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Is it not baffling that Florida does not have a statewide stay-at-home order???

Oops! You are absolutely correct it’s the Jones Act that prevents cruise ships from behavior they would very much like to do. I apologize.

@JLMoran that’s great due diligence! Thanks for sharing. I agree, it’s all of Celebrity that is being pawned. “Wholly owned vessel-owning subsidiaries” ? I don’t think that’s Azamara, I think they mean Pullmantur. Example, Monarch of the Seas was retired and brought to Pullmantur. I’m guessing Royal still owns the boat but somehow leases it’s use. I don’t believe Royal has any say in the day to day Pullmantur management. Perhaps Royal expects to replace these recent loans with Federal money? Federal money that is cheaper and not a lot of strings attached? If so, I hope they get their brand-new best friends to repeal the Hatch Act because maybe a good way to get back online is to have short sailings that don’t go out of country.

Completely correct and your beginning to touch on a potential big problem in the future.....RCL has had excellent financials for all these bankers and investors to sign up for future endeavors. In the future when the financials are less than stellar, at what price are they going to write the loans? Nobody in the history of the world has called a banker “compassionate”, “understanding of the circumstances”, or.....”forgiving.” What has occurred here over the past month and a half is going to have a big impact for rates of interest for years to come on many of the new ships or for what ever else they receive loans. Companies with no debt? There is only one that I know of; Berkshire Hathaway. I hope you have Class A shares!

You and me JL are of the same thinking, limited in depth of knowledge as well. So I could be wrong but am I understanding the following correctly???: We are talking about Royal Caribbean and all it related brands (Azamara, TUI, Pulmanteur, Celebrity, etc.) Last year RCL made $5 B profit, After all expenses they were $5 B to the good. Two weeks ago, RCL agreed to a line of credit for $500M "for liquidity". Basically, the opportunity to take $500M if they need it. Today they take out a $2.2 B loan "for liquidity" to be repaid in a year, or extendable to be repaid over two years. This means they have received the funds and owe them back. Matt's article kind of says these funds are to keep the ball rolling on all the new ships and upgrades. (Incidentally, there are 17 new ships across all brands in the works). So......this $2.2B is a loan to make sure the already agreed to loans still work out??? Big business is different than personal finance but if this were a conversation between me and my father he would say the following: Dad: Last year you had $5 billion in the bank? Me: Yep Dad: Then the bad thing happens... Me: Really bad thing.... Dad: So I agree to make available to you $1/2B just to get you through. Me: Yes Dad: Then a week later you go take out a short term loan of $2.2B, so that your other future loans will still be available? Me: Yeppers Dad: So.....It's March 23rd; since January 1st you have taken in nearly $8B, of which you only have $3.6B today? In 82 days you have blown through $4.4B....AND......have no firm or reasonable expectations of when you will be making money again???? You have loans to cover other loans??? You are still hell bent on essentially buying things that you already own??? Is thrift a word in your vocabulary??? Me: Yeah but... I want, I want, I want..... Dad: Follow me to the woodshed <takes off belt>

September 15, 2020

I'm glad that makes some sense, I've used that approach many times myself. I was really reacting to the common threads of many other posters here. Online trading today is super cheap if not free. There are a lot of similarities between a brokerage account and an account on Amazon or e-Bay. Many big banks offer trading and it's quite convenient to go online to see how much is left in your checking account and alongside that is the status of your brokerage account. Maybe that's the first place you look?

A couple personal thoughts: RCL is in a tough spot. Share price is free falling and they have huge overhead costs with little income. I can not imagine a current shareholder that would not call it a distressed asset. If you want to pick up 100 shares in expectation to receive future OBC for "cruises I'd be do'in anyway" Ummmm..... distressed assets don't give away free things to customers. I would NOT buy RCL expecting that free $50/$100/$250 on my sea pass. Wrong answer. Dividends? Not anytime soon. Near term increase in stock price? I think the share price will go down further the next time they announce earnings. Like, Staples doesn't have enough red ink toner cartridges for me to print out the report. But....... If you are a Royal fan and have never opened a brokerage account and bought some stock. I think this is a great opportunity to do so. Look at it this way: If you feel "Yeah, the financial world is very confusing. So confusing, I want to avoid the whole thing. I have no idea what the mumbo jumbo means." But.... you do have a relationship with Royal. An intimate knowledge of their day to day. Whether it's reading this blog or being onboard and seeing with your own eyes how well their brand is doing. I would endorse someone in the above circumstance going to a Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Chase Bank....whatever, there are a ton of brokerage outfits. Open and fund your account ( this takes a few days for your funds to become available for trading BTW) and buying some RLC. And then watch it. Learn from it. And perhaps most of all, become a better cruiser in the future because you have some skin in the game. You'll be prouder of whatever ship you are on. It won't be imposing to say "Hey kiddo, get off the railing!" RCL needs your support. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars. You can spend $100. Just know you are buying a very volatile asset and don't have expectations that this is going to pay off anytime soon. I think in years down the road, Royal will be back as strong as it was.

A lot of people think this is a snow day, a temporary inconvenience and then it's back to life as we know it after the switch is flicked. They could not be more incorrect.

Thanks so much for sharing SOnny! Your detailed review is what makes this blog a great place. I hope we are on the same dive boat sometime soon.

You have to earn The Volcano Hike!

Ummm.....I'm hoping it's real apparent that it's not the time to re-decorate something you already own. But rather, it is a golden opportunity to maintain those assets. It should be expected that every ship for the next 30 days is completely repainted, re-carpeted, and re-gasketed. New water slides and restaurants? Wrong answer.

Without Question!!! I think we are all well aware of of Matt's enthusiasm but today more than ever Royal needs Matt and his Blog. Not just to spread truthful word but to be optimistic. Royal owes Matt a deep, deep debt of gratitude.

I have been concerned for months about the continual RCL spending and bragging they use as advertisement: $250M for Coco Cay $300M for a new corporate headquarters $250M to make a new terminal in Miami and make the dock 100 feet longer $165M to revitalize Allure $116M to amplify Freedom $300M for an existing hotel and dock in Freeport and on and on and on........ I mentioned this today on the Insiders FB group and it's worth stating here; I think Royal is in serious trouble because this elephant does not dance to slow music. I think they will dock all the ships until at least September. It will be cheaper to cease operation than try to combat the hostile environment. I think this could very well happen in the next 30 days.

This is absolutely true. I know the use of Google Maps is pretty much an unknown skill for Royal Caribbean passengers, but give it a Goog and find out for yourself. Also absolutely true is that you as a passenger are absolutely forbidden to leave the Labadee compound unless you are on a Royal excursion or going on the zip line. Which is also weird, because there are passengers who would like to visit family in the area who are declined leaving. There is also the occasional freak like myself who would like to venture outside the gate and they are quite serious about the “you can not leave” while hold a large semi automatic weapon.