People like new ships with all the glitz and glamour that go along with it. The new ship starting with the Mardi Gras are excellent additions for carnival. However, the majority of their ships from the sunshine class to the spirit class and conquest class are all over 20 year Old. Carnival also has never been the greatest company at keeping up with modernizing their ships. The last time Carnival paused between the dream class and the vista class the other cruise lines made very big leaps with their new ships. I’m not sure that pausing new ships in the long run will be a great strategy as it takes many years to develop and build the newest and greatest.
Carnival corp as a parent company with debt, good or bad - it’s still debt and as you say is in the forefront of the general mind of the suits of how they want to invest money going forward. If they don’t believe it’s a good idea to keep a modern newish fleet and Royal does - I guess time will tell how it works out for both of them.