FILE PHOTO: Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas cruise ship is moored at Marina Bay Cruise Center after a passenger tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a cruise to nowhere, in Singapore, December 9, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
August 4, 2021
(Reuters) -Royal Caribbean Group said on Wednesday overall bookings rose and the near-term cruise demand was seeing a modest dent from the Delta variant of the coronavirus amid a broader recovery in the tourism industry.
Cruise operators began sailing from U.S. ports again in June with mostly vaccinated passengers and crew on limited capacity following lengthy talks with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about health and safety protocols.
The resumption in sailing came more than a year after operations were suspended, but a few on-board cases in recent weeks and rising Delta variant infections in U.S. states has raised worries that a rebound for the cruise industry could be delayed.
Royal Caribbean said weekly bookings in June jumped about 90% compared to the previous quarter as the travel and tourism industry claws back from the impact of the pandemic.
The company reported an adjusted net loss of $1.3 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, about the same as a year ago.
Its shares were down 2% in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
