Shareholders sue Royal Caribbean for failure to disclose decreased bookings

Investors have sued Royal Caribbean Cruises in the Miami federal court over allegations that it failed to disclose pandemic-induced decreased bookings early in the year and exaggerated its ability to prevent the spread of coronavirus aboard its ships.

Labaton Sucharow LLP, on behalf of The City of Riviera Beach General Employees Retirement System, filed a securities class action lawsuit on Wednesday.

The system is seeking to represent a class of shareholders who bought stocks between early February and mid-March.

The action alleges that, from February 4, 2020, through March 17, 2020, the cruise line failed to disclose its decreased bookings outside China, saying that it was only experiencing a bookings slowdown from China.

On March 18, 2020, analysts downgraded Royal Caribbean’s stock and slashed their price targets. On this news, Royal Caribbean shares fell more than 19 percent.

Royal Caribbean had not yet been served with the complaint, according to spokesman Jonathon Fishman.

Royal Caribbean is the world’s second-largest cruise company, operating 61 cruise ships, which visit over 1,000 destinations across all seven continents.