Long-term debts of the three listed major cruise groups increased by 13.1%, year on, to a total of $58.6 billion at the end of the third quarter.
CCL, whose third quarter ended on 31 August, registered the sharpest increase, of 21.2%, followed by RCG’s 10.7% increase, while NCLH saw a rise of just 1.5% on this occasion.
LONG-TERM DEBTS (in million USD)
| Company | 3Q21 | 3Q20 |
|---|---|---|
| Carnival | 26,831 | 22,130 |
| Royal Caribbean Group | 19,882 | 17,957 |
| NCLH | 11,864 | 11,681 |
Source: CCL, RCG, & NCLH
As the industry gradually resumes operations, companies like CCL are paying off expensive debts raised at high rates of interest at the start of the pandemic and refinancing them by new debts that can be raised at lower costs.
Such moves can be regarded as timely, given that the rising inflation – year-on-year consumer prices in the USA rose by 6.2% in October, a rate last seen three decades ago – has raised the prospects of higher interest rates in the not-too-distant future.