Page 37 - TFWA World Exhibit 2022 Special Edition

INSIDER

Cruise industry begins strong rebound

The cruise industry is making Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and President and CEO Frank Del Rio,
a striking comeback from the global reported back in February that its bookings speaking on the company’s year-end and
pandemic that nearly decimated it. Pent-up for the second half of 2022 were in fourth quarter earnings call, expected 2023
demand from delayed and canceled trips line with historical records in 2019, to be very strong.
over the past two years are leading to
record cruise bookings, with the industry
expected to exceed its pre-COVID record
highs in terms of passenger numbers and
revenues by 2023.
In April, Carnival Cruise Line
reported its busiest booking week in the
company’s history, showing a double-digit
increase from the previous record 7-day
booking total.
By the end of August, most cruise
lines had eased or lifted their pre-cruise
COVID protocols for both vaccinated and
non-vaccinated guests, leading to an even
bigger increase in cruise bookings.
After announcing that it was revising
pre-cruise vaccination and testing
requirements that will allow more guests
to sail on Friday, Aug. 12, Carnival Cruise
Line reported that its booking activity for
Monday, Aug. 15 was nearly double the
level for the equivalent day in 2019.
The line had announced that it had
welcomed three million guests between
the time it had restarted guest operations in
July 2021 and Aug. 1 of this year, topping
off a busy summer across its fleet of 23
ships. Carnival saw its total guest count hit
the two million mark in May, then it rose
to three million in less than 75 days – an
average of 95,000 guests per week.
Demand for cruising is so strong that
Royal Caribbean reports that it is sailing at
over 100% capacity. In more good news,
cruise guests across the board appear to be
spending more.
Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty
said during the cruise line’s second-quarter
earnings call at the end of July:
“The 100,000-plus guests that we
have on our ship every day, including the
125,000 guests that are currently on our
ships today, have been spending at least
30% more on board our ships across all
categories when compared to 2019. These
spending trends have been consistent
across our customer base even as we are
approaching full load factors.”

37 October 2022