Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Announces Revisions to SailSAFE Health and Safety Protocols
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH) announced that beginning August 1, 2022, it will no longer require pre-cruise COVID-19 testing, aligning with local regulations and industry trends. This change applies to its brands: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Testing will still be required where local regulations mandate it. The company continues to recommend vaccinations and testing before travel. All operations remain under the SailSAFE health program, which will adapt as public health conditions evolve.
- Removal of pre-cruise COVID-19 testing requirement aligns with industry trends, potentially increasing bookings.
- The company maintains a robust health and safety program (SailSAFE) enhancing guest confidence.
- Continued reliance on local regulations for testing may lead to uncertainty in travel plans.
- Ongoing risks associated with COVID-19 and geopolitical events, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, could impact demand.
MIAMI, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) (the “Company”) today announced it will no longer require guests to complete pre-cruise COVID-19 testing unless required by local regulations. This policy will go into effect across Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises beginning August 1, 2022. The pre-embarkation testing requirement will remain in place for guests currently traveling on voyages departing from destinations with local testing regulations, including but not limited to the U.S., Canada, Greece and Bermuda. The relaxation of the testing policy is in line with the rest of the travel, leisure and hospitality industry worldwide as society continues to adapt and return to a state of normalcy. The Company continues to strongly recommend all guests be up to date on vaccination protocols and test at their convenience prior to travel.
All voyages across the Company’s three brands continue to operate under its robust science-backed SailSAFE health and safety program which will evolve along with the public health environment. The Company also follows applicable local protocols at the ports and destinations it visits.
About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. With a combined fleet of 28 ships with approximately 60,000 berths, these brands offer itineraries to approximately destinations worldwide. The Company has nine additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2027, comprising approximately 24,000 berths.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release, including, without limitation, those regarding our business strategy, financial position, results of operations, plans, prospects, actions taken or strategies being considered with respect to our liquidity position, valuation and appraisals of our assets and objectives of management for future operations (including those regarding expected fleet additions, our ability to weather the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, our expectations regarding the impact of Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, our expectations regarding cruise voyage occupancy, the implementation of and effectiveness of our health and safety protocols, operational position, demand for voyages, plans or goals for our sustainability program, ESG and decarbonization efforts, our expectations for future cash flows and profitability, financing opportunities and extensions, and future cost mitigation and cash conservation efforts and efforts to reduce operating expenses and capital expenditures) are forward-looking statements. Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by looking for words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “goal,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “will,” “may,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “intend,” “future” and similar words. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to the impact of: the spread of epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks and specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic, including its effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises), which is expected to continue to adversely impact our results, operations, outlook, plans, goals, growth, reputation, cash flows, liquidity, demand for voyages and share price; implementing precautions in coordination with regulators and global public health authorities to protect the health, safety and security of guests, crew and the communities we visit and to comply with regulatory restrictions related to the pandemic; legislation prohibiting companies from verifying vaccination status; our indebtedness and restrictions in the agreements governing our indebtedness that require us to maintain minimum levels of liquidity and be in compliance with maintenance covenants and otherwise limit our flexibility in operating our business, including the significant portion of assets that are collateral under these agreements; our ability to work with lenders and others or otherwise pursue options to defer, renegotiate, refinance or restructure our existing debt profile, near-term debt amortization, newbuild related payments and other obligations and to work with credit card processors to satisfy current or potential future demands for collateral on cash advanced from customers relating to future cruises; our need for additional financing or financing to optimize our balance sheet, which may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, and our outstanding exchangeable notes and any future financing which may be dilutive to existing shareholders; the unavailability of ports of call; future increases in the price of, or major changes or reduction in, commercial airline services; changes involving the tax and environmental regulatory regimes in which we operate, including new regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions; the accuracy of any appraisals of our assets as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; our success in controlling operating expenses and capital expenditures; trends in, or changes to, future bookings and our ability to take future reservations and receive deposits related thereto; adverse events impacting the security of travel, such as terrorist acts, armed conflict, such as Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, and threats thereof, acts of piracy, and other international events; adverse incidents involving cruise ships; adverse general economic and related factors, including as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine or otherwise, such as fluctuating or increasing levels of interest rates, inflation, unemployment, underemployment and the volatility of fuel prices, declines in the securities and real estate markets, and perceptions of these conditions that decrease the level of disposable income of consumers or consumer confidence; breaches in data security or other disturbances to our information technology and other networks or our actual or perceived failure to comply with requirements regarding data privacy and protection; changes in fuel prices and the type of fuel we are permitted to use and/or other cruise operating costs; mechanical malfunctions and repairs, delays in our shipbuilding program, maintenance and refurbishments and the consolidation of qualified shipyard facilities; the risks and increased costs associated with operating internationally; our inability to recruit or retain qualified personnel or the loss of key personnel or employee relations issues; our inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage; pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions; any further impairment of our trademarks, trade names or goodwill; volatility and disruptions in the global credit and financial markets, which may adversely affect our ability to borrow and could increase our counterparty credit risks, including those under our credit facilities, derivatives, contingent obligations, insurance contracts and new ship progress payment guarantees; our reliance on third parties to provide hotel management services for certain ships and certain other services; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our expansion into new markets and investments in new markets and land-based destination projects; overcapacity in key markets or globally; and other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and will continue to be amplified by, or in the future may be amplified by, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. The above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our present and future business strategies and the environment in which we expect to operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change of events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement was based, except as required by law.
Investor Relations & Media Contact
Jessica John
(305) 468-2339
InvestorRelations@nclcorp.com
NCLHMedia@nclcorp.com
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