Carnival Corp's AIDA Cruises is reportedly trying to obtain more than half a billion dollars in aid from Germany.
The German brand with 13 passengerships is seeking $591m from the country's finance ministry, Business Insider has reported.
AIDA Cruises on Friday pushed back its return to service to the end of November because countries around Germany are not ready to welcome back cruiseships, Carnival has said.
German shipbuilder MV Werften has also applied for government help, according to Business Insider.
Carnival and MV Werften did not return calls. The finance ministry and Germany's ministry for economic affairs declined to comment.
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown the entire cruise industry into billions of dollars of losses amid mass fleet lay-ups implemented to prevent further spread of the virus.
Major losses
Arnold Donald-led Carnival, which has not received any financial help from the US government, posted $4.4bn in loss for the second quarter of 2020 and is looking to sell at least 15 older ships.
Fellow cruise majors Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings are also facing billions in losses amid a no-revenue environment brought on by Covid-19.
The Miami-based industry peers, known as "The Big Three", all recorded minimal losses on Wall Street by mid-day on Monday.
Carnival shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange as CCL, slipped 2.5% to $16.78.
Royal Caribbean's stock, which can also be found on the New York Stock Exchange as RCL, slid 0.2% to $70.01.
Norwegian's shares, which trade on the Nasdaq stock market as NCLH, declined 2.8% to $17.19.
Help granted
Germany has provided some relief to some of its industries already since the virus arrived in early 2020.
The German government in June gave Lufthansa €9bn in bailout money in exchange for a 20% stake in the airline.
The finance ministry is also offering up to €25bn in financial help to small- and medium-sized German businesses through a "temporary aid scheme", according to its website.
