Standard & Poor's (S&P) does not expect demand for cruising to return anytime soon, fueling its decision last week to assign a "junk" status to Carnival Corp's creditworthiness.
The US-based rating agency gave a "BB-" rating to the world's largest cruise major, putting its bonds just within the circle of "non-investment-grade".
This means Carnival is "less vulnerable in the near term than other lower-rated obligors" but financial uncertainties may prevent it from meeting monetary commitments.
