By Tess Stynes
Carnival Corp. (CCL) said January net bookings rose 17% from the
year-earlier period, which the company's chief executive attributed
to continued product improvements, attractive promotions and strong
support from its travel-agent partners.
The cruise ship company said that net bookings last month rose
to more than 565,000 guests, noting the industry typically sees
booking activity increase at this time of year, when many people
focus on making vacation plans.
Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill noted Carnival didn't
introduce new ships last year, so the bookings growth isn't related
to an increase in capacity.
The bookings update comes as the cruise industry has been trying
to fight negative publicity, most recently after gastrointestinal
illnesses sickened hundreds of people on two cruise ships in the
Caribbean last week. One ship was operated by rival Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. (RCL); the other was part of Carnival's Princess
line.
In recent months, Carnival has introduced a vacation guarantee
that provides consumers with the option of ending some voyages
early and flying home at Carnival's expense if they are
dissatisfied for any reason, within the first 24 hours of the
trip.
Carnival in December reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter
earnings fell 29% as higher operating costs offset revenue
growth.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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