Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings — the third largest cruise company in the world — reported a loss of $677.4 million, or $2.50 per share, during the third quarter of 2020.
Cruises on the company's three brands — Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas — remain canceled in the U.S., the company's most lucrative market, until at least Jan. 1. Until then, the company expects to have a monthly cash burn rate of $175 million, according to a company financial update Tuesday.
The company said bookings for the first half of 2021 are "below historical ranges," but bookings for the second half of 2021 are "in line with historical ranges."
The industry canceled cruises in mid-March amid COVID-19 outbreaks on several ships, followed by a no-sail order put in place by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In August, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings removed all but four of its ships from U.S. waters. Only ships in U.S. waters are required to report COVID-19 cases to the CDC.
The CDC lifted its cruise ban this month, but passenger operations are not allowed to restart until companies meet the agency's requirements, including weekly COVID-19 testing of all crew and reporting, running mock cruises using volunteers with CDC monitoring, and eventually obtaining a certificate from the agency to restart.
CEO Frank Del Rio said he believes the company's entire fleet will be operating in the second half of 2021. It will take $300 million of investment to comply with the CDC requirements, he estimated, out of a total liquidity of $2.3 billion as of Sept. 30.
" '22 is the road to normalization," he said during an earnings call. "And then '23 forward is normalization."
