The cruise industry has entered the summer where it wants to be, with few cabins left to fill and higher year-over-year prices for Europe sailings.
At Cruise Planners, bookings for cruises departing in July and August are pacing ahead of last year, said COO Theresa Scalzitti.
Travel Leaders Network entered the year seeing particular strength for Europe and a demand increase for Alaska and the Caribbean in recent weeks, said president Lindsay Pearlman. He is "cautiously optimistic" about the Caribbean, a market with many short cruises of three to five nights and a short booking window of about 90 days.
Europe cruise prices are up in the low-to mid-single digits compared to last year, a satisfying place for the industry, said Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka. Demand for Mediterranean cruises dipped in early March soon after the Iran war started, but a lot of summer inventory was booked before the war began and fuel prices spiked, Woronka said.
Travelers tend to book Europe cruises more than six months in advance, and, as expected, there is not much inventory left, Woronka said. That means travelers also likely booked their flights before airfares ballooned, he said.
"The further away that you were booked, the better," Woronka said.
Scalzitti said a "meaningful portion" of Cruise Planners' bookings for July and August were booked six to eight months ago. Three particularly high-demand products are luxury cruises, river cruises and Europe cruises overall, Scalzitti said.
"Travelers continue to prioritize more immersive, elevated and bucket-list vacation experiences," she said. "We are also seeing continued interest in higher cabin categories, especially balconies and suites, which reflects a broader desire for comfort, space and a more well-rounded travel experience."
Signature Travel Network is still taking 2026 Mediterranean bookings, which vice president of cruise partnerships Cricket Ducat called "an encouraging sign given ongoing industry discussions surrounding potential airline disruptions impacting the European market." Demand is also strong for close-in sailings in the Caribbean and Alaska, she said.
Iran war's impact
Pearlman is pleased that Americans have remained comfortable traveling during the Iran war but said the conflict caused unpredictable booking patterns.
"It's driving a lot of hesitation for people," he said. Some Americans have chosen to vacation in the U.S. this summer, viewing it as less of a risk than traveling internationally, he added.
Expedia Cruises had seen tempered demand due to concerns related to the war and the hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius expedition ship, but demand has rebounded in June, said president Matthew Eichhorst.
At Fareportal, parent of OTAs CheapOair and OneTravel, searches have grown significantly year over year for flights to cities with major cruise ports like Miami (up 55%) and Orlando (up 24%), according to Pavan Kumar, associate manager of pricing and growth. (Port Canaveral is about an hour's drive from Orlando.)
Kumar said Fareportal's Miami and Orlando air bookings are up 13% and 7%, respectively.
Most cruises being booked now are for seasons beyond this summer. Woronka said demand is solid but could be stronger. Two factors that appear to be impacting demand and pricing are a significant increase in year-over-year Caribbean inventory and high airfares, he said.
Also, the private island market is growing more competitive with Norwegian Cruise Line opening a waterpark at Great Stirrup Cay in September, he said. Cruisers are savvy about the changes happening in the Caribbean, and inventory isn't selling as quickly, he said.
"They realize that they can shop around a little bit, they can wait a little bit longer," he said.
Because of the economic impacts of higher fuel prices, cruisers with tighter budgets may find ways to economize, Woronka said. That might mean driving rather than flying to the port or taking a four-night cruise instead of a weeklong sailing, he said.
But that's not a common strategy for summer vacations, he said. It's more common for travelers to do something like that at other times of the year.
"People plan their summer vacations further out than any other vacation," he said.