<p>The recent announcement by Royal Caribbean Cruises to axe 400 jobs owing to a 55 per cent increase to its fuel costs and a sharp drop in second quarter net income is not likely to have any implications for Antigua and Barbuda or the rest of the Caribbean.</p><p><br />According to news coming from the cruise line, the shore-side job losses are part of a &ldquo;significant&rdquo; cost-cutting exercise which the cruise company hopes will reduce spending by US$125 million annually.</p><p><br />Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Fain said too much of the company&rsquo;s profitability is eroded by the increase in fuel prices. As a result of the restructuring, Royal Caribbean said it expected to incur charges of about US$15 million in the third quarter.</p><p><br />President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association (A&amp;BCTA) Nathan Dundas said he spoke to officials from Royal Caribbean after hearing the news. He told the Antigua Sun he was assured that it was mainly the land-based operations of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines that would be affected and not the marine operations.</p><p><br />&ldquo;It will not have an effect on the vessels calling to Antigua and also to the Caribbean,&rdquo; Dundas said while speaking to the SUN.</p><p><br />&ldquo;The schedule remains, since they have already booked the cruises that will be operating in Antigua as well as the rest of the Caribbean.&rdquo;</p><p><br />Dundas said, however, the announcement comes as no surprise to them since every sector in the transportation industry is feeling the impact of the fuel increase.</p><p><br />Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is expected to make over 50 calls to Antigua during the next season.</p><p><br />According to him, they do not foresee any fallout during the course of the summer and winter seasons.</p><p><br />Even with the announcement, bookings have been reportedly holding up well with no decline in the number of people booking cruises.</p><p><br />The soaring fuel prices and the economic downturn has also forced the cruise line to discontinue other &ldquo;non-core&rdquo; operations including the &ldquo;Scholar Ship&rdquo;, an educational partnership aimed at college students studying aboard cruise ships.</p><p><br />One of the findings of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) 2008 Cruise Market Profile Study was that travellers most frequently name the Caribbean as their cruise destination of choice.</p>