On a sun-splashed Tuesday morning at the world’s biggest cruise conference, the industry’s top brass convened to discuss the state of the industry.
The veritable “who’s who” of cruising, included the CEOs of Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) Bud Darr, Royal Caribbean Group’s Jason Liberty, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ Harry Sommer, and Carnival Corporation’s Josh Weinstein.
They were joined by MSC Group’s Executive Chairman of Cruises, Pierfrancesco Vago, to discuss the current state and future of cruising at Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami on April 8, 2025.
Weinstein, who also serves as Chief Climate Officer, opened his remarks on a high note, celebrating Carnival Corporation’s strong performance in the first quarter.
In fact, he called the first three months of 2025 “amazing” for the company.
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Touting a 7 percent growth year-over-year with passenger spending up 10 percent, Weinstein said the company that owns Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, and AIDA Cruises got what they needed in terms of bookings.
Citing an “inconsistent” and “choppy” wave season, he also noted the company received more future year bookings than ever before, indicating passenger confidence, in spite of current economic changes.
“When times are harder, people are looking to make their money go farther,” he said while discussing the resilience of the cruise industry.
Vago echoed the sentiment on value, contrasting the cost of luxury cruising with land-based vacations.
“A dinner in Miami alone costs the same as a day on Explora, which is all-included,” he quipped, underlining the competitive pricing of its luxury cruise offerings.
Adding to the discussion, Sommer said Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, owner of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Seven Seas Cruises, witnessed its highest growth yield ever, along with highest guest satisfaction scores.
“Two shaky days in the stock market do not lead us to change our long-term strategy,” he added when discussing the recent free fall in the stock market following newly imposed tariffs by the US.
He went on to discuss the global growth of cruises, addressing markets outside of the US.
“We announced a partnership in India to triple the fleet to increase local distribution, expand presence, and open new markets around the world,” he said.
Still, the panel moderator pushed the executives on the current geopolitical atmosphere and while the cruise leaders were cautious in their discussions, they did highlight the mobility aspect of cruising.
“Our ships move,” added Liberty. “And once our ships land, they can make an economic impact,” suggesting governments need to understand the unique economic contributions of the cruise industry.
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Sommer took the sentiment a step further and said, “We are in a position where we have lots of friends in lots of different places,” referring to business dealings in both the US and around the world.
“Cruising has an impact in the country. We source products here,” he said, adding, “We are a good corporate citizen.”
Seconded Liberty, “We are good listeners. As we are engaging, we listen well. It’s a power of our platform; it’s flexible.”
Tackling Cruise Growth
The panel kickstarting the three-day conference also addressed the ever-growing number of mega ships being developed, along with private cruise destinations.
“It’s not an arms race,” said Weinstein. “We’re not building for the sake of being bigger.”
Instead, Carnival Corporation and peers are building for the long term, with Liberty noting that half of its ships are under 100,000 gross tons.
The group was quick to address naysayers who don’t feel positively about cruise lines, with Darr even stating, “We love us, our customers love us, but not everyone loves us,” in his opening remarks.
“We need to let everyone know we are hardworking, honest business owners who care about the environment,” he added.
When addressing the development of new private destinations being a means to keep passenger dollars close to the heart, the group was quick to agree that is a simplistic observation.
“At the end of the day, we are trying to elevate the guest experience,” said Liberty.
While he added the building of Perfect Day resorts in Mexico and the Bahamas does bring the company economic benefit, he also highlighted they bring jobs to the regions, and add more to the local economy.
“We are trying more and more to buy locally,” he said, explaining the new resorts feature local businesses and include the local community.
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While Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings ships will call in Perfect Day locations, they also sail to other ports during their longer voyages, with Liberty emphasizing the growth of passengers is expected to reach 1 million more guest calls in the Caribbean by 2026.
In the end, however, the executives did agree that while the future is a bit uncertain, that cruising will continue to be popular and grow after passengers get comfortable with today’s current uncertainty.
“There’s no magic,” said Darr. “Just hard work.”
