Cruise stocks Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. are off to a hot start in 2022, but the latest data from Bank of America highlights just how much the omicron variant of COVID-19 has derailed the cruise industry’s recovery in December. What Happened? Bank of America analyst Andrew Didora reported Wednesday that core monthly spending on cruises using Bank of America credit card data was down 39.8 percent in December compared to 2019. That drop marked a break from the previous trend of month-by-month improvements in cruise spending declines on a two-year basis. Spending in September, October, and November was ramping higher, but still down 49.9 percent, 44 percent, and 29.2 percent compared to 2019 levels, respectively. Why It’s Important The good news for cruise stock investors is that Didora estimates about 75 percent of the industry’s total fleet was back in operation as of the end of 2021 after a total …