The Latest Trends in Cruising

Online cruise marketplace CruiseCompete.com has released its monthly CruiseTrends report shedding new light on passengers' interests and sentiments as of February 2022. Based on actual consumer quote requests and transactions taking place via CruiseCompete.com, the latest report reveals the most popular cruise lines, ships, destinations and more.

Royal Caribbean International continues to be the most popular premium cruise line this winter, with Celebrity Cruises again ranking second and Princess Cruises overtaking Carnival Cruise Line for third. In the luxury segment, Oceania Cruises remains the most sought-after brand, followed by Cunard Line and Viking Ocean Cruises. American Cruise Lines surpassed American Queen Voyages as the number one river cruise line for February 2022 while Viking River Cruises and AmaWaterways round out the list of the top three most popular river cruise lines right now.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas' run as the most popular premium cruise ship on the market continues this winter. What's more, Royal Caribbean boasts the five most popular premium ships right now, with Oasis, Harmony, Symphony and Wonder of the Seas ranking second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Cunard's Queen Mary 2 continues to be the most coveted luxury cruise ship, followed by Oceania Riviera and Queen Elizabeth. American Heritage is up four spots from January to February as the number one river cruise vessel, narrowly edging out American Spendlor and American Queen.

When it comes to where cruise passengers want to sail, the Caribbean and Europe reign supreme. Premium guests are most interested in the former while most luxury and river passengers are eyeing Europe. North America ranks as the second-most sought-after region among passengers in all three categories this February. More specifically, the United States is the leading destination for luxury passengers but ranks second for river cruising and third among premium customers, who prefer the Bahamas and Mexico. After the U.S., luxury travelers are eyeing Spain and Italy while river cruise passengers are most intrigued by Germany. France trails the U.S. as this group's third-favorite country.

The list of the most popular cruise ports this February is diverse, with premium cruise passengers showing the most interest in sun-kissed Caribbean stops, including Cozumel, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas and Royal Caribbean's private island destination in CocoCay. Meanwhile, luxury guests are planning to visit ports from Alaska to the Caribbean. Gustavia in St. Barths is the leading stop, followed by Ketchikan and Sitka. Finally, river cruise passengers are being drawn to Europe and the iconic Mississippi River, with Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria and Baton Rouge, Louisiana ranking as the three most in-demand river cruise ports this month.

River cruise passengers continue to be more interested than both premium and luxury guests when it comes to purchasing travel insurance, with more than one-quarter (28 percent) indicating that they would like to buy a protection policy, based on CruiseCompete's February 2022 report. One out of every five premium customers has shown interest in travel insurance while just 18 percent of luxury cruise travelers feel the need to protect their investment.

When it comes to cabin types and itinerary lengths, cruise passengers are in agreement across all three segments, with balcony staterooms and seven-night sailings being the most preferred as of February 2022. After a balcony cabin, an outside room is the most popular among luxury and river guests while premium passengers prefer an inside cabin. Trailing the traditional week-long itinerary, 10-night sailings are the second most popular among all three segments. Luxury travelers are more likely to seek out a longer sailing (14 nights) while premium guests typically select a shorter trip (five nights) if they forgo a seven- or 10-night cruise. River cruise passengers are somewhere in between (eight nights).