The cruise giant said it ended its financial year on 30 November with 61% of capacity operating. The fourth quarter saw an adjusted net loss of $2 billion, however the group’s annual loss has improved on 2020’s $10.2 billion deficit and the brand has $9 billion in liquidity.

Carnival Corporation & plc president and chief executive Arnold Donald said: "Since resuming guest cruise operations, we have established effective protocols for Covid-19 and its variants and have returned 65,000 team members and 50 ships.

"Our cash from operations turned positive in the month of November, and we expect consistently positive cash flow beginning in the second quarter of 2022 as additional ships resume guest cruise operations.”

Carnival said its cash burn of $510 million a month in the fourth quarter was “better than expected”. It predicted a net loss for the first half of 2022 and a profit for the second half.

Donald added: "With over 60% of our capacity now in operation and the remainder planned by spring, we are well positioned for our seasonally strong summer period.

"Booking volumes continue to build for the remainder of 2022 and well into 2023 and we are achieving those early bookings with strong demand and pricing."

However, Carnival added the last few weeks had seen an impact on bookings for the next few months due to the Omicron variant.