US cruise shares fall as CDC tells at-risk people to avoid voyages

[MIAMI] Cruise shares slipped in after-market trading late Friday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said high-risk travellers should avoid cruise ship travel, whether they are vaccinated or not.

"Travelers who are at an increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19 should avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide, regardless of vaccination status," the CDC said in the updated guidance on Friday.

The CDC defined those at heightened risk as older adults and those with underlying medical conditions and weakened immune systems.

Authorities are still trying to grasp the full extent of so-called breakthrough infections, in which vaccinated people get sick. Hospital officials say the vast majority of those hospitalised and dying from the virus are unvaccinated.

The cruise industry has just recently begun to return to the seas after more than a year without paying customers, and retirees remain a key customer base. The companies initially said they were encouraged by the pent-up demand for voyages, but lately the fast-spreading Delta variant appeared to be hurting near-term demand somewhat, especially around virus hot spots such as Florida, home to some of the world's busiest cruise ports.

Shares of Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings all slipped in late-day trading.

Carnival deferred questions to industry group Cruise Lines International Association, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian did not immediately respond.

BLOOMBERG