CCL, §1A diff (2018 → 2019)

Item 1A. Risk Factors. You should carefully consider the following discussion of significant factors, events and uncertainties that make an investment in the Company’s securities risky and provide important information for the understanding of the “forward-looking” statements discussed in this Form 10-K and elsewhere. These risk factors should be read in conjunction with other information in this Form 10-K. The events and consequences discussed in these risk factors could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, operating results and stock price. These risk factors do not identify all risks that the Company faces; operations could also be affected by factors, events, or uncertainties that are not presently known to the Company or that the Company currently does not consider to present significant risks to its operations. In addition, the current global economic climate amplifies many of these risks. 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. The ordering and lettering of the risk factors set forth below is not intended to reflect any Company indication of priority or likelihood. a. World events impacting the ability or desire of people to travel may lead to a decline in demand for cruises We may be impacted by the public’s concerns regarding the health, safety and security of travel, including government travel advisories and travel restrictions, political instability and civil unrest, and other general concerns. Additionally, we may be impacted by 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. We may also be impacted by 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. Furthermore, uncertainties resulting from the UK’s expected exit from the European Union may impact our business. b. Incidents concerning our ships, guests or the cruise vacation industry as well as adverse weather conditions and other natural disasters may impact the satisfaction of our guests and crew and lead to reputational damage Our operations involve the risk of incidents and media coverage thereof. Such incidents include, but are not limited to, the improper operation or maintenance of ships, motorcoaches and trains; guest and crew illnesses; mechanical failures, fires and collisions; repair delays, groundings and navigational errors; oil spills and other maritime and environmental issues as well as other incidents at sea or while in port or on land which may cause guest and crew discomfort, injury, or death. Although our 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 and we may experience similar or other incidents in the future. Our ability to attract and retain guests and crew, depends in part, upon the perception and reputation of our company. 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, tornadoes, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions. 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 types of disruptions. Changes in climate may increase the frequency and intensity of adverse weather patterns, make certain destinations less desirable or impact our business in other ways. In addition, these and any other events which impact the travel industry more generally may negatively impact our guests’ or crew’s ability or desire to travel to or from our ships and/or interrupt the supply of critical goods and services. c. Changes in and non-compliance with laws and regulations under which we operate, such as those relating to health, environment, safety and security, data privacy and protection, anti-corruption, economic sanctions, trade protection and tax may lead to litigation, enforcement actions, fines, penalties, and reputational damage We are subject to numerous international, national, state and local laws, regulations, treaties and other legal requirements that govern health, environmental, safety and security matters in relation to our guests, crew and ships. These requirements change regularly, sometimes on a daily basis, depending on the itineraries of our ships and the ports and countries visited. If we violate or fail to comply with any of these laws, regulations, treaties and other requirements we could be, and have previously been, fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators. In addition, there is increased global focus on climate change, which may lead to additional regulatory requirements. We are subject to a court-ordered environmental compliance plan supervised by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which is operative until at least April 2022 and subjects our operations to additional review and other obligations. Failure to comply with the requirements of this environmental compliance plan or other special conditions of probation could result in fines, which the court has imposed in the past, and restrictions on our operations. We are subject to laws and requirements related to the treatment and protection of sensitive data in the jurisdictions where we operate. Various governments, agencies and regulatory organizations have enacted or are considering new rules and regulations. In the course of doing business, we collect guest, employee, company and other third-party data, including personally identifiable information and other sensitive data. Our operations subject us to potential liability under anti-corruption laws and regulations. We may also be affected by economic sanctions, trade protection laws, policies and other regulatory requirements affecting trade and investment. We are subject to compliance with tax laws, regulations and treaties in the jurisdictions in which we are incorporated or operate. These tax laws, regulations and treaties are subject to change at any time, which may result in substantially higher tax liabilities. Additionally, the relevant authorities’ interpretation of tax laws, regulations and treaties could differ materially from ours. d. Breaches in data security and lapses in data privacy as well as disruptions and other damages to our principal offices, information technology operations and system networks and failure to keep pace with developments in technology may adversely impact our business operations, the satisfaction of our guests and crew and lead to reputational damage We may be impacted by breaches in data security and lapses in data privacy, which occur from time to time. These can vary in scope and intent from economically driven attacks to malicious attacks targeting our key operating systems with the intent to disrupt or compromise our shoreside and shipboard operations. Like many companies, we have been and continue to be subject to unauthorized access or use of digital systems and networks through human error or for purposes of misappropriating assets or obtaining sensitive financial, medical or other personal or business information. Our principal offices, information technology operations and system networks may be impacted by actual or threatened natural disasters (for example, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, fires, tornadoes, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions) or other disruptive events. Our maritime and/or shoreside operations, including our ability to manage our inventory of cabins held for sale and set pricing, control costs, and serve our guests, depends on the reliability of our information technology operations and system networks as well as our ability to refine and update to more advanced systems and technologies. e. Ability to recruit, develop and retain qualified shipboard personnel who live away from home for extended periods of time may adversely impact our business operations, guest services and satisfaction We hire a significant number of qualified shipboard personnel each year and, thus, our ability to adequately recruit, develop and retain these individuals is critical to our success. Incidents involving cruise ships and the related adverse media publicity, adverse economic conditions that negatively affect our profitability and increasing demand as a result of our and the industry’s projected growth could negatively impact our ability to recruit, develop and retain sufficient qualified shipboard personnel. f. Increases in fuel prices, changes in the types of fuel consumed and availability of fuel supply may adversely impact our scheduled itineraries and costs We may be impacted, and have been impacted in the past, by economic, market and political conditions around the world, such as fuel demand, regulatory requirements, supply disruptions and related infrastructure needs, which 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. Increases in airfares, which could result from increases in the price of fuel, would increase our guests’ overall vacation costs as many of our guests depend on airlines to transport them to or from the airports near the ports where our cruises embark and disembark. As a result of changes in regulations, we expect to consume a larger percentage of low sulfur fuel in 2020, which will likely increase our fuel costs. Additionally, certain of our ships are designed to use LNG as their primary fuel source. At this time, the marine LNG distribution infrastructure is in the early stages of development with a limited number of suppliers. g. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may adversely impact our financial results We earn revenues, pay expenses, purchase and own assets and incur liabilities in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Additionally, our shipbuilding contracts are typically denominated in euros. Movements in foreign currency exchange rates will affect our financial results. h. Overcapacity and competition in the cruise and land-based vacation industry may lead to a decline in our cruise sales, pricing and destination options We may be impacted by increases in capacity in the cruise and land-based vacation industry, which may result in capacity growth beyond demand, either globally or for a region, or for a particular itinerary. We face competition from other cruise brands on the basis of overall experience, destinations, types and sizes of ships and cabins, travel agent preferences and value. In addition, we compete with land-based vacation alternatives throughout the world on the basis of overall experience, destinations and value. i. Geographic regions in which we try to expand our business may be slow to develop or ultimately not develop how we expect 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. j. Inability to implement our shipbuilding programs and ship repairs, maintenance and refurbishments may adversely impact our business operations and the satisfaction of our guests We may be impacted by unforeseen events, such as work stoppages, insolvencies, “force majeure” events or other financial difficulties experienced by shipyards, their subcontractors and our suppliers. This may result in less shipyard availability resulting in delays or preventing the delivery of our ships under construction and/or the completion of the repair, maintenance, or refurbishment of our existing ships. This may lead to potential delays or cancellations of cruises. In addition, the prices of various commodities that are used in the construction of ships and for repair, maintenance and refurbishment of existing ships, such as steel, are subject to volatility. Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this document 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,” “outlook,” and similar expressions of future intent or the negative of such terms. Forward-looking statements include those statements that relate to our outlook and financial position including, but not limited to, statements regarding: • Net revenue yields • Net cruise costs, excluding fuel per available lower berth day • Booking levels • Estimates of ship depreciable lives and residual values • Pricing and occupancy • Goodwill, ship and trademark fair values • Interest, tax and fuel expenses • Liquidity • Currency exchange rates • Adjusted earnings per share 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 document, 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. Item 1B.