Tuesday, March 18, 2003 Carnival staying the course   By Don Jergler, Staff writer Travel: Outbreak of war won't affect opening of L.B. terminal, officials say; cruise prices cut. LONG BEACH Looming war is hurting cruise operators, forcing them to cut ticket prices, but executives for Carnival Cruise Corp. said Monday the $40 million "megaterminal' opening in Long Beach next month won't be affected. "We do not anticipate canceling any voyages; we expect it to be operations as normal, regardless of what may transpire in regards to a war,' said Jennifer de la Cruz, a spokeswoman for Carnival Cruise Lines, which will operate two ships out of Long Beach beginning April 14. Because their ships sail in North American waters only, Carnival Cruise Lines, one of six cruise operators owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp., won't feel the impact as severely as other operators, she said. As other cruise operators have, Carnival Corp. said it was cutting prices to stimulate cruise reservations, following industry-wide drops in bookings in the wake of threats of war with Iraq. The last time the cruise industry cut cruise prices was immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which impacted the entire tourism industry. "Then, we had to keep pricing low to stimulate demand,' de la Cruz said. "We are seeing some of that right now.' When the United States went to war in 1991 a similar effect occurred, she said. "During the Gulf War what we saw is that bookings continued to come in and people continued to sail; however, right now we are having to reduce pricing to fill the ship,' she said. Forecasts call for Carnival's Long Beach terminal to draw up to 30,000 travelers destined for the terminal to downtown Long Beach venues. The new terminal is part of a national trend since 9/11 that's seen cruise operators develop terminals at home ports to bring cruising within driving distance of more people, according to the Cruise Line Industry Association. Two Carnival ships that will make Long Beach their home in April, the Ecstasy and the Elation, are offering discounted bookings three- and four-day excursions to Baja start as low as $299 and $329 per person, and seven-day cruises begin at $579. Prices aren't usually that low in spring, typically one of the busiest cruising times of the year, de la Cruz said. "Normally you only see those rates in the fall,' a slower cruising period, she said. But war may not be the only factor curbing cruise bookings. A wavering stock market, a soft economy and an oversupply of cruise vessels are also to blame, de la Cruz said. "The cruise industry has built a lot of new ships and is absorbing a lot of capacity right now,' de la Cruz said. Carnival in January agreed to a $4.6billion takeover of No. 3 cruise operator P&O Princess, which also said its booking volumes have been low in recent weeks. The takeover is pending shareholder approval. Shares of Carnival opened sharply down on the New York Stock Exchange Monday, but recovered to close up $1.30 to $23.45. The stock is trading 33 percent off its 52-week high of $34.64 on May 1, 2002.