The UK market has been described as a “trendsetter” for its performance in recent months by the new president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean Group.
Speaking at the handover ceremony of Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Beyond at the Chantiers de L’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, Jason Liberty said: “The UK has, over the last six or seven months, been a trendsetter for other markets. It’s consistently been two to three weeks ahead – in terms of government restrictions and the consumer adjusting to what they see.
“They have been willing to travel to the Med, and out to the west and as the US opens up, they will be back to the Caribbean.”
Liberty (pictured with Celebrity’s Jo Rzymowska – left – and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo) said 85% of the group’s capacity across its three lines was back in operation and said demand was strong.
“There’s plenty of demand for cruising,” he said, adding that some ships were now sailing at 100% occupancy while others were building back to that point as they returned to service.
Market trends include very short-term bookings in addition to high levels of forward bookings for 2023 and 2024, with top suites the first to sell out.
Guests are also spending more onboard, Liberty added, while the war in Ukraine was not currently having a significant impact on sales.
“We have lost some demand from those that wanted to go to St Petersburg, but Americans are willing to travel to The Baltic, the Med, the Caribbean and Alaska.
“We’re finding that consumers are doing a lot of regional travel initially but are then expanding their wings.”
Discussing his promotion from chief financial officer to chief executive, Liberty said the transition had been “textbook”.
Asked if he had begun employing new strategies, he said: “Strategies evolve over time but I have been in charge of corporate strategy for 15 years so the culture is mine.
“I want everyone who works in our company to wake up every day and think ‘how do we deliver the best vacation in the world?’ and how do we do it in a responsible way. If everyone understands that’s our purpose, the combination of that culture, our design and our delivery, is really powerful.”
More: New Royal Caribbean Group chief eyes new-builds and weighs acquisitions