New cruise ship orders and a robust outlook for cruise sales dominated news headlines as the annual Seatrade Cruise Global conference concluded late last week in Miami Beach, FL. Travel Agent provided insight about "top takeaways" from the annual “State of the Industry” outlook by five top cruise leaders, including Kelly Craighead, president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association.
Throughout the conference, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Windstar Cruises, Emerald Cruises, American Cruise Lines, Ponant, MSC Cruises and others announced either new orders or updates about ships that are under construction.
Next up? At Port Everglades, FL, CLIA's Cruise360 conference kicks off mid-week at the Broward County Convention Center. Travel Agent will be on site to provide an update later in the week. Meanwhile, MMGY Global revealed details of its latest research study which shows that the perceived value of cruising is a big driver for bookings by new-to-cruise guests.
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A recent Viking IPO filing included information about the line’s value of direct sales and plans to increase those. Late last week, Zane Kerby, ASTA’s president, and Michael Consoli, franchise agency owner, Cruise Planners (the number-one Viking seller globally), provided their perspectives about the development for an article published in sister publication, Luxury Travel Advisor.
Oceania Cruises previewed its 2025-2026 tropics and exotic collection, while Riviera River Cruises dropped single supplements on select sailings. Scenic is launching new “Tastes of Discovery” culinary voyages, and Explora Journeys will add more destination experiences for voyages this year.
In addition, Holland America Line unveiled four, new concert-style shows, including “Song & Dance,” “All That!,” “Class Act” and “Hey, Mr. DJ.” These shows debuted on Eurodam in February 2024 and will be introduced on Rotterdam, Zuiderdam and Nieuw Statendam by the end of June with more ships to follow.
A two-masted schooner, Mutiara Laut, has launched new yachting itineraries, while Salamander Voyages will offer a new history voyage along the Turkish coastline in June 2024.
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