Carnival Corporation has denied rumours it would be selling Cunard, the line with three queens in its fleet, as well as luxe line Seabourn.
According to Tradewinds, a travel trade site, sources told the publication that Carnival was looking to offload two of their brands currently under their vast umbrella.
Other brands include Carnival Cruise Line, P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises as well as a number of European brands like AIDA.
Over the last few months, Carnival has been shedding cruise ships due to its voluntary suspension due to COVID-19.
Overnight, Carnival made a statement saying it had no plans to sell Cunard and Seabourn.
“There is no truth to this rumour,” said a spokesperson.
“Cunard and Seabourn are iconic brands for our company, and both lines have a strong track record of success over the years.”
The world’s largest cruise corporation said just earlier this week, it will sell an additional two ships in addition to the 13 vessels it previously announced it would sell.
The decision to sell the ships is intended to align the fleet with the expected phased restart of guest cruise operations while also generating cost savings.
Carnival evaluated the additional two ships and concluded their carrying values are no longer recoverable when compared to their estimated remaining future cash flows.
Four older Holland American Line ships have been sold, including two to Fred Olsen Cruise Lines while P&O Cruises Oceana has left the fleet and Greek line Celestyal Cruises acquired Costa Cruises’ Costa NewRomantica.
Cunard sailings by Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria have been suspended until November 1 and Queen Elizabeth until November 23.
Seabourn’s five-ship fleet is on an extended pause in operations into October and November.
The airline industry along with border restrictions will be the key to the successful return of the cruise industry for both crewing and passengers. As seen from New Zealand.