Royal Caribbean Raising $2B by Adding on Even More Debt

A dry-docked Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) is heading back to the debt markets to raise cash and boost its liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cruise ship operator is raising an additional $2 billion in bonds and convertible notes less than one month after it sold over $3 billion in senior secured notes at high interest rates. To attract investors, it gave them priority interest in entities that owned 28 of its cruise ships, putting them second in line to collect if Royal Caribbean ran aground.