Carnival 10-K 2017-11-30

10-K 1 a2017form10-kfrontpart.htm 10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 or

For the transition period from ______________ to ________________

Commission file number: 001-9610		Commission file number: 001-15136
Carnival Corporation	Carnival plc
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)	(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Republic of Panama	England and Wales
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
59-1562976	98-0357772
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
3655 N.W. 87th Avenue Miami, Florida 33178-2428	Carnival House, 100 Harbour Parade, Southampton SO15 1ST, United Kingdom
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)	(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)
(305) 599-2600	011 44 23 8065 5000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)	(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:	Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class	Title of each class
Common Stock ($0.01 par value)	Ordinary Shares each represented by American Depositary Shares ($1.66 par value), Special Voting Share, GBP 1.00 par value and Trust Shares of beneficial interest in the P&O Princess Special Voting Trust
Name of each exchange on which registered	Name of each exchange on which registered
New York Stock Exchange, Inc.		New York Stock Exchange, Inc.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrants are well-known seasoned issuers, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes þ No ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrants are not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ¨ No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants (1) have filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to file such reports), and (2) have been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants have submitted electronically and posted on their corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to submit and post such files). Yes þ No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrants’ knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants are large accelerated filers, accelerated filers, non-accelerated filers, smaller reporting companies, or emerging growth companies. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If emerging growth companies, indicate by check mark if the registrants have elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants are shell companies (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ¨ No þ

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the 2017 Annual Report and 2018 joint definitive Proxy Statement are incorporated by reference into Part II and Part III of this report.

CARNIVAL CORPORATION & PLC

FORM 10-K

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The information described below and contained in the Registrants’ 2017 Annual Report to shareholders to be furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 14a-3(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is shown in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this joint 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”).

Part and Item of the Form 10-K

Part II

Item 5(a). Market for Registrants’ Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities –

Market Information, Holders and Performance Graph.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Portions of the Registrants’ 2018 joint definitive Proxy Statement, to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, are incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K under the items described below.

Part and Item of the Form 10-K

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

PART I

A. Overview

Carnival Corporation was incorporated in Panama in 1972 and Carnival plc was incorporated in England and Wales in 2000. Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc operate a dual listed company (“DLC”), whereby the businesses of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are combined through a number of contracts and through provisions in Carnival Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws and Carnival plc’s Articles of Association. The two companies operate as if they are a single economic enterprise with a single senior executive management team and identical Boards of Directors (“BODs”), but each has retained its separate legal identity. Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are both public companies with separate stock exchange listings and their own shareholders. Together with their consolidated subsidiaries, Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are referred to collectively in this Form 10-K as “Carnival Corporation & plc,” “our,” “us” and “we.”

We are the world’s largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries. We are also the largest cruise company, carrying nearly half of global cruise guests, and a leading provider of vacations to all major cruise destinations throughout the world. With operations in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, we operate over 100 cruise ships within a portfolio of leading global, regional and national cruise brands that sell tailored cruise products, services and vacation experiences in all the world’s most desirable destinations.

Our vision is “Together we deliver unmatched joyful vacation experiences and breakthrough shareholder returns by exceeding guest expectations and leveraging our scale.” We believe our portfolio of brands is instrumental to achieving our vision and maintaining our cruise industry leadership positions. Our primary financial goals are to profitably grow our cruise business and increase our return on invested capital, while maintaining our strong investment grade credit ratings and balance sheet. Health, environment, safety, security (“HESS”) and sustainability is a core focus for our operations and these matters directly influence how we measure our performance.

To reach our primary financial goals, we continue to implement initiatives to create additional demand for our brands in excess of measured capacity growth, ultimately leading to higher revenue yields. We will continue to identify opportunities to enhance our cruise products and services and optimize our cost structure while preserving the unique identities of our individual brands. We have made significant investments in performing customer segmentation analyses and data analytics to gain insight into our guests’ decision-making process and vacation needs enabling us to identify new marketing opportunities and further grow our share of their vacation spend. We have also implemented strategies to grow demand by increasing consumer awareness and consideration of our cruise brands and the global cruise industry through our ongoing marketing, public relations and guest experience efforts.

We continue to identify and implement new strategies and tactics to strengthen our cruise ticket revenue management processes and systems across our portfolio of brands, such as optimizing our pricing methodologies and improving our pricing models. We are currently rolling-out our state-of-the-art revenue management system across six brands and expect the roll-out to be completed in 2018. We also continue to implement initiatives to better coordinate and optimize our brands’ global deployment strategies to maximize guest satisfaction and profits.

We are building new, innovative, purpose-built ships that are larger, more fuel efficient, have an improved mix of guest accommodations and present a wider range of onboard amenities and features. These ships further enhance the attractiveness of a cruise vacation while achieving greater economies of scale and resulting in improved returns on invested capital. As of November 30, 2017, we have a total of 18 cruise ships scheduled to be delivered between 2018 and 2022. Some of these ships will replace existing capacity as less efficient ships exit our fleet. Since 2006, we have removed 19 ships from our fleet, and our newbuild program has been designed to consider an expected acceleration in our fleet replacement cycle over time. Furthermore, we continue to make substantial investments in our existing ship enhancement programs to improve our onboard product offerings and enrich our guests’ vacation experiences.

We continue to grow our presence in established markets and increase our penetration in developing markets, such as Asia. We believe that our most significant long-term growth opportunity in Asia is in China, due to its large and growing middle-class

population, expansion of its international tourism and the government’s plan to support the cruise industry. During 2018, we expect 5% of our total capacity to be deployed in China.

With over 100 ships and 12.1 million guests in 2017, we have the scale to optimize our structure by utilizing our combined purchasing volumes and common technologies as well as accelerating progress on our cross-brand initiatives aimed at cost containment. We have and continue to integrate certain back office functions to achieve the full benefits of our scale. Having global leaders in communications, innovation, maritime, procurement, revenue management and strategy supports collaboration and communication across our brands and helps coordinate our global efforts.

Our ability to generate significant operating cash flow allows us to internally fund our capital investments. This allows us to manage our debt level in a manner consistent with maintaining our strong credit metrics and strong investment grade credit ratings while returning free cash flow and more to our shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. In 2017, we increased our quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share from $0.35 per share, representing over $1 billion in annual dividends. Since resuming our stock repurchase program in late 2015, we repurchased approximately 63 million shares for $3.1 billion.

Our vision is based on four key pillars:

Health, Environment, Safety, Security and Sustainability

Our uncompromising commitment to the safety and comfort of our guests and crew is paramount to the success of our business. We are committed to operating a safe and reliable fleet and protecting the health, safety and security of our guests, employees and all others working on our behalf. We continue to focus on further enhancing the safety measures onboard all of our ships. We are dedicated to fully complying with, or exceeding, all legal and statutory requirements related to health, environment, safety, security and sustainability throughout our business.

We are committing resources across the entire corporation to further improve how we operate to protect and preserve our oceans. We have implemented important fleet-wide changes and enhancements to our environmental processes and procedures, all with the goal to improve our operations, oversight and compliance with our previously disclosed December 2016 plea agreement. Since 2013, we have restructured our fleet operations organization including strengthening its leadership. We also increased the scope and frequency of our training, and invested millions of dollars to upgrade our equipment to new ship standards to ensure compliance with all environmental regulations.

Guests

Our goal is to consistently exceed our gues

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You should carefully consider the specific risk factors set forth below and the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this document, as these are important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from our expected or historical results. The ordering and lettering of the risk factors set forth below is not intended to reflect any Company indication of priority or likelihood. Some of the statements in this item and elsewhere in this document are “forward-looking statements.” For a discussion of those statements and of other factors to consider see the “Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results” section below.

a. The demand for cruises may decline due to adverse world events impacting the ability or desire of people to travel, including conditions affecting the safety and security of travel, government regulations and requirements, and declines in consumer confidence

Demand for cruises and other vacation options has been and is expected to continue to be affected by the public’s concerns over the safety and security of travel. Government travel advisories and emerging travel restrictions, political instability and civil unrest, and general concerns over the safety and security of traveling have had a significant adverse impact on demand and pricing in the travel and vacation industry in the past and may have an adverse impact in the future.

Governmental actions which increase global travel regulations and restrictions may adversely impact demand for cruises. Heightened regulations around customs and border control, travel bans to and from certain geographical areas, government policies increasing the difficulty of travel and limitations on issuing international travel visas could reduce the ability or desire of people to travel.

Demand for cruises is in part dependent on consumer confidence in the economic condition of the countries from which cruise companies source their guests. Adverse changes in the perceived or actual economic climate, such as global or regional recessions, higher unemployment and underemployment rates and declines in income levels could reduce our potential vacationers’ customer confidence of their discretionary incomes. Consequently, this may negatively affect demand for vacations, including cruise vacations, which are a discretionary purchase.

Decreases in demand could lead to price reductions which, in turn, could reduce the profitability of our business.

b. Incidents, such as ship incidents, security incidents, the spread of contagious diseases and threats thereof, adverse weather conditions or other natural disasters and the related adverse publicity affecting our reputation and the health, safety, security and satisfaction of guests and crew

The operation of cruise ships, hotels, land tours, port and related commercial facilities and shore excursions involve the risk of incidents, including those caused by the improper operation or maintenance of ships, motorcoaches and trains; guest and crew illnesses, such as from the spread of contagious diseases; mechanical failures, fires and collisions; repair delays; groundings; navigational errors; oil spills and other maritime and environmental issues; missing passengers and other incidents at sea or while in port or on land, which may cause injury and death, guest and crew discomfort, alteration of itineraries or cancellation of a cruise or series of cruises or tours. Although our uncompromising commitment to the safety and comfort of our guests and crew is paramount to the success of our business, our ships have been involved in accidents and other incidents in the past. We may experience similar or other incidents in the future. These types of incidents may bring into question guest and crew health, safety, security and satisfaction and may adversely affect our brands’ reputations and the demand for our brands and cruising in general, which may affect our net revenue yields and profitability, result in additional costs to our business, and result in litigation against us and increasing government or other regulatory oversight.

Our ability to effectively and efficiently operate shipboard and shoreside activities may be impacted by widespread public health issues/illnesses or health warnings resulting in, among other things, reduced demand for cruises and cruise and ship charter cancellations and employee absenteeism that could have an adverse effect on our net revenue yields and profitability. For example, a severe outbreak of the influenza virus or some other pandemic could, among other things, disrupt our ability to embark/disembark passengers and crew, require changes to cruise itinerary, disrupt air and ground travel to and from ports, increase costs for prevention and treatment and adversely affect our supply chain and distribution systems. This could also adversely impact cruise demand in areas unaffected by such an outbreak.

Our ships are subject to the risks of mechanical failures and accidents, for which we have had to incur repair and equipment replacement expenditures. If these occur in the future, we may be unable to procure spare parts or new equipment when needed or make repairs without incurring significant expenditures or suspension of service. A significant performance problem on any of our ships could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and profitability.

Our cruise ships, hotels, land tours, port and related commercial facilities, and shore excursions may be impacted by adverse weather patterns or other natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, fires, tornados, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions. These events could result in, among other things, increased port related and other costs in our supply chain. It is possible that we could be forced to alter itineraries or cancel a cruise or a series of cruises or tours due to these or other factors, which would have an adverse effect on our net revenue yields and profitability.

Extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods and typhoons may not only cause disruption, alteration, or cancellation of cruises but may also adversely impact commercial airline flights, other transport and shore excursion activities or prevent our guests from electing to cruise altogether. Such extreme weather events may also disrupt the supply of provisions, fuel and shore power, and may limit our ability to safely embark and disembark our guests. In addition, these extreme weather conditions could result in increased wave and wind activity, which would make it more challenging to sail and dock our ships and could cause sea/motion sickness among guests and crew. These events could have an adverse impact on the safety and satisfaction of cruising and could have an adverse impact on our net revenue yields and profitability. Additionally, these extreme weather conditions could cause property damage to our ships, port and related commercial and business facilities and other assets and impact our ability to provide our cruise products and services as well as to obtain insurance coverage for operations in such areas at reasonable rates.

Incidents involving cruise ships, in particular our cruise ships, and media coverage thereof, as well as adverse media publicity concerning the cruise vacation industry in general, or unusual weather patterns or other natural disasters or disruptions, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, could impact demand for our cruises. In addition, any incidents which impact the travel industry more generally may negatively impact guests’ ability or desire to travel to or from our ships or interrupt our ability to obtain services and goods from key vendors in our supply chain. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our net revenue yields and profitability.

Maintaining a good reputation is critical to our business. Reports and media coverage of ship incidents at sea or while in port, including missing guests, improper conduct by our employees, guests or agents, crimes, dissatisfied guests, crew and guest illnesses, such as incidents of stomach flu and other contagious diseases, security breaches, terrorist threats and attacks and other adverse events can result in negative publicity, which could lead to a negative perception regarding the safety of our ships and the satisfaction of our guests. In addition, negative publicity regarding adverse environmental impacts of cruising, such as climate change and oil spills, could diminish our reputation. The considerable expansion in the use of social media over recent years has increased the ways in which our reputation can be impacted, and the speed with which it can occur. Anything that damages our reputation, whether or not justified, could have an adverse impact on demand, which could lead to price reductions and a reduction in our net revenue yields and profitability.

c. Changes in and compliance with laws and regulations relating to environment, health, safety, security, data privacy and protection, tax and anti-corruption under which we operate may lead to litigation, enforcement actions, fines, or penalties

We are subject to numerous international, national, state and local laws, regulations and treaties covering many areas, including social issues, health, safety, security, data privacy and protection, and tax. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations, treaties and agreements, including local cabotage requirements, could lead and has led to enforcement actions, fines, civil or criminal penalties or the assertion of litigation claims and damages. These issues are, and we believe will continue to be, an area of focus by the relevant authorities throughout the world. Accordingly, new legislation, regulations or treaties, or changes thereto, could impact our operations and would likely subject us to increased compliance costs in the future. In addition, training of crew may become more time consuming and may increase our operating costs due to increasing regulatory and other requirements.

Environmental laws and regulations or liabilities arising from past or future releases of, or exposure to, hazardous substances or vessel discharges, including ballast water and waste disposal, could materially increase our cost of compliance or otherwise adversely affect our business, profitability and financial condition. Some environmental groups have lobbied for more stringent regulation of cruise ships. Various agencies and regulatory organizations have enacted or are considering new regulations or policies, such as stricter emission limits to reduce GHG effects, which could adversely impact the cruise industry.

Our guest and employee relationships provide us with access to sensitive data. We are subject to laws and requirements related to the treatment and protection of sensitive data. We may be subject to legal liability and reputational damage if we do not comply with data privacy and protection regulations. Various governments, agencies and regulatory organizations have enacted and are considering new regulations and implementation of rules for existing regulations. Additional requirements could negatively impact our ability to market cruises to consumers and increase our costs.

We are also subject to compliance with income tax laws, regulations and income tax treaties in the jurisdictions where we operate. We believe that substantially all of the income earned by Carnival Corporation, Carnival plc and their ship owning or operating subsidiaries qualifies for taxation based on ship tonnage, is exempt from taxation or is otherwise subject to minimal taxes in the jurisdictions where the entities are incorporated or do business.

We believe that Panama and the jurisdictions where the ship owning and operating subsidiaries of Carnival Corporation are formed are equivalent exemption jurisdictions for purposes of Section 883 of the Internal Revenue Code. The laws of Panama and the other jurisdictions where our ships are owned or operated are subject to change and, in the future, may no longer qualify as equivalent exemption jurisdictions. Moreover, changes could occur in the future with respect to the trading volume or trading frequency of Carnival Corporation shares, affecting Carnival Corporation’s status as a publicly-traded corporation for purposes of Section 883.

The IRS interpretation of Section 883 could also differ materially from ours. In addition, provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, including Section 883, are subject to legislative change at any time. Accordingly, it is possible that Carnival Corporation and its ship-owning or operating subsidiaries whose tax exemption is based on Section 883 could lose this exemption.

There is no authority that directly addresses the effect, if any, of a DLC arrangement on the availability of benefits under treaties and, accordingly, their application to our operations is not free from doubt. The applicable treaties may be revoked by either applicable country, replaced or modified with new agreements that treat income from international operation of ships differently than the agreements currently in force or may be interpreted by one of its countries differently from us.

If we did not qualify for tonnage tax, exemption, treaties or minimal taxes, or if the laws that provide for these tax systems were changed, we would have significantly higher income tax expense. In many jurisdictions, the benefit of tonnage tax or preferential tax regimes would be replaced with taxation at normal statutory rates. In the absence of Section 883 or an applicable income tax treaty in the U.S., we would be subject to the net income and branch profits tax regimes of Section 882 and Section 884 of the Internal Revenue Code. In combination, these provisions would result in the taxation of our U.S. source shipping income, net of applicable deductions, at a current federal corporate income tax rate of up to 35% (as of November 30, 2017), state income tax rates would vary and our net after-tax income would be potentially subject to a further branch profits tax of 30% (as of November 30, 2017), unless a lower treaty rate applies.

We are subject to the examination of our income tax returns by tax authorities in the jurisdictions where we operate. There can be no assurance that the outcome from these examinations will not adversely affect our profitability.

As budgetary constraints continue to adversely impact the jurisdictions in which we operate, increases in income or other taxes affecting our operations may be imposed. Some social activist groups have lobbied for more taxation on income generated by cruise companies. Certain groups have also generated negative publicity for us. In recent years, certain members of the U.S. Congress have proposed various forms of legislation that would result in higher taxation on income generated by cruise companies.

Our global operations subject us to potential liability under anti-corruption, economic sanctions, and other laws and regulations. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and other anti-corruption laws and regulations (“Anti-Corruption Laws”) prohibit corrupt payments by our employees, vendors, or agents. While we devote substantial resources to our global compliance programs and have implemented policies, training, and internal controls designed to reduce the risk of corrupt payments, our employees, vendors, or agents may violate our policies. Our failure to comply with Anti-Corruption Laws could result in significant fines and penalties, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, prohibitions or limitations on the conduct of our business, and damage to our reputation. Operations outside the U.S. may also be affected by changes in economic sanctions, trade protection laws, policies, and other regulatory requirements affecting trade and investment. We may be subject to legal liability and reputational damage if we improperly sell goods or otherwise operate improperly in areas subject to economic sanctions such as Crimea, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Sudan, and Syria or if we improperly engage in business transactions with persons subject to economic sanctions.

These various international laws and regulations could lead and has led to enforcement actions, fines, civil or criminal penalties or the assertion of litigation claims and damages. In addition, improper conduct by our employees or agents could damage our reputation and lead to litigation or legal proceedings that could result in significant awards or settlements to plaintiffs and civil or criminal penalties, including substantial monetary fines. Such events could lead to an adverse impact on our financial condition or profitability, even if the monetary damage is mitigated by our insurance coverage.

As a result of our ship or other incidents, litigation claims, enforcement actions and regulatory actions and investigations, including, but not limited to, those arising from personal injury, loss of life, loss of or damage to personal property, business

interruption losses or environmental damage to any affected coastal waters and the surrounding areas, may be asserted or brought against various parties including us. The time and attention of our management may also be diverted in defending such claims, actions and investigations. We may also incur costs both in defending against any claims, actions and investigations and for any judgments, fines, civil or criminal penalties if such claims, actions or investigations are adversely determined and not covered by our insurance policies.

Our business continues to demand the use of sophisticated systems and technology. Our ability to increase revenues and control costs, as well as our ability to serve guests most effectively depends in part on the reliability of our system networks and our ability to refine and update to more advanced systems and technologies. If we are unable to do so on a timely basis or within reasonable cost parameters, our business could suffer.

We use communication applications, information technology and other systems to manage our inventory of cabins held for sale and set pricing in order to maximize our revenue yields and to optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of our shoreside and shipboard operations. Possible system outages and the resulting downtime could have adverse consequences on our ability to run and manage our business.

Gaining unauthorized access to digital systems and networks for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive financial, medical or other personal or business information, corrupting data, causing shoreside or shipboard operational disruptions and other cyber attack risks could adversely impact our reputation, guest services and satisfaction, employee relationships, business plans, ship safety and costs.

As the use of the internet and sensitive data expands, regulators are addressing the risks related to technology and cybersecurity with enhanced regulations. We have initiated a global program to meet the compliance requirements for EU data privacy regulations. If we or our vendors experience significant data security breaches, privacy failures, or fail to detect and appropriately respond, we could be exposed to government enforcement actions and private litigation.

Our principal offices are located in Australia, Germany, Italy, the UK and the U.S. Although we have developed disaster recovery and similar business contingency plans, actual or threatened natural disasters (for example, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, fires, tornados, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions) or similar events in these locations may have a material impact on our business continuity, reputation and profitability.

Our success is dependent upon our personnel and our ability to recruit and train high quality employees. We hire a significant number of new crew each year and, thus, our ability to adequately recruit, develop and retain our crew is critical to our cruise business. We must continue to recruit, develop, retain and motivate our shipboard personnel to enable us to maintain our current business and support our projected growth.

We believe that incidents involving cruise ships and the related adverse media publicity, adverse economic conditions that negatively affect our profitability and overcapacity in the vacation region could also impact our ability to recruit qualified personnel.

Economic, market and political conditions around the world, such as fuel demand, regulatory requirements, supply disruptions and related infrastructure needs, make it difficult to predict the future price and availability of fuel. Future increases in the global price of fuel would increase the cost of our cruise ship operations as well as some of our other expenses, such as crew travel, freight and commodity prices. Furthermore, volatility in fuel prices could have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition and liquidity. We may be unable to implement additional fuel conservation initiatives, increase ticket prices or collect fuel supplements to help fully or partially offset these fuel price increases.

Various agencies and regulatory authorities have issued rules related to emissions. The cost and availability of appropriate fuel supplies or the effectiveness of our emissions mitigation equipment may negatively impact our operations, increasing costs and reducing profitability.

Certain of our newbuilds that entered into service in 2016 and thereafter are designed to use LNG as a fuel source. At this time, there is not a liquid spot market for marine LNG and purchasing LNG is usually made through long-term contracts. Further, the marine LNG distribution infrastructure is in the early stages of development and there are a limited number of suppliers. In addition, we may be subject to new regulations covering the use and storage of LNG onboard our ships and we may experience difficulties in operating and maintaining new LNG-based engine technology. The pricing, availability and regulations for LNG could adversely affect our profitability by changing itineraries and increasing costs.

We earn revenues, pay expenses, purchase and own assets and incur liabilities in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, resulting in translational and transactional currency risks (“currency risk”).

We report currency transactions in the functional currencies of our reporting units. Because our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, we translate revenues and expenses into U.S dollars at exchange rates in effect during the reporting period, and translate assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect at the end of each reporting period. This subjects us to “foreign currency translational” risk. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the functional currencies of our foreign operations will adversely affect our U.S. dollar financial results.

Substantially all of our operations also have non-functional currency risk related to their international net revenue yields. In addition, a portion of our operating expenses is denominated in non-functional currencies. Accordingly, we have “foreign currency transactional” risk related to changes in the exchange rates for our revenues and expenses that are in a currency other than the entity’s functional currency. The strengthening of the functional currency against other currencies will reduce the functional currency revenues and expenses and will generally adversely affect our profitability.

Since the cruise industry relies on long-lived ships, we face the risk that our industry’s capacity will grow beyond its demand. The wider vacation industry may also face increases in land-based vacation capacity, which may impact us as well. We typically aim to fill our new capacity at favorable revenue yields despite the new competing cruise and land-based capacity growth. Also, to the extent that we or our competitors deploy ships to a particular itinerary and the resulting capacity in that region exceeds the demand, we may lower pricing and our profitability may be lower than initially anticipated. Furthermore, the used cruise ship market is small and as new cruise ships enter the industry, older ships become less competitive. Accordingly, if we need to dispose of a ship, we cannot be assured of finding a viable buyer to purchase it at a price that meets our expectations, which could result in ship impairment charges and losses on ship disposals. Should net revenue yields be negatively impacted, our profitability and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, increased cruise capacity could impact our ability to recruit, develop and retain qualified crew, including officers, at competitive rates and, therefore, increase our shipboard employee costs.

We face competition from other cruise brands on the basis of cruise pricing, travel agent preference and the types and sizes of ships and cabins, services and destinations being offered by them to cruise guests. In addition, new cruise competitors with existing brand appeal may choose to enter the cruise industry or there may be other new cruise competitors that may choose to enter the established or emerging regions. We try to differentiate ourselves from our cruise competitors by offering a wide variety of brands, itineraries, products and services to our guests, but the acceptance of each offering is not certain and consumers’ preferences are always subject to change. In addition, we operate in the wider vacation industry and we risk losing business, not only to other cruise lines, but also to land-based vacation operators. In the event that we do not compete effectively with other cruise companies and other vacation alternatives, our profitability and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Our guests primarily book their cruises through independent travel agents and tour operators. These parties generally sell and market our cruises on a nonexclusive basis. Our competitors may offer higher commissions and incentives and thus adversely impact our business. Significant disruptions, contractions or consolidations to our travel agents distribution system, such as those caused by a reduction in travel and related commission income as a result of an economic slowdown could have an adverse effect on our net revenue yields and profitability. In addition, we currently rely on our travel agents and tour operators to source and arrange for our guests, if such agents and operators cannot successfully source guests, it will adversely impact our cash flows and operations.

Many of our guests and substantially all our crew depend on scheduled or chartered commercial airline services to transport them to or from the airports near the ports where our cruises embark and disembark. Changes or disruptions in commercial or chartered airline services as a result of strikes, labor unrest, financial instability or viability, adverse weather conditions, airport delays, consolidation of carriers, or other events or the lack of availability due to schedule changes or a high level of airline bookings could adversely affect our ability to deliver guests and crew to or from our cruise ships and increase our costs which would, in turn, have an adverse effect on our profitability. In addition, increases in the prices of airfares would increase the overall vacation price to our guests.

Economic downturns may impact the financial viability of other key vendors in our supply chain and the interruption in the services or goods we purchase from them could adversely impact our operations and profitability.

The construction, repair, maintenance and refurbishment of cruise ships are complex processes and involve risks similar to those encountered in other large and sophisticated construction, repair, maintenance and refurbishment projects. As our fleet ages, our repair and maintenance expenses will increase. In addition, other events, such as work stoppages, other labor actions, insolvencies, “force majeure” events or other financial difficulties experienced at the shipyards and their subcontractors and suppliers who build, repair, maintain or refurbish our ships could also delay or prevent the delivery of our ships under construction and prevent or delay the completion of the refurbishment, repair and maintenance of existing ships in our fleet. These events could adversely affect our profitability, including delays or cancellations of cruises or unscheduled dry-docks and repairs. In addition, the consolidation of the control of certain cruise shipyards or cruise shipyard voluntary capacity reductions or insolvencies could result in less shipyard availability thus reducing competition and increasing prices. Furthermore, the lack of qualified shipyard repair facilities could result in the inability to repair and maintain our ships on a timely basis, which could also result in reduced profitability.

The cost of shipbuilding orders that we may place in the future that is denominated in a different currency than our cruise brands’ or the shipyards’ functional currency is expected to be affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. These foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations may affect our decisions to order new cruise ships. In addition, the prices of various commodities that are used in the construction of ships, such as steel, can be subject to volatile price changes and, accordingly, the cost of future newbuilds may increase, which could have an adverse impact on our profitability.

As we continue to expand our global presence, it requires, among other things, significant levels of management resources, capital and other investments. For example, we may be required to localize our cruise products and services to conform to local cultures, standards, policies and regulations. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to replicate our successful core business models and we may not be able to recover our investments in these markets. In addition, we cannot be certain that these markets, such as China, will ultimately develop as we expect, which could also adversely impact the growth and profitability of our business.

Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results

Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this Form 10-K are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions with respect to us, including some statements concerning future results, outlooks, plans, goals and other events which have not yet occurred. These statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed forward-looking. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. We have tried, whenever possible, to identify these statements by using words like “will,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “depends,” “expect,” “goal,” “anticipate,” “forecast,” “project,” “future,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “indicate” and similar expressions of future intent or the negative of such terms.

Forward-looking statements include those statements that may impact our outlook including, but not limited to, the forecasting of our:

Certain of the risks we are exposed to are identified in this Item 1A. “Risk Factors.” This item contains important cautionary statements and a discussion of the known factors that we consider could materially affect the accuracy of our forward-looking statements and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial position. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown.

Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange rules, we expressly disclaim any obligation to disseminate, after the date of this Form 10-K, any updates or revisions to any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in expectations or events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

None.

As of November 30, 2017, the Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc headquarters and our larger shoreside locations are as follows:

Information about our cruise ships, including the number each of our cruise brands operate, as well as information regarding our cruise ships under construction may be found under Part I. Item 1. Business. C. “Our Global Cruise Business.” In addition, we own, lease or have controlling interests in port destinations, private islands, hotels, and lodges.

As previously disclosed, on May 19, 2017, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises notified the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) regarding discharges made by certain vessels in the recently expanded area of the National Marine Sanctuary in the Farallones Islands. NOAA continues to conduct an investigation. We believe the ultimate outcome will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

None.

Executive Officers of the Registrants

The table below sets forth the name, age, years of service and title of each of our executive officers. Titles listed relate to positions within Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc unless otherwise noted.

Business Experience of Executive Officers

Micky Arison has been Chairman of the Boards of Directors since 1990 and a Director since 1987. He was Chief Executive Officer from 1979 to 2013.

David Bernstein has been Chief Financial Officer since 2007 and Chief Accounting Officer since 2016. From 2003 to 2007, he was Treasurer.

Arnold W. Donald has been President and Chief Executive Officer since 2013. He has been a Director since 2001.

Stein Kruse has been the Group Chief Executive Officer of Holland America Group and Carnival UK since July 2017. He was Chief Executive Officer of Holland America Group from 2013 to July 2017. From 2004 to 2013, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Holland America Line.

Arnaldo Perez has been General Counsel and Secretary since 1995.

Michael Thamm has been Group Chief Executive Officer of Costa Group since 2012 and of Carnival Asia since December 2016.

PART II

A. Market Information

The information required by Item 201(a) of Regulation S-K, Market Information, is shown in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

B. Holders

The information required by Item 201(b) of Regulation S-K, Holders, is shown in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

C. Dividends

Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc declared quarterly cash dividends on all of their common stock and ordinary shares as follows:

All dividends for both Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are declared in U.S. dollars. If declared, holders of Carnival Corporation common stock and Carnival plc American Depository Shares receive a dividend payable in U.S. dollars. The dividends payable for Carnival plc ordinary shares are payable in sterling, unless the shareholders elect to receive the dividends in U.S. dollars. Dividends payable in sterling will be converted from U.S. dollars into sterling at the U.S. dollar to sterling exchange rate quoted by the Bank of England in London at 12:00 p.m. on the next combined U.S. and UK business day that follows the quarter end.

The payment and amount of any future dividend is within the discretion of the Boards of Directors. Our dividends were and will be based on a number of factors, including our earnings, liquidity position, financial condition, booking trends, capital requirements, credit ratings and the availability and cost of obtaining new debt. We cannot be certain that Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc will continue their dividend in the future, and if so, the amount and timing of such future dividends are not determinable and may be different than the levels and have a different timing than are disclosed above.

D. Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K is incorporated by reference to Part III. Item 12 of this Form 10-K.

E. Performance Graph

The information required by Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K, Performance Graph, is shown in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

F. Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities

I. Repurchase Program

Under a share repurchase program effective 2004, we are authorized to repurchase Carnival Corporation common stock and Carnival plc ordinary shares (the “Repurchase Program”). On April 6, 2017, the Boards of Directors approved a modification of the general authorization under the Repurchase Program, which replenished the remaining authorized repurchases at the time of the approval to $1.0 billion. The Repurchase Program does not have an expiration date and may be discontinued by our Boards of Directors at any time.

During the three months ended November 30, 2017, repurchases of Carnival Corporation common stock pursuant to the Repurchase Program were as follows:

During the three months ended November 30, 2017, repurchases of Carnival plc ordinary shares pursuant to the Repurchase Program were as follows:

No shares of Carnival Corporation common stock or Carnival plc ordinary shares were purchased outside of publicly announced plans or programs.

II. Stock Swap Programs

In addition to the Repurchase Program, we have programs that allow us to obtain an economic benefit when either Carnival Corporation common stock is trading at a premium to the price of Carnival plc ordinary shares or Carnival plc ordinary shares are trading at a premium to Carnival Corporation common stock (the “Stock Swap Programs”). For example:

Any realized economic benefit under the Stock Swap Programs is used for general corporate purposes, which could include repurchasing additional stock under the Repurchase Program.

Under the Stock Swap Programs effective 2008, the Boards of Directors have made the following authorizations:

Any sales of Carnival Corporation shares and Carnival plc ordinary shares have been or will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933. During the three months ended November 30, 2017, no Carnival Corporation common stock or Carnival plc ordinary shares were sold or repurchased under the Stock Swap Programs.

III. Carnival plc Shareholder Approvals

Carnival plc ordinary share repurchases under both the Repurchase Program and the Stock Swap Programs require annual shareholder approval. The existing shareholder approval is limited to a maximum of 21.6 million ordinary shares and is valid until the earlier of the conclusion of the Carnival plc 2018 annual general meeting or July 4, 2018.

The information required by Item 6. Selected Financial Data, is shown in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

The information required by Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, is shown in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

The information required by Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk, is shown in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The financial statements, together with the report thereon of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, dated January 29, 2018, and the Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) are shown in Exhibit 13 and are incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

None.

A. Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer have evaluated our disclosure controls and procedures and have concluded, as of November 30, 2017, that they are effective as described above.

B. Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 13a-15(f). Our management, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the 2013 Internal Control – Integrated Framework (the “COSO Framework”). Based on this evaluation under the COSO Framework, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of November 30, 2017.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the independent registered certified public accounting firm that audited our consolidated financial statements incorporated in this Form 10-K, has also audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of November 30, 2017 as stated in their report, which is shown in Exhibit 13 and is incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

C. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended November 30, 2017 that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

None.

PART III

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our President and Chief Executive Officer and senior financial officers, including the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer and other persons performing similar functions. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to all our other employees and to our directors as well. This Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is posted on our website, which is located at www.carnivalcorp.com and www.carnivalplc.com. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of the Form 8-K regarding any amendments to, or waivers from, provisions of this Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such information on our website, at the addresses specified above.

The additional information required by Item 10 is incorporated herein by reference from the Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc joint definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the 2017 fiscal year, except that the information concerning the Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc executive officers called for by Item 401(b) of Regulation S-K is included in Part I of this Form 10-K.

The information required by Item 11 is incorporated herein by reference from the Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc joint definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the 2017 fiscal year.

A. Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

I. Carnival Corporation

Set forth below is a table that summarizes compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which Carnival Corporation equity securities are authorized for issuance as of November 30, 2017.

II. Carnival plc

Set forth below is a table that summarizes compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which Carnival plc equity securities are authorized for issuance as of November 30, 2017.

The additional information required by Item 12 is incorporated herein by reference to the Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc joint definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the 2017 fiscal year.

Items 13 and 14. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence and Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

The information required by Items 13 and 14 is incorporated herein by reference from the Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc joint definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the 2017 fiscal year.

PART IV

(a) (1) Financial Statements

The financial statements shown in Exhibit 13 are incorporated herein by reference into this Form 10-K.

(2) Financial Statement Schedules

All schedules for which provision is made in the applicable accounting regulations of the SEC are not required under the related instruction or are inapplicable and, therefore, have been omitted.

(3) Exhibits

The exhibits listed below on the Index to Exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Form 10-K.

*Indicates a management contract or compensation plan or arrangement.

**These items are furnished and not filed.

None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each of the registrants has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of each of the registrants and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.