By Tess Stynes
Carnival Corp. (CCL) said January net bookings rose 17% from the
year-earlier period at its namesake cruise line, which the
company's chief executive attributed to continued product
improvements and attractive promotions.
The cruise ship company, which also ooperates the Princess,
Cunard and Holland America lines, among others, said net bookings
last month rose to more than 565,000 guests at the Carnival line,
noting the industry typically sees booking activity increase at
this time of year, when many people focus on making vacation
plans.
A company spokesman noted the Carnival line is the company's
largest brand and includes 24 of Carnival's 101 ships. Net bookings
are new reservations minus cancellations.
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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