What changes are happening in the cruise industry..and what does that mean for retailing?

The cruise industry remains in a strong, bullish and robust mood, as financial results continue to showing increasing profitability, whilst also seeing a strong forecast for future passenger growth (see our previous blog).

But what does this strength mean in terms of the way that this will change and adapt the cruise industry to maintain this high performance, and ultimately what does it mean for the cruise retail sector?

In this blog, I will take you through the 3 main ways that the largest companies in the cruise industry are shifting their focus to improve results, and also why they are doing it - our focus is looking at Yield, Destinations and Operations. The latest presentations in quarterly updates from the major cruise line CEOs offer us a great insight into where their thoughts are and what coming next. Once I have taken you through their main priorities, we will conclude by looking at what this means for adaptation requirements within the cruise retail industry in order to be successful.

1. 💰 Yield

Yield management (the price charged for the cruise) is a continuing strength in the cruise industry, particularly when many other parts of the vacation market are in the midst of an affordability crisis (hello Las Vegas). This has given cruise CEO's the ability to flex their muscles in some specific areas whilst retaining the impression that cruise is the most affordable vacation choice - a core strength of the sector. So how are they doing this?

• "Bring Us Premium Guests...especially families": Cruises CEOs are consistently reporting strong increases in revenue from the 'second guest and beyond'. This means that the premium segment of cruise ships focusing on higher-spending clientele such as top-end cabins, luxury sub-brands, ship-in-ships and upscaled premium products (specialty dining, shore excursions, beverage packages). Not only this, but there is a definite focus on new-to-cruise premium guests such as families and younger couples. This is where the cruise sector is increasingly competing with the traditional family vacation market in ways to find growth. We are seeing the premiumisation of cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and NCL, alongside the passenger demographic shift on lines such as Princess and Celebrity as clear examples of this. What is interesting to see is how laser-focused the cruise lines are on finding this 'perfect guest'. So much so, that we have seen traditional cruisers feeling somewhat marginalized, and other niche guests (such as solo travellers) seemingly lower priority.

• "We Love New Ships, Just Not Quite So Many": Growth in the cruise industry continues to come from new-build, but it isn't at the same volume that happened pre-covid. This measured growth (1 ship per year) means that cruise lines have been able to better balance between supply and demand and increase fares and ship locations in line with this. Carnival's CEO Josh Weinstein highlighted the advantage of a reduced planned capacity growth compared to pre-COVID expectations. By having fewer new lower berths (e.g., 275k vs. 293k pre-COVID for 2026), they are better positioned to drive pricing and yield growth on a more constrained supply. The most aggressive expansion plans remain with RCG, NCLH and MSC, but as I highlight in the destinations section, there is an interesting dynamic of how fleet deployment is playing out.

2. 🏝️ Destinations

Looking at where cruise ships are being deployed, what types of cruises and then seeing where they are visiting is one of the most fascinating insights into the changes happening in the cruise industry currently.

• "Close to Home is Best" - Pre-Covid, we were looking at the globalization of the cruise industry focusing in on new markets and new destinations. Markets like China, Australia, middle east being at the heart of new strategies. Well... not any more! In the lastest deployment plans we can simply say that the era of globalization is over for the large players in the cruise industry, and cruises which are close to home are at the top of the agenda. Where are the new cruise ships being built being sent? - Top of the list remains Miami, Port Everglades and Port Canaveral - Florida. If you look at 80% of new builds in the past 12 months, they have headed to Florida to homeport. The dominance of the US cruise market remains absolute, and according to my calculations will become ever more important. Close to home cruising remains the simplest and easiest ways that the cruise industry is growing. And it is not only in USA this is happening - take a look at top markets like UK, Germany, China, Japan etc and you see the same trend replicated. It is easier and more economically efficient for cruise lines to sell cruises in key markets with lower cost transfers than to ferry guests long haul.

• "Quantity and Quality" - The other key change in cruise dynamics alongside the ever-dominance of the US / Caribbean is the huge growth in short cruises. Coupled with the reasoning shown on the next point, short cruises have seen the biggest growth this year, and are a key recruiter for 'new to cruise guests' and also guests who are driving to the ship 'close to home'. As an example, in their recent quarterly update, NCL said that short cruises would be 80% higher in 2026 vs 2025.

• "End to End Experience" - Along with the growth of shorter cruises, the other huge growth is in end-to-end experience cruises. This means that fundamentally the cruise lines are determined to ensure that their guests have a consistent vacation experience, and the single biggest way to do this is with private destinations and resorts. Examples are Carnival's recent opening of Celebration Key, the re-imagining of NCL's Great Stirrup Cay for 'the next generation of cruisers' and the huge development of Royal Caribbean destinations such as Royal Beach Clubs (Bahamas, Mexico, Santorini) and Perfect Day island resort. These destinations have easily shown to cruise lines the added value with positive guest feedback and higher bookings on cruises which call these destinations. Therefore, large investment will continue on increasing the level of exclusive and controlled destinations. The result is that previously well visited destinations which could be perceived as overcrowded, unsafe or stressful will become less important part of the cruise experience.

3. 🚢 Operations

Finally, we see that the focus on the guest experience has never been more important to differentiate and elevate each cruise line. From loyalty programs to new ships, there is significant investments and expectations to ensure that the software is as good as the hardware in the industry.

• "Delivering the Right Experience to Last a Lifetime" - The cruise industry remains one of the most customer-focused industries in the world. The sheer focus on guest satisfaction has been harnessed by being a truly data-driven environment where all guests's behaviours can be analysed and optimized. This is ever more important, and cruise lines are doubling down on providing fuests with life-long value and driving loyalty. New changes to loyalty programs have focused on flexibility and improvement of long term relationships and are being designed to ensure that guest loyalty is not only earned but also harnessed in order to keep the guests coming back for more. New ships, refurbishments, new entertainment, new innovations are all paramount to ensure that guests remain fully connected.

• "Setting High Standards" - The quality of offering, focus on destination and onboard service experience has never been of a high priority as it is now. The competition to earn the loyalty of guests has never been more intense, and as a result, the focus on service and consistent guest experience in the onboard operations remains a very high priority. The focus on smooth embarkation, onboard enrichment, curated entertainment, culinary experience, destination management and overall satisfaction shows the utterly high quality of offering that the industry is delivering. This means that the quality of crew - motivation, training, knowledge and professionalism has never been more important to the industry and a truly critical element of the end experience.

What about the rest?

So, reading these 3 areas you would be forgiven that the entire industry is simply based in Florida and sailing to the Caribbean. This is not exactly true. There are many regional and luxury cruise lines operating around the world with enormous success. Luxury cruise lines continue to be one of the most exciting areas of growth with new entrants (particularly in ultra-luxury yachts and river cruising) really shaking things up with some exciting innovations! However, when you add all the regional operators and luxury cruise liner together, you will note that, for as high performing as they are, they are still remain a minority in this industry. Our focus, and our attention in where is to the top priority remains on understanding the most significant part of the cruise industry - and this is, and will remain, the US contemporary and premium market.

So what does this mean for cruise retail?

So, from all of the latest trends that are dominating the main cruise businesses, how does cruise retail play an important part of this evolution. Cruise retail is and will remain an important and integral part of the industry.

1. New Products for New Guests.  As the dynamics and the guest profile of the cruise industry change, so to do the product ranges that we offer. How can we make cruise retail relevant for the Shein / Temu generation? Flexibility and quick adaptation is needed in order to model on continuing changing guest patterns and trends. Midweek to weekend short cruises, charters, groups, VIPs etc. The need to ensure that staff are able to understand, demonstrate and sell across a number of product options has never been more important. As families become the target market, so to does a wider spectrum of product ranges - toys, technology, confectionery, logo, personalization etc that will allow for the next generation of guests to be inspired by onboard retailing.

   
   

2. New Ship Showcasing. As the costs of renovation and refurbishment continue to be high, the investment and innovation from brands will remain on new ship launches. These ships provide the easiest and simplest return on investment because they generally attract the best quality of guests. New ships are being equipped with prime retail space in key locations that allows cruise retail operators to mirror the cruise line strategy in terms of the onboard offering they are delivering (see our latest blog on the launch of Star Princess). High quality retail with a premium brand mix, a well trained and professional team and uniqueness of offering are key to attract the next generation of cruise guests. With 'premium families' and 'new cruisers' being the core target market, brands need reflect this in terms of the relevance, set up and the aspiration of cruisers.

   
   

3. New Cruise Itinerary Modelling. Short cruises and the focus on private destination cruises mean that there is such a large number of new-to-cruise guests and changed itineraries. This means that the importance of having well trained staff promoting and selling brands confidently is top priority. Getting guest brand advoacy is going to need to be adapted in this new model. No longer are we talking about a 7-14 day shopping window, now we have 3-4 days and this means that the power of the staff recommendation increases substantially, as guests are much less likely to discover everything. Roles such as Ambassadors, Luxury Influencers, Concierges will become cruicial to turbo-charge the understanding and interest from guests. No longer will we be waiting for Day 7 Final Call events, now we will need to get the actioning happening by Day 3.

   
   

4. Show Me the Money! Cruise retail is a strong revenue driver and continues to grow and show itself to be a highly prized part of the onboard experience offering. Cruise lines will be expecting operators to support them on boosting yield. This means that cruise retail operators must increase sales density, efficiency and performance from the onboard spaces that they have. This means that cruise retailers will prioritize on the most desierable, highest sell out products and best-in-class trending brands, with team members who are adept at promoting them. Confidence is king!

   
   

5. Experience - cruise operators are expecting cruise retail operations to be a seamless part of a lifetime guest journey with their guests. This means more connection to loyalty programs, higher innovation in product, stronger focus on in-store consistency, exclusivity and quality logo items. All of this comes with an increasing expectation of delivering uniqueness alongside high sales performance to stand out from the competition.

   
   

6. And finally... People Buy People. As important as all the changes in the industry are, there will be an unchanging element at the heart of cruise retail - the onboard teams will continue to be at the centre of everything. Personality, authenticity, trust and empathy will continue to be the heartbeat at the centre of the onboard offering. In an era of AI de-personalization, the warmth, smiles and connection that guests have with the amazing onboard teams will remain consistent and continuous.

   
   

All of these trends are what we are focusing on at Cruise Retail Academy. Our CRA+ program is designed to support brands train frontline crew simply and effectively, in partnership with Frntlne. Our recruitment strategy is designed specifically to bring a new generation of professional, empowered, motivated, and authentic retailers to our industry who fit in sync with these new higher standard guest expectations. And finally our support and guidance are here to provide new-to-cruise brands or individuals with an important head start in this industry.

If you would love to contact to us about optimising your setup in the cruise retail sector, please come and chat (info@cruiseretailacademy.com)!