Cruise Line stocks are under pressure today after the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control announced they will stop using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at federal sites and urge states to do so as well while they investigate safety issues.
The NY Times reports that the single-dose coronavirus vaccine is being pulled after six recipients in the United States developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination, officials briefed on the decision said. All six recipients were women between the ages of 18 and 48.
This is particularly bad news for the cruise lines that have been fighting the CDC over the current US cruise ban which some operators consider overly strict. Last week the state of Florida sued President Joe Biden’s administration in federal court seeking to block the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to prevent the U.S. cruise industry from immediately resuming operations which have been paused for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Lines $NCLH, Carnival $CLL, and Royal Caribbean $RCL were all down a few percent in the premarket this morning immediately after the news was announced.
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Carnival Corp cut its annual profit forecast on Friday, as higher fuel costs pressure the cruise operator's margins amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Cruise operators face choppy waters as rising oil prices lift fuel costs, with analysts warning Carnival Corp CCL.N could take the biggest hit to its 2026 profit as it is the only major U.S. cruise line that does not hedge fuel.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has ordered three new cruise ships from Fincantieri—one each for Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises—with deliveries scheduled for 2036–2037. The deal secures valuable European shipyard capacity through 2037 and brings NCLH’s total orderbook to 17 vessels, supporting a projected 4% annual capacity growth through the next decade.
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