Need to Know Research: The Interest in Cruise Vacations Is Rising

Although many travel advisors say their cruise business still has a long way to go to get back to normal, there are definite signs of improvement, according to a recent survey of nearly 300 agents, part of TravelAge West’s Need to Know Research series.

More than two-thirds of respondents (67%) report that they have seen an increase in cruise inquiries in recent weeks, but 52% have not yet seen this translate into an increase in bookings. 

This is a significant improvement to the situation in January, when 83% of agents reported that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidelines led to no increase in inquiries, and 89% of respondents said it did not help bookings.

“The outlook for cruising is the strongest I’ve seen since the pandemic started,” said Jason Leppert, Cruise Editor for TravelAge West. “Cruise travel is already back. I recently sailed on Windstar Cruises’ newly stretched and enhanced Star Breeze, and guests and crew alike are overjoyed to be sailing again.”

Despite the increase in interest, advisors have adjusted their anticipation of when they will see a full return of business. In January, most advisors (37%) predicted that cruising would return to 2019 levels by the end of 2021. Now, three-quarters (75%) of advisors feel it will not happen until 2022 — 33% in the first half of next year, and 42% by the end of the year. A significant majority (80%) also believes that land vacations will return faster than cruising.

“Things may be slow to restart, but at least it’s happening,” Leppert said. “Carnival Corporation expects about half of its fleet to be back by the end of the year. By 2022, cruising will be in a great spot for sure.”

When it comes to selling cruises, two-thirds (66%) of advisors are satisfied with the information they are getting about COVID-19-related protocols on cruises. In addition, 79% of respondents have clients who will only sail on a fully vaccinated ship, while 48% say they have customers who will refuse to sail if they must be vaccinated.

According to the survey, the top conditions that will help advisors sell more cruises include seeing safety protocols succeed in lowering cases of COVID-19 on ships (35%), and a widely distributed vaccine (26%). This is significantly different than in January, when 67% of advisors felt vaccinations were most important, and only 17% chose real-world success on ships.

Despite the improvement in cruise business, most advisors (59%) indicate that they do not have any marketing plans related to the restart of cruising. 

A bright spot in the survey is related to travelers’ future spending. Most advisors (46%) feel their clients are willing to spend more on travel than they have in the past.