The appeal of the cruise vacation across all age groups is skyrocketing, and it looks like 2024 is well on its way to becoming a record-breaker for the industry.
The booking site trip.com cites an eye-popping 344% spike in cruise booking growth from January to October 2024 compared to the same timeframe in 2023.
Taking a deep dive into global preferences, it revealed that Singapore ranks at the top of international cruise destinations, and it just happens to be the homeport for Disney Cruise Lineโs new Disney Adventure, set to enter service in the fall of 2025.
Data shows that travelers are booking fly-cruise packages in huge numbers, as international reservations have risen by 520% from the January-to-October timeframe in 2024 versus 2023. The strong spike indicates that cruisers are willing and eager to travel to exotic destinations to board their cruise ships.
Besides Singapore, destinations that ranked at the top of international cruise destinations included Port Klang, Malaysia; Barcelona; Jakarta; and Tokyo.
The new booking numbers bode extremely well for the industry, especially since younger people are leading the growth spurt. Showing that cruising is no longer predominantly appealing to older demographics, bookings by Millennials (travelers in their 30s and 40s) have ballooned by 857%.
Bookings by Gen Z guests (up to age 26) also rose, by a whopping 450%, indicating that greater numbers of youngsters and young adults are cruising with their families. This is great news for the vacation-at-sea business, since a love of cruising instilled in young people is likely to continue as they move into adulthood.
Bookings by Gen X travelers (those in their later 40s and 50s) increased by about 400%, while the Boomer crowd increased bookings by 112%.
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Another way to gauge the health of the cruise industry is by looking at the booking window โ the amount of time between putting down a deposit on a cruise and its departure date.
Statistics show that the window has lengthened, which appears to indicate that guests are planning their cruises well in advance, and may incorporate holidays or special events such as birthdays and anniversaries.
Specifically, the data found that the booking window lengthened by 10 to 37 days in 2024.
Plenty of Enthusiasm for New Disney Adventure
The excitement about the new Disney Cruise Line ship, which will bring iconic Disney, Marvel, and Pixar characters to the Asia market, is seen in the booking siteโs waitlist of close to 10,000 people eager to reserve a voyage from Singapore.
Disney Cruise Line has revealed that the 6,000-guest Disney Adventure will sail her inaugural cruise from Singapore on December 15, 2025, however, the itinerary has not been confirmed.
Bookings for Disney Adventure cruises will open to the public on December 10, 2024. Cruise fares and departure dates are expected to be announced on November 14, 2024.
The cruise line revealed its first Southeast Asia ship deployment after it entered an agreement with the Singapore Tourism Board to homeport Disney Adventure there for five years.
The ship is the former Global Dream, which was under construction for Genting Hong Kong when that company went bankrupt in 2022. Disney Cruise Line purchased the ship and is renovating it to Disney standards and designs at a Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.
Disney Adventure will have seven themed areas, offering the cruise lineโs character-inspired entertainment, dining, and recreation features.
The ship also will debut the cruise industryโs longest rollercoaster at sea โ the 820-foot Ironcycle Test Run, which will provide a thrilling motorcycle-style adventure.