Carnival Expects Solid 2018 After Waiting Out Hurricane Slump
Photo Credit: Carnival Conquest is shown returning to San Juan on Nov. 30 after Hurricane Maria caused severe damage to Puerto Rico. The cruise line said storms this year caused a pause in Caribbean bookings. Carnival Cruise Line
Skift Take
Carnival Corp. had a good quarter despite the fact that it included two monster hurricanes in key markets. That should bode well for other players in the cruise industry.
Carnival Corp. pulled off a better-than-expected fourth fiscal quarter, despite hurricanes that damaged key Caribbean ports and scared potential customers from booking trips.
Executives from the world's largest cruise ship company said bookings were disrupted "for a number of weeks" after Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck in September.
"Since November, we have seen a normalization in the Caribbean booking patterns," said David Bernstein, Carnival's chief financial officer, in a call with analysts Tuesday.
As a result, occupancy on North American brands is lagging from the same time a year ago, though bookings were made at higher prices.
President and CEO Arnold Donald said the cruise company — which has sought to avoid slas
