Royal Caribbean: Bookings down significantly since accident

The downturn in cruise bookings noted earlier this week by industry giant Carnival Corp. is taking place at rival Royal Caribbean Cruises, too.

The parent company of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and several other lines today revealed that booking volume from North American customers has fallen by the “low to mid-teen percentages” as compared with a year ago since Jan. 13, the day of the Costa Concordia accident off the coast of Italy.

The decline in bookings from European customers has been even sharper, though results vary significantly by country of origin, the company says in a fourth quarter earnings report.

Royal Caribbean has been expanding rapidly overseas in recent years and now draws more than half of its customers from outside of North America.

“It is very difficult to assess the impact of the incident on our revenues,” the company says. “We believe that most observers and potential guests understand that cruising is safe and that this incident was a very rare anomaly in an otherwise reliably safe vacation. But in the near term it has a significant impact on our bookings.”

RELATED:  Bookings down significantly in wake of accident
ALSO:  Cruise lines roll out promotions

Before the accident, cruise bookings had been running at a strong pace, and Royal Caribbean notes that for the year as a whole, notwithstanding the recent slowdown, its ships remain more booked up — and at higher prices — than at this time last year. “This reflects the very robust starting position the company was in before the incident,” the company says.

The downturn in bookings since the Costa Concordia accident has been greatest for sailings in the first three quarters of the year and wanes as the year progresses, Royal Caribbean says. Spring and summer sailings are showing the largest declines in new bookings.

Royal Caribbean suggested that part of the bookings decline can be attributed to the fact that cruise lines suspended advertising campaigns in the wake of the accident — campaigns that they are just restarting this week. But some of the downtown also is likely the result of post-accident skittishness among consumers. Royal Caribbean noted that the downturn in new bookings is much greater among first-time cruisers than among experienced cruisers. The latter presumably have a higher comfort level with cruising and thus would be less scared off by recent events.

Already, bookings have started to recover, Royal Caribbean notes, and the company says it doesn’t expect the downturn to have a significant long-term impact on its business.

Posts Related to Royal Caribbean says bookings down sharply

• 

  With bookings down, will cruise fares drop?

  Cruise companies hold line on fares in wake of downturn By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY Updated Comments Will the drop in cruise bookings since the ...

• 

  CEO: Disney Cruise Line bookings down, too

  Bookings at Disney Cruise Line down, too, in wake of crash By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY Updated Comments 1 Entertainment giant Disney is the latest ...

• 

  Cruise companies still holding line on fares

  Cruise companies continue to hold line on fares By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY Updated Comments Major cruise companies continue to hold the line on fares, ...