Carnival To Get More Cruise Ship Passengers, Cash In On Thomas Cook Bankruptcy

The collapse of British travel company Thomas Cook could bolster the Carnival cruise line business in the short to medium term, according to a research note by analysts.

“The near-term disruption from the liquidation of Thomas Cook’s tour/hotel operations should result in UK/Continental European budget consumers looking to vacation/holiday options from stable operators,” the note by Wells Fargo Securities said.

They see the Thomas Cook’s insolvency led closure as “a modest near-term positive” for Carnival cruise. The Carnival is the largest U.S. cruise line in terms of revenue flow.

Carnival operates many brands in the U.K.

In the cruise segment, the P&O Cruises had been hugely popular among British customers. Among other Carnival brands that can benefit from the disruption include Costa and AIDA, per Wells Fargo.

The analysts Timothy Conder, Karen Tan, and Marc Torrente also added that any other “primary cruise industry” company is unlikely to make advantage of the Thomas Cook situation.

Carnival’s latest fiscal, showed nearly 7 percent of its 12.4 million cruise guests are from Britain. Continental Europe contributes 19 percent of cruise travelers.

Other top players in the U.S cruise industry include Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. Among the large U.S. operators, Royal Caribbean comes second in revenue followed by Norwegian cruises.

Thomas Cook cruise bookings

Meanwhile, an estimated 450,000 customers are facing canceled holiday plans as a result of the Thomas Cook closure.

However, many cruise lines have reassured passengers that their booked cruise trips will be honored.

Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises released statements assuring holidaymakers with cruise deals that all support will be offered in terms of advice and information for re-booking.

Princess Cruises offered to take over all Thomas Cook cruise bookings, saying it is “contacting all affected guests".

British cruise operator P&O also promised all pre-booked vacations secured with ABTA/ATOL protection will be honored.

According to Cruise News, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises also issued statements telling passengers to “hold tight” and they will be contacted in the order of sail date.

Meanwhile, MSC Cruises has got approval from the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners to construct, operate and maintain a large building to host two cruise terminals (AA and AAA) as well as two berths for ships.

MSC Cruises is the fourth largest cruise line in the world. The proposed PortMiami terminals will have the capacity to handle 28,000 passenger movements per day.

MSC Cruises currently operates four cruise ships: MSC Armonia, MSC Divina, MSC Seaside, and MSC Meraviglia. The work is expected to finish by the end of 2022.