Report reveals cruise trends for 2018

The cruising-focused website CruiseCompete has released its CruiseTrends™ 2018 Annual Report, which provides a snapshot of the most popular consumer trends in cruising during the year just ended.

The report is compiled from actual consumer quote requests and transactions taking place on CruiseCompete.com, an online cruise marketplace since 2003. Through the website, consumers
request an average of more than 25,000 cruise quotes per month.

Celebrity Solstice

Among the interesting trends is the length of the booking window, which is the average number of days between the date a cruise was booked and the date it sails. When my wife and I decided to take and Alaska cruise in 2016, we actually booked it more than a full year in advance. Apparently, we're the oddballs.

Numbers show a wide variance between mainstream, luxury, and river lines.

Contemporary/Premium cruise lines, ranging from Carnival to Princess, average 177 days before sailing. Passengers who prefer luxury lines -  including Seabourn, Silversea and Viking Ocean Cruises - tend to plan farther out, and book 265 days before sailing. River cruisers book 288 days before sailing, which may be a reflection of the popularity of that form of cruising.

The report lists the most popular cruise lines in the three categories just mentioned along with the most popular ships, cruise regions, departure ports, ports of call, most popular counties/regions, cabin types, and other data for the true wonks among us.  A sampling is below; the complete report can be viewed here.

Holland America's ms Amsterdam

Most Popular Cruise Lines
Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each particular line in 2018.
Contemporary/Premium
Royal Caribbean Int'l.
Carnival Cruise Lines
Norwegian Cruise Line
Princess Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Holland America Line
MSC Cruises
Disney Cruise Line
Costa Cruise Lines
Viking Ocean Cruises
   Luxury   
Oceania Cruises
Cunard Line
Seabourn
Azamara 
Crystal Cruises
Silversea Cruises
Regent Seven Seas
Windstar Cruises
Viking Ocean Cruises
Star Clippers
River
American Cruise Lines
Viking River Cruises
AmaWaterways
Avalon Waterways
American Queen Steamboat Co.
Uniworld River Cruises
Scenic
Amadeus River Cruises
Emerald Waterways
Imperial River Cruises

Most Popular Cruise Ships
Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each ship.
Contemporary/Premium
Harmony of the Seas*
Allure of the Seas*
Oasis of the Seas*
Anthem of the Seas*
Norwegian Escape
Regal Princess
Symphony of the Seas*
Celebrity Equinox
Caribbean Princess
Norwegian Getaway
Luxury
Queen Mary 2
Oceania Riviera
Oceania Marina
Azamara Journey
Crystal Symphony
Oceania Sirena
Oceania Insignia
Oceania Regatta
Crystal Serenity
Azamara Pursuit
River
Queen of the Mississippi
America
American Queen
American Duchess
Queen of the West
American Empress
American Pride
AmaCerto
American Song
AmaViola

NCL's Norwegian Pearl

Most Popular Cruise Regions
Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each region.
Contemporary/Premium
Caribbean
North America
Europe
Central America
Mediterranean
South America
S. Pacific/Australia-NZ
Scandinavia
Asia/Far East
Russia/Central Asia
Luxury
Europe
Mediterranean
Caribbean
North America
S. Pacific/Australia-NZ
South America
Asia/Far East
Scandinavia
Africa
Central America
River
Europe
North America
Mediterranean
Asia/Far East
Russia/Central Asia
Middle East
South America
Africa
Scandinavia
Caribbean

Most Popular Cruise Departure Ports
Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each departure port.
Contemporary/Premium
Fort Lauderdale
Miami
Port Canaveral
Los Angeles
New York
Galveston
Seattle
Cape Liberty
Tampa
Vancouver
Luxury
Miami
New York
Barcelona
Civitavecchia
Venice
Piraeus
Vancouver
Lisbon
Papeete
Bridgetown
River
Amsterdam
Budapest
New Orleans
Basel
Paris
Portland
Memphis
St Louis
Nuremberg
Vienna

The Ruby Princess

Most Popular Cruise Ports Visited
Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each port visited during cruise itineraries.
(Excludes departure ports).
Contemporary/Premium
Cozumel
Nassau
San Juan
Philipsburg
Costa Maya
St Thomas
Juneau
Labadee
Ketchikan
Grand Turk
   Luxury       
Havana
Gustavia
Bora Bora
Livorno
Dubrovnik
St Georges
Monte Carlo
Cartagena
Kotor
Ketchikan
River
Vienna
Cologne
Passau
Regensburg
Koblenz
Strasbourg
Baton Rouge
Breisach
Natchez
Vicksburg

Most Popular Countries Visited
Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each country visited during cruise itineraries. (Excludes countries of departure).
Contemporary/Premium
Mexico
Bahamas
United States
Netherlands Antilles
Virgin Islands (US)
Cayman Islands
Puerto Rico
Jamaica
Honduras
Canada
Luxury
United States
Italy
Spain
Greece
France
Canada
Portugal
Cuba
Saint Lucia
Croatia/Hrvatska
River
Germany
United States
Austria
France
Netherlands
Slovak Republic/Slovakia
Hungary
Serbia
Bulgaria
Portugal

Most Popular Cabin Types
Ranked by the total number of quote requests for each cabin type.
Cont/Prem
Balcony
Inside
Outside
JR Suite
Suite
Luxury   
Balcony
Outside
Inside
JR Suite
Suite
River
Balcony
Outside
Inside
JR Suite
Suite

Interestingly, river cruising seems to be most successful at attracting first-time cruisers. Data showed that 91 percent of river cruise passengers had not sailed on their chosen line before, while only nine percent were repeat customers. Luxury cruisers showed a somewhat greater propensity to reprise their sailing experience; 36 percent had sailed on their chosen line previously. Passengers in the contemporary/premium space showed either the greatest loyalty or greatest desire to "do it again"; 57 percent were repeat guests on a given cruise line.

Also worth noting is that a relatively small percentage of travelers requested travel insurance. While TheTravelPro recommends protecting your travel investment in one manner or another, the reason may well be that savvy travelers are charging their trips on credit cards that already provide that type of protection, as I detailed in a previous article, "Counting the cost of a cruise."

* - Symphony of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship followed by Harmony at No. 2, Allure and  Oasis tied for No. 3 and Anthem No. 7. The four largest have passenger complements exceeding 5,000 passengers.

Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.



Photos by Carl Dombek
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