Photo: AP/Arilson AlmeidaA giant ship, a small cabin, a lot of food and fun... more and more people are crazy about cruises in big cruise ships that seem to be immune to any crisis
Last year, more than 37 million passengers went on a cruise around the world, which is the highest number ever. This is according to the data of the International Association of Cruise Lines (CRUISE LINES INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION, CLIA).
That association represents more than 95 percent of the world's cruise travel offer and expects new records in the coming years. writes Deutsche Welle.
Christian Rehl, Chief Economist at Internet broker Scalable Capital, explains:
"In recent years, we have witnessed a certain change in consumer behavior. When they save, people first reduce their classic material consumption, i.e. buying furniture, cars or clothes, but they are still ready to allocate money for experiences. And vacation is still one of the most beautiful experiences in life."
According to Relo's observations, the growth in popularity of cruises stems primarily from their concept.
"It's a kind of all-inclusive package. Once you decide to travel by cruise ship, you can spend your entire vacation on it, and a large part of the organization is taken care of in advance."
The key advantage is comfort. Food, entertainment, wellness and sports facilities are already provided. Additional services, such as shore excursions, can be booked but are not required. Wherever travelers land, their floating hotel accompanies them every step of the way.
Today, there is almost no type of cruise that is not available on the market: from cheaper to ultra-luxury packages, from smaller ships to giant cruise ships that can accommodate more than 7.500 passengers. There are cruises aimed at families, singles, fun music or heavy metal lovers, as well as those aimed at entertainment or culture.
Such an offer particularly attracts travelers to the USA, where the largest number of regular cruise users live. CLIA recorded 20,6 million ocean cruises in the US last year, which is 7,5 percent more than the year before.
In second place are German travelers, but with a significant lag. During 2025, they took almost three million ocean cruises, ten percent more than the previous year.
The business with cruise ships is, as a rule, extremely profitable. Royal Caribbean Group, one of the world's largest companies in this field, last year achieved a net profit of more than four billion dollars.
According to Relo, ticket prices are generally set to cover the fixed costs of doing business. Especially on ships with several thousand passengers, tickets can be sold at relatively affordable prices to fill capacity.
"The real money comes from additional services, such as shore excursions, specialty restaurants, wellness centers, casinos and liquor sales," Rell explains.
Compared to most land-based tourist destinations, cruise ships have another important advantage: the company on board has a virtual monopoly.
"Regardless of what a passenger spends their money on, even when they buy out of boredom in the ship's shops or artwork on board, that money ends up with the shipping company. It's a very interesting business model."
Such a model attracted numerous investors. The three largest companies in the highly concentrated market are based in the USA. The largest in terms of number of ships and passengers is Carnival Corporation, followed by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line.
All three companies are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are part of the S&P 500 index, which gathers the 500 most important American companies.
The most popular destinations are still the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.
The largest number of cruise ships today sail under the flag of the Bahamas, but Panama, Bermuda and Malta are also frequent.
The pandemic has shown how dependent this industry is on external factors, including geopolitical disturbances.
The war with Iran caught shipowners off guard. During the winter months, many companies organize cruises around the Arabian Peninsula, and several cruise ships have found themselves blocked in Arab ports following Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. This caused additional costs due to the evacuation of passengers by plane.
In addition, the price of fuel has also increased. Under such circumstances, almost no one is currently considering cruises to Dubai and other Persian Gulf ports.
Environmental issues are increasingly affecting the cruise industry. Increasingly strict regulations introduced by numerous ports and countries require large investments in ships that use more environmentally friendly fuels, such as liquefied natural gas or methanol.
However: "Passengers support companies that respect social standards and invest in environmental protection. They like that. But they are not ready to pay an extra hundred euros just because the company operates more sustainably."
Because of this, companies that invest the most in sustainable development could face smaller profit margins. However, despite crises, geopolitical risks and high costs, the cruise industry continues to sail at full steam for now.
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