Cruise & Cruise Line

Carnival and Norwegian Increase Their Advertising Spending

Image: Carnival Venezia (Photo Credit: Carnival Venezia)
Image: Carnival Venezia (Photo Credit: Carnival Venezia)
Rich Thomaselli
by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 9:55 AM ET, Tue August 8, 2023

They say that advertising budgets are usually the first thing to be cut by major companies when they go through a rough spell.

If that’s right, the opposite must be true.

Cruise lines are enjoying an unprecedented time of growth and popularity. As a result, they are striking while the iron is hot.

Both Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines have increased their advertising spending.

According to the trade publication Advertising Age, Carnival Corporation not only made its list of the top 200 advertisers in the world, but it had the highest growth of any advertiser.

Carnival’s 2022 ad budget was up 153 percent compared to before the pandemic. Last year, the cruise line spent $432 million including TV, radio and digital.

Wait, it gets better.

Norwegian spent nearly half-billion dollars on advertising last year, coming in at $491 million.

Spending on travel is the fastest-growing ad spend in the country.


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Rich Thomaselli

Rich Thomaselli

Associate Writer

Editor Associate Writer true 9281 14744 Rich Thomaselli has written for TravelPulse since 2014 and has been a professional journalist for nearly 40 years. His work has appeared in USA Today, the New York Times and New York Yankees publications. He is an 11-time writ

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