Carnival is selling 6 cruise ships after a $4.4 billion loss, a sign of the industry's bleak future in the coronavirus pandemic

The Coral Princess, part of Carnival Cruises' Princess Cruise line. 

Princess Cruises

• Carnival Cruises, which includes brands such as P&O, Princess Cruises and Cunard, is to sell 6 ships amid a downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis.
• The industry has been hammered by COVID-19 after multiple outbreaks occurred at sea, and ports around the world closed to cruise ships. 
• Carnival said it lost $4.4 billion in the past three months and doesn't know when it can resume normal operations.

Carnival is planning to sell 6 of its cruise ships after reporting a loss of $4.4 billion in the second quarter of 2020, as the coronavirus crisis continues to hammer the cruise industry.

The company, which includes major cruise lines such as Cunard, P&O and Princess Cruises, reported on Thursday that it was "accelerating" planned sales of the ships.

It reported a massive drop its revenues in the three-month period to May 31, taking in $700 million, a fraction of its $4.8 billion revenues for the same period in 2019, The Guardian reported. 

The company said it was "unable to definitively predict" when cruises will back to normal, making it impossible to make an earnings forecast. 

All its cruises were suspended in mid-March after onboard outbreaks were reported. Across the industry, by March 25 there had been coronavirus outbreaks on 36 cruise ships worldwide, as Business Insider reported. 

Although Carnival has offered customers the chance to pause their bookings for a future date, half of them requested a cash refund, the company said.

Meanwhile, administration and keeping ships afloat still cost the company $250 million a month.

An estimated 21,000 ship staff are still stuck on board 49 ships which cannot dock due to governmental restrictions, the company said. 

Next Four Freds Event to Take Place in Lisbon in Oct. 2021

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has confirmed that it’s the third fleet get together will be Four Fred.s in Lisbon in October 2021.

It comes after the Four Fred.s in Funchal event, which was due to take place on April 4was cancelled due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

Three of Fred. Olsen’s four ocean ships – Boudicca, Black Watch and Braemar – were already scheduled to call into Lisbon, Portugal, on Oct. 22, and the fourth itinerary aboard Balmoral has been specially created to complete the line-up.

Clare Ward, Director of Product and Customer Service at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines said: “Of course, it is disappointing that our ‘Four Fred.s in Funchal’ event was unable to go ahead. But these fleet-wide get-togethers are years in the making, and none of us could have predicted the challenging situation we have all found ourselves in today.

“The safety of our guests and crew is always our number one priority, and last month we took the decision to take our ships out of action until the end of May – which included our scheduled ‘Four Fred.s in Funchal’ festivities.

“It is hugely exciting to be able to confirm new date and destination for our fleet reunion so quickly, as I know so many of our guests were looking forward to being reunited with friends and crew members that they have met on their travels with us.

“All of us here at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines can’t wait to welcome back our many loyal guests when we come together again in Lisbon next October and are looking forward to seeing some new faces, too.”