Carnival Corp.'s cruise ships sailing in the Gulf of Mexico have been "virtually unaffected" by the BP oil spill, said company CEO Micky Arison.
Speaking to analysts during a second-quarter earnings call today, Arison said that the only impact from the spill is a slight increase in fuel consumption from ships having to navigate around the worst areas of the spill.
He said the company has experienced "no slowdown in the booking pattern" for its cruises that depart from ports in the Gulf.
Carnival Cruise Lines operates cruises from New Orleans; Mobile, Ala.; and Galveston, Texas.
Arison said every ship is inspected when it comes through the Gulf into the U.S. So far, no hulls have needed cleaning.
He added that Carnival's website has a message encouraging people to book pre- and post-cruise stays in the region in order to stimulate tourism there.