Across the board, cruise lines logged record bookings for a single day during their respective Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
Releases offer standouts such as “single largest booking day ever” and “largest booking day in history”. The hit parade bodes well for the recovery of the cruise market. How much of the volume originated in the Canadian market in unknown at this time. According to cruise execs, Canada has been slow to get back to sailing.
Open Jaw has compiled the results from various lines below.
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival posted a record Cyber Monday booking day, which was 50 per cent above volume for Cyber Monday in 2019, the cruise line announced in a press release.
“The Cyber Monday sale activity showed consumer demand across the fleet, and we were particularly pleased with the booking activity for Carnival Venezia’s new year-round service from New York, and our new extended six-month program for Carnival Magic out of Norfolk,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Earlier this year, Carnival said that the one-week period of 28MAR-03APR 2022 was its busiest booking week in company history, a "double-digit" increase compared to the previous record seven-day booking total.
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises posted its "single largest booking day ever" on Black Friday followed by its strongest Cyber Monday in history.
“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,” said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.
The record sales follow the launch of Celebrity's newest ship, Celebrity Beyond, earlier in NOV, with ship Godmother Simone Biles overseeing the naming ceremony honors.
Holland America Line
Holland America Line's Black Friday booking volumes hit a "record high" in the U.S., with volume for the day nearly 20 per cent higher than in 2019, the cruise line announced in a press release on 01DEC. For the period of Black Friday to Cyber Monday (25-28NOV), booking volumes were 10 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2019.
According to Holland America, increased bookings were "especially noticeable" for Alaska sailings. Black Friday U.S. bookings for Alaska were up more than 60 per cent compared to 2019 and up more than 25 per cent for the Black Friday through Cyber Monday timeframe.
“We are very pleased to see pent-up demand for cruising play out in such a significant way,” said Gus Antorcha, president, Holland America Line. “The strong bookings are an encouraging sign for our brand and the continued strength of cruising.”
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean announced that it has set a new booking record as this year's Black Friday was the cruise line’s single largest booking day in its history. This marks the third time the record was broken in 2022 and the peak of what the cruise line says was its highest volume booking week.
“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,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “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.”
In 2022, the cruise line marked both the single largest booking day and the highest volume booking week in APR, which was followed by another record-breaking single day of bookings with the opening of its newest ship, Icon of the Seas, in OCT.
Seabourn
Seabourn has reported a record booking month for NOV 2022, booking a "record number of guests" for 2023 and 2024 sailings.
Josh Leibowitz, president of Seabourn, said that in NOV 2022, the company has "tripled" the number of bookings compared to the same period for 2019.
“Our incredible ‘This Is Your Moment’ campaign has resonated with guests, our onboard teams have consistently delivered unforgettable ‘Seabourn Moments’ to our guests, and our travel advisor partners have the confidence in us to deliver amazing life-expanding moments to their clients. All of these efforts have led to incredible demand for the Seabourn ultra-luxury travel experience and new booking records, and we look forward to welcoming our guests on board our entire fleet,” said Leibowitz.
In addition, Seabourn announced that in NOV, it also saw its best one-week booking period for expedition voyages ever since launching its new expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, back in JUL 2022.
