If 2023 was any indication, the cruise industry is poised for a massive year in 2024.
When it comes to the year's most popular cruise lines, ships, destinations and more, CruiseCompete's CruiseTrends 2023 Annual Report is a superb tool that can help steer travel advisors and their clients toward the industry leaders.
Online cruise marketplace CruiseCompete has been around for more than two decades and its latest CruiseTrends report offers an inside look at what consumers want in cruise vacations based on nearly 20 million cruise quotes submitted last year.
The Most Popular Cruise Lines of the Last Year
Royal Caribbean International continues to reign supreme in the premium cruise category heading into what's poised to be another big year for the cruise giant, which will debut the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas this month.
Trailing RCI among 2023's most popular premium lines were Norwegian Cruise Line and fellow Royal Caribbean Group subsidiary Celebrity Cruises.
Oceania Cruises enters 2024 as the hottest line in the lucrative luxury segment, edging out Cunard Line and Miami-based Azamara. Viking holds the crown in terms of the most popular river cruise lines to kick start the new year, followed by American Cruise Lines and AmaWaterways.
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The Top Cruise Ships Entering in 2024
Oceania Vista. (Photo Credit: Oceania Cruises Media)
With Royal Caribbean being the most sought-after premium cruise line in 2023, it should come as no surprise that the most popular ships in the category belong to RCI.
Wonder of the Seas leads the way in terms of quote requests and transactions, followed by Oasis of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Odyssey of the Seas. The only non-RCI ship in the top 10 was MSC Cruises' MSC Meraviglia.
While Oceania Cruises was 2023's hottest luxury cruise line, it's a pair of Cunard Line ships that make up two of the top three. Queen Mary 2 was the most in-demand luxury cruise ship last year, topping Oceania's Oceania Vista and Cunard's own Queen Elizabeth.
However, after Azamara's Azamara Onward, four Oceania ships made the top 10, including Oceania Marina, Oceania Riviera, Oceania Sirena and Oceania Insignia.
American Cruise Lines' American Serenade and American Eagle are the top two river cruise ships at the moment, followed by American Queen Voyages' American Queen.
The Most In-Demand Cruise Destinations
When it comes to regions, the Caribbean remains the hottest spot among premium guests while Europe is the preferred continent for luxury and river cruise passengers heading into 2024.
North America ranked second across all three segments.
Royal Caribbean International's Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas. (photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean International)
Perhaps unsurprising given its proximity to the U.S., the Bahamas is the most popular country to visit on premium cruise sailings, followed by Mexico and the U.S. However, the U.S. is the top country luxury cruise passengers wanted to visit in 2023, with four European countries rounding out the top five: Spain, Italy, Greece and France.
In terms of river cruises, Germany, France, Hungary and Austria are the most coveted locales heading into 2024.
Travel Insurance and Booking Windows
Customer comparing travel insurance policies with Allianz Partners USA. (photo via Allianz Partners USA)
Heading into 2024, river cruise passengers continue to be the most likely to express interest in purchasing travel insurance, with 28 percent looking to protect their sailing in 2023, according to CruiseCompete's most recent data.
A little more than one-fifth of luxury travelers (21 percent) showed an interest in travel insurance last year, while only 18 percent of premium cruise guests considered protecting their sailing.
River cruise passengers still tend to book their sailing furthest out at an average of 288 days before departure, about one month longer than luxury passengers (255 days) and nearly three months further out than premium guests at 206 days.
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