We mentioned in an earlier message about the success that Royal Caribbean Cruise Line had last year, and really in the past 2-3 years. We reported in that report that Royal Caribbean and their sister Celebrity reported in the third quarter $1.3 billion in profit from a revenue of $6.8 billion. That represented a 19.7% profit margin. Thirty years ago, their annual profit was $14 million.
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has just released its 2017 Cruise Industry Consumer Outlook, and the report indicates that cruise popularity is on the rise....and that's good....for both the cruise lines and their travel agent partners.
CLIA engaged J. D. Power with the job of checking on consumer travel behaviors and opinions regarding the cruise industry, and the first report found that 64% of the responders said their awareness of a cruise vacation had improved over the last two years.
The symbiotic nature of cruise lines and airlines is and has been slowly becoming not so cozy as in the early beginnings of both travel industries. The airlines have had a toehold on people getting from point A to point B and beyond for many years, but since the late 70’s have enjoyed the benefit of additional passengers trying to get to cruise ports. Early on in their existence, the cruise lines depended heavily on the airlines getting their guests to the departure ports. What resulted was an arms length but workable, cooperative relationship that made both of them money while providing the guests a seamless vacation.
