Volunteers of the Seas - Royal Caribbean Test Sailings

Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) has launched a website where you can volunteer and apply to be a passenger on an upcoming test sailing in preparation for the relaunch of cruising in the U.S.. Over 20,000 people signed up in the first 24 hours to assist the company in earning their ‘conditional sailing certificate',

Cruise ships haven't been sailing since March 14th, 2020, but the CDC officially lifted its ‘no sail order‘ on October 31st, 2020 and implemented a strict ‘conditional sail order' which gives cruise lines permission to sail again in U.S. waters if they meet all safety requirements. 

As of this post, no official date has been set for the trial cruise/s but according to the Royal Caribbean website, the cruise line has scheduled their first real cruises starting in January, 2021. This means that the test sailings could come as early as December giving the cruise line enough time to for its voyages to be given the green light by the CDC. 

The trial cruises are expected to sail to Royal Caribbean's private island of Cococay which will allow the cruise line to strictly control the voyage conditions. Onboard the simulation cruises will be CDC officials, cruise line officials and an unbiased third party auditor.

COVID-19 prevention protocols passengers can expect during the test cruise and real cruises once they start are mandatory Covid testing and temperature checks before boarding, face coverings in public areas of the ship, reduced ship capacity, socially distanced dining and shorter voyages. 

A simulated voyage must meet the following requirements:

• The cruise ship operator must design and conduct a simulated voyage insofar as practicable to test the efficacy of the cruise ship operator’s ability to mitigate the risks  of COVID-19 onboard its cruise ship.
• Volunteer passengers are to be told in writing of the "inherently risky activity" of their test sailing.
• All volunteer passengers must be at least eighteen years old or older.
• All volunteer passengers must have a written certification from a healthcare provider that they have no pre-existing medical conditions.
• Royal Caribbean must conduct any simulation on a consensual basis.
• Royal Caribbean must embark additional crew members beyond safe minimum manning levels only as determined through CDC technical instructions or orders.
• The cruise ship operator must conduct a monitored observation period and laboratory testing of volunteer passengers, as directed in CDC technical instructions or orders, prior to embarking volunteer passengers on a simulated voyage.

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CDC - Cruise Line No Sail Order Extended

Cruise ships haven't been sailing since March 14th, 2020, and that means a lot of refunds being issued by Carnival (NYSE:CCL), Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH).

On Thursday April 9th, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an extension of a No Sail Order for all cruise ships for 100 days. This means Ships won't sail til at least mid-July.

The highly leveraged cruise lines are attempting to retaining the funds already paid to them for Spring and Summer bookings and encouraging guests to accept 125% credits toward a future cruise and/or large amounts of on-board credit to rebook a future date.

Even those booking new cruises are getting great deals. For example, I checked today on a Cruise to Mexico and the cruise, taxes, fees and gratuities add up to less than the onboard credit Carnival offered, meaning I would make $6.78 on taking the cruise.

All 3 cruise lines have taken steps to slow spending, but cash flow is still needed.

As the cruise lines are not registered in the US, they may not be eligible for US Government loans and assistance from the Stimulus. Carnival is incorporated in Panama, Norwegian is incorporated in Bermuda, and Royal Caribbean is incorporated in Liberia.

Royal Caribbean has recently accessed approx $3.5 billion from existing credit lines.

Carnival has shown that at the right price, the cruise industry can find the money it needs amid turmoil caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) panic. Carnival initiated an effort to raise over $6 billion to shore up liquidity. Approx $4 billion was raised by selling its debt by way of secured bonds (secured by a first-priority claim on the company’s assets). The three-year bonds have a yield of just under 12%. Information released during the bond offering: Carnival has received 39,000 bookings since it stopped sailing, and 45% of customers whose cruises had to be canceled/rescheduled chose credit for future trips as opposed to cash refunds.

On 4/6/20, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) now owns an 8.2% stake in Carnival. Saudi Arabia’ PIF held no stock in the cruise line at the start of 2020.

The same day, Carnival director Randall Weisenburger paid $10 million for a large block of shares at $8 a share. He now owns 1.38 million Carnival shares,  he had last bought Carnival stock on July 3, 2019, when he paid $930,000 for 20,000 shares, a per-share average price of $46.50.

Swiss bank USB report issued March 31, found that 9% more cruises have been booked for 2021 than were being booked the same time last year. This does include people using credits for canceled cruises, but the increase still shows many have the desire to book a cruise and the industry will bounce back when restrictions are lifted. How soon will you plan your next cruise?

Carnival Cruise Line

Customer service: 1 (800) 764-7419
Reservations: 1 (800) 327-9501
Headquarters: Miami, FL

Norwegian Cruise Line

Customer service: 1 (866) 234-7350
Reservations: 1 (866) 234-0292
Headquarters: Miami, FL

Royal Caribbean International

Customer service: 1 (800) 256-6649
Reservations: 1 (866) 562-7625
Headquarters: Miami, FL


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