It comes as the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas parent posted its Q3 financial results, where its adjusted profit (EBITDA) for the three months to 30 September came in at $28 million as the group projected a return to annual profits in 2023.
The company continued its phased ramp-up in the third quarter focusing on maximising long-term pricing, which resulted in a 17-point improvement in occupancy to 82% – which it anticipates will further increase in 2023.
Strong ticket pricing and onboard revenue generation resulted in "better-than-expected" total revenue per passenger cruise day, which was up approximately 14% in the third quarter of 2022 versus 2019. It expects this figure to increase by six percentage points in Q4.
It said booking trends for 2023 "remain positive" with its cumulative booked position equal to record 2019 levels.
Pricing is "significantly higher" than that of 2019 at a similar point in time for 2023, and net booking volumes "continue to be at the pace" needed to reach "historical" load factor levels in 2023.
"We are demonstrating continued positive momentum as we consistently reach key operational and financial milestones, including positive Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter for the first time since the start of the pandemic," said NCLH president and chief executive Frank Del Rio.
He said the "underlying fundamentals" of the company and its target consumer "remain strong", and its strategy of focusing on maximising long-term, sustainable profitability is "working as intended".
"We believe we are uniquely positioned within the cruise space to unlock value for our stakeholders given our dominance as the leading operator in upscale experiences," he added.
