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By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Carnival (NYSE:CCL) stock gained 5% in premarket Tuesday after the cruise operator reported its highest booking week in its history.
The company said the March 28-April 3 week showed a double-digit increase from the previous record seven-day booking total.
The surge in bookings reflects the strength in so-called “revenge travel” as people look to break free and travel after two years of the pandemic.
The company said 22 of its 23 ships are back in guest operations across all its year-round U.S. homeports. Its final ship, Carnival Splendor, will return to service from Seattle on May 2, the company said.
Its newest ship, Carnival Celebration, will join the fleet at PortMiami in November.
According to the company, by 2022-end, Carnival will have more capacity sailing than it had in 2019. In 2023, Carnival will put into service another new Excel-class ship, Carnival Jubilee from Galveston.
With the restart of cruising in Australia now set, Carnival is finalizing plans for its return there and will be announcing those details soon.
Gains in the Carnival stock also boosted shares of Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL).
