It's too early to say what the Trump administration's threats about taxing cruise lines will mean for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, but CEO Harry Sommer said the president's push for peace in Israel and Ukraine "can be a significant tailwind for us in 2026."
In the first public comments from a cruise company since U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said he wanted to tax the cruise industry during a Fox News interview on Feb. 19, Sommer said it would be speculative to give an opinion before the administration offers more details.
However, the CEO commended the administration for trying to resolve geopolitical tensions that have impacted the cruise industry -- the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars. Should the administration's negotiations to end the conflicts be successful, NCLH is poised to benefit, he said.
The company, which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, plans to base a third of its fleet (11 ships) in Northern Europe in the summer of 2026. That is without St. Petersburg, Russia, in the mix, he said.
"If St. Petersburg was to become available in the '26 season, I think as a company with one-third of our fleet based in that region of the world, we could disproportionately benefit from positive things in that region," he said.
He said he hopes for peace for humanitarian reasons, but as a cruise operator, peace between Ukraine and Russia could create an opportunity for the company in 2026 or 2027.
"We're here for the long term, and we are very pro the work that the administration is doing in trying to bring peace to those two regions," he said.
Europe and Alaska standing out
Sommer's comments about the administration came during the company's Q4 earnings call on Feb. 27. Sommer said he was "reasonably happy" with the company's booking pace over the last few months, saying that summer Europe and Alaska bookings have "outperformed."
Sommer said NCLH is in an "optimal booked position" for the next 12 months. Bookings for NCLH's luxury brands, Oceania and Regent, are "just a little slower than we would have liked," Sommer added.
"In exchange, the NCL brand is performing a little bit better, but nothing major. It's not a huge shift from one to another. I think bookings are where we need them to be," Sommer said.
NCLH executives said the company shattered records in the 2024 fiscal year, including record revenue, record net yield growth and record adjusted dividend.
The company reported record total revenue of $9.5 billion for the full year, an 11% increase over 2023 on 3% capacity growth. Net yield growth increased 9.9%.
The company grew adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by 32% last year to a record $2.45 billion. That's up from $1.86 billion in 2023.
Occupancy grew to 104.9% for the year, up from 102.9% in 2023. Occupancy rose in Q4, to 100.8% from 99.2%.
The company said it has refinanced $1.8 billion in debt.