Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Carnival Cruise boss banks on safety measures

Carnival Cruise boss banks on safety measures

The boss of the world's biggest cruise company has told the BBC new safety measures can help the $150bn (£113bn) a year industry to get going again.

The hugely profitable business has been brought to its knees by coronavirus after regulators around the world stopped ships from sailing to try and limit outbreaks.

Arnold Donald, the chief executive of Carnival Corporation, said "universal testing, which doesn't exist in any other industry of scale" will help mitigate the risk of an outbreak.

He added that "additional medical screenings, physical distancing, mask wearing" could be among further measures.

However, there have been outbreaks of coronavirus on some of the few cruises that have set sail recently, including the Carnival-owned Costa Diadema which has been sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr Donald concedes that "you cannot guarantee that you're going to be Covid-free no matter what regimen you put in place".

Although, he insists, "it can be managed and managed effectively" and that collaborating with authorities around the world means that has been done "reasonably effectively" so far.


A number of cruise ships were scrapped this year


The company has drafted in a raft of health and scientific advisers to draw up its protocols.

Mr Donald says "our priority, of course, is to make cruising work in a way where we have every confidence there's no greater risk than if you were engaging in similar activity shore-side".

The difficulties of achieving that were laid out by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), which in lifting its ban on cruise ships, said that without mitigations "cruise ships would continue to pose a greater risk of Covid-19 transmission than other settings".

Two outbreaks on cruise ships early in the pandemic have been detrimental to the cruise industry, with passengers dying after outbreaks on both the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined by Japan, and the Grand Princess, which eventually docked in California.

'Cautiously optimistic'


Traditionally, cruising has a loyal customer base and that has given Mr Arnold grounds for optimism.

He says for the second half of next year "bookings have been robust. People really want to cruise when it's safe to do so". He adds "we're cautiously optimistic we'll be sailing in early 2021", albeit a few ships at a time.

The financial imperative to get going again is clear.

Despite scrapping 18 of its 105 ships, Carnival is losing about $650m a month. After raising more than $12bn from investors, Mr Arnold says, "even if we had zero revenue, we could go through in to the summer of next year".



Other than that the money has pretty much stopped coming in.

The summer is normally the busiest time of the year but from July to August Carnival brought in just $31m. None of that was from ticket sales, and it compares to $6.5bn in the same time last year, 68% of which was from tickets.

The lack of paying passengers reflects the huge uncertainty hanging over an industry that thrives on thousands of passengers at a time, travelling in relatively close confines, two things that have been severely restricted to try and control coronavirus.

According to Monique Giese, who tracks the shipping industry for the consultancy KPMG, the cruise industry is very much at the mercy of the virus.

Back to work?


She says "it is very difficult to give any forecast for the next year. The cruise industry is going to lose the very profitable winter season specifically in the Caribbean area."

Test runs are amongst the strict conditions that have been laid out by the CDC before cruises can resume in the US.

It's the most important market for the industry, accounting for nearly 50% of the 30m passengers who take a cruise each year.

The industry has voluntarily stopped sailings in the US until the end of year. However Congress is investigating whether or not the Trump White House interfered to stop the CDC extending the mandatory ban into next year.

President-elect Joe Biden has taken a markedly different approach to tackling coronavirus but Mr Donald says "we don't have any concerns" that a new administration will lead to a new no-sail order and more financial problems.

Before the pandemic, the Cruise Line Industry Association calculated that its members supported 1.2m jobs worldwide, and when the US no-sail order was lifted its President Kelly Craighead said she was "confident that a resumption of cruising in the US is possible to support the economic recovery" whilst protecting public health.

However, ships are being scrapped by several lines, meaning that jobs will be lost. For those that remain, Mr Arnold says "it's important to get people back to work".

You can watch Arnold Donald's full interview on Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst this weekend on BBC World News at Saturday 2330 GMT, Sunday 1630 GMT, Monday 0730 GMT and 1130 GMT and Tuesday at 1330 GMT.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×