Carnival Corporation has reported a “phenomenal” first quarter of 2023 as customer deposits reached a record $5.7 billion.
The last record quarter for customer deposits was hit at the end of 2022 with $5.1 billion, while the previous first quarter record was reached in 2019 with $4.9 billion.
Carnival attributed the results to a successful wave season, where it saw the highest booking volumes for all future sailings for any quarter in its history, with both the North America and Australia (NAA) and Europe segments breaking records.
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Chief executive Josh Weinstein said he is confident in the continuation of strong demand as the booking window has “returned to historical patterns”, which he said will “facilitate improving revenue yields over time”.
The company’s European segment saw an extension of its booking curve, which is more than 80% recovered compared to 2019 levels, Weinstein added, while the booking curve for the North American and Australia (NAA) segment mirrored 2019 levels.
Revenue for the corporation’s first quarter of 2023 was $4.4 billion, representing 95% of 2019 levels, while the quarter ended with $8.1 billion of liquidity.
However, the company posted a net loss of $693 million and adjusted net loss of $690 million for the first quarter of 2023, which it said was lower than the expected loss of $750-$850 million.
Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2023, Weinstein said he expects occupancy will reach 98% of higher, which he predicts will reach 100% by the end of the year.
Weinstein said: “We are enjoying a phenomenal wave season, achieving our highest ever quarterly booking volumes and breaking records in both North America and Europe.
“Our strong performance has extended into March and we expect this favourable trend to continue based on the success of our efforts to drive demand.”