General (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2022

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of PresentationThe Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) and the Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021, the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021 and the Consolidated Balance Sheet at August 31, 2022 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 2021 joint Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on January 27, 2022.

Use of Estimates and Risks and Uncertainty

Use of Estimates and Risks and Uncertainty The preparation of our interim consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported and disclosed. The full extent to which the effects of COVID-19, inflation, higher fuel prices and higher interest rates will directly or indirectly impact our business, operations, results of operations and financial condition, including our valuation of goodwill and trademarks, impairment of ships, collectability of trade and notes receivables as well as provisions for pending litigation, will depend on future developments that are uncertain. We have made reasonable estimates and judgments of such items within our financial statements and there may be changes to those estimates in future periods.

Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU No. 2020-04”), which provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to accounting guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease entities’ financial reporting burdens as the market transitions from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. ASU 2020-04 is effective upon issuance and can be applied through December 31, 2022. The use of LIBOR was phased out at the end of 2021, although the phase-out of U.S. dollar LIBOR for existing agreements has been delayed until June 2023. We continue to monitor developments related to the LIBOR transition and identification of an alternative, market-accepted rate.

In December 2021, we amended our £350 million long-term debt agreement which referenced the British Pound sterling (“GBP”) LIBOR to the Sterling Overnight Index Average (“SONIA”) and applied the practical expedient. This amendment did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. As of August 31, 2022, approximately $8.4 billion of our outstanding indebtedness bears interest at floating rates referenced to U.S. dollar LIBOR with maturity dates extending beyond June 30, 2023. We are currently evaluating our contracts referenced to U.S. dollar LIBOR and working with our creditors on updating credit agreements as necessary to include language regarding the successor or alternate rate to LIBOR. We do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements during the LIBOR transition period.

The FASB issued guidance, Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options and Derivative and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity, which simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments. This guidance eliminates certain models that require separate accounting for embedded conversion features, in certain cases. Additionally, among other changes, the guidance eliminates certain of the conditions for equity classification for contracts in an entity’s own equity. The guidance also requires entities to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments in the diluted earnings per share calculation and include the effect of share settlement for instruments that may be settled in cash or shares, except for certain liability-classified share-based payment awards. We will adopt this guidance in the first quarter of 2023 using the modified retrospective approach. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Revenue from Contract with Customer

Guest cruise deposits and advance onboard purchases are initially included in customer deposit liabilities when received. Customer deposits are subsequently recognized as cruise revenues, together with revenues from onboard and other activities, and all associated direct costs and expenses of a voyage are recognized as cruise costs and expenses, upon completion of voyages with durations of ten nights or less and on a pro rata basis for voyages in excess of ten nights. The impact of recognizing these shorter duration cruise revenues and costs and expenses on a completed voyage basis versus on a pro rata basis is not material. Certain of our product offerings are bundled and we allocate the value of the bundled services and goods between passenger ticket revenues and onboard and other revenues based upon the estimated standalone selling prices of those goods and services. Guest cancellation fees, when applicable, are recognized in passenger ticket revenues at the time of cancellation.

Our sales to guests of air and other transportation to and from airports near the home ports of our ships are included in passenger ticket revenues, and the related costs of purchasing these services are included in transportation costs. The proceeds that we collect from the sales of third-party shore excursions are included in onboard and other revenues and the related costs are included in onboard and other costs. The amounts collected on behalf of our onboard concessionaires, net of the amounts remitted to them, are included in onboard and other revenues as concession revenues. All of these amounts are recognized on a completed voyage or pro rata basis as discussed above.

Passenger ticket revenues include fees, taxes and charges collected by us from our guests. The fees, taxes and charges that vary with guest head counts and are directly imposed on a revenue-producing arrangement are expensed in commissions, transportation and other costs when the corresponding revenues are recognized. For the three and nine months ended August 31, fees, taxes, and charges included in commissions, transportation and other costs were $141 million and $305 million in 2022 and were $16 million and $28 million in 2021. The remaining portion of fees, taxes and charges are expensed in other operating expenses when the corresponding revenues are recognized. Revenues and expenses from our hotel and transportation operations, which are included in our Tour and Other segment, are recognized at the time the services are performed.