Carnival Corp. is 93% booked for 2026 despite dampened demand in Q2 due to the Iran war and high fuel prices, CEO Josh Weinstein said on the company's Q2 earnings call Tuesday.
The company reported adjusted net income of $569 million and $6.7 billion in revenue, both high marks for Carnival Corp. Still, it lowered financial expectations for the year, saying it hadn't expected the war to continue through the entirety of its second quarter (March through May).
"While we are incredibly resilient to major external shocks, we are not immune," Weinstein said.
Mediterranean itineraries took the hit because it was the Carnival Corp. cruising region closest to the war, Weinstein said. High airfares and reduced flight capacity for North American travelers exacerbated the situation, he said.
"This was a perpetual headline of ever-changing questions about when and how this was going to end," Weinstein said. "People can't normalize if they can't figure out how are they going to plan their future."
Demand began to turn a corner in June, he said, but Carnival doesn't want to bet on "smooth sailing" through the end of the year.
"I think that would be naive," the CEO said. "We think there will be bumps in the road as the geopolitical situation does gradually normalize."
Protecting pricing
The 93% booked position puts Carnival ahead of where it was a year ago, and the bookings are paired with record prices, Weinstein said. In Europe, the company "entered the quarter having strategically positioned ourselves with an occupancy advantage," which enabled Carnival to maintain "price integrity," Weinstein said.
While Europe close-in bookings hit a snag in Q2, Weinstein said bookings for 2027 departures were up in the mid-teens percentages year over year and at higher prices, "supporting our confidence in the longer-term demand environment."
The quarter's adjusted net income of $569 million was up 20% from 2025. Carnival also boasted having an all-time high of $9 billion in customer deposits.
Weinstein said ongoing "structural improvements" companywide helped the company achieve good Q2 results despite geopolitical uncertainty.
Those include initiatives to maintain pricing integrity and high onboard spending, including enhanced revenue management and improved marketing. He also pointed to investments in infrastructure and private destinations as being pivotal for Carnival's growth trajectory.
Carnival Corp. has 10 ships on order, including a new class of Princess Cruises ships. It is also spending $500 million upgrading six Holland America Line ships.
Weinstein hinted at more fleet enhancements to come and said the company plans to continue debuting only one or two new ships per year.
He highlighted updates to the company's private destination portfolio as strengthening Carnival's position. Earlier this June, Carnival Cruise Line opened a refreshed RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. The improvements included a pier enabling Carnival's largest ships to dock there.
"Collectively, our commercial, our fleet, and our destination initiatives are strengthening the business," Weinstein said. "As they continue to mature, we expect them to drive stronger earnings, cash flow and returns over time."