Carnival Corporation has been forced to alter the routes of 12 vessels across seven of its brands due to escalating tensions in the Red Sea

The ships were slated to transit the region through May 2024. The company, which owns Carnival Cruise Line, P&O Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, Aida Cruises, Cunard, Seabourn and Princess Cruises, said the alterations are expected to impact its Q2 financial results.

Carnival Corp confirmed it has not seen an impact on booking trends due to the Red Sea situation and has no other transits in the area until November 2024.

“Carnival Corporation is committed to the safety and well-being of its guests and crew and has been actively monitoring the situation in the Red Sea and surrounding region,” the organisation said in a statement.

“Given recent developments and in close consultation with global security experts and government authorities, the company has made the decision to reroute itineraries for 12 ships across seven brands, which were scheduled to transit the Red Sea through May 2024.”

Carnival sees ‘robust’ start to 2024 despite Red Sea conflict

Carnival reported an early and robust start to wave season, which has “exceeded expectations”, with booking volumes since November hitting an “all-time” high.

“For 2024, the company continues to have the best booked position on record, with both pricing (in constant currency) and occupancy considerably higher than 2023 levels,” it continued.

“In fact, the first half of 2024 is almost fully booked. The company believes its continued strong bookings momentum is expected to deliver outperformance during the year, offsetting the Red Sea rerouting impact.”

Earlier this month, MSC Cruises cancelled three repositioning voyages in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Europe because of the risk to shipping in the Red Sea.