Cruises outperform Air Travel, Lodging as travel industry turns to discounts 

Access chart in Dash.

US consumers spent 1.7% more on cruises in the first 6 months of 2024 than the same period of 2023, according to Earnest credit card data. So far, Cruise spending has outperformed Air Travel and Lodging & Accommodations to become the fastest growing Travel segment of the year. Carnival has seen the biggest benefit to sales so far in 2024, +5% YoY, followed by Disney Cruises (+2% YoY). Viking and Royal Caribbean Cruises both slightly underperformed the combined average, while Norwegian’s sales fell.

The Cruise category experienced widespread growth after the pandemic, along with other Travel categories like Online Travel Agency bookings, Air Travel, and Lodging & Accommodations. But while Air Travel companies began to reduce ticket prices to boost demand, average Cruise transactions have continued to grow, up 5.4% YoY from January 1 to July 4, 2024 (see chart in Dash). The result is a continued topline growth for many cruise lines catering to US passengers.