Why Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Popped on Friday
Key Points
Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open for shipping again today.
No sooner had it done so than one Greek cruise liner transited the Strait -- safely.
Meanwhile, opening the Strait is already pushing oil prices lower, cutting costs for Norwegian Cruise.
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The Strait of Hormuz is open for business! With the S&P 500 up 1.2% as of 12:15 p.m. ET, investors seem overjoyed -- and none more so than shareholders of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH).
Norwegian Cruise stock is up 8.1%.
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Image source: Getty Images.
The world just got safer -- and oil just got cheaper
This morning, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced the Strait of Hormuz is open to "all commercial vessels" for the duration of Israel's ceasefire with Lebanon.
In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.
-- Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 17, 2026
Think that might sound like good news to cruise line investors? It clearly does, and the good news doesn't end there. There's an unconfirmed report on X today that just this morning, a Greek cruise liner named Celestyal Discovery successfully transited the Strait.
The cruise ship Celestyal Discovery appears to have just successfully run the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/FJpuuj7MV4
-- OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 17, 2026
What this means for Norwegian Cruise stock
In short, the ceasefire is real, and so is the opening of the Strait -- and even there, the good news isn't over. According to data from OilPrice.com, oil prices are falling as fast as the Strait is opening. WTI crude prices fell more than 12% today, and Brent crude is down nearly 11%.
As one of the biggest expenses for a ship operator like Norwegian, the falling price of fuel means good things for the stock. Priced under 22 times earnings and pegged by Wall Street analysts for 15% annual earnings growth, it may be time to start buying Norwegian Cruise stock again.
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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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