Norwegian Cruise Lines Reports Biggest Booking Day In Its History

Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings Ltd NCLH recorded its biggest booking day in the company’s 18-year history after it opened sales for its winter 2022-2023 Oceania Cruises Tropics and Exotics Collection.

What Happened: On March 3, the company opened its bookings for 127 itineraries, according to a report by Cruise Hive. The itineraries include cruises to Africa, Antarctica, Asia, the Caribbean, South America, the South Pacific and Australia and New Zealand. The top-selling itinerary was a 35-day cruise around Australia over Christmas and New Year's.

Why It Matters: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought cruise lines to a halt and Norwegian Cruise Lines and competitors such as Carnival Corp CCL and Walt Disney Co  DIS have seen their ships mostly docked for more than a year. As vaccines are distributed and given to people, cruise lines will be able to once again set sail. And, there appears to be a lot of pent-up demand.

“The tremendous wave of bookings we saw on the day we opened our new 2022 and 2023 itineraries for sale underscores the extraordinary demand for long and exotic cruise vacations,” said Bob Binder, president, and CEO of Oceania Cruises, a culinary- and destination-focused cruise line.

What’s Next: In response to high demand, Norwegian Cruise Lines will be opening in September its spring, summer and fall 2023 Europe and North America cruise destinations for bookings.

“Upscale travelers are eager to explore the world once more and are booking farther in advance to ensure their travel dreams are fulfilled,” said Binder.

(Photo: Arno Redenius via Wikimedia Commons)