Cruise company Carnival is rerouting 12 ships that were set to cruise through the Red Sea later this year, due to ongoing attacks on civilian ships by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Citing recent developments and following consultations with global security experts and government authorities, Carnival announced its decision to reroute a total of 12 ships across seven brands.
These ships were originally scheduled to transit through the Red Sea through May 2024.
The Miami, Florida-headquartered cruise operator said that the rerouting decision is expected to have an impact of seven to eight cents on its adjusted earnings per share for the full year 2024, with the “vast majority of the impact” expected to occur in the second quarter.
Carnival had forecast an adjusted profit per share of 93 cents for the full year in December.
However, officials noted there has not been an impact on booking trends due to the Red Sea situation and the company has no other Red Sea transits scheduled until November 2024.
“The company has experienced an early and robust start to wave season (peak booking period), exceeding expectations, with bookings volumes since November hitting an all-time high. For 2024, the company continues to have the best-booked position on record, with both pricing (in constant currency) and occupancy considerably higher than 2023 levels. In fact, the first half of 2024 is almost fully booked,” Carnival said.
Canceled Cruises
The announcement comes after rival Royal Caribbean said earlier this month that it had canceled two voyages set to travel through the Red Sea—one from Muscat to Dubai and another from Dubai to Mumbai—due to safety concerns.It was also forced to amend the itinerary of a cruise between Aqaba and Muscat to disembark guests in a port city near Athens.
Elsewhere, Swiss-Italian operator MSC Cruises called off three trips scheduled to set sail in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to Europe due to the situation in the Red Sea.
Those three ships will now transfer directly to Europe without any passengers on board and avoid transiting through the Red Sea, according to the cruise operator.
US Strikes in Yemen
The changes to the schedules among multiple cruise operators come as tensions between the United States and the Houthis—who control most of Yemen and have been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S.—continue to mount.The Houthis have defied calls from Washington and the international community to halt their missile and drone attacks on Red Sea shipping routes, despite warnings from the U.S. that there would be consequences if they failed to do so.
Houthi officials say their attacks are a show of support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
However, Washington insists it aims to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, despite concerns the situation could expand into wider regional conflict.
