Royal Caribbean Group wave season bookings in the first five weeks of the year have been the best in the company’s history.
The parent company of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea Cruises and joint venture Tui Cruises, issued the upbeat performance review in an update on demand and 2024 guidance.
All four quarters of 2024 across brands are booked ahead of the same time last year in both rate and volume.
Bookings have been “significantly higher” than during the same period last year, with the back half of the year up by more than the front half, the cruise group reported.
“The company continues to be very encouraged about the demand and pricing environment for 2024,” Royal Caribbean said.
The wave period has “exceeded the company’s initial expectations, with the first five weeks of the year resulting in the best wave booking weeks in the company’s history” since the most recent update just three weeks ago.
The group added: ”Consumer spending for onboard purchases continue to exceed prior years driven by greater participation at higher prices, indicating quality and healthy future demand.”
President and chief executive Jason Liberty said: “Since our last earnings call, robust demand for our vacation experiences has significantly exceeded our initial expectations,”
“As a result, we are increasing our 2024 guidance on stronger revenue outlook.
“We remain intensely focused on delivering a lifetime of vacations and priceless memories for our guests while delivering exceptional long-term shareholder value.”
Adjusted full-year earnings per share are now expected in a range of $9.90 to $10.10, up from the $9.50 to $9.70 forecast on February 1.
About $0.15 of the full year increase in adjusted EPS [earnings per share] is driven by an improved revenue outlook for the first quarter of 2024, the company added.
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