Cruise Trends One Year Into the COVID-19 Pandemic

Online cruise marketplace CruiseCompete has released its CruiseTrends report for March 2021, painting a picture of trends in consumer behavior for cruise travel one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the ongoing suspension of sailings, there remains a ton of interest in future sailings as consumers request an average of more than 25,000 cruise quotes per month via CruiseCompete. These are some of the key takeaways based on the data.

Royal Caribbean International is the most popular premium/contemporary cruise line this spring, followed by Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. In the luxury category, Oceania Cruises leads the way based on the total number of quote requests, topping Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Viking Ocean Cruises. American Cruise Lines secured the top spot in the river cruise category, with American Queen Steamboat Company and Viking River Cruises rounding out the top three.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas is the most popular premium/contemporary ship based on CruiseComplete's analysis of the total number of quote requests for each ship, edging out Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Equinox and Celebrity Apex while Oceania Cruises' Riviera and Marina are the leading luxury ships. American Queen Steamboat Company's American Duchess is the most popular river vessel, followed by American Cruise Lines' Queen of the Mississippi.

Florida continues to lead the way when it comes to departure port interest as Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Port Canaveral are the top picks among premium cruise passengers. Miami is the top selection for luxury cruisers, with New York and Barcelona close behind. River cruise passengers are most interested in departing from Amsterdam. However, Budapest and Memphis are also close behind in terms of popularity.

Cozumel (premium), Marseilles (luxury) and Passau, Germany (river) are the most popular cruise ports visited around the world based on the total number of quote requests for each port visited during cruise itineraries. Nassau and Royal Caribbean's private island destination Perfect Day at CocoCay are also popular among premium cruise passengers while luxury travelers often seek Monte Carlo and Dubrovnik. Meanwhile, Vienna and Budapest trail Passau in the river category.

The Caribbean is unsurprisingly a hit with premium/contemporary cruise passengers as the Bahamas, U.S., Mexico and U.S. Virgin Islands are among the top destinations. Europe is the most visited by luxury cruise travelers, with Spain, Greece and Italy securing the top three spots, respectively. The U.S. is the most visited country for river cruise customers, but Germany and Austria aren't far behind.

No surprises here. Balcony cabins are the most popular cabin type across all three cruise categories. Outside cabins are more popular with luxury and river cruise passengers while premium guests seek inside rooms more often than outside cabins. Seven-night itineraries are the most popular cruise length among premium and river cruise customers while luxury guests most often seek out 10-night voyages. Currently, November 2021 is the most coveted month for premium sailings, while river cruise guests have shown the most interest in October 2021. Meanwhile, luxury travelers appear to have their sights set on January 2022.

Only about one in five cruise passengers has indicated an interest in purchasing travel insurance, CruiseComplete found, with river cruise guests (25 percent) the most likely to protect their trip. Premium guests (20 percent) and luxury cruise passengers (16 percent) are even less likely to pursue travel insurance.