Tourism & Cruises
Jamaica and Caymans deny cruise ship, industry stocks drop as coronavirus spreads
Miami-based cruise companies saw their stocks plummet Tuesday as the spread of coronavirus rattled markets for the second day in a row.
The sell-off happened as Jamaica and the Cayman Islands denied permission to an MSC Cruises ship, the Meraviglia, to disembark passengers Tuesday as scheduled for fear that an ill crew member could have the virus. MSC Cruises, which is privately held, said in a statement that the crew member has the common flu, not the novel coronavirus, and has not traveled through any of the outbreak areas recently.
The company said it is “extremely disappointed” in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands’ decisions to turn the ship away.
The denials occurred one day after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ratcheted up travel warnings for several countries in Asia and Europe.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. shares dropped more than 7% Tuesday to close at $89.55 per share, more than 16 points below Friday’s closing price and down from its 52-week high of $135.32. Carnival Corp.’s shares fell more than 5% Tuesday to close at $35.84, down almost 6 points from its Friday close and well below its 52-week high of $58.90. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. suffered as well, dropping more than 7.5% to $39.31 Tuesday, down more than 7.5 points from its Friday close and from a 52-week high of $59.78.
All three rebounded slightly in after-hours trading.
The overall market continued to sink Tuesday after Monday marked the worst drop for the market in two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 879.44 points, or 3.1%, for a decline of almost 2000 points since Friday.
Airline stocks also continued to sink Tuesday, with American Airlines, down more than 9% to close at $23.12, almost 5 points below its Friday closing price. Delta Airlines fell more than 6% to close at $50.89, almost 7 points below its Friday closing. Miramar-based Spirit Airlines fell more than 7% to close at $34.71, more than 3.5 point below its Friday close.
Coronavirus, an upper respiratory disease, has has killed more than 2,700 people, mostly in mainland China, since it originated in the central Chinese province of Hubei late last year. A Carnival Corp. cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, became the largest point of contamination outside China as it was quarantined in Japan for two weeks earlier this month. Nearly 700 people caught the virus on board; four former passengers have died. Hundreds of crew members are still on board waiting to be transferred to their home countries.
Outside mainland China, the country most affected is South Korea, with nearly 1,000 cases and 10 deaths, according to a dashboard of cases compiled by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. By Tuesday, Italy was reporting more than 300 coronavirus cases and three deaths, with several towns quarantined from outside contact. Venice’s famed Carnaval was cancelled, and museums have been closed.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is now warning against traveling to South Korea and China and encouraging travelers to take enhanced precautions when traveling to Japan, Italy and Iran. Florida International University canceled study abroad programs to Italy, Singapore, Japan and South Korea for the spring and ordered any students on university trips to those countries to return to the U.S.
Cruise companies have canceled or modified upcoming Asia trips for at least 27 cruise ships, according to trade publication Travel Weekly, with some abandoning the region completely for the remainder of the year. The companies say they are denying boarding to those who have traveled to affected areas within a certain window of time and going above and beyond their regular cleaning processes.
Travel agents say bookings outside Asia remain largely unaffected, and travelers to the Caribbean have noticed little difference from their standard cruise so far.
“There was more hand washing and hand sanitizer, crew members wiping banisters,” said Therese Pike of Delray Beach, who disembarked from a Norwegian Cruise Line ship in Miami last Tuesday, her sixth cruise with the company. “Everyone was very calm, it was a non-event.”
The Florida Chamber of Commerce warned Tuesday that the state should be concerned, but not panicked about coronavirus. The group’s chief economist Jerry Parrish said the state’s tourism business could take a hit soon, classifying international travelers and cruise passengers as a vulnerable industries.
“Certainly with this news, we should expect some cancellations by Florida cruise passengers,” Parrish said.
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