Andrea Zelinski
It's nice to move on from 2019. That's what Alex Sharpe, president and CEO of Signature Travel Network said during a webinar to talk about Wave booking performance so far this year.
That year -- the last of "normal" activity before the pandemic -- has served as the benchmark for the cruise industry to compare its bookings, revenues and prices for the last four years. That's a long time for an old comp to linger.
But after closing the books on 2023, the first one uninterrupted by major Covid variants since the resumption of cruise operations, executives are now back to comparing booking volume and revenue to the prior year. And Sharpe is ready to move on: 2023 was the best Wave season in a decade, he said.
"Anywhere close to that is a success in my mind," he said.
Although revenue thus far this year is similar to last year's, some other data points are mixed, Sharpe said.
"Volume is down a few points" compared to 2023, "but price is making up for it," he said during the webinar with Cleveland Research Company last week.
Sharpe attributed the lower booking volume to cruise companies' strong booked position heading into the year. The Big Three cruise companies -- Carnival Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Group -- have boasted their best-booked position on a 12-month forward basis in recent earnings calls.
That leaves less inventory to sell than last year. For example, 2024 spring break vacations are nearly fully booked, Sharpe said. A lack of close-in bookings pushes the focus to selling the summer, when cruises are longer and more expensive; the second half of 2024; and into 2025, Sharpe said. But prices have been strong.
The Icon effect
Something unexpected that might affect Wave bookings in the short term is the Icon of the Seas, he added -- but not in the way you'd think.
"There's literally going to be probably 15,000 advisors onboard Icon in the next 10 days," he said, referring to several mid-January three-day sailings for advisors, travel partners and media (yours truly is boarding today).
While advisors need to experience the ship, and onboard internet allows agents to keep working, the distraction will still affect their workflow compared to being at their posts, he said.
Advisors said last week that a snap of cold weather has also given cruise bookings a boost.
But all that said, the second half of January and into February is traditionally a stronger period for Wave, said Sharpe.
"Everyone wants to get a read the first minute of Wave, but really it's the second half of January that really tells the story," he said.