Cruise ships may not be able to pack as many passengers into their casinos as they would like for a while, but Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings still seems to value a good gamble.
In an appeal to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, the company said it would require all passengers and crew to be vaccinated two weeks before coming on board and hopes to resume cruise operations from U.S. ports beginning July 4.
There is no way to know at this point how the CDC will respond. Still, shares of all three major cruise lines rose on Monday with Norwegian finishing up a sector-leading 7%. Some analysts speculated that the CDC could accept Norwegian’s proposal, given it recently deemed travel “low risk” for those who have been vaccinated. That would be great news for Norwegian, but it may not benefit all cruise lines equally.
JP Morgan analyst Brandt Montour reasons that all industry players will likely have to adopt the same vaccination requirements. Cruising out of the U.S. under any conditions would be a positive development for the industry, given that U.S. passenger ships have been sidelined for more than a year now because of the pandemic. But Norwegian’s specific appeal clearly shows it understands a key point of differentiation for its business that investors may have missed.
While Carnival Corp.’s brands, especially Carnival Cruise Line, are known for catering to families and younger adults, Norwegian’s passengers typically skew older. The company says passengers on its Oceana Cruises and Regent Seven Seas brands are predominantly over 65 years old, with passengers on its namesake Norwegian Cruise Line ships averaging about 52 years old.
The Link LonkApril 06, 2021 at 05:30PM
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Vaccine Requirements Could Be a Booster for Norwegian Cruise Lines - The Wall Street Journal
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