Liberty: Pricing Higher in Caribbean Despite Capacity Increase
Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said that the company’s pricing for Caribbean voyages was up despite the industry’s significant capacity increase in the region.
He said this was for all three company brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
“We’re seeing high demand wanting to go to the Caribbean. We’re not only seeing good volume, but our pricing is higher in the Caribbean than it was last year,” Liberty said.
Speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call, Liberty made sure to mention the cruise line expected positive yield growth for key products, including the Caribbean, as its investments continued to differentiate it from its peers and strengthen its leadership position, despite elevated capacity in the Caribbean.
“And I know that may not feed into what maybe some groups want to hear, but that is a reality that we continue to see strong demand for the Caribbean, and we continue to see strong demand for our broader organization,” he added.
Liberty said company capacity was up 6.7 percent year-over-year, driven by the new Legend of the Seas launching this summer plus full-year service from the Star of the Seas and Celebrity Xcel.
Set to become the largest ship in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet, the Norwegian Aura will offer cruises in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean starting in mid-2027.
Inaugural Cruise in the Mediterranean Dates: May 21, 2027 Length: 7 nights Homeports: Trieste (Italy) to Barcelona (Spain) Itinerary: Valletta (Malta); Salerno and Civitavecchia (Italy)
The Norwegian Aura will make its debut in the Mediterranean as part of a seven-night cruise departing from the Italian port of Trieste.
Sailing to Barcelona, the open-jaw itinerary features visits to destinations in Italy, Spain and Malta, such as Valletta, Salerno and Civitavecchia.
First Trans-Atlantic Crossing Date: May 28, 2027 Length: 13 nights Homeports: Barcelona (Spain) to Miami (United States) Itinerary: Gibraltar (United Kingdom); Motril and Cádiz (Spain)
Following its inaugural cruise in the Mediterranean, the Norwegian Aura kicks off a trans-Atlantic cruise to Miami.
The 13-night cruise sails to three ports before crossing the Atlantic: Cádiz, Motril and Gibraltar. The itinerary also includes eight days of cruising.
U.S. Debut Date: June 14, 2027 Length: 5 nights Homeport: Miami (United States) Itinerary: Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic); and Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas)
For its U.S. debut, the Prima Plus-class ship offers a short cruise to the Bahamas and the Caribbean sailing from PortMiami.
In addition to a day at sea, the five-night itinerary features visits to Puerto Plata and Norwegian’s private island destination of Great Stirrup Cay.
Eastern Caribbean Date: Weekly departures starting on June 19, 2027 Length: 8 nights Homeport: Miami (United States) Itinerary: Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic); St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands); Tortola (British Virgin Islands); Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas)
After its first short cruise, the Norwegian Aura kicks off a series of regular seven-night cruises to the Eastern Caribbean for the summer of 2027.
Sailing from PortMiami every Saturday, the ship offers an itinerary that features visits to Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay.
Western Caribbean Date: Weekly departures starting on October 30, 2027 Length: 7 nights Homeport: Miami (United States) Itinerary: Roatán (Honduras); Harvest Caye (Belize); Costa Maya and Cozumel (Mexico)
The new ship will move to the Western Caribbean for the 2027-28 season, offering weeklong cruises to the region starting in late October.
Also sailing from Miami, the itineraries include visits to Honduras, Belize and Mexico with planned stops at Roatán, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya and Cozumel.
Valletta Cruise Port Reports Record 2025 Passenger Numbers
MSC Opera departing Valletta Harbour, photo credit Spacejunkie2 https://flic.kr/ps/GkiQt photostream
Valletta Cruise Port has reported continued growth in both passenger numbers and ship calls for the full 2025 season.
The port welcomed 385 calls in 2025, an increase of 8 percent compared to 357 calls in 2024.
A record 962,966 passengers passed through the port in 2025, surpassing the previous year’s 940,915 and representing an increase of 2.3 percent year-on-year.
“The sustained growth recorded in 2025 reflects Valletta’s strong positioning within the Mediterranean cruise market. Malta’s unique combination of rich cultural heritage and close proximity to other key destinations continues to make Valletta an attractive and highly sought-after cruise port,” said Stephen Xuereb, chief operating officer of Global Ports Holding and chief executive officer of Valletta Cruise Port.
“This performance is further supported by ongoing investment in port infrastructure and passenger services, as well as close collaboration with our industry partners, which together have strengthened Malta’s appeal to cruise operators and passengers.”
Of the total passenger movements, 772,664 were transit visitors enjoying daytime visits ashore, while 190,302 were turnaround passengers beginning or ending their cruise in Malta.
Valletta Cruise Port was named the most beautiful port in the world in a study conducted by All Clear Insurance.
The company examined how visually attractive different cruise ports are and Valletta Cruise Port ranked first, receiving a perfect score of 100 percent.
The 2025 results build on momentum from 2024, when the port recorded more than 940,000 cruise passengers, exceeding the previous pre-pandemic high from 2019.
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