Stinking ship saga unlikely to pull cruise industry far off course
operates 100 ships worldwide in a stable of brands that includes flagship Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Lines, Britain's Cunard Line and Italy's Costa Cruises, declined to comment on the possible impact on bookings due to all the unsavory publicity it received over the Triumph.
The company has said passengers will receive full credit for the cruise plus transportation expenses, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for the ruined voyage, plus a payment of $500 per person.
It warned earlier this week, before the Triumph was towed into port in Mobile, Alabama late on Thursday, that voyage disruptions and repair costs due to the engine room fire could cut up to $0.10 per share off its first-half earnings.
Carnival closed at $36.92 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, well off its 52-week high of $39.95 after a 4 percent drop on Wednesday.
ABSORBED BY INSURERS?
But Linda Kornfeld, an insurance recovery lawyer representing policy holders with Jenner & Block in Los Angeles, said most other costs could be absorbed by Carnival's insurers, depending on the policies it holds.
Insurance could cover everything from the cost of the sewage clean-up to compensation packages offered to passengers, Kornfeld said. "There certainly are arguments that have been made in the past that might be helpful to Carnival here in a mitigation-type approach," she said.
Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar, said the Triumph's troubles were disconcerting because they came at the height of the "wave season," the busiest time of year for the cruise
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