vehicles and passengers and upgraded amenities, supporting a more reliable and comfortable travel experience.

While disclosing the total construction cost could compromise BC Ferries’ ability to secure the best value on future vessel procurements, the fixed-price contract to build these NMVs is within the approval limits provided by the BC Ferries Commissioner.

Meyer Turku invests in sustainable shipbuilding with energy efficient heating

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 10 June 2025 10 June 2025

Meyer Turku continues to push the boundaries of sustainable shipbuilding with a major step: the adoption of central heating for ships under construction. Traditionally, oil-burning stoves have been used for heating during colder months, but with the introduction of a water-based central heating system, significant reductions in emissions and costs have been achieved.

The transition to central heating was first explored in late 2023, leading to infrastructure upgrades that enabled the deployment of a movable water-based heating system aboard vessels. Since its implementation in late autumn 2024, this system has replaced approximately 428 cubic meters of oil, cutting CO2 emissions by around 1,042 tons by early March 2025. Beyond environmental benefits, this shift also brings substantial cost savings due to the higher efficiency and lower expense of district heating compared to oil-based solutions. Looking ahead, Meyer Turku aims to expand this system throughout ships under construction, with a long-term goal of eliminating oil-based heating entirely.

“The best kind of energy is the one that we never use. In our sustainability works we want to focus on concrete actions, and I believe that this is a great example of that”, says Meyer Turku Head of ESG Hanna Haaksi

Meyer Turku is also enhancing overall energy efficiency at the shipyard through several key initiatives:

– Compressed Air Optimization: The implementation of the Sigma Air Manager (SAM) system in autumn 2023 has reduced unnecessary compressor idling, balanced loads, and optimized pressure levels, improving efficiency and reducing electricity consumption by approximately 1,500 MWh annually.
– LED and Smart Lighting Solutions: Between 2018 and 2025, upgrades including LED lights and intelligent DALI lighting systems have improved illumination quality, enhanced safety, and reduced energy use by 2,229 MWh annually.
– Production Facility Climate Control: Standardizing and optimizing heating across four production buildings has stabilized temperature fluctuations and increased efficiency, saving 1,300 MWh annually.
– Ventilation System Upgrades: Adjustments to operating schedules and airflow levels based on production activity have led to significant energy savings of 3,885 MWh annually across six ventilation systems.
– Heat Recovery Enhancements: Improvements in liquid and air heat recovery systems, including smart controls that minimize energy waste, have resulted in further annual savings of 2,820 MWh.

Looking to the future, Meyer Turku is committed to continuous improvement in energy efficiency and sustainability. With advancing technology, the shipyard is embracing innovative solutions to further optimize energy use, reduce environmental impact, and strengthen its position as a leader in sustainable maritime industry practices. By integrating energy efficiency into everyday operations, Meyer Turku is not just adapting to change but actively driving it and setting new standards for sustainability in shipbuilding.

Liberty to succeed Fain as Chair of Royal Caribbean Board of Directors

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 06 June 2025 06 June 2025

Royal Caribbean Group today announced that Richard Fain, Chair of the Board of Directors since 1988 and a visionary leader whose contributions helped shape the modern cruise industry, will be stepping down from his role as Chairman in Q4 2025. Fain will remain as a Director on the Board. Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO since January 3, 2022, was elected by the Board of Directors to succeed Fain as Chairman and CEO and will assume the role in Q4 2025.

Additionally, John Brock, a member of the Board of Directors since 2014 and current Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, has assumed the role of Independent Lead Director.

"Richard's leadership has been nothing short of transformative. Under his leadership, the Royal Caribbean Group has become the leading vacation company – with industry leading brands, ships, destinations and people," said Liberty. "I am honored and humbled to have been elected as Chairman and CEO and I look forward to continuing to create and deliver the ultimate vacation experience for our guests and delivering elevated long-term value for our shareholders. Fortunately, the company and I will continue to benefit from Richard's experience and mentorship in his continued role as a Director on our Board."

"It is time to hand the wheel to the next generation of exceptional talent at RCG, and I am very confident that under Jason's strong leadership, the Royal Caribbean Group will accelerate to even greater heights in the years ahead," noted Richard Fain.

"Looking ahead, John Brock brings invaluable experience from his time as Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises and CEO of InBev, and strong integrity that will support the company's ongoing growth and governance. I look forward to working with him in his new role, along with the rest of the Board, as we execute on our bold ambitions," Liberty added.