Norwegian Cruise Line has a Big Europe Problem
Skift Take
Cruise line executives trumpet the benefits of global deployment: When one part of the world is having trouble, other regions tend to improve. Unfortunately for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the biggest markets are struggling at the same time.
There has been no calm port in the storm for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings this spring and summer.
Repeated terror attacks and political instability in Europe kept North Americans — the company's prime source market — away from Mediterranean sailings. And while the Caribbean was still a popular option, cruises there did not command prices as high as the company had anticipated.
"Our expectations were outsized and they didn’t materialize," CEO Frank Del Rio told analysts during a second-quarter earnings call August 9.
The details came as the Miami-based cruise company — which includes Norwegian Cruise Line, upscale Oceania Cruises and luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises — reported that revenues rose but profits fell. Revenues increased 9.3 percent to $1.2 billion while profits dropped 8.4 percent year-over-year to $145.2 million.
More concerning was that Norwegian lowered its outlook for the year
