Royal Caribbean Cruises said it has cancelled three cruises in China due to the coronavirus, it has been confirmed.
The US-listed cruiseship owner said the sailings effected were those on the 169,000-gt Spectrum of the Seas (built 2019) through 8 February 2020.
The vessel, which is described as “high yielding” is currently Royal Caribbean’s only ship homeported in China. It sails out of Shanghai under the flagship Royal Caribbean International brand.
“As has been widely reported, China has moved aggressively to contain the spread of the virus,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement.
“As a result of these measures, and after consultation with national and local health authorities, the company has cancelled three sailings.”
Royal Caribbean estimates that the cancelled cruises, which included the Chinese New Year cruises, will impact 2020 financial results by about $0.10 per share.
“If the travel restrictions in China continue until the end of February, the company estimates that this would further impact its results by an additional $0.10 per share,” the Miami-headquartered company said.
“There are still too many variables and uncertainties regarding this outbreak to calculate the overall impact on the business.
“For example, we expect an erosion of consumer confidence in China could have an additional impact on load factor and rate in the region until the market normalizes.
“If these travel restrictions continue for an extended period of time, they could have a material impact on the overall financial performance of the company.”
Royal Caribbean had planned to add two more ships to its China operation joining in May and July 2020. For all of 2020, China represents about 6% of the company’s capacity.
The company is scheduled to release its fourth quarter results early next week with a conference call with analysts scheduled for 4 February 2020.
