Cruise demand isn’t cooling off, even with the world serving up plenty of reasons for travelers to stay home.
Royal Caribbean Group beat its own earnings guidance in the second quarter and raised its full-year outlook Tuesday, pointing to strong close-in demand and record pricing across its fleet. The company reported $4.8 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 6 percent year over year, and now expects roughly double-digit revenue and earnings growth for the full year.
The results land as a reassuring signal for travel advisors watching how geopolitical tensions might ripple through client bookings. Royal Caribbean acknowledged a modest, near-term booking impact on select itineraries tied to prolonged geopolitical activity — but the company said booking volumes remain above last year’s levels, pricing is at record highs, and load factors are holding strong across the portfolio. Ships sailed 110 percent full in the second quarter, and the company carried 2.4 million guests, a 6 percent jump from a year ago.
“The strong second quarter performance demonstrates the continued strength of our brands, the appeal of our vacation experiences, and the momentum in our business,” said Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. “We expect another year of approximately double-digit growth in revenue and earnings, driven by consumers’ preference for our leading brands and supported by our strong booked position, leading margin profile, and fortified balance sheet.”
There’s an early read on next year, too: Booking trends for 2027 are pacing ahead of historical levels — including on the very itineraries dinged by geopolitical developments this year, according to Chief Financial Officer Naftali Holtz.
“Consumer demand for our vacation experiences is strong, and guests continue to demonstrate a desire to spend on memorable experiences with us,” Holtz said. “As we build a broader vacation platform, we are giving guests more reasons to vacation with Royal Caribbean across more occasions, while reinforcing our ability to drive higher engagement and spend over time.”
New Hardware, Bigger Ambitions
The quarter also underscored how aggressively Royal Caribbean is building out its pipeline. The company took delivery of Legend of the Seas, the third ship in its Icon class, which launched earlier this month. In April, the company placed orders for Icon VI and Icon VII, and it plans to spend approximately $4.7 billion in capital expenditures this year — most of it tied to the new ship order book and land-based destination projects.
Liberty framed the buildout as part of a larger play for what the company pegs as a $2 trillion global vacation market, with loyalty and technology platforms designed to deepen guest relationships and boost repeat rates.
Capacity is set to grow 6.6 percent this year, with additional increases of 4 percent, 6 percent, and 7 percent planned for 2027, 2028, and 2029, respectively — meaning more ships, more berths, and more inventory for advisors to sell in the years ahead.
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