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Carnival, Norwegian Shares Fall as Ebola Forces Lines to Skip Stops

Carnival, Norwegian Shares Fall as Ebola Forces Lines to Skip Stops

Bloomberg
Total Views: 8
October 7, 2014

MS Seabourn Sojourn. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Christopher Palmeri

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) — Cruise line stocks fell after Carnival Corp. and a company being bought by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. canceled stops in West Africa over concerns about the spread of Ebola.

Carnival, the largest operator, lost as much as 4.8 percent in New York, while Norwegian was down 3.1 percent. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which said it doesn’t have stops in Africa, retreated up to 5.4 percent.

The outbreak of Ebola has hurt travel industry stocks worldwide as investors weigh the potential impact on tourism and the U.S. plans to increase screenings of airline passengers. Ships owned by Carnival and Regent Seven Seas, which has agreed to be acquired by Norwegian, have canceled stops and changed itineraries to avoid the area, with three ships rerouted, the publication Travel Pulse reported today.

Few Carnival ships stop in Africa, Roger Frizzell, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail. Cruise lines often adjust their itineraries due to situations such as weather.

“In most cases, there is not any compensation because new destinations have replaced the existing ones,” Frizzell said.

Jason Lasecki, a spokesman for Prestige Cruise Holdings, which owns Regent Seven Seas, said the company canceled one stop in Dakar that wasn’t part of a regular itinerary.

Ghana, Gambia and Dakar, Senegal, were pulled from the itinerary for the Rotterdam, operated by Carnival’s Holland America, the publication reported. The cruise departs Nov. 15. Another Carnival ship, the Seabourn Sojourn, replaced calls at Dakar and Banjul, Gambia, with stops in Malaga and Cadiz, Spain, for a cruise starting Nov. 19.

Carnival fell 3.8 percent to $38 at 1:58 p.m. after tumbling as low as $37.60. Royal Caribbean was down 5.3 percent to $62.45, and Norwegian was down 2.4 percent to $34.76 after trading as low as $34.50.

Copyright 2014 Bloomberg.

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