A reminder from Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) of how historically tough it is to be in the travel and tourism business during a global health crisis.
The cruise ship operator on Thursday posted a billion-dollar net loss for the third straight quarter...
And it expects to lose more money this quarter as it anticipates burning through up to $290 million in cash every month.
Royal Caribbean is expecting its costs to rise as it gets ships ready to sail again and be in compliance with new health safety rules.
It expects to start sailing one ship from Singapore at the end of the year.
The cruise industry as a whole has pretty much come to a standstill after COVID-19 outbreaks on several ships halted voyages this spring, and some operators are now facing passenger lawsuits.
In order to convince customers to book a cruise again, Royal Caribbean has jointly spearheaded an industry effort to put new practices in place including testing, use of face coverings and enhanced sanitation procedures...
that has yet to convince the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lift a no sail order that could be extended this week.