Well, it's good to have you here. It feels like you guys are firing on all cylinders. You're booking position. You're booked for next year already ahead of 2024 levels on occupancy and ticket prices. Give us more color around that. Like as I said, it feels like you're firing on all cylinders.

Yeah, I think that we are. It's really gratifying to see for the whole team. We just wrapped up our second quarter and we were able to report record revenues, record yield, record premium, record even, and record operating So that was a really big quarter for us. And the best news about it is, that was the actual results. But from a bookings momentum standpoint, as you were saying, the bookings that we took in just in the second quarter, actually set another record. And it was the record for the most bookings we ever took for the forward year out. So in this case, 2025. So as stellar as 2024 is looking when it comes to the demand profile and the booking trends, 2025 is already shaping up to be even better.

So you can like pack up your bags, go home for a year. No, I'm just kidding. Hey, talk to us about going to your long cruise. Go on a year long cruise. Hey, how broad -based is it? Break it down for us. You guys have several brands, and I know about a year ago you did a restructuring when it comes to those brands, but how broad -based is it in terms of customer segment and geography? Yeah,

the great thing is it is exactly that. It is broad -based. So we're seeing strength on both our North American brand and our European brand. You know, to put that into perspective, the past quarter, the second quarter, because we're a portable, they're all class brand, you know, brands are coming in and out of different economic cycles, different geopolitical issues. And whereas a couple of years ago, we were talking about our European brands just taking a little while longer to catch than our North American brands coming out of our pause. In the second quarter of this year, their yields were up over 20 percent year over year. And so we're getting this momentum across the Atlantic and from all segments, the contemporary, the premium, the luxury. We're really seeing strength in what we have offer, which, which, candidly, isn't surprising to us because, first of all, as we've talked about before, we are an incredible value. So even though we've been successful in really pushing on that demand and getting our pricing up, we are still an incredible value versus alternatives. And not only are we an incredible value when you look at our alternatives, the service levels that we provide are unmatched. And they're just as good as they were from before the pandemic, which is not something that a lot of hospitality outlets can say. I'm

wondering about the trends that you're seeing when it comes to onboard spending, excursions. Are there any signs of lower spending once consumers are on board or are there any signs of weakness that you're seeing anywhere, Josh?

Excuse me, no, not particularly, you know, in the second quarter, our onboards were up about 4% per diem year over year. And as you know, last year was incredibly over over the pre pandemic period. So, you know, the trends that we look at to understand strength of our consumer, we've got the results, we've got the onboard spending in real time, we've got the bookings, and all of those metrics for us are telling us that our consumers are incredibly strong, we've got incredibly strong brands that really resonate with the segments that we're going after, and people are absolutely still willing to spend on experiences. And that is exactly what we offer. Great experiences, we create memories and happiness for a lifetime. Hey

Josh, one of the numbers that struck me too is your total customer deposits reached an all -time high of 8 .3 billion. That surpassed the previous record by over a billion dollars, 1 .1 billion to be exact. Does all of that turn into revenue that shows up ultimately on the balance sheet? In other words, are there cancellations that can happen? What do you see around that?

Yeah, there are cancellations that can happen, but the vast majority of that is going to come through ultimately in revenues. So that's a bit of a forward indicator of how we're doing. And that increase is really a combination of increased pricing, us elongating the booking curve, so taking bookings even farther out than we had even just a year ago. And, you know, we're doing a better job of bundling our offerings so that people can spend in advance of the cruise, not just for the ticket price, but certain onboard experiences. So it's a combination of those things that we've been very focused on that are attributing to that increasing customer

demand.

Well that's something we've talked about, right? All of the bundling that happens before they even step on a ship and that ultimately can lead to more spending. Because that thinking of, I've already paid for everything, right? You get on ship and you're like, wait, I can still spend. Like, that really works. It

does really work. It does really work. I mean, it's a good amount of time that goes between the initial purchase impulse and then getting on board. So having what we refer to as a second wallet available is real. And actually, folks who buy something of onboard spending before they get on the ship, they spend more on board than those who don't do anything in advance. So it's a very strong opportunity.

Okay, Josh, I'm wondering about pricing pressures that you may be facing at the company. You're talking about consumers who are out there spending. That's certainly strong. What about what you have pressure, where you have pressure, food prices, labor costs, fuel costs? What are you seeing on that front?

Yeah, you know, I mean, good news is there's been the deceleration of inflation. We don't see his inflation, but we certainly see a deceleration, which is which is encouraging. If you look at our P &L, you'll see on the on the crew labor side, our teams are doing a real good job of trying to be mindful of the P &L and certainly pay a good living to people, but doing so efficiently. The biggest thing that we see is a change from free pandemic times to now, probably that combination of two of the things that you said, food and fuel. Those are inherently more expensive and we're doing our best because those are always going to be inputs into our business. We are laser focused on reducing consumption. Because no matter what the price is, if we use less, we will be better off. And so I'll give you two examples. On the food side, we are looking every which way we can to cut the amount of food we put on board, cut consumption, to be more mindful of the fact that we've got a lot of food waste in any given year. We've actually, because we put this focus onto it, we've been able to cut our food waste by over 40% per person per day versus where we were before the pandemic. And that is because we are giving much thought to reducing the whole consumption cycle while still giving us everything they want, which is just being more thoughtful about how we do that. And on the fuel side, you know, not only is it good for the environment, it's good for the bottom line. And even though we are over 30% bigger today than we were in 2011, We actually consume 10% less absolute fuel than we did back in 2011. We emit over 10% less absolute terms greenhouse gas emissions than we did back in 2011. So by being laser focused on that, not only can we be good world citizens, we can make a huge impact on our bottom line.

Hey, speaking of being laser focused, you guys still have, I think roughly, I was looking at the Bloomberg, maybe around 30 billion of debt still on your balance sheet, I think 4 .1 billion maturing by year end. How about the bookings and the outperformance there, maybe power help with debt reduction? Like what's your plans on that?

Yeah, absolutely. That is when it comes to our capital structure and priority one, two, and three is reducing that debt balance. We've actually reduced it by 8 billion versus our peak, which is great. I predict we probably got another billion or so to go as we get through the remainder of this year. That should get us the leverage metrics. Heading towards about four and a half turns, which is a big inroads versus where we were just a couple of years ago. Now, what we see as a plan going forward is in addition to the fact that our increased EBITDA and better business is going to help our metrics and help off the shape of balance sheet, we have intentionally reduced our supply group, our pipeline of new builds in the medium term. And so we're looking at a profile with only one new build coming in 2025, none in 26, and then one in each of 27 and 28. What that does, it will allow billions of dollars of free cash flow each year for the next several years to pay down debt. And that's exactly where we're focused. You know, I was a treasurer 10 years and we were in my stomach and I know the power of having a fortress balance sheet.

Hey Josh, I don't want to belabor the point here, but we're hearing over and over again from people not like you that they're starting to see some cracks for them in the consumer. We're seeing some price wars happening in fast food right now. For example, are you seeing weakness anywhere in your business or anywhere in the consumers that you deal with? You

know, at a general level, no, no, we're not. We see the demand profile is incredibly high. And I attribute that not just to the value gap, not just that we're getting better at what we're doing, but if you think about it, just put yourself in the minds of a consumer if

they

are stretched. If they are looking to figure out how do I make my vacation dollar go further? That is playing into what we have to offer because we are a cheaper alternative than of other things that they can choose to do. And they're seeing the value of that. They have friends, they have family who have taken holidays with us, and they can champion us on our behalf.

Josh, so appreciate it. Have a great summer. Josh Widenstein, he's president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, joining us there from their headquarters in Miami.

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He is the wealthiest person in the world depending on the day. But I mean, come on. He has spent some four decades building up the house of Arno and the clothes and access that signify status among the global elite. You know brands that include, of course, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Bulgari. Bulgari, I'm gonna hope that I'm saying it right.

You wrote it, you read it.

Celine, Fendi, Tiffany, more. He's not done. Let's get to the new monthly issue of Bloomberg Business Week. We welcome in the editor Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and the Everything Store. He, too, along with Bloomberg's Angelina Rasquette, wrote the cover story that is now available on newsstands on the Bloomberg and at Bloomberg .com slash business week. Brad, we have talked about and looking forward to this new redesign of Bloomberg Business Week. But for those who maybe aren't in the know yet, remind us about the redesign from the ground

up. Sure, Carol. So Business Week is now a monthly magazine, right? That's perhaps unusual, but it's a hundred -year -old brand that stands for examining the biggest companies and names in business. And we continue the tradition every day on Bloomberg .com, and now in the monthly magazine. This is a magazine that I think will surprise a lot of people. It looks different, it feels different, it's thicker. And our mission is to put a critical, significant force in business or tech or politics economics on the cover every single month. And as you say, this month it's Bernard Arnaud. I did not know a lot about him before starting this journey. But as you say, one of the wealthiest people in the world, $210 billion has fallen a bit since the French parliamentary elections. I think he'll be just fine. But he's now the third wealthiest person in the world. and I think not very well understood.

Well, it's interesting that you mentioned elections, because politics actually plays a big part in his origin story. So just sort of get into that a little bit. You

know, it's interesting.