This Cruise Line Can’t Turn You Down

The “Great Cruise Comeback” is complete, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Chief Executive Frank Del Rio declared last week. Yet, his business still hasn’t arrived at the destination that matters most to investors: a positive bottom line.

In December, Norwegian said in a filing it would be undergoing a broad and continuing effort to improve operating efficiencies to attain sustained profitable growth. That initiative started with big-ticket items like a 9% head-count reduction in current and planned shoreside roles. Now they are getting a lot more granular—in some cases, worryingly so.