Carnival Cruise Line announced on Tuesday that it had surpassed its highest ever sales by 50 percent on Cyber Monday. Well, three more cruise lines are weighing in with their own record breaking sales this past week.
Royal Caribbean has had an outstanding year. They revealed plans for the biggest cruise ship ever, Icon of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas set sail from Florida, and on Black Friday they broke all booking records in its 53 years of operation. This is the third time in 2022 this record has been broken.
Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International: “This has been a year for the books at Royal Caribbean International, from the full return of our 26 ships to the first look at Icon of the Seas, the best family vacation in the world.”
“Every milestone met is an accomplishment achieved; it’s a wonderful start to 2023, and we are excited for what lies ahead. We could not have reached this point without our loyal guests, valued travel advisors and partners, and the Royal Caribbean International team around the world.”
Another fleet in the Royal Caribbean Group, Celebrity Cruises, also reported record breaking sales on Black Friday along with its strongest ever Cyber Monday.
This follows the launch of their new campaign “Journey WonderFULL” and their new ship, Celebrity Beyond.
“All of the recent exposure highlighting Celebrity’s innovative ship design and onboard offerings built incredible demand from consumers longing to experience the world in new ways and through a new level of relaxed luxury,” said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.
“We saw demand across the full depth and breadth of our itinerary offerings around the globe and we can’t wait to take our guests to the world’s best places on the world’s best places, our Celebrity ships.”
Not to be outdone, Holland America Line also reported Black Friday record breaking sales.
Sales were most notable in its Alaska sailings. Bookings for Alaska were up by 60 percent when compared to 2019.
“Our guests went on a shopping spree this weekend, and it wasn’t at the mall,” said Gus Antorcha, president, Holland America Line.
“The strong bookings are an encouraging sign for our brand and the continued strength of cruising,” Antorcha added. “Guests come to Holland America Line for our unmatched service and culinary offerings and our unique longer voyages. It is our goal to further leverage those differentiators as we build our brand.”
All of this demand shows the desire for cruising is not slowing down even though cruises have been sailing for over a year now. 2023 could turn out to be the busiest cruise year ever.