Tag Archives: Caribbean cruise

Norwegian Set to Boost Caribbean Cruise Capacity

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“We pair our ships with destinations, sending some of our smaller ships to exotic destinations and some of our larger amenity-filled ships to our fun and sun destinations,” said Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, speaking on Monday at an investor event held in New York.

As a result, “Fun and Sun” (Caribbean, Bermuda and Hawaii) capacity will make up 54 per cent of the deployment for the Norwegian Cruise Line brand in 2026, up from 42 per cent this year.

“It gives our guests the opportunity, on the NCL brand, to return over and over and over again, maximizing their lifetime value and driving high fields.”

Sommer said he believed Norwegian’s ships with increased amenities were perfectly suited for millennial and Generation Z guests.

The company will send its biggest ships to its core destinations in the “Fun and Sun” regions.

As a result, by 2026, the company’s average cruise length will be down to eight days from nine in 2023 with more short and week-long Caribbean sailings as a growing part of the deployment mix.

Capacity days are expected to be in the 12 million range in these “Fun and Sun” destinations by 2026, up from 8 million in 2023, according to a company presentation.

In addition, the mix of the company’s top 10 embarkation points (homeports) will be greater, representing 80 per cent of 2026 capacity, compared to 65 per cent in 2023.

“Our increased Caribbean deployment has given us the ability to invest in our private island in Great Stirrup Cay,” Sommer said, noting the coming two-ship pier for the island set to open in 2025.

Other investments will follow in Great Stirrup Cay, including a VIP area, and the company expects to host approximately 700,000 guests on the island by 2026, up from 400,000 in 2023.

MSC Cruises Introduces Summer 2024 ‘Stay & Cruise’ Program

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MSC Cruises announced its new summer 2024 “Stay & Cruise” program, offering guests the chance to extend their seven-night sailing into a nine or 10-night voyage, according to a statement. 

 The add-on packages are available for sailings on 11 MSC ships at five destinations; Athens, Venice, Rome, Miami and New York.

Travellers can add two nights’ accommodation with breakfast before or after their seven-night voyage at a 4-star hotel in Athens, Venice and Rome or a 3-star hotel in Miami, plus the option for two or three nights at a 4-star hotel in New York.

All “Stay & Cruise” packages offer a half-day excursion to explore the city’s attractions.

 Ground transfers from airports to hotels are included for guests staying before the cruise and from the hotel to the ship.  Additionally, for guests staying after the cruise, transfers from the ship to the hotel and from the hotel to the airport are also included.

 The offer applies to the MSC Divina, MSC Fantasia, MSC Musica, MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview from Civitavecchia for an extended stay in Rome before or after a cruise.

 The add-on package to explore Venice is available pre- or post-cruise onboard the MSC Armonia, MSC Lirica and MSC Sinfonia from Marghera-Venice. Additionally, guests sailing on the MSC Opera, departing from the port of Piraeus, can extend their vacation in Athens.

 The program is available for Caribbean itineraries on the MSC Seascape departing from Miami with an additional two-day stay in the city.

 Guests sailing onboard the MSC Meraviglia can also extend their trip pre-cruise in New York before the ship sets sail.

An add-on package for Istanbul will also be available soon for MSC Cruises’ winter 2024-25 ‘Stay & Cruise’ program.

Royal Caribbean Increases Financial Guidance for 2024

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Independence and Symphony of the Seas in San Juan, Puerto Rico photo credit Spacejunkie2 Flickr

Royal Caribbean Group today provided an update on demand and updated its 2024 guidance.

The company said it continues to be very encouraged about the demand and pricing environment for 2024.

Since its most recent update on its Q4 2023 earnings call, the WAVE booking season has exceeded the company’s initial expectations, with the first five weeks of the year resulting in the best WAVE booking weeks in the company’s history.

“Bookings have been significantly higher than during the same period last year, with the back half of the year up by more than the front half. For 2024, all four quarters and all key products are booked ahead of the same time last year in both rate and volume. Consumer spending for onboard purchases continue to exceed prior years driven by greater participation at higher prices, indicating quality and healthy future demand,” the company said in a statement.

“Since our last earnings call, robust demand for our vacation experiences has significantly exceeded our initial expectations,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean. “As a result, we are increasing our 2024 guidance on stronger revenue outlook, and we expect to achieve all Trifecta goals in 2024. Trifecta marks an important milestone as we remain intensely focused on delivering a lifetime of vacations and priceless memories for our guests while delivering exceptional long-term shareholder value.”

As a result of the strong WAVE season, the company is increasing its 2024 Adjusted EPS guidance by $0.40 compared to its February guidance. For the full year, Adjusted EPS is now expected to be $9.90 to $10.10 driven by an increase in constant currency net yield growth of approximately 100 bps compared to the February guidance. Approximately $0.15 of the full year increase in adjusted EPS is driven by an improved revenue outlook for the first quarter of 2024. The company now expects to achieve all Trifecta goals in 2024.