Readers could be forgiven if they suspect that Frank Del Rio, head honcho of Norwegian Cruise Lines is capable of talking out of both sides of his ships. Last week the word was that NCL might not make it through the winter; but by Friday he was painting a picture of a bright future in an interview with The Points Guy website.
Del Rio told interviewer Gene Sloan that while decisions are mainly in the hands of CDC which would have to lift its 'no sail' order for U.S.-based ships to resume business, "I believe it's going to be soon...I just don't know what soon is." While CDC has control only over ships in U.S. waters, the U.S. accounts for the bulk of the cruise business. A start in other markets might be clouded by what rules would apply to American passengers sailing in other waters.
Startup would probably involve just a few ships to start, with perhaps three ships from Norwegian and one each from its Regent and Oceania luxury brands. He foresees adding four to six more ships each month after that.
Will a slow return to normal mean shedding older ships or postponing new building? Del Rio says no and points to his fleet as one of the industry's youngest. As for the nine new ships scheduled to arrive from 2022 onward, he told TPG that “My guess is that those ships may be delayed six months, maybe a year, because of closures of shipyards in Europe. As of right now, we’re not doing anything to delay those vessels.”
As for last week's dire statement that the company has "substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, as the company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations over the next 12 months," nothing was reported from the interview, although other sources believe that Norwegian has a promise of $400 million in new funding from a private equity fund, contingent on it raising $1 billion from others.
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