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Following meetings with investor relations teams at both companies, BNP reiterated its Outperform rating on Royal Caribbean while maintaining a Neutral rating on Norwegian, arguing that Royal’s biggest overhang—a likely delay to its Perfect Day Mexico project—is manageable, while Norwegian continues to grapple with operational and pricing issues that could take much longer to resolve.

Royal Caribbean’s Mexico Project May Be DelayedThe biggest uncertainty surrounding Royal Caribbean remains Perfect Day Mexico after Mexican authorities declined to approve the project in its current form.

Even if Perfect Day Mexico slips, Royal will still have Royal Beach Club Cozumel opening in early 2028 and, if necessary, could eventually explore alternative destinations such as Belize or Honduras.

Norwegian’s Turnaround Still Has Hurdles To ClearSiew sees a more complicated road ahead for Norwegian. While management has acknowledged that improving yields will take time, the brokerage believes new issues continue to emerge, making a meaningful recovery before 2027 increasingly difficult.

Among the concerns Siew highlighted are pricing decisions that may have prioritized filling ships over maximizing yields, continued leadership changes, including the search for a chief marketing officer, “open jaw” European itineraries, and questions surrounding booking management.

The firm believes those execution issues could weigh on performance into next year, even as Norwegian’s Great Tides water park at Great Stirrup Cay is now expected to open on schedule in September.

Siew noted the attraction could boost both admission revenue and cruise ticket pricing over time, but argued it is unlikely to offset the broader operational challenges facing the company.

For investors choosing between the two cruise stocks, BNP’s takeaway was clear: Royal Caribbean appears to be managing through a temporary project delay, while Norwegian is still working toward a broader business turnaround that may not fully materialize until the second half of 2027.

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