tydas

Absolutely fascinating story, had no idea this is where the ships were, I winder if they let them have a break at CoCo key or Labadee!

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33338/satellite-images-show-armadas-of-vacant-cruise-ships-huddling-together-out-at-sea

4 hours ago, steverk said:

I'm a little confused about the recurring theme to get higher occupancy rates on the ships.  

It's a little counter intuitive, but I believe the cruise lines aren't really looking to fill the ships, at least not right away.  In fact, I think they'll limit occupancy to about 50% until they can work out social distancing and prove that cruising really is safe.

If that's really the intent, then having good, open airports nearby is less of a concern.  Taking Galveston as an extreme example, more than 70% of the cruise passengers normally drive to the port of Galveston.  Therefore, getting to 50% occupancy with just drive ins would be very doable.

I'm not sure they can make money on 50% occupancy in the long term, short term? 

Great article with a lot of good points. 

The Points Guy: 5 reasons why I’m bullish on the return of cruising.
https://thepointsguy.com/news/5-reasons-why-im-bullish-on-the-return-of-cruising/

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/05/norwegian-cruise-line-says-theres-substantial-doubt-about-its-ability-to-continue-as-a-going-concern.html?__source=sharebar|email&par=sharebar

I wonder if I book a cruise and these lines go bankrupt? guessing any deposit is bye bye..sad times, i really love cruising and these headlines make me nervous..my guess is bankruptcy and possible  re-emergence of cruise lines once we have a vaccine? 

I think giving rcl some zero interest loans would not be to expensive and hopefully save some us jobs. 

In his last news conference, the president was asked about a bailout for the cruise industry, he said that the cruise industry is very important and they would be looking at options... No doubt rcl will need some help 

RCL has lost over 2/3 of its market cap and the short term future looks very bleak as they will find it hard to maintain high occupancy on their ships..I don't think it is an exaggeration to say the entire cruise industry is in uncharted waters at this point. I am hoping more than anyone that this blows over but even many avid cruisers are cancelling their vacations right now.