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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE As Europe careens towards an energy crisis this winter, a Baker administration official said that Massachusetts is in a position more similar to Europe than to other states, and put residents here on notice that the cost of heating their homes and keeping the lights on is likely to skyrocket here this winter as the price of natural gas soars. “Everybody should be aware that, this winter, Massachusetts is more like Europe than we are from other states because we’re at the end of our national gas pipeline system,” Judy Chang, undersecretary of energy and climate...

Is the rebound in cruise stocks for real? Or should you abandon ship? What happened It's Thursday, two days after the stock market's big 4% one-day plunge -- and the good news is that while stock markets in general look "mixed" today (some averages up, others down), one sector in particular is showing surprising strength: cruise stocks. In late-morning trading, shares of all three of the major U.S.-based cruisers are on the rise. So far, as of 10:55 a.m. ET, we're seeing Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH 4.15%) up 3%... Expand undefined Stock Quote NYSE: NCLH Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings...

In a surprising change to its Minor Guest Policy that applies to passengers under 21 years of age, Carnival Cruise Line has instituted an onboard youth curfew for all its vessels. The curfew will only apply to travelers 17 years of age and younger, and goes into effect immediately across the entire fleet. Curfew for Young Guests Outlined on the cruise line’s Minor Guest Policy page, the new curfew is as follows: “Guests 17 years of age and under who are not accompanied by an adult in their traveling party, 21 years of age or older, must be clear of...

Carnival Corporation succeeded in rolling over some short-term debt this week -- at "no upfront cost." That's good news for Carnival, reducing the short-term risk of bankruptcy. What is the risk that Carnival's debt load will prevent it from earning a profit? On a modestly green day for the stock market, with the S&P 500 just dipping its toe into positive territory as of 10 a.m. ET, shares of cruise stock company Carnival Corporation (CCL 2.34%) (CUK 1.89%) are doing better than most, up 2.8%. Carnival announced last night that it has closed a previously announced debt exchange, and this...

Norwegian Cruise Line Won’t Be Dropping Prices to Fill Ships Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings remains committed to not dropping the cruise price to increase occupancy levels. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO and President Frank De Rio has made it clear he is not interested in filling up ships if that will devalue his three brands. The comment from the CEO of the third-largest cruise company in the United States is a significant step away from what the competition has been doing recently. Focussing on creating a long-term strategy of offering steady pricing and a competitive onboard environment is the way...

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) released its second-quarter results today, August 9, which showed positive improvements over the company’s results in previous quarters. However, the company still posted a loss of $509.3 million. Banking on improved occupancy rates and easing the health and safety protocols relating to COVID-19, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is optimistic it will be turning the losses around in the near future. The company has already posted a positive cash flow since March this year and expects to post record numbers in 2023. NCLH Looks back At Positive Developments In Second Quarter Despite posting a loss of...

Travelers looking to book a cruise will no longer have to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 on Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) as it has changed the requirements for boarding its ships. The cruise line announced changes to its COVID policies on Monday, with Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, saying in a statement that the decision would make "it simpler and easier for our loyal guests to cruise on our three best-in-class brands." Norwegian operates its namesake cruise brand as well as Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Changes to the sailing requirements now...

Rivals Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings are also trying to preserve cash in face of unexpected headwinds Royal Caribbean Group has taken out another $1bn in debt as the entire cruise sector looks to preserve liquidity, in a bid to refinance a bond series coming due. The New York-listed owner of 64 ships made a private offering of $900m senior convertible notes due 2025 on Monday. It also plans to offer another $135m in notes to principal buyers of the debt. Cruise shares ‘diverge’ from sector’s recovering booking performance Read more “The purpose of the offering is to...

What happened Happy days are here again for cruise line stock investors -- but will they last? After suffering four straight days of declines, shares of Carnival (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) rebounded sharply this morning, So what Cruise stock fans are pointing to a new survey out from Cruiseline.com that shows 91.4% of respondents saying they plan to take a cruise "within the next year," and 34% saying they will cruise within just the next two to four months. And yes, that sounds like good news for cruise lines, but beware. Because the bad news could still be coming. Sometime...

Since first premiering in 1988, Discovery Channel's Shark Week — the annual, week-long scheduling of all things sharks — has become a phenomenon. The U.S. had 47 unprovoked shark bites in 2021, with Florida coming in first place with 28. Despite the proliferation of shark attacks in these parts of the country, 2022's Shark Week focuses on the waters around Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and viewers will discover something fascinating and unexpected about the area. There Are More White Sharks Off Cape Cod Than Ever Before Even though many sharks call the waters of the Atlantic Ocean home, many forget...

(Bloomberg) -- Carnival Corp. is leading peers lower on Thursday after pricing one of the year’s largest equity sales at a steeper discount than usual. The world’s largest cruise line fell 13% after the sale priced 102 million of shares at $9.95 each overnight, according to a statement. The deal raised about $1 billion that Carnival says it might use to address 2023 debt maturities. The offering price reflects slightly more than a 10% discount to Wednesday’s close, the steepest awarded across at least five Carnival stock offerings conducted since the start of the pandemic. “This equity raise will cause...

Cruise ship companies are thrilled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its COVID-19 monitoring program that tracked how many COVID-19 cases were reported ship-by-ship. On Monday, the constantly updated spreadsheet was gone without a trace, replaced with this notice: It is hard to make sense of why the CDC would pull back from a detailed monitoring program just as COVID-19 cases are again rising worldwide. (The World Health Organization says cases in Europe have tripled in the last six weeks, and hospitalizations have doubled.) When the site took down the monitoring page, 93 of the 95 ships...

Like many a tourist, white sharks come to Cape Cod for the fresh seafood and sunny beaches. The sharks don't sunbathe on the sand but their favorite prey, gray seals, do and when seals venture back into the waves they become a target. “White sharks are feeding on seals in shallow water off Cape Cod,” Greg Skomal, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries senior shark researcher, observed at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s media day June 29 at its Chatham headquarters. “A predator prey relationship is natural in any system. We are studying various aspects of this behavior.” More:'Everyone going...

A pair of orcas killing great white sharks by ripping open their torsos for their livers — and as a result scaring away great whites from a South African region — has raised questions about whether that could happen along Cape Cod. But it’s “really too early to say” if killer whales will descend upon the Massachusetts coast and drive away the growing great white shark population, a local shark expert tells the Herald. “When there have been orca sightings here through the years, they’ve never really seemed to impact the white sharks in the area,” said John Chisholm, who...

The market's view of these travel and leisure companies is growing more pessimistic. What happened The terrible week for cruise line stocks continued on Thursday. Not only is the broader market's decline dragging down their share prices, but there are also fears that the companies are seeing pricing pressure for tickets. So what On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Jamie Rollo said in a report that he was worried that cruise line companies could ultimately face insolvency if their business conditions don't improve soon. And on Thursday, Citi leisure and travel sector analyst James Hardiman said during an interview on Yahoo!...

Cruise stocks were tumbling to their lowest point since 2020 on Thursday as fears intensified over rising inflation and a potential recession. Fueling the selloff were concerns that consumers will be curbing discretionary spending in response to rising prices and economic uncertainty. There’s also an uptick in Covid-19 cases that may be increasing consumer reluctance to hop on a cruise. The seven-day moving average for known Covid-19 cases has hovered around 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and likely is higher amid an increased reliance on at-home testing kits that don’t get reported to public officials....

Cape Cod shark researchers have reported the first confirmed great white shark sighting of the season, as more eyeballs were on the water for the unofficial start of summer. The white shark chomping on the seal on Sunday was the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s first confirmed sighting of the season, according to Massachusetts-based shark expert John Chisholm, who is with the New England Aquarium and who has been tracking shark sightings for many years. “We’ve had a couple of other unconfirmed sightings, but this is the first one where we actually got to see the shark,” said Chisholm, “We know...

Carnival has temporarily closed two restaurants on all of its ships. Norwegian and Cunard have capped cruise ship capacities and canceled sailings. The cruise industry could be in rocky waters again: Like on-land hospitality companies, cruise lines haven't been immune to worker shortages" amid the Great Resignation. And now, a lack of available cruise workers has begun affecting itineraries and onboard amenities. Not all cruise companies have been as fortunate as Holland America or Royal Caribbean. Guests sailing with Carnival will also be spared from itinerary changes. But this doesn't mean it'll be smooth sailing for the cruise line. Carnival...

What happened Shares of cruise line stocks plunged in trading on Tuesday as the market continues to grapple with economic uncertainty. . So what The news continues to be murky at best with companies warning of slowing sales in a variety of sectors, consumers experiencing inflation, and the Federal Reserve continuing to indicate that it will keep raising interest rates. Today's news was that Snap is experiencing far slower advertising spending in just the last few weeks than expected and that indicates companies from direct response retailers to gaming companies to big brands are pulling back on their spending. This...

Three cruise brands are suffering from crew shortages, but the reasons the lines cite for the lack of extra hands on deck couldn’t be more different. Norwegian Cruise Line’s, Carnival Cruise Line’s and Cunard Line’s recent moves are likely examples of a broader industry staffing issue that could impact service levels on many cruise ships this spring and summer. Norwegian caps capacity Norwegian Cruise Line has been forced to limit passenger capacity on its United States-based Pride of America ship, which reentered service in April and sails exclusively around the Hawaiian Islands. As reported by Travel Pulse, NCL President Harry...