The expedition cruise segment has taken no hit from the recent Hondius hantavirus outbreak last month, according to a survey from fiscal analysts.
A report issued over the weekend by bank holding company Truist found the mass-market contemporary segment has faced modest pressure from the outbreak of Andes virus on board the Dutch-flagged expedition ship Hondius in April.
Conversations between Truist analysts and cruise executives over the past month found the contemporary market has faced a cooling effect on booking volumes, which the report linked directly to “negative rhetoric” and “sensationalism” in the media regarding the outbreak.
However, the epidemic has seemingly been a non-issue for the expedition cruise sector in which the flare-up occurred, with forward bookings continuing to look extremely strong, Truist said.
The report found bookings for this segment of cruises, as well luxury and river, have even accelerated over the past two months, despite the outbreak.
“As there have not been any noticeable uptick in cancellations, we believe impact on Q2 2026 is very minimal as the issue seems to be with just new bookings,” the report read.
“We see the initial impact so far likely being net yield growths for [Carnival’s] and [Royal Caribbean’s] Q326-Q426 closer to the midpoints as opposed to at or slightly above the high ends.”
Truist noted that even with the hantavirus impact, it is possible Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings could still beat its net yield expectations depending on the degree of conservatism from the new management team.
