More importantly, Carnival is slowly addressing my concerns about the company, which center around its debt- saddled balance sheet. Carnival has paid its long-term debt down from $35 billion in 2023 to approximately $27 billion today. Carnival's post-pandemic comeback story is the stuff of legends. Now, it's about seeing where the stock can go from here. You've got to give credit where it's due. I was skeptical of Carnival Corp. (CCL -2.14%), the popular cruise line company, coming out of the COVID-19 pande ...