Carnival Corp. said cruises are about 50% booked for 2026, a comparable position to this time last year, but prices are higher -- at historical highs, in fact.
The booking window is at an unprecedented length, too, with 2027 cruises selling well this summer. Carnival Corp. had never sold as many cruises that were booked 19-plus months in advance, said CEO Josh Weinstein during the company's Q3 earnings call.
With prices up for advance bookings and more customers purchasing onboard extras in advance, customer deposits reached a record $7.1 billion, said CFO David Bernstein.
The company reported record Q3 net income of $1.9 billion and raised its full-year profit guidance. Revenue reached a record $8.2 billion.
Carnival Corp. outperformed guidance because of high demand for close-in bookings and high onboard spending, Weinstein said. Close-in demand sent ticket prices up, Bernstein said.
Carnival Cruise Line's new private island, Celebration Key, has thus far exceeded the anticipated return on investment, much of which was achieved through higher premiums on cruises that visit Celebration Key, Weinstein said.
The company still sees room for improvement, with "several" brands still below their 2019 pre-pandemic performance. But that doesn't mean any major strategy shifts are on the way.
"We have right-sized many of our brands that needed right-sizing, and the progress is good. We'll continue to support the brands that need a little bit more help than others to keep pushing up the ranks," the CEO said. "I'm ecstatic that, as amazingly as Carnival and AIDA have been doing over the last couple of years, they've got to look over their shoulder because there's some that are coming on fast."
The company is focused on higher pricing across its brands, Weinstein said.
"It's really easy to sail completely full, it's just a matter of how much you can charge to do it," he said. "We want to make sure our brands are focused on the total revenue."
With no new ships coming next year, and only one per year through the end of the decade, demand will rise "on a very restrained supply side," Weinstein said. "It's setting us up very well."