Royal Caribbean Cruises 10-Q 2022-09-30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2022

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 255,182,015 shares of common stock outstanding as of October 31, 2022.

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)

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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, including statements regarding our expectations for future periods, 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," "considering," "could," "driving," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would," 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, 2022, compared to the same period in 2021; and

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

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

For a discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates, 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, 2021.

Seasonality

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 historically focused on deployment to the Caribbean, Asia and Australia during that period. This seasonal trend was disrupted with the voluntary suspension of our global cruise operations effective March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. We resumed our global cruise operations commencing in the second half of 2021, with our full fleet in service by June 2022. Since our full fleet is in service, we expect to return to seasonal trends.

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 procurement and management related services we perform on behalf of our unconsolidated affiliates.

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 EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that represents EBITDA (as defined below) excluding certain items that we believe adjusting for is meaningful when assessing our profitability on a comparative basis. For the 2022 and 2021 periods presented, these items included (i) other income; (ii) impairment and credit losses (recoveries); (iii) restructuring charges and other initiative expenses; (iv) equity investment asset impairments; (v) net insurance recoveries related to the collapse of the drydock structure at the Grand Bahama Shipyard involving Oasis of the Seas; (vi) Pullmantur reorganization settlement; and (vii) the net gain recognized in 2021 in relation to the sale of the Azamara brand. A reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA is provided be

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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, 2021. There have been no material changes to our exposure to market risks since the date of our 2021 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 rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

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 and nine months ended September 30, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls

It should be noted 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.

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. In the Havana Docks Action, the Court granted summary judgement in favor of the plaintiff as to liability in March 2022 with a decision on damages to be made subsequently. In August 2022, the Court ruled on several determinative issues with respect to the calculation on damages. On the basis of these rulings, in October 2022, the plaintiff filed a motion for entry of judgment in the amount of approximately $110 million plus attorney’s fees. The Court plans to issue a final judgement in the lawsuit, including a final ruling on damages following briefing to the Court scheduled to be completed by December 2022. 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, including, in the Havana Docks Action, by appealing the Court’s final judgment. At this time, we have concluded that the likelihood of loss is reasonably possible, and therefore, no liability has been recorded. The outcome of the 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.

In addition, we are 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 affect our operations. The ordering of the risk factors set forth below is not intended to reflect a risk's potential likelihood or magnitude. 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.

Macroeconomic, Business, Market and Operational Risks

We have been, and may continue to be, negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 may 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 and the occurrence and spread of related variants. Examples of these include, but are not limited to, cruising advisories and required or voluntary travel restrictions. While we have resumed our global cruise operations, following the March 2020 suspension of our global cruise operations, there is no assurance that our cruise operations will continue uninterrupted. Onboard cases have resulted in illness among our guests and crew, incremental costs, guest refunds and negative publicity and media attention. In addition, we have and may continue to face challenges and increased operating costs related to possible new and evolving operating protocols, including protocols in the countries in which we operate and plan to operate.

Uncertainties remain as to the specifics, timing, duration 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, including new variants, 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. The impact to our global bookings resulting from COVID-19 may continue to have a negative impact on our results of operations and liquidity, which may be prolonged beyond containment of the disease and its variants.

Adverse worldwide economic or other conditions could reduce the demand for cruises and passenger spending, adversely impacting our operating results, cash flows and financial condition including impairing the value of our goodwill, ships, trademarks and other assets and potentially affecting other critical accounting estimates where the change may be material to our operating results.

In addition to health and safety concerns, demand for cruises is affected by international, national, and local economic conditions. Weak or uncertain economic conditions may impact consumer confidence and pose a risk as vacationers postpone or reduce discretionary spending. This, in turn, may result in cruise booking slowdowns, decreased cruise prices and lower onboard revenues. Given the global nature of our business, we are exposed to many different economies, and our business could be hurt by challenging conditions in any of our markets.

Our operating costs could increase due to market forces and economic or geopolitical factors beyond our control.

Our operating costs, including fuel, food, payroll and benefits, airfare, taxes, insurance, and security costs, can be and have been subject to increases due to market forces and economic or geopolitical conditions or other factors beyond our control, including global inflationary pressures, which have increased our operating costs. Increases in these operating costs have affected, and may continue to adversely affect, our future profitability.

Any further impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, equity investments and notes receivable could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

We evaluate goodwill for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently when circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a reporting unit may not be recoverable. A challenging operating environment, conditions affecting consumer demand or spending, the deterioration of general macroeconomic conditions, or other factors could result in a change to the future cash flows we expect to derive from our operations. Reductions of cash flows used in the valuation analyses may result in the recording of impairments, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

Price increases for commercial airline services for our guests or major changes or reduction in commercial airline services and/or availability could adversely impact the demand for cruises and undermine our ability to provide reasonably priced vacation packages to our guests.

Many of our guests depend on scheduled commercial airline services to transport them to or from the ports where our cruises embark or disembark. Increases in the price of airfare would increase the overall price of the cruise vacation to our guests, which may adversely impact demand for our cruises. In addition, changes in the availability and/or regulations governing commercial airline services could adversely affect our guests’ ability to obtain air travel, as well as our ability to transfer our guests to or from our cruise ships, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Terrorist attacks, war, and other similar events could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

We are susceptible to a wide range of adverse events, including terrorist attacks, war, conflicts, civil unrest and other hostilities, such as the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The occurrence of these events or an escalation in the frequency or severity of them, and the resulting political instability, travel restrictions and advisories and concerns over safety and security aspects of traveling or the fear of any of the foregoing, have had, and could have in the future, a significant adverse impact on demand and pricing in the travel and vacation industry. These events could also result in additional security measures taken by local authorities which have, and may in the future, impact access to ports and/or destinations. In addition, such events have led, and could lead, to disruptions, instability and volatility in global markets, supply chains and industries, increased operating costs, such as fuel and food, and disruptions affecting our newbuild construction and fleet modernization efforts, any of which could materially and adversely impact our business and results of operations. Further, such events could have the effect of heightening the other risks we have described in this report, any of which also could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Disease outbreaks and an increase in concern about the risk of illness could adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Disease outbreaks and increased concern related to illness when traveling to, from, and on our ships could cause a drop in demand for cruises, guest cancellations, travel restrictions, an unavailability of ports and/or destinations, cruise cancellations, ship redeployments and an inability to source our crew, provisions or supplies from certain places. In addition, we may be subject to increased concerns that cruises are more susceptible than other vaca

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Interactive Data File

101 The following financial statements of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. for the period ended September 30, 2022, 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, 2022 and 2021;

(ii) the Consolidated Balance Sheets at September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021;

(iii) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021; 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.