Cuba a 'Longer-Term Play' for Carnival

Cuba a 'Longer-Term Play' for Carnival
Due to strict regulations, Carnival has been delayed in opening trips to
Cuba, CEO Arnold Donald said on the company's recent earnings call.
Lindsay Rittenhouse Follow Dec 23, 2016 12:56 PM EST

Other than scheduling six brief stops to Cuba, Carnival (CCL) does not
expect to open any major cruise lines from the U.S. to Havana as quickly
as its competitors have.

On Thursday, Carnival's Fathom line gained approval to make nine-hour
stops to Santiago de Cuba on six voyages making their way to the
Dominican Republic, the company said in a statement.

Carnival said in Thursday's statement that Cuba is "one of the world's
most in-demand destinations" but the company may not be offering direct
cruise lines to the country as soon as competitors Norwegian Cruise Line
(NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) have. Norwegian opened bookings
for its Cuba trips on Tuesday and Royal Caribbean opened certain
bookings on Dec. 9.

"Along with everyone else, we submitted our requests for additional
sailings through the beginning of the June period and thereafter,"
Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said on the company's recent earnings call.
"It's just a planning cycle in Cuba and we're in the process of
receiving the authorizations from Cuba."

Donald said he hopes Carnival can get approval for more than just one
brand - Fathom - to sail to Cuba but the country's authorities "have
constraints in number of berths, and the size of the berths and what
size ships you can get in and so on."

"So, Cuba's a longer term play but you have to build it today and that's
what we're doing," Donald said.

Source: Cuba a 'Longer-Term Play' for Carnival - TheStreet -
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