Royal Caribbean Cruises 10-Q 2021-09-30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021

OR

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 1-11884

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, Florida 33132

(Address of principal executive offices) (zip code)

(305) 539-6000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has 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 registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. 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 an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has 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 registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

There were 254,789,847 shares of common stock outstanding as of October 27, 2021

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(unaudited; in thousands, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(unaudited; in thousands, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share data)

Showing the first 8K of 185K characters. Open the full section

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

The discussion under this caption "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, business and industry prospects or future results of operations or financial position, made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are forward-looking. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "driving," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "considering" and similar expressions are intended to further identify any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations but they are based on judgments and are inherently uncertain. Furthermore, they are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and, in particular, the risks discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Part II., Item 1A. herein.

All forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q speak only as of the date of this filing. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Overview

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is organized to present the following:

• a review of our financial presentation, including discussion of certain operational and financial metrics we utilize to assist us in managing our business;

• a discussion of our results of operations for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared to the same periods in 2020;

• a discussion of our business outlook; and

• a discussion of our liquidity and capital resources, including our future capital and contractual commitments and potential funding sources.

Critical Accounting Policies

For a discussion of our critical accounting policies, refer to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations within our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Seasonality

Historically, our revenues are seasonal based on demand for cruises. Demand has historically been strongest for cruises during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months and holidays. In order to mitigate the impact of the winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere and to capitalize on the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere, our brands have focused on deployment to the Caribbean, Asia and Australia during that period.

Financial Presentation

Description of Certain Line Items

Revenues

Our revenues are comprised of the following:

• Passenger ticket revenues, which consist of revenue recognized from the sale of passenger tickets and the sale of air transportation to and from our ships; and

• Onboard and other revenues, which consist primarily of revenues from the sale of goods and/or services onboard our ships not included in passenger ticket prices, cancellation fees, sales of vacation protection insurance, pre- and post-cruise tours and fees for operating certain port facilities. Onboard and other revenues also include revenues we receive from independent third party concessionaires that pay us a percentage of their revenues in exchange for the right to provide selected goods and/or services onboard our ships, as well as revenues received for our bareboat charter, procurement and management related services we perform on behalf of our unconsolidated affiliates and third parties.

Cruise Operating Expenses

Our cruise operating expenses are comprised of the following:

• Commissions, transportation and other expenses, which consist of those costs directly associated with passenger ticket revenues, including travel agent commissions, air and other transportation expenses, port costs that vary with passenger head counts and related credit card fees;

• Onboard and other expenses, which consist of the direct costs associated with onboard and other revenues, including the costs of products sold onboard our ships, vacation protection insurance premiums, costs associated with pre- and post-cruise tours and related credit card fees, as well as the minimal costs associated with concession revenues, as the costs are mostly incurred by third-party concessionaires, and costs incurred for the procurement and management related services we perform on behalf of our unconsolidated affiliates;

• Payroll and related expenses, which consist of costs for shipboard personnel (costs associated with our shoreside personnel are included in Marketing, selling and administrative expenses);

*•*Food expenses, which include food costs for both guests and crew;

*•*Fuel expenses, which include fuel and related delivery, storage and emission consumable costs and the financial impact of fuel swap agreements; and

• Other operating expenses, which consist primarily of operating costs such as repairs and maintenance, port costs that do not vary with passenger head counts, vessel related insurance, entertainment and gains and/or losses related to the sale of our ships, if any.

We do not allocate payroll and related expenses, food expenses, fuel expenses or other operating expenses to the expense categories attributable to passenger ticket revenues or onboard and other revenues since they are incurred to provide the total cruise vacation experience.

Selected Operational and Financial Metrics

We utilize a variety of operational and financial metrics which are defined below to evaluate our performance and financial condition. As discussed in more detail herein, certain of these metrics are non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided along with the related GAAP financial measures as we believe they provide useful

information to investors as a supplement to our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.

Adjusted Loss per Share ("Adjusted EPS") represents Adjusted Net Loss attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (as defined below) divided by weighted average shares outstanding or by diluted weighted average shares outstanding, as applicable. We believe that this non-GAAP measure is meaningful when assessing our performance on a comparative basis.

Adjusted Net Loss attributable to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. represents net loss less net income attributable to noncontrolling interest excluding certain items that we believe adjusting for is meaningful when assessing our performance on a comparative basis. For the periods presented, these items included (i) gain or loss on the extinguishment of debt; (ii) the amortization of non-cash debt discount on our convertible notes; (iii) the estimated cash refund expected to be paid to Pullmantur guests and other expenses incurred as part of the Pullmantur reorganization; (iv) impairment and credit losses recognized as a result of the impact of COVID-19; (v) equity investment asset impairments; (vi) net insurance recoveries related to the collapse of the drydock structure at

Showing the first 8K of 80K characters. Open the full section

For a discussion of our market risks, refer to Part II, Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. There have been no significant developments or material changes since the date of our 2020 Annual Report.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e), as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Based upon such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that those disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and are effective to provide reasonable assurance that such information is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC’s rules and forms.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(d) during the quarter ended September 30, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls

Readers are cautioned that any system of controls, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system will be met. In addition, the design of any control system is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events. Because of these and other inherent limitations of control systems, there is only reasonable assurance that our controls will succeed in achieving their goals under all potential future conditions.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

As previously reported, two lawsuits were filed against us in August 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (the "Court") under Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, also known as the Helms-Burton Act. The complaint filed by Havana Docks Corporation ("Havana Docks Action") alleges it holds an interest in the Havana Cruise Port Terminal, and the complaint filed by Javier Garcia-Bengochea (the "Port of Santiago Action") alleges that he holds an interest in the Port of Santiago, Cuba, both of which were expropriated by the Cuban government. The complaints further allege that we trafficked in those properties by embarking and disembarking passengers at these facilities. The plaintiffs seek all available statutory remedies, including the value of the expropriated property, plus interest, treble damages, attorneys’ fees and costs. In the Havana Docks Action, we and the plaintiff have filed motions for summary judgment, which remain pending, and the trial has been scheduled for February 28, 2022. The Court dismissed the Port of Santiago Action with prejudice on the basis that the plaintiff lacked standing, and the plaintiff’s appeal of the dismissal is awaiting a decision by the appellate court. We believe we have meritorious defenses to the claims alleged in both the Havana Docks Action and the Port of Santiago Action, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against them. We believe that it is unlikely that the outcome of either action will have a material adverse impact to our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. However, the outcome of litigation is inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties, and there can be no assurances that the final outcome of either case will not be material.

We are also routinely involved in claims typical within the cruise vacation industry. The majority of these claims are covered by insurance. We believe the outcome of such claims, net of expected insurance recoveries, will not have a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations and cash flows.

The risk factors set forth below and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are important factors that could cause actual results to differ from expected or historical results. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider not to be material, or which are not known, and any of these risks could have the effects set forth below. The ordering of the risk factors set forth below is not intended to reflect any Company indication of priority or likelihood. See Part I, Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for a cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements.

COVID-19 and Financial Risks

The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and liquidity. The global spread of COVID-19, the unprecedented responses by governments and other authorities to control and contain the disease, including related variants, and challenges to global vaccination efforts, have caused significant disruptions, created new risks, and exacerbated existing risks to our business.

We have been, and will continue to be, negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including impacts that resulted or may result from actions taken in response to the outbreak, including the occurrence and spread of related variants. Examples of these actions include, but are not limited to: travel bans and cruising advisories that resulted in the temporary suspension of our Global Brands' operations, and from which we have resumed limited operations; restrictions on the movement and gathering of people; social distancing measures; shelter-in-place/stay-at-home orders and disruptions to businesses in our supply chain. In addition to the imposed restrictions affecting our business, the extent, duration, and magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the economy and consumer demand for cruising and travel is still rapidly fluctuating and difficult to predict. As such, these impacts may persist for an extended period of time or even become more pronounced, as we are permitted to and/or continue to resume operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic also has elevated risks affecting significant parts of our business:

• Operations:** Our voluntary suspension of our global cruise operations commenced in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have restarted our global cruise operations in a phased manner, following the requirements and recommendations of regulatory agencies, with reduced guest occupancy, modified itineraries and enhanced health, safety and vaccination protocols.

There is no assurance that our plan to resume operations will be successful and without material setbacks, including our ability to conduct sailings in consideration of the requirements and recommendations of regulatory agencies. It is possible that future COVID-19 outbreaks could occur onboard and, even if controlled and contained, it is uncertain as to whether we will need to suspend additional sailings and to what extent in such event. An outbreak could result in possible illness among our guests and crew, incremental costs, guest refunds and negative publicity and

media attention. In addition, we may face challenges in executing our return to service plans as a result of new and evolving operating protocols, including the impact of state regulations and litigation regarding proof of passenger vaccination, and possible changes in regulations in the countries in which we operate and plan to operate.

Uncertainties remain as to the specifics, timing and costs of administering and implementing our health and safety measures, some of which may be significant. These measures also may negatively impact guest satisfaction. Based on our assessment of these requirements and recommendations, the status of COVID-19 infection and/or vaccination rates in the U.S. or globally or for other reasons, we may determine it necessary to cancel or modify certain of our Global Brands’ cruise sailings. We believe the impact to our global bookings resulting from COVID-19 will continue to have a material negative impact on our results of operations and liquidity, which may be prolonged beyond containment of the disease and its variants.

Our previous suspension of sailings and our gradual resumption of operations has led to a significant decline in our revenues and cash inflows, which required us to take cost and capital expenditure containment actions. Consequently, we reduced and furloughed some of our workforce, with approximately 23% of our U.S. shoreside employee base being impacted in 2020 and, except for the minimum safe manning shipboard crew required to operate our ships, our shipboard crew are gradually being notified about new assignments as operations resume over time. As a result of these actions, we may be challenged in rebuilding and vaccinating the rest of our workforce which could further delay our resumption of operations. Furthermore, our efforts to vaccinate returning crew members could be hindered if vaccine availability does not keep pace with the timing of our phased resumption of operations. In addition, we have reduced our planned capital spending through 2021, which may negatively impact or delay our execution of planned growth strategies, particularly as it relates to investments in our ships, technology, and our expansion of land-based developments. We also have taken actions to monitor and mitigate changes in our supply chain, and port destination availability, which may strain relationships with our vendors and port partners.

If we are unable to satisfy the safety standards applicable to our sailings, our operations may be negatively impacted and we could be exposed to reputational and legal risks. Due to the unprecedented and uncertain nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and related regulatory guidance, it is difficult to predict the impact of further disruptions and their magnitude. In addition, we had never previously experienced a complete cessation of our cruising operations, and as a consequence, our ability to predict the impact of such a cessation on our brands and future prospects is limited and such impact is uncertain.

• Results of Operations:** Our previous suspension of sailings materially impacted the results of our operations. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant costs as we accommodate passengers with future cruise credits. In addition, we have incurred and will likely continue to incur significant overhead costs associated with layup of our fleet that has not resumed operations and enhanced COVID-19 related cleaning, testing, vaccination and other mitigation procedures. We may experience volatility in demand for cruising for an indeterminable length of time due to the uncertain nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and to ongoing concerns about health and safety, and we cannot predict when we will return to pre-outbreak demand or fare pricing or if we will return to such levels in the foreseeable future. In turn, these negative impacts to our financial performance have resulted and may continue to result in impairments of our long-lived and intangible assets, which has influenced our decision making relating to early disposal, sale or retirement of assets. Following the resumption of operations, our Global Brands and our Partner Brands may be subject to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, any future profitability will be impacted by increased debt service costs as a result of our liquidity actions.

• Liquidity:** The suspension of our sailings and the reduction in demand for future cruising has adversely impacted our liquidity as we experienced a significant increase in refunds of customer deposits while cash inflows from new or existing bookings on future sailings was reduced sharply compared to pre-pandemic levels. As a result, we have taken action

Showing the first 8K of 85K characters. Open the full section

Interactive Data File

101 The following financial statements of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. for the period ended September 30, 2021, formatted in iXBRL (Inline extensible Reporting Language) are filed herewith:

(i) the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the quarters and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020;

(ii) the Consolidated Balance Sheets at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020;

(iii) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020; and

(iv) the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, tagged in summary and detail.

104 Cover page interactive data file (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.