- UBS reiterates a Buy rating on Royal Caribbean (RCL -6.4%) after meeting with management.
- Analyst Robin Farley says Royal Caribbean management passed on that the cruise line operator is seeing higher ticket price compared to 2019 with and without the discount from Future Cruise Credits. The future cruise credits have been a concern cited by some analysts on pricing in the near term.
- The pricing development also looks positive for Carnival (CCL -6.9%).
- "We believe CCL will also see pricing higher than pre-covid levels when all is said and booked for next year. RCL has priced ahead of precovid levels even with that higher discount factored in," notes Farley.
- It also appears that the cruise restart may ramp up faster than anticipated. Royal Caribbean expects to have all ships in service by the spring at full occupancy, similar to Carnival.
- Cruise line stocks are lower on the day after Royal Caribbean reported that two unvaccinated children tested positive for COVID-19 on last week's sailing of Adventure of the Seas.
- J.P. Morgan has Royal Caribbean slotted as its top cruise line stock.