Royal Caribbean Group recorded its highest booking week ever for Wave season this month, which followed several record-breaking weeks late last year, CEO Jason Liberty told investors during the line’s 2024 Q4 earnings call Tuesday.
Bookings have accelerated since the group’s last earnings call in October, resulting in the best five booking weeks in the company’s history. Close-in demand in Q4 was also strong for both rate and volume, the company reported.
Not only is Royal Caribbean Group seeing improvement for sales of on its new tonnage like Icon of the Seas, but also on its other vessels, Liberty said.
He added that the Royal Caribbean brand has seen “really strong” demand across all its products, including for private destinations like Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas. He said demand is “really strong” in the Caribbean, and he is seeing continued elevation in Alaska and across all European products as well as in Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Australia and China.
Booked load factors are in line with past years but at higher prices, according to the line’s quarterly filing. Meanwhile, the company ended Q4 with 107.6% load factors for the quarter, up from 105.4% the year prior.
For the year, the group reached 108.5% load factors, up from 105.6% in 2023.
Onboard spend is up
Onboard spending and pre-cruise purchases have continued to exceed prior years, a trend driven by greater participation from guests at higher prices, the company reported.
“Not surprisingly, high-level commentary on booking and pricing trends was again very positive,” said Patrick Scholes, an analyst for Truist Securities.
For the full year, Royal Caribbean Group reported net yields up 11.6% higher than the full year in 2023. Adjusted Ebitda of $5.9 billion was also higher than in 2023 when the company reported Ebitda of $4.5 billion.
The group’s total revenues and net income have also climbed. The company reported $16.5 billion in total revenue last year, compared to $13.9 billion in 2023. Net income for 2024 came in at $2.9 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2023.
For the fourth quarter, the line reported revenues of $3.7 billion, up from $3.3 billion in Q4 2023. The line also reported net income at $0.6 billion, up from $0.3 billion for Q4 of 2023.
Luxury travel agency consortium Virtuoso said 2024 sales were up 25% from the year before, and that sales in 2025 and 2026 are looking strong.
While sales in all categories were up, hotels led the way with an increase in sales of nearly one-third.
Comparing 2024 results with 2019, Virtuoso said sales were up 239%.
Travelers are booking their trips further in advance, as Virtuoso said its data showed the average booking window is now 124 days, a 6% year-over-year increase.
Virtuoso shared these results with members during its U.S. Forum, held Jan. 28-31 at the Pier Sixty-Six Resort in Fort Lauderdale.
Future sales look bright. Compared to a year ago, advance bookings are up more than 30%, Virtuoso said, and high-ticket bookings of $50,000 and higher are up 57%. Safari and cruise bookings exceeding $50,000 are up 48% and 64%, respectively.
A poll of Virtuoso members showed 81% say they are optimistic about business. Seventy-nine percent of supplier partners reported being optimistic.
Many Virtuoso agencies are looking to hire. A survey showed 52% plan to hire full-time advisors this year and 66% plan to hire independent contractors.
Virtuoso’s U.S. Forum kicks off a string of global forums, with events to be held in Australia, Canada, China, Switzerland, Malta and Argentina in the coming months.
MSC Cruises is adding additional benefits to guests booking suites with an Aurea Experience across its fleet
Guests can now enjoy elevated in-suite amenities and other premium comforts, along with priority disembarkation, tender boat access and more
Geneva, Switzerland – 03 February 2025 – MSC Cruises has always been known for its comfortable and modern accommodation, with cabins and suites to suit every kind of holidaymaker. Now the cruise line is taking its offerings to the next level with additional privileges for guests booking a suite within the Aurea Experience across the fleet.
MSC Cruises offers four distinct experiences, Bella, Fantastica, Aurea and the MSC Yacht Club, along with dozens of cabin types across its fleet, designed to provide the ultimate comfort for all guests. Whether guests want to book an interior cabin along with the Bella Experience for maximum value or opt for a luxury experience with the 104 square metreOwner’s Suite in the cruise line’s exclusive MSC Yacht Club, MSC Cruises offers cabin types and experiences to suit every guest’s needs.
Now the cruise line is rolling out additional advantages for guests booking a suite with an Aurea Experience across its fleet.
On top of the existing benefits of the Aurea Experience including premium services, My Choice dining flexibility, wellness-focused amenities and access to the luxurious MSC Aurea Spa thermal area, booking a suite with an Aurea Experience now brings additional benefits to help create an unforgettable cruise holiday.
From their embarkation throughout their entire journey on board, Aurea Experience suite guests will be immersed in a unique zen experience from being welcomed with a bottle of prosecco, then heading to the MSC Aurea Spa to enjoy the thermal area before returning to their suite, where plush wellness amenities await them, along with luxurious bedding and a pillow menu to fit their needs for a restful sleep.
Newly introduced benefits for guests booking a suite with the Aurea Experience also now includes:
Priority disembarkation
Priority tender boat access – in ports with a tender service
One minibar refresh – first set of minibar refreshments free of charge
An in-suite Nespresso coffee machine – with coffee pods replenished daily
Venchi daily turndown of chocolates
Elevated in-suite amenities – including100% cotton bathrobes, plush slippers, premium bed linens, enhanced Dorelean mattress and bespoke bath products from MED by MSC, MSC Cruises very own dedicated toiletry brand.
Complimentary ironing – two complimentary ironing services per stay
These additional benefits apply to all suites with an Aurea Experience booked for sailings commencing from 1 July 2025.
For guests seeking an even higher level of luxury, MSC Cruises also offers the MSC Yacht Club – the cruise line’s exclusive “ship-within-a-ship” concept with keycard-only access to an array of private facilities. With an exclusive restaurant, lounge, pool and sundeck, the MSC Yacht Club offers its guests a secluded sanctuary while allowing them to enjoy the countless facilities and entertainment possibilities available throughout the rest of the ship.
For more information about the newly enhanced MSC Aurea Experience for suite guests, visit here.
When the MSC World America debuts in Miami this April, so will its “Dirty Dancing in Concert” theatrical production.
Complete with singers, dancers and a live band, the show will be a stage production of the classic 1987 movie about a girl who falls in love with the camp’s dance instructor while she and her family stay at a Catskills resort.
With MSC Cruises striving to make inroads with American vacationers, the entertainment and features of the new ship are designed to resonate with both American and international audiences, said Steve Leatham, MSC Cruises’ vice president of entertainment. He said the Dirty Dancing show “will be unlike anything previously seen on our ships.”
The MSC World America is scheduled to sail seven and 14-day eastern and western Caribbean cruises out of its new terminal in Miami through the end of 2026.
“Dirty Dancing in Concert” will be performed in the ship’s 1,150-seat World Theatre. It will be a 90-minute event.
The show is one of seven new productions, shows and concerts MSC will unveil on the World America. The line will also debut “Odyssey,” an acrobatic show with a backdrop inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, produced by Anystage Creative; “Momentous,” what MSC called the largest illusion show ever produced at sea, created in collaboration with Twins FX, which produced special effects in the musical “Back to the Future” and films “Mission: Impossible” and “The Mummy”; and “Hall of Fame,” a live pop concert produced by Onlychild, a creative studio specializing in collaborations in music, fashion, live theater and film.
In the Panorama Lounge, the brand will debut the Queen Symphonic, which will showcase a blend of the band Queen’s greatest hits in a theatrical style using a live rock band, singers and dancers accompanied by acrobats. The show will also include the contributions of a 36-piece orchestra on screen recorded specifically to create a backdrop for the show.
The lounge will also present Cinesonic, a concert featuring iconic movie songs and scores animated with state-of-the-art motion graphics, singers, dancers and acrobats.
The ship will also debut The Loft to the U.S. market, offering a space for adults to find evening entertainment, including dueling pianos, comedy shows, karaoke and a late-night DJ.
The ship will also feature surprise pop-up moments throughout the cruise with performers throughout the ship.
By day, the ship will offer dance classes, enrichment talks, movies, e-gaming and virtual reality experiences in its Luna Park, an entertainment hub on the ship. At night, Luna Park will offer family and kids’ parties, family game shows and late-night themed experiences for adults.
Hemisphere Dancer Craft Spirits — a piano bar/lounge on the line’s other ship, Margaritaville at Sea Islander — will debut on the Paradise.
Far Side Sushi, a specialty dining option, will open in a bamboo-accented space. Besides sushi rolls, the restaurant will serve rice and ramen bowls. Pizza outlet Frank and Lola’s will be inclusive for all guests as part of an upgraded experience at the Port of Indecision Buffet.
Poolside bars License to Chill and 12 Volt will get new menus and renovated spaces, including License to Chill’s reimagination as a Key West-inspired beach bar, complete with ping pong and billiards.
Margaritaville at Sea will refresh the menu for JWB Prime Steakhouse, including wine pairings and seasonal specialties.
New entertainment, improved embarkation
Margaritaville didn’t provide specifics but said it would “debut all-new live entertainment featuring exciting new artists in every corner of the ship.”
At Florida’s Port of Palm Beach, Margaritaville at Sea said it is expediting the embarkation process with the addition of advanced facial-recognition technology for guests carrying U.S. passports. There also are new parking options, including self-parking and valet.
The Paradise sails two-, three-, and four-night cruises from Palm Beach. This year the ship has added Nassau port calls and a ship-to-resort experience at the Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau.
Cruise companies are rolling out more and bigger ships, and Florida’s big three cruise ports are doing all they can to keep up. Meanwhile, a Texas port stands ready to fill the industry’s growing needs
Port Canaveral’s CEO, Capt. John Murray, was nonplussed when Florida state officials sunk plans to build a seventh cruise terminal at a cargo berth.
The terminal was designed to meet growing demand from the booming cruise industry and its increasingly larger ships, but Florida’s commerce and transportation secretaries argued that repurposing North Cargo Berth 8 for the cruise sector would jeopardize the growth of the space industry.
Commerce secretary Alex Kelly and transportation secretary Jared Perdue even threatened to pull funding from Port Canaveral’s projects if it continued with the cruise terminal. Hence, the port authority’s board of commissioners voted 4-1 in late August to abandon those plans.
In a press conference following the vote, Murray said that with the world’s largest cruise companies on a ship-building spree, the cruise industry needed more terminal space. And, he said, Port Canaveral and Florida also need it so that those cruise ships don’t leave the state.
“Miami is full. Everglades is full. If we’re full, they’re going somewhere else,” Murray said about cruise ships. “And we don’t want large, brand-new assets moving over to Texas, California, New York. Because once it leaves, it’s next to impossible to get it back.”
While some of those Florida ports might not say that they’re “full,” the cruise industry has at least 40 ships on order over the next dozen years, many that will be bigger than existing ships. Cruise lines will need not only berths big enough for their ships, but terminals that can handle getting thousands of people and their luggage on and off these vessels. The smaller terminals built to accommodate ships of the past just won’t cut it, Murray said.
“It’s like trying to put everybody on a 747 aircraft at a 737 gate,” he said.
While Port Canaveral is unique in dealing with the competing interests of space travel, it is not alone among Florida ports that are considering the cruise industry’s growth and needs.
Officials at Florida’s Big Three cruise ports, Port Canaveral, PortMiami and Port Everglades, are working to keep up with demand by constructing new berths and terminals, renovating old ones and getting creative with cruise schedules. And while these ports may compete with each other, they share the common goal of keeping as many cruise ships as possible at home in the Sunshine State.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Florida to the cruise industry. It’s the state where modern cruising was born and from where many cruise ships sail year-round. Even ships that cruise elsewhere throughout the year often return to Florida in the winter months, attracting vacationers escaping the cold. Cruise lines have also built several private Caribbean destinations within close proximity to Florida, making them an integral part of the cruise experience and major demand and revenue generators.
Capacity constrained
Sitting an hour east of Orlando in Central Florida, Port Canaveral has grown in recent years. Today it is the second-busiest cruise port in the world after PortMiami.
Long a homeport for older ships sailing short cruises to the Bahamas and private destinations, Port Canaveral now attracts some of the industry’s newest and largest tonnage. With a strong drive market due to its proximity to the southeastern U.S., Canaveral recorded 7.6 million passenger movements in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, a 12% bump from the year prior, the port said. Murray said he expects to reach 8.4 million passenger movements this year.
“If we had that terminal now, we could fill it,” Murray said about the stymied port project during a state of the port address in late November.
The derailment of the those plans led Murray to lean into other projects. Port Canaveral’s berths are generally big enough for the largest cruise ships, but some of its terminals have needed modifications to improve passenger and baggage flow, particularly ones built 30 years ago when the largest cruise ships carried 2,500 passengers, he said. Other terminals are now due for such upgrades.
Back then, those older terminals couldn’t have accommodated ships like Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) upcoming Norwegian Aqua, which will carry about 3,600 guests at double capacity when it begins sailing from Port Canaveral in April, or Royal Caribbean International’s 5,610-passenger Star of the Seas when it starts sailing from the port in August. If loaded with third and fourth berths, the Star could board as many as 7,500 passengers.
The Aqua and Star will dock at larger or recently renovated terminals when they arrive in Port Canaveral. The port is also redeveloping Cruise Terminal 5 to handle larger volumes of people, and it launched a feasibility study to do the same for Cruise Terminal 10. Both would serve multiple cruise lines, enabling the port to mix and match ships instead of being committed to one cruise line as is the case at other branded terminals.
MSC Cruises is also looking to homeport in Port Canaveral. The line is opting to position its fourth and yet-unnamed World-class ship there for seven-night cruises in the winter 2027-2028 season, in addition to sailing two other ships from the port.
But Murray is not giving up on his hopes to free up a seventh berth for cruises. He is pursuing two possibilities on the south side of the port, where he originally wanted to build a big berth, terminal and parking garage. Both possibilities come with obstacles: One involves tenant requirements that need to be resolved before the space can be freed up as a cruise berth, and the other includes moving an Air Force communication line underneath the harbor.
Those complications could mean another four or five years before a new cruise terminal opens, Murray said. But if he can get one of those terminals built by 2028, he added, the port won’t have to turn away cruise business.
While Murray stands by his assertion that the Big Three Florida ports are “full,” Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) CEO Harry Sommer has a different perspective.
Like Murray, Sommer was unhappy that state officials voted against Port Canaveral’s cruise berth plans, especially because NCL’s Norwegian Joy was expected to sail from that terminal when it opened in 2026.
Sommer chided the state while onstage at the CruiseWorld conference in November, saying the new terminal would have attracted “a million” cruisers and “benefited the whole industry” instead of a handful of space tourists.
“Seems a little bit unbalanced to me,” Sommer said, sarcastically adding, “I’m not bitter.”
Still, when Sommer looks at the availability at Florida’s Big Three cruise ports, he said they are only full during peak times, such as Saturdays and Sundays in the winter. Finding space requires creativity, he said.
“I think what you’ll see us [doing] is expanding to cruises that aren’t just seven-day cruises leaving in the winter on a Saturday or Sunday,” he said.
NCLH is also positioning its ships at other Florida ports. NCL has one ship sailing out of Jacksonville and two from Tampa. Sister brand Oceania will also sail out of Tampa, a first for the brand, starting in March 2026.
Royal Caribbean Group’s river cruise launch may have been a surprise move from the ocean-cruise titan, but travel advisors say the rivers are ready for a new player with Royal’s reach.
Royal placed an order for ten 180-passenger ships for its Celebrity brand and plans to launch Europe operations in 2027. The company also signaled that Celebrity River Cruises may be followed by luxury river cruises from sister brand Silversea.
“This is not a hobby for us,” Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty told investors during the company’s Q4 2024 earnings call on Jan. 28. “We are taking this extremely seriously, and we want to make sure we can live up to delivering the best vacation experiences in the world and make sure we’re doing so in a responsible way.”
Liberty said about half of the group’s guests have experienced or intend to take a river cruise, so there’s a great opportunity keep that demand in the corporate family. River cruising has seen double-digit growth over the past decade, he said.
After launching a loyalty program in 2024 that applies a guest’s highest status with one brand to the company’s other two, Liberty said past passengers have become “stickier” within the Royal Caribbean Group.
“We have well over 8 million guests a year, we have a database of 35 million people who are continuing vacationing with us,” he said. “So it’s a great opportunity to use that flywheel to generate high-quality demand.”
How will Celebrity stand out?
Travel advisors concurred. Alex Sharpe, CEO of Signature Travel Network, said there is “tremendous” opportunity in river cruising and that Celebrity fans would place it high on their list when considering a river cruise, opening the line to a higher-yielding passenger.
“With river, you are talking about fewer guests and higher-impact guests, spending more money ashore and really digging into local cultures,” Sharpe said.
Royal said it may go after those higher-spending river cruisers more intentionally, with the possible launch of a luxury river product with Silversea.
“We’re going to start off with Celebrity. We’re going to assume that’s where we think that there is great scale opportunity,” Liberty said. “And then, of course, we’ll be looking to see if there’s other ways to expand it for our other brands as it sees fit.”
Jennifer Kellum, president of Neverland and Main Travel in Jacksonville, N.C., called river cruising a “trending” sector, and said Celebrity would have an “undeniable following out of the gate.”
The big question for Kellum is what Celebrity will do to differentiate itself from other river cruise lines. The brand will need to make a bold entrance into the market, she said, such as offering new experiences on the traditional mode of sailing in Europe.
Kellum and Karen Quinn-Panzer of Dream Vacations, who specializes in river cruising, said Celebrity could introduce the river cruise industry to a younger audience.
Quinn-Panzer said Celebrity’s “fun, hip perspective” could attract younger cruisers. Kellum said Celebrity could tap into a trend that river cruising is already seeing.
“The demographics of river cruising are changing, and we’re seeing a younger population onboard,” Kellum said. “I think brand loyalty could work to their benefit with a demographic change.”
A 10-ship order indicates that Celebrity is not just dipping its toes in the river.
“They’re not going to be a new river cruise line on the Danube,” said Richard Turen, owner of the Churchill & Turen agency and a Travel Weekly columnist. “They are going after Europe, and they’re going to have ships on every major European river.”
Quinn-Panzer also said the large ship order signaled the company’s intent to invest in a growth market, noting that there are still plenty of baby boomers looking to travel — the prime demographic for river cruising.
She has high expectations: “Celebrity’s elevated hospitality is second to none,” Quinn-Panzer said.
Royal said the Celebrity River ships would mimic the design of Celebrity’s Edge-class ships. Liberty said that in terms of brand offering, the Celebrity river vessels will differ from many existing river lines by extending Celebrity policies such as not being all-inclusive and allowing children to sail.
However, Henry Dennis, a luxury-focused travel advisor with Frosch based in Charlotte, wondered how Celebrity would distinguish itself in what “many people think is a market that is getting oversaturated. In some ports you already have to walk across three or four ships to get ashore. And there are only so many rivers.”
He also suggested it could be a challenge for a company that has specialized in big-ship ocean cruising to pivot to such a different product.
“Are they going to put the Magic Carpet on the side of their ships?” he said cheekily, referring to the platform on Edge-class ships that moves up and down on the exterior of the vessel.
Great service comes as standard
Full board available in buffet and main restaurant
Gym, pools and relaxation
West End-style theatre shows
Children Clubs and activities
