Royal Caribbean announced on Thursday it is offering up to $2 billion in senior notes and convertible bonds that mature in 2023 in two separate offerings. 

The company said in a statement it will use the proceeds for "general corporate purposes", which may include repaying debt.

The Senior Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by a newly formed, direct wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company that will own all the equity interests in the Company’s subsidiaries that own seven of the Company’s vessels with an aggregate net book value of approximately $7.7 billion. The Convertible Notes will not be guaranteed by any of the Company’s subsidiaries.

A new plan by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will utilize a color-coded system of identifying potential and existing cases of Coronavirus on cruise ships while there are no passengers onboard.

The Miami Herald is reporting that the CDC's new system will assign each cruise ship with a color to signify the ship's status:

• Green: no confirmed cases of COVID-19 or COVID-like illness for 28 days.
• Yellow: one or more COVID-like illness cases pending confirmation.
• Red: one or more cases of confirmed COVID-19 or COVID-like illness within the past 28 days

The new system is one part of the agency's plan to detect, prevent and mitigate the spread of coronavirus on cruise ships. It was developed to assist in simplifying the process of getting crew members home.

If a ship is in Green status, crew transfers and repatriation are possible via commercial transportation, whereas non-commercial transportation would be permitted for yellow or red status.

In addition to the color-coded system, the CDC included recommendations for action to take onboard cruise ships for each color system to mitigate the spread of the disease.

Even while a ship is in Green status, the CDC recommends cruise ships take certain steps to slow the spread if it were to occur:

• Instruct crew members to wear a cloth face covering when outside of individual cabins
• Relocate all crew to single-occupancy cabins with private bathrooms
• Implement social distancing (6 feet) of crew members when working or moving through the ship

It also will require certain other changes for ships in Green status:

• Eliminate self-serve dining options at all crew and officer messes
• Discourage handshaking
• Place hand sanitizer (containing at least 60% alcohol) in multiple locations and in sufficient quantities to encourage hand hygiene
• Promote respiratory and hand hygiene and cough etiquette
• Place posters that encourage hand hygiene to help stop the spread in high-trafficked areas

Plan for passengers is still unknown

The color-coded system was designed for the current state of cruise ships during the global cruise shutdown, but an entirely different approach needs to be determined for passengers.

The CDC’s director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine Martin Cetron indicated these plans do not apply to passenger cruises. Furthermore, he told the Miami Herald, "the CDC has not begun to review plans for how to safely operate cruises prior to development of a vaccine."

"This is the bare minimum," Cetron said of the plans to mitigate spread of the virus on ships while cruising is stopped. "If a line ever wants to get back to full density on board, bringing on board people who are at risk of dying of COVID, they have to be able to control COVID on these ships when their occupancy is 90% less. It will be this plan on steroids."

Tourism opening back up elsewhere

While the cruise industry is under the microscope of government oversight, other aspects of the tourism industry have plans in place to resume operations.

Theme parks in Orlando, Florida are re-opening this month, with Universal Orlando re-opening select resort hotels and parks to guests this week. Walt Disney World will re-open in July, and SeaWorld Orlando & Busch Gardens Tampa will re-open June 11.

The airlines have been operating throughout the COVID-19 era, with regular flights in and out of countries such as Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Port Canaveral's CEO recently said he feels the cruise industry is taking an "unfair hit" from the federal government.

Royal Caribbean's employees will begin returning to its Miami headquarters in the next couple of weeks for the first time since the current health crisis forced the cruise line to have everyone work from home.

Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President of Sales and Trade Support & Service Vicki Freed confirmed that employees will begin returning to the corporate headquarters in Miami beginning on June 8, and the second group will go back on June 15.

The factor in determining the date of return for each employee will depend on which building they work in on Royal Caribbean's campus.

Employees working at the company's headquarters were forced to work from home for a number of months in order to foster proper social distancing and adhere to Florida's regulations. With the state relaxing some of those laws in order to reopen many aspects of life, working from headquarters will now be permitted.

Royal Caribbean has paused construction on its new Miami headquarters in late March. The new headquarters will eventually replace the existing corporate campus, as well as provide more space for other employees to work directly in the company's headquarters.

Royal Caribbean has informed travel agents that due to the Canadian Government restricting all cruise traffic through October 2020, its Alaska, Hawaii and Canada/New England cruises are cancelled.

The cruise line indicated itineraries touching on a Canadian port through October 2020 are suspended.

Similar to other cancelled cruises due to the current global health crisis, Royal Caribbean is offering guests three options:

Lift & Shift: Move your existing booking to next year, protecting the current price/promotion, simply by electing to remain on the same itinerary type, sailing length, stateroom category, and within the same 4-week period of their original cruise date same-time-next-year. Opt-in deadlines are as follows:

• Sailings departing June 12-July 31, 2020
  • On-or-before June 10, 2020
• Canada Port closures departing August 1-October 31, 2020
  • On-or-before June 17, 2020

Future Cruise Credit: You client will receive a Future Cruise Credit for 125% of the amount paid, to be redeemed on-or-before December 31, 2021 on sailings through April 2022. This option is automatic and will default if neither of the other options are selected.

Refund: If a refund is preferred, you can opt to receive a 100% refund of their cruise fare. No need to decide now – refund requests are available through December 31, 2020.

Last week, Canada's Public Health Agency announced it was extending its ban on cruises ships with more than 100 people through October 31, 2020.

Canada had originally closed off its borders to all cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers and crew until between April 2 and July 1, 2020.

Without the ability to visit Canadian ports, Royal Caribbean cruises cannot legally offer sailings because of U.S. cabotage laws that require foreign-flagged vessels leaving from a U.S. port of call to first call on a "distant foreign port" before returning to the United States.

You do not need to study business to know the impact of Royal Caribbean shutting down all of its cruise ships and halting all cruises for months will have a long term impact on the company's bottom line, but one analyst provided some context into what the future might hold.

Faizan Farooque is a contributing author for InvestorPlace.com, and recently wrote about how much time Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd (NYSE: RCL) will need to recover from its current financial 

Prior to the shutdown, cruise line revenues were steadily rising, and new bookings were at equally impressive. Then the voluntary global cruise shutdown occurred, and just in the first quarter of 2020, the cruise line took over $1 billion in losses.

Even once cruises resume, revenues are expected to take massive hits this year and the next.

Source: Chart by Faizan Farooque, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence

Wall Street expects RCL will finish 2020 with $3.83 billion in revenue, which is down 65% compared to 2019. Analysts believe things will improve in 2021, with an estimate of $8.73 billion in revenue. That estimate is still down from the $11 billion in revenue the company had in 2019.

While the RCL stock is down significantly compared to the start of 2020, it has seen a resurgence lately, rising over 30% in the last month.

Note: Matt Hochberg has no position in any of the stocks mentioned, nor does he own any cruise line stock.

Norwegian Cruise Line released on Monday its new policies, procedures and measures meant to keep guests safe once cruising resumes.

Royal Caribbean has not released their new health policies, but have alluded to it coming soon.  To give Royal Caribbean cruisers an idea of what to expect, here is what NCL has in mind.

The cruise line posted its new "SAIL SAFE Health and Safety Program" that aims to ensure the health, safety and confidence of guests and crew onboard its ships.

There are six key areas of health and safety addressed in the program, and it will be implemented fleetwide.

Enhanced Screening Protocols

All guests will undergo an enhanced pre-embarkation health screening.

Additionally, all crew will undergo extensive screening prior to embarkation and constant monitoring throughout the voyage. \

Once on board, touchless temperature checks and continuous monitoring of guests and crew throughout the voyage will help identify potential health issues, offering an additional
layer of prevention and protection.

Checks will occur:

• Prior to embarkation and disembarkation
• Upon returning to the ship while in a port of call
• Prior to all activities in public venues
• Prior to all meals in dining venues
• A healthy crew helps ensure healthy guests. Constant monitoring of crew health includes temperature checks multiple times per day as well as rigid sanitation protocols.
• We’re enhancing our existing Pre-Employment Medical Examination process, which already screens for a wide variety of infectious diseases, to ensure the health and safety of our crew.
• We’re exploring on board testing capabilities that will allow crew members to undergo the latest, most advanced form of COVID-19 testing at any time throughout their employment contract.

Responsible Social Distancing

Staggered embarkation and advanced online check-in will be implemented for proper social distancing.

In addition, the cruise line will reduce capacity in all public areas throughout the voyage.

All onboard activities will still be available, although operated at a reduced capacity, and in some cases, slightly modified in order to ensure safe social distancing. NCL will take necessary precautions and follow applicable public health guidelines to ensure guest health and safety, which is our highest priority at all times.

Increased sanitation measures

All ships are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to every voyage in accordance with company protocols, which are developed in partnership with CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program.

Embarkation terminals will be sanitized continuously, and, where possible, fogged before and after each embarkation and debarkation.

All staterooms, suites and public areas will be cleaned, sanitized and disinfected at an increased frequency, using Electrostatic Spray Technology.

Increased sanitation efforts include:

• The disinfectant we use for fogging in staterooms and public areas is hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Hypochlorous acid is a non-toxic, powerful oxidant that effectively kills bacteria, spores, and viruses. It is natural and safe to use in open areas since it is comprised of natural elements such as water and salt, and electric charge.
• NCL's 24/7 prevention schedule will feature continuous disinfection of public areas and high-traffic touch points. NCL will ensure that cleaning occurs continuously for all elevators and all public areas during on and off-peak hours.
• Buffets and beverage stations will be full service with staff available to serve guests.
• All guests will be strongly encouraged to engage in frequent handwashing, including when entering food and beverage venues, and hand sanitizer will be prominently placed and easily accessible throughout the ship

All-new Air Filtration

Installation of medical-grade air-filters, H13 HEPA, that remove 99.95% of airborne pathogens across our entire fleet to ensure the air you breathe is clean.

Extended Ship To Shore Safety

NCL will visit safe, open ports that may mean itinerary changes.

Enhanced Medical Resources

Onboard medical centers will be fully equipped with the latest testing kits and medical supplies.

NCL will also increase their medical team fleetwide.

Testing kits and medical supplies include:

• Advanced onsite COVID-19 testing
• Increased inventory of vaccinations
• Increased inventory of medications to treat COVID-19

NCL will begin to introduce a newly created onboard position of Public Health Officer, responsible for the oversight of all sanitation and outbreak prevention initiatives. Additionally, they will monitor the day-to-day cleanliness of all public areas and accommodations, maintaining compliance with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program.

• Enhanced health & safety trainings and continued education for crew members.
• Webinars developed by our various health partners.
• WHO and CDC materials are available to vessels and crew.
•  All crew will have public health training when joining the ship.

What do you think of NCL's health program? Does it go far enough to make you feel safe to cruise? Are there rules you do not like? Share your observations in the comments!

I have been lucky enough to cruise on Royal Caribbean for many years, but there are definitely a few odd things about cruising that someone new to a cruise might not expect.

Going on a cruise is a fun family vacation, but there are definitely some nuances and experiences that just do not exist in everyday life. These are not problems or bad ideas, rather, a heads up to anyone going on their first cruise with what to expect as it relates to cruising culture.

I have come up with my own list of interesting differences first-timers may not know about.

A lot of people wear matching shirts

A relatively new phenomenon is buying matching shirts to wear on the ship.

While group t-shirts are not a new idea, there has been a surge in nautical-inspired cruise pun shirts to help kick off family vacations.

On embarkation day especially, you can spot plenty of groups walking onboard in matching colored shirts that have a phrase like, "Getting Nauti" or "Get ship faced" or my favorite, "Yea Bouy!"

In addition, family reunions, birthdays, bachelorette parties and other special occasions see lots of matching shirts.  Some even take the next step and customize the shirt with names or nicknames.

You certainly will not be out of place without one, but perhaps it would be something your family would want to do to help show everyone how excited you are for the cruise.

There a lot of people that cruise almost all the time

I used to think going on a cruise once or twice every year was a big deal, until I started talking to other cruisers.  

There is a large contingency of cruisers who cruise a lot. By "a lot", I am talking monthly, weekly, or even more often! In fact, one cruiser practically lives onboard Royal Caribbean's ships.

As someone that started off cruising once a year, and now is close to cruising once a month, I can say with certainty the idea of cruising a lot does not surprise me anymore, but if you are new to it, expect many others to be regulars.

Crown and Anchor ranks are (literal) badges of honor

Royal Caribbean has its own customer loyalty program known as the Crown and Anchor Society, and the cruisers towards the top of the program take it very seriously.

The cruise line rewards its top cruisers with special perks, and these rewards mean a lot to its members. 

In fact, people that reach the very top status (Pinnacle Club) will walk around the ship wearing their pin that has their name engraved on it.

Weather forecasts in the summer months are pretty useless

If you have a Caribbean cruise booked in the summer months, as you get within days of your sailing, the weather forecast likely shows rain every day.

During the warmer summer months in the tropics, it may rain every day, but usually for short periods and is gone before you know it.

Just because rain is in the forecast, does not mean your day in port or onboard will be washed out.  In fact, the forecast may call for rain and it never actually rain where you are located.

You certainly should plan for the possibility of rain on your cruise, but do not take the forecast of precipitation as a guarantee of getting soaked.

Dining on a cruise ship is an adventure

It is likely safe to say that first time cruisers know there are different dining venues on a cruise ship, but Royal Caribbean's food game as been elevated to a point that it rivals most downtown dining districts.

Royal Caribbean's ships are packed with complimentary and specialty restaurant choices, each with different cuisines and cooking styles.

Eating onboard is more than just "more of the same", and you will often have a good variety of choices. In addition, Royal Caribbean has been actively upgrading its culinary offerings to keep it in line with any land-based resort.

In short, look up the restaurants available on the ship you book and learn more about dining on a Royal Caribbean ship.

Pre-book as much as you can

While you certainly can book a cruise and then show up to the embarkation port with no research or planning and probably have a good time, your best bet is to plan as much as you can.

Royal Caribbean has made learning about and booking activities, dining, excursions and events incredibly easy, thanks to its free app and Cruise Planner website.

Simply log in and browse around to get an idea of what to expect.  The more you learn, the better off your vacation experience will be, and the more money you will save.

The entire muster drill

I have yet to find anything on land the rivals the nuances of the ship safety drill, better known as the muster drill.

Somewhat similar to the safety demonstration you would hear on an airplane before takeoff, the muster drill is a required drill on the first day of the cruise where everyone stops what they are doing and reports to their muster station.

The drill lasts about 20-30 minutes, and involves becoming acclimated with where your muster station is in case of an emergency. You will be lined up shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow guests, and hear and see how to put on a life jacket, as well as be informed about certain safety & health procedures and policies.

Yes, everyone must do it, even if you have cruised before.

Hiding rubber ducks on the ship

Social media has spawned a new cruising "tradition" where some guests hide rubber ducks around the ship for other guests to find.

Known colloquially as "cruising ducks", this practice is about if you find a duck, you take a photo of where you found it and post it on Facebook.  Then you either hide the duck for someone else to find, or take it home as a souvenir.

So if you spot a rubber duck in a bush or behind a desk, it is likely the work of cruise fans and not a child who misplaced their toy.

Decorating stateroom doors

Something you would never see in a hotel, but happens all the time on a cruise ship is door decorations.

Similar to the matching t-shirt idea outlined earlier, stateroom door decorations are about guests sharing their excitement and joy of a cruise vacation with everyone else.

Door decorations can consist of name tags, lights, paper creations and pretty much anything else that can be attached to a door via magnets.

Basically, it is a fun way to share who is cruising and why, and your family can get in on the fun too if you bring the proper materials. Just be sure not to use any adhesives like tape or glue (magnets work best).

The Quest

The best way to describe The Quest is it is an adult scavenger hunt that is held towards the end of nearly all Royal Caribbean cruises.

Hosted by the Cruise Director, The Quest sounds like a fun romp among guests to complete a series of challenges in a short period of time. Sounds tame, right?

Teams of guests compete to find certain items, as well as perform certain actions. What tends to happen is the challenges become more and more adult in nature, and (fun) mayhem ensues.

You have to see it to fully understand it.

Royal Caribbean's website no longer has 2020 cruises to Alaska or Canada available to book.

Canada announced on Friday it was extending its ban on cruise ships through the end of October 2020.

While Royal Caribbean has not officially informed guests that sailings that visit Canada between July 1 - October 31 are cancelled, all potentially affected sailings have been removed from being able to be booked on the cruise line site.

When searching for Alaska sailings, no dates in 2020 are available to search, and Brilliance of the Seas 2020 sailings from Boston are all removed, minus a repositioning cruise from Boston to Tampa.

Royal Caribbean indicated a "full update" will be made by Royal Caribbean on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020.

If cruise ships cannot visit Canada, Royal Caribbean cannot legally operate sailings that do not visit a "nearby foreign port" during the sailing, due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886.

Thanks to RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Bud Dickson for alerting us to this news.

Stay up-to-date with all the Royal Caribbean news from this week with our roundup of all this week's news.

Bad news came down from north of the border this week, when Canada announced it would extend its ban on cruise ships through October 31, 2020.

The ban of cruise ships in Canadian waters makes operating cruises to Alaska or New England effectively impossible because U.S. cabotage laws require foreign-flagged vessels leaving from a U.S. port of call to first call on a "distant foreign port" before returning to the United States.

Royal Caribbean has promised an update on affected sailings by Tuesday.

Royal Caribbean News

• There will not be overnight stays at Perfect Day at CocoCay.
• Changes made once cruising resumes may not be permanent changes.
• Royal Caribbean hired back over 100 laid off workers to help answer phones.
• Richard Fain published a new video about new protocols and procedures.
• Royal Caribbean's stock price has seen a resurgence recently.
• Is a cruise drink package worth buying?
• Here are the ways to get a cheap cruise.
• Ever thought about trying a repositioning cruise?
• Learn all about solo cruises on Royal Caribbean.
• Here is what you need to know to decide between the passport book vs card.
• Top 9 bad mistakes made when planning a Royal Caribbean cruise.
• Haines, Alaska wants more Royal Caribbean ships to visit.
• Test your knowledge with our Royal Caribbean brain teaser trivia.
• Here is how to have cruise ship fun at home while there are no sailings.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 356th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, that shares the story of Bryan's family cruise on Allure of the Seas.

Bryan took this family on Allure of the Seas for a family vacation that redefined what the new standard of family fun was for his clan.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! I would appreciate it.

Would you cruise if wearing a mask is mandatory?

Many tourist businesses opening back up now are requiring guests to wear masks, and the question is if Royal Caribbean will do the same.

I polled over two thousand people who typically go on Royal Caribbean if they would cruise again assuming wearing a mask was mandatory, and it was clear how readers felt about wearing a mask.

Royal Caribbean has not divulged any specifics of the plans and protocols in intends to introduce once cruising resume, but many believe wearing a mask onboard the ship might be included as part of the new rules.

Hours after Canada announced an extension of its ban on cruise ships through the end of October, Royal Caribbean sent a notice to travel agents an update is coming next week.

An email was sent to travel agents acknowledging they are aware of the ban by the Canadian government, and announced a "full update" will be made by Royal Caribbean on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020.

In the email, Royal Caribbean explained they are working through what the policy change by Canada means for their cruises, and what impact it will have on booked sailings.

"We kindly ask for patience, as we diligently work on next steps. We know that you and your clients probably have a lot of questions, which we'd love to answer - but since this is hot off the press, we just don't have those answers yet. And, regrettably hold times on our phones are quite long. So to avoid any frustration, we kindly ask for your patience and understanding."

The ban has the potential to affect nearly all of Royal Caribbean's 2020 Alaska and Canada/New England sailings. Many of those types of sailings were already cancelled through the end of July, as part of the cruise line's global cruise suspension.