What's Trending in the Cruise Industry This September

Now that we're swinging into September, let's take a look at what cruisers and travelers booking cruises are thinking about right now. CruiseCompete's newest September 2021 CruiseTrends Report has found some surprising insights into what cruisers are looking for going forward, including the most requested destinations, cruise ships and more.

The most popular cruise lines in the world are currently separated into three different categories. The premium/contemporary cruise lines are Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. Among luxury cruise lines, Oceania Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises and Regent Seven Seas came out on top. The three most popular river cruise lines are American Cruise Lines, Viking River Cruises and Avalon Waterways.

The cruise ships people are most interested in sailing on are the Oasis of the Seas and the Celebrity Edge in the premium/contemporary category, the Oceania Marina and Oceania Riviera in the luxury cruise category, as well as the American Jazz in the river cruising category.

Cruisers who are searching for a premium/contemporary cruise want to go to the Caribbean the most, whereas both river and luxury cruisers desire travel to Europe the most.

The most popular departure port for premium/contemporary itineraries is Fort Lauderdale, while luxury cruises tend to port out of Miami. River cruises tend to port out of Amsterdam the most, according to the number of quote requests for each departure port.

The most popular cruise ports visited by cruisers is determined by the total number of quote requests for each port visited on an itinerary. Among premium/contemporary cruises, people have visited Cozumel the most. Luxury cruisers have enjoyed the city of Gustavia on St. Bart's the most, while river cruisers have visited Vienna, Austria the most.

The most popular countries visited by cruisers is determined by the number of quote requests for each port visited. The Bahamas is the most popular among premium/contemporary cruises, while luxury cruises tend to stop the most in Spain. River cruisers have visited Germany the most.

Across all cruise categories, people just love balcony rooms. In second place are inside cabins onboard premium/contemporary cruises and oceanview cabins on both luxury and river cruises.

Most people tend to search for only one cabin, no matter the cruise category. The second most popular number of cabins requested are two cabins, across all cruise categories.

As usual, cruisers on all cruise types find that they prefer 7-day itineraries over any other length of time. In second place are 5-night itineraries for premium/contemporary cruises, 10-night itineraries for luxury cruises and 8-night itineraries for river cruises.

Most people looking for contemporary/premium cruises as well as luxury cruises are more interested in December 2021 than any other month. River cruisers are more interested in cruises for October 2021.

The average booking window is measured by the amount of time in between the booking date and the sailing date. For contemporary and premium cruises, the average window was 219 days. Guests onboard luxury cruise lines booked on average 315 days in advance, while guests taking river cruises booked 269 days in advance.