Carnival sees entire fleet sailing by spring 2022

World's largest cruise line operator has said that 42 ships in its 91-strong global fleet will be sailing by November

The Carnival Corp's Royal Princess cruise ship docked outside the Port of Los Angeles.

The world's largest cruise line operator Carnival Corp reported a quarterly loss of more than $2bn (€1.68bn), as a 15-month-long suspension of voyages due to the Covid-19 pandemic hammered its business.

The cruise operator recorded little to no revenue over the last few quarter after a coronavirus outbreak in one of its ships prompted US health regulators to introduce a no-sail order, forcing it to tap billions of dollars in debt and even sell a few ships to stay afloat.

Carnival ended the second quarter with $9.3bn (€7.8bn) in cash and short-term investments, down from $11.5bn (€9.64bn) at the end of the first quarter, as it spent heavily to prepare its ships for voyages as curbs on sailing ease.

The sector is, however, starting to see a revival in business in recent weeks as ships start to sail again from the Caribbean and the US. 

The cruise operator's European brands, Aida and Costa Cruises, have already resumed operations.

Carnival has said that 42 ships in its 91-strong global fleet will be sailing by November, representing 52% of its total capacity. 

CEO Arnold Donald estimates that the company will have its entire cruise fleet of 91 cruise ships operating by next spring, a bit later than it originally hoped.