Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), the world’s second largest cruise shipping company, said its 2021 bookings are trending well, with 60% of the bookings received in the second quarter being new and the rest future cruise credits (FCCs).
“Although still early in the booking cycle, the booked position for 2021 is trending well and is within historical ranges. Pricing for 2021 bookings is relatively flat year-over-year when including the negative yield impact of bookings made with future cruise credits; it is slightly up year-over-year when excluding them,” the company said in a statement.
However, the extended suspension of cruising has significantly impacted bookings for the remainder of 2020, which are meaningfully lower than same time last year and at lower prices.
“For the booking period since our last business update, approximately 60% of the 2021 bookings are new and the rest are due to the redemption of FCCs and the "Lift & Shift" program,” RCG said.
At the end of the second quarter, the company had $1.8 billion in customer deposits of which approximately $300 million correspond to fourth quarter 2020 sailings. “Approximately 48% of the guests booked on cancelled sailings have requested cash refunds,” RCG pointed out.