General	9 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
General	General The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc and their respective subsidiaries. Together with their consolidated subsidiaries, they are referred to collectively in these consolidated financial statements and elsewhere in this joint Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as “Carnival Corporation & plc,” “our,” “us” and “we.” Basis of Presentation The Consolidated Statements of Income and the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2017 and 2016, the Consolidated Balance Sheet at August 31, 2017 and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended August 31, 2017 and 2016 are unaudited and, in the opinion of our management, contain all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement. Our interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in the Carnival Corporation & plc 2016 joint Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on January 30, 2017. Our operations are seasonal and results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year. Accounting Pronouncements The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Interest - Imputation of Interest, which simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs and which clarifies the presentation and subsequent measurement of debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements. The guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented on the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. On December 1, 2016, we adopted this guidance using the retrospective approach and reclassified $55 million from Other Assets to Long-Term Debt on our November 30, 2016 Consolidated Balance Sheet. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Compensation - Stock Compensation - Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. On December 1, 2016, we early adopted this guidance using the modified retrospective approach. The impact of adopting this guidance was primarily related to forfeitures and immaterial to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software, which clarifies the accounting for fees paid in a cloud computing arrangement. The amendments provide guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license or if the arrangement should be accounted for as a service contract. The amendments impact the accounting for software licenses but will not change a customer’s accounting for service contracts. On December 1, 2016, we adopted this guidance on a prospective basis, and it did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Derivatives and Hedging - Effect of Derivative Contract Novations on Existing Hedge Accounting Relationships, which clarifies that a change in the counterparty to a derivative instrument that has been designated as a hedging instrument does not, in and of itself, require dedesignation of that hedging relationship provided that all other hedge accounting criteria continue to be met. On March 1, 2017, we early adopted this guidance on a prospective basis, and it did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Derivatives and Hedging - Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments, which clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call and put options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts or whether the embedded call and put options should be bifurcated from the related debt instrument and accounted for separately as a derivative. On June 1, 2017, we early adopted this guidance using a modified retrospective approach and it did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Simplifying the Accounting for Goodwill Impairment, which simplifies the accounting for goodwill impairment by removing Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test requiring a hypothetical purchase price allocation. The new guidance requires that the impairment charge is based on the difference between the reporting unit's carrying amount and its fair value, but is limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. On June 1, 2017, we early adopted this guidance on a prospective basis. The FASB issued guidance regarding Presentation of Financial Statements - Going Concern, which requires management to evaluate, at each annual and interim reporting period, whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued and to provide related disclosures. This guidance is required to be adopted by us as of November 30, 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued guidance regarding accounting for Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. When effective, this standard will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The standard also requires more detailed disclosures and provides additional guidance for transactions that were not comprehensively addressed in U.S. GAAP. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and can be applied using either a retrospective or a modified retrospective approach. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Business Combinations - Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which assists entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Statement of Cash Flows - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which clarifies how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The amendments are aimed at reducing the existing diversity in practice. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and must be applied using a retrospective approach for each period presented. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Statement of Cash Flows - Restricted Cash, which requires restricted cash to be presented with cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and must be applied using a retrospective approach to each period presented. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which requires the bifurcation of net benefit cost. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and must be applied using a retrospective approach for the presentation of the service cost component and the other components of net benefit cost, and on a prospective basis for the capitalization of only the service cost component of net benefit cost. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Service Concession Arrangements, which clarifies that the grantor in a service arrangement should be considered the customer of the operating entity in all cases. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and can be applied using either a retrospective or a modified retrospective approach. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements. The FASB issued guidance regarding accounting for Leases, which requires an entity to recognize both assets and liabilities arising from financing and operating leases, along with additional qualitative and quantitative disclosures. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2020 and must be applied using a modified retrospective approach. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements. Other Cruise passenger ticket revenues include fees, taxes and charges collected by us from our guests. The portion of these fees, taxes and charges included in passenger ticket revenues and commissions, transportation and other costs were $161 million and $148 million and $440 million and $407 million for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

General

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc and their respective subsidiaries. Together with their consolidated subsidiaries, they are referred to collectively in these consolidated financial statements and elsewhere in this joint Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as “Carnival Corporation & plc,” “our,” “us” and “we.”

Basis of Presentation

The Consolidated Statements of Income and the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2017 and 2016, the Consolidated Balance Sheet at August 31, 2017 and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended August 31, 2017 and 2016 are unaudited and, in the opinion of our management, contain all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement. Our interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in the Carnival Corporation & plc 2016 joint Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on January 30, 2017. Our operations are seasonal and results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year.

Accounting Pronouncements

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Interest - Imputation of Interest, which simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs and which clarifies the presentation and subsequent measurement of debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements. The guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented on the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. On December 1, 2016, we adopted this guidance using the retrospective approach and reclassified $55 million from Other Assets to Long-Term Debt on our November 30, 2016 Consolidated Balance Sheet.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Compensation - Stock Compensation - Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. On December 1, 2016, we early adopted this guidance using the modified retrospective approach. The impact of adopting this guidance was primarily related to forfeitures and immaterial to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software, which clarifies the accounting for fees paid in a cloud computing arrangement. The amendments provide guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license or if the arrangement should be accounted for as a service contract. The amendments impact the accounting for software licenses but will not change a customer’s accounting for service contracts. On December 1, 2016, we adopted this guidance on a prospective basis, and it did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Derivatives and Hedging - Effect of Derivative Contract Novations on Existing Hedge Accounting Relationships, which clarifies that a change in the counterparty to a derivative instrument that has been designated as a hedging instrument does not, in and of itself, require dedesignation of that hedging relationship provided that all other hedge accounting criteria continue to be met. On March 1, 2017, we early adopted this guidance on a prospective basis, and it did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding accounting for Derivatives and Hedging - Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments, which clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call and put options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts or whether the embedded call and put options should be bifurcated from the related debt instrument and accounted for separately as a derivative. On June 1, 2017, we early adopted this guidance using a modified retrospective approach and it did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Simplifying the Accounting for Goodwill Impairment, which simplifies the accounting for goodwill impairment by removing Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test requiring a hypothetical purchase price allocation. The new guidance requires that the impairment charge is based on the difference between the reporting unit's carrying amount and its fair value, but is limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. On June 1, 2017, we early adopted this guidance on a prospective basis.

The FASB issued guidance regarding Presentation of Financial Statements - Going Concern, which requires management to evaluate, at each annual and interim reporting period, whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued and to provide related disclosures. This guidance is required to be adopted by us as of November 30, 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued guidance regarding accounting for Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. When effective, this standard will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The standard also requires more detailed disclosures and provides additional guidance for transactions that were not comprehensively addressed in U.S. GAAP. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and can be applied using either a retrospective or a modified retrospective approach. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Business Combinations - Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which assists entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Statement of Cash Flows - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which clarifies how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The amendments are aimed at reducing the existing diversity in practice. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and must be applied using a retrospective approach for each period presented. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Statement of Cash Flows - Restricted Cash, which requires restricted cash to be presented with cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and must be applied using a retrospective approach to each period presented. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which requires the bifurcation of net benefit cost. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and must be applied using a retrospective approach for the presentation of the service cost component and the other components of net benefit cost, and on a prospective basis for the capitalization of only the service cost component of net benefit cost. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued amended guidance regarding Service Concession Arrangements, which clarifies that the grantor in a service arrangement should be considered the customer of the operating entity in all cases. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2019 and can be applied using either a retrospective or a modified retrospective approach. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued guidance regarding accounting for Leases, which requires an entity to recognize both assets and liabilities arising from financing and operating leases, along with additional qualitative and quantitative disclosures. This guidance is required to be adopted by us in the first quarter of 2020 and must be applied using a modified retrospective approach. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

Other

Cruise passenger ticket revenues include fees, taxes and charges collected by us from our guests. The portion of these fees, taxes and charges included in passenger ticket revenues and commissions, transportation and other costs were $161 million and $148 million and $440 million and $407 million for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.