What the Heck Happened to Cruise Line Stocks This Week?

It was a rough week for investors in cruise line stocks. Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH), Carnival (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK), and Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) posted double-digit percentage declines. It was a choppy market, sure, but the S&P 500 was limited to a less than 3% slide for the week. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line went on to tumble 16% this week. Market leader Carnival emerged as the relative victor, but there are no bragging rights that come with its 11.5% drop.

It was a perfect storm for the industry. There were a couple of analyst downgrades, a notable credit-rating hit for Carnival, and even Disney (NYSE: DIS) got swept into the malaise of negative industry headlines when a crew member of its Disney Wonder ship died in the repatriation process. Toss in a surge in new COVID-19 cases in Florida, Texas, and California -- three states with essential ports for the cruising industry -- and the fate of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line was sealed. It wasn't going to be a good week for cruise line stock investors.

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