New York, March 2, 2026, 16:04 (EST) — After-hours
- Royal Caribbean shares slipped 3.3% Monday, with travel stocks under pressure and oil prices on the move higher.
- Norwegian Cruise projected 2026 earnings beneath analyst expectations and pointed to unpredictable fuel expenses, weighing on the company.
- Oil traders have their eyes on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Royal Caribbean, meanwhile, set March 6 as the dividend record date.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. shares slid $10.21 to finish Monday at $300.84, down 3.3%. That continued a drop in travel-exposed stocks, with oil prices on the rise.
Fuel costs can swing sharply for cruise lines, and this latest surge in crude isn’t passing unnoticed by the market. U.S. crude settled 6.28% higher at $71.23 per barrel, while Brent tacked on 6.68% to finish at $77.74, both reacting to the weekend’s Middle East flare-up. “A lot of the worry today is about inflation and oil,” said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at 248 Ventures. Reuters
U.S. stocks ended the session little changed, whipsawed throughout the day while travel and leisure shares took another hit—investors still unsure about the duration of the conflict. “Market participants think this is all just temporary,” said Bill Smead, founder and chairman at Smead Capital Management. Bargain hunters were quick to return to big tech and defense names. Reuters
Shares of Cruise operators slid after Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings flagged uncertainty over fuel costs tied to global tensions and dialed back its expectations for 2026. The company projected adjusted profit for that year at $2.38 a share, trailing the analyst consensus of $2.55. Net yield—profit per passenger after certain expenses—is forecast to remain flat year-on-year. Early in the session, Norwegian and Carnival both tumbled roughly 11% and 10%, respectively, while Royal Caribbean dropped about 6%, according to Reuters.
Oil traders are zeroed in on the fate of supply routes, especially with the Strait of Hormuz under threat. Prices are likely to remain high in the coming days, analysts say. Citi puts Brent’s trading range at $80 to $90 over the next week. Goldman Sachs pins the “risk premium” at $18 a barrel. Wood Mackenzie, meanwhile, flagged $100 crude as a real possibility if tanker movement isn’t restored soon. Reuters
The flip side? Should crude prices drop and tensions ease, travel stocks could rebound fast—particularly following steep initial losses.
The real concern cuts the other way: oil prices remain stubbornly high, stirring up inflation jitters and squeezing budgets for non-essentials. In those conditions, cruise stocks usually take the first hit—investors dump them before weighing the details.
Looking ahead, crude prices, shipping news and any updates on leisure bookings are likely to draw traders’ attention. On the dividend front, income-seekers are watching Royal Caribbean, which set March 6 as the shareholder record date for its $1.50 per share quarterly dividend; the payout hits on April 3, per the company’s history.
