Royal Caribbean Secures Additional Funding

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. was able to secure an additional $220-million in liquidity from a European lender to help the company through trying times.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday afternoon, payments on Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex, and Symphony of the Seas have been deferred until April 2021.

Like Germany, French lender, BpiFrance Assurance Export, is also allowing troubled cruise companies to exercise a debt holiday or loan deferrals to get through a time when no revenue is coming in. All three cruise ships were built in France, allowing them to take advantage of the offer.

A report on CNBC’s Closing Bell in April showed Royal Caribbean’s monthly operating expenses at an estimated $400 million per month.

Royal Caribbean has been trying to reduce monthly operating costs to weather the financial storm. Most recently the company laid off 25 percent of its workforce throughout all its brands and is postponing ship revitalizations.

At the request of Royal Caribbean, construction on the new cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas has also been postponed until 2021.

The debt relief is on top of the $250 million that Royal Caribbean received from German creditors in April where they deferred payments on Celebrity Silhouette, Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Equinox, and Quantum of the Seas.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced they were also taking advantage of debt holiday from Germany’s leading credit agency. The cruise line was able to defer payments on three of their ships: Pride of America, Norwegian Epic, and Norwegian Jewel, adding $910 million dollars in liquidity.

On Tuesday morning, Royal Caribbean stock opened at $41.63 per share, closing at $41.37 on Monday.