Interest in cruise vacations is at an all-time high as searches skyrocket and cruise lines post record booking days.
Online cruise marketplace CruiseCompete.com has released its monthly CruiseTrends report for August 2023, analyzing tens of thousands of actual consumer quote requests and transactions to determine the latest trends in cruising, more specifically the most popular cruise lines, ships, ports and destinations.
The Most Coveted Cruise Lines
Royal Caribbean International continues to be the most popular premium cruise line this summer, topping Norwegian Cruise Line and fellow Royal Caribbean Group subsidiary Celebrity Cruises.
Meanwhile, Oceania Cruises takes the luxury segment, followed by Cunard Line and Viking Ocean Cruises. Viking is also the most popular in the river category, edging out American Cruise Lines and Avalon Waterways in terms of popularity.
The Hottest Cruise Ships
Not surprisingly, Royal Caribbean's ships are the most sought-after in the premium segment, with Wonder of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas garnering the most quotes as of August. Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is the leading luxury vessel, followed by Oceania Cruises' Oceania Vista and Oceania Riviera.
Queen Mary 2 in Cape Town, South Africa (Photo Credit: Cunard)
American Cruise Lines has some of the hottest river ships at the moment, with American Serenade in the most demand. Viking Idi and the American Melody round out the top three.
Popular Cruise Ports
Cozumel, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas and Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas are the three most popular cruise ports visited among premium passengers this August. Kusadasi, Turkey; Santorini, Greece and Ketchikan, Alaska are the leading ports for luxury travelers while river cruise guests are showing the most interest in ports across Europe, specifically Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary and Passau, Germany.
Florida is home to the top departure ports with most premium passengers preferring to sail from Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Port Canaveral. Miami, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Piraeus, Greece are the leading departure ports for luxury sailings and Budapest, Amsterdam and Prague top the river cruise segment.
The Avalon Envision in Budapest, Hungary. (photo via Avalon Waterways) (Photo Credit: (photo via Avalon Waterways))
Sought-After Cruise Destinations
When it comes to the most popular countries to cruise to, premium travelers prefer the Bahamas, the United States and Mexico. The U.S. is also a hit with luxury passengers, followed by Greece and Spain.
On the river, Europe dominates the list of the most sought-after countries, with Germany, Austria, Hungary and France coming up the most frequently in the quotes CruiseCompete analyzed.
Travel Insurance Interest
River cruise passengers are the most likely segment to purchase travel insurance for their trip, with 23 percent of consumers indicating they would like to purchase travel insurance. That figure drops to 22 percent for luxury passengers and just 17 percent for premium guests.
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