Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Carnival Cruise boss banks on safety measures

Carnival Cruise boss banks on safety measures

The boss of the world's biggest cruise company has told the BBC new safety measures can help the $150bn (£113bn) a year industry to get going again.

The hugely profitable business has been brought to its knees by coronavirus after regulators around the world stopped ships from sailing to try and limit outbreaks.

Arnold Donald, the chief executive of Carnival Corporation, said "universal testing, which doesn't exist in any other industry of scale" will help mitigate the risk of an outbreak.

He added that "additional medical screenings, physical distancing, mask wearing" could be among further measures.

However, there have been outbreaks of coronavirus on some of the few cruises that have set sail recently, including the Carnival-owned Costa Diadema which has been sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr Donald concedes that "you cannot guarantee that you're going to be Covid-free no matter what regimen you put in place".

Although, he insists, "it can be managed and managed effectively" and that collaborating with authorities around the world means that has been done "reasonably effectively" so far.


A number of cruise ships were scrapped this year


The company has drafted in a raft of health and scientific advisers to draw up its protocols.

Mr Donald says "our priority, of course, is to make cruising work in a way where we have every confidence there's no greater risk than if you were engaging in similar activity shore-side".

The difficulties of achieving that were laid out by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), which in lifting its ban on cruise ships, said that without mitigations "cruise ships would continue to pose a greater risk of Covid-19 transmission than other settings".

Two outbreaks on cruise ships early in the pandemic have been detrimental to the cruise industry, with passengers dying after outbreaks on both the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined by Japan, and the Grand Princess, which eventually docked in California.

'Cautiously optimistic'


Traditionally, cruising has a loyal customer base and that has given Mr Arnold grounds for optimism.

He says for the second half of next year "bookings have been robust. People really want to cruise when it's safe to do so". He adds "we're cautiously optimistic we'll be sailing in early 2021", albeit a few ships at a time.

The financial imperative to get going again is clear.

Despite scrapping 18 of its 105 ships, Carnival is losing about $650m a month. After raising more than $12bn from investors, Mr Arnold says, "even if we had zero revenue, we could go through in to the summer of next year".



Other than that the money has pretty much stopped coming in.

The summer is normally the busiest time of the year but from July to August Carnival brought in just $31m. None of that was from ticket sales, and it compares to $6.5bn in the same time last year, 68% of which was from tickets.

The lack of paying passengers reflects the huge uncertainty hanging over an industry that thrives on thousands of passengers at a time, travelling in relatively close confines, two things that have been severely restricted to try and control coronavirus.

According to Monique Giese, who tracks the shipping industry for the consultancy KPMG, the cruise industry is very much at the mercy of the virus.

Back to work?


She says "it is very difficult to give any forecast for the next year. The cruise industry is going to lose the very profitable winter season specifically in the Caribbean area."

Test runs are amongst the strict conditions that have been laid out by the CDC before cruises can resume in the US.

It's the most important market for the industry, accounting for nearly 50% of the 30m passengers who take a cruise each year.

The industry has voluntarily stopped sailings in the US until the end of year. However Congress is investigating whether or not the Trump White House interfered to stop the CDC extending the mandatory ban into next year.

President-elect Joe Biden has taken a markedly different approach to tackling coronavirus but Mr Donald says "we don't have any concerns" that a new administration will lead to a new no-sail order and more financial problems.

Before the pandemic, the Cruise Line Industry Association calculated that its members supported 1.2m jobs worldwide, and when the US no-sail order was lifted its President Kelly Craighead said she was "confident that a resumption of cruising in the US is possible to support the economic recovery" whilst protecting public health.

However, ships are being scrapped by several lines, meaning that jobs will be lost. For those that remain, Mr Arnold says "it's important to get people back to work".

You can watch Arnold Donald's full interview on Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst this weekend on BBC World News at Saturday 2330 GMT, Sunday 1630 GMT, Monday 0730 GMT and 1130 GMT and Tuesday at 1330 GMT.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×