Caribbean bookings in 2018 at Carnival Corp. are slightly
behind a year ago and at lower prices, due principally to itineraries in the eastern
Caribbean and from San Juan, CFO David Bernstein said.
In a conference call with analysts to discuss first-quarter
earnings, Bernstein said that western Caribbean itineraries are ahead at higher
prices.
Much of the damage to future eastern Caribbean business
happened during last year's hurricanes, and in the six-week recovery when reservations
were lower, CEO Arnold Donald said.
During the call, he repeated several times that overall the Caribbean
was strong and that there's plenty of time in the year to make up lost ground,
but he also cited a hurricane malaise, particularly in San Juan, as a factor
that requires patience from Carnival management.
"San Juan is much more of a drag than the rest of the eastern
Caribbean, in terms of where we are," Donald said.
Carnival Cruise Line has a ship, the Fascination, homeported
in San Juan, and a portion of that ship's guests are Puerto Rico residents. "It
is a source market for that home port, and the hurricane did have an impact on
that source market, albeit small. But it did have an impact," he said.
Bernstein said that the eastern Caribbean and San Juan
account for 16% of Carnival capacity in the second half of the year and the western
Caribbean 13%.
Booking volume during the Wave period has been strong, said investor
relations senior vice president Beth Roberts. Company-wide, booking volume is
ahead of last year and at higher prices.
For the quarter ended Feb. 28, Carnival reported net income
of $391 million, up from $352 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue rose 10.5%, to $4.2 billion. After adjusting for items such as
unrealized fuel derivatives, Carnival expects earnings in 2018 to range between
$3 billion and $3.15 billion, up from $2.74 billion last year.