And what used to be a concern around Europe should now be some applause and congratulations for our European brands who are really coming on. To be able to say that our Continental European brands hit positive yields versus 2019 this summer is fantastic given where they were a year ago and despite all the concerns that have been raised about our European brands and our approach to being dedicated to particular markets that we feel very strongly about. We expect that will continue because, as you know, in the first half of next year, our European brands did have a lot of work to do to claw back and get to where they were. At the same time, we’re doubling down on Carnival Fun Italian Style with the second Costa ship coming over to Carnival. The trade has been rebounding tremendously.
Our first timers are really driving our growth, which is another testament to all the commercial work that our team is doing. So there’s a lot of positivity on the table here. Now what’s the minuses? Of course, we still don’t have itineraries that were impacted by the Ukraine war. We don’t expect that to come back in 2024. But I think we’ve proven we know how to move our assets around and put them where they are best positioned to serve as well. China is still a question mark. For the industry, we certainly hope that, that unfolds the way people are planning outside of Carnival Corporation. David mentioned inflation. It is decelerating. Absolutely, but it’s still inflation that’s decelerating. So we’ll have to see how that plays out. We’re obviously heads down with our brands planning through 2024 and figuring out exactly how we can mitigate cost increases, which we do all the time.
And we’re actually in the planning phases right now for 2024 where we’re going through in detail all of the activities that are going to be beneficial for us. The occupancy will be a cost, the dry dock days will be a cost, and David tried to quantify those for you. And we’ll have to see what happens with the macro environment and how we play. So there’s a lot in both directions. I feel very good about the positives.
David Bernstein: Yes, and the only thing I’ll add to what Josh said, and he went through some of the puts and takes on costs. On the dry dock days, that’s probably going to add three quarters of a point to maybe 1 point to our overall cost structure. And on the capacity increase, remember, pre-pause, we used to say that the new ships were 15% to 25% more efficient on the operating costs, excluding fuel than the existing fleet. But remember, we did have it. And so if you do the math, that probably would get you about a 1% reduction from economies of scale on the old basis. But remember, our existing fleet has been optimized. And as a result of that, it’s probably less than 1% on the operating cost or the ship operating cost for the capacity increase.
So put all those puts and takes together, we’re not prepared. We’re not giving guidance at this point. And in fact, I will say that we’re going to be spending the next month with all of our brands going through their plans, better understanding everything. And hopefully, by – at some point during the fourth quarter, we’ll have a better idea as to the overall direction of the cost structure for 2024.
Steven Wieczynski: Okay, guys. Thank you very much. I won’t ask another question on 2024, and I’ll stop there. Thank you very much.
Josh Weinstein: Thanks, Steve.
Operator: Our next question comes from Patrick Scholes with Truist. Please proceed.
Patrick Scholes: Hi. Good morning. Can you hear me okay?
Josh Weinstein: Yes. Hi, Patrick.
Patrick Scholes: Okay. Great. Good morning. Let’s talk a little bit about fuel. I know in the – I believe in the past, fuel costs have spiked you, I believe you may have instituted a fuel surcharge to your customers. I believe one of your competitors is actively considering doing a fuel surcharge this time around. Is that something you might consider as well? Thank you.
