Passengers flock to cruise ships as pandemic fears abate
Americans are booking trips on cruise ships at rates not seen since before the pandemic, a sign travelers are more comfortable boarding vessels that were once vectors for coronavirus.
Florida-based Royal Caribbean said earlier this month that the load factor, or percentage of seats filled, of its cruise ships rose to an average of 102% in the first quarter of 2023. By comparison, the occupancy rate was 57% a year ago and 107% in 2019 just before pandemic lockdowns.
Norwegian Cruise Line reported an average 101% occupancy rate during the first quarter, compared to 48% last year and 105% in 2019. The jump in cruise goers is helping revive the industry, which lost billions of dollars during the pandemic.
"COVID has dissipated as a concern for a lot of travelers" Wall Street Journal reporter Jacob Passy told CBS News. "People are raring to get out there, and cruises are a great way to see multiple locations (and) multiple countries."
Cruise lines are reporting more than 100% capacity because passengers are piling more than the suggested two people per cabin, Passy said. Cruise tickets this year are running between $130 and $260 a day depending on the ship, cabin type and destination, according to online price tracker Cruzely.
Overbooked ship cabins serve as visual proof of the industry's rebound. Cabin occupancy rates will stay in the triple digits between now and into 2026, fueled mostly by millennial travelers, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) estimated.
"Cruising is back and is one of the fastest growing segments of tourism, outpacing the recovery of international tourism arrivals," CLIA spokesperson Sally Andrews said. "Consumer intent to cruise is also higher than it was in December of 2019( pre-pandemic) among both experienced cruisers and those who have never cruised before."
In 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised travelers to stay away from cruise ships after a number of ships reports COVID-19 outbreaks. Bookings plunged, forcing companies such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian to furlough workers. Cruise companies globally saw their income sink from $24 billion in 2019 to $8 billion in 2021, according to the most recent CLIA data.
The CDC ended its warning about cruise ships last year and is no longer requiring companies to only host passengers who have been vaccinated against the virus.
One of the biggest problems cruise operators faced during the pandemic was passengers booking trips, then backing out weeks before the departure due to health safety concerns, Passy said. These days, cruise lines are more likely to overbook travelers because they're still expecting some to change their minds last minute.
"The issue right now is fewer people are canceling because of COVID, so they're having to readjust that algorithm a bit to account for the fact that more people are just going no matter what," Passy said.