Delta's Doronavirus virus hit cruise bookings

- Royal Caribbean GroupCaribbean Group said on Wednesday that overall bookings rose and near-term cruise demand was seeing a modest dent from the Doronavirus variant by Delta amid a broader recovery in the tourism industry.

Cruise operators began sailing from U.S. ports in June again with mostly healthy passengers and crew on limited capacity after lengthy talks with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about health and safety protocols.

The resumption of sailing came more than a year after operations were suspended, but a few on-board cases in recent weeks and rising Delta variant infections in U.S. states raise worries that a rebound for the cruise industry could be delayed.

Royal Caribbean said that weekly bookings in June jumped about 90% to the previous quarter when travel and tourism industry bounces back from the impact of the pandemic.

The company reported an adjusted Net loss of $1.3 billion for the second quarter of June 30, about the same as in the first quarter of the year 2015.

Its shares were down 2% on early trading.