Royal Caribbean, Carnival cruise CEOs speak out on economic noise
Cruise industry leaders shared their thoughts on recession concerns during a state of the industry panel.
In the wake of new tariffs imposed by the U.S. that led to a stock market slide and recession worries, cruise industry CEOs spoke on the potential impacts on the cruise business during a state of the industry panel at the Seatrade Cruise Global conference on April 8.
CEOs from Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and MSC Cruises took the stage together in Miami for a keynote session discussing critical industry issues for 2025 and beyond.
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Although the keynote covered a variety of topics, geopolitical uncertainty and economic ripple effects were central discussion points.
Cruise lines experienced strong consumer demand in 2024, but will bookings and onboard spending drop as a result of tariff-driven recession concerns?
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Carnival CEO says cruise business isn’t recession-proof but resilient
Carnival Corp. reported record-setting financial results including high onboard spending and strong bookings in the first quarter of 2025, but CEO Josh Weinstein said there were some booking lulls during the quarter.
“I think what we found was something that happens unfortunately not infrequently in our business: the macro economy does have an impact at times on how people are living their lives,” Weinstein said during the panel, as reported by TravelPulse.
“There was a time this year when bookings were less than we anticipated, but what happens is people get used to the new normal, they take it in and then the bookings picked up again,” Weinstein said. “At the end of the day, we are not immune from a recession, but we are super-resilient.”
Related: Carnival Cruise Line makes surprise move with its first mega-ship
Weinstein is confident that people still want to take a vacation during stressful and uncertain times. He believes the value that Carnival’s cruise brands offer helps them stand out, especially in tough times when people want to make their money go farther.
Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Harry Sommer echoed Weinstein’s comments about booking inconsistencies during the first quarter, but expressed confidence that delivering an exceptional passenger experience will help cruise lines bounce back.
“Two shaky days in the stock market do not make us change our long-term financial strategies and models,” Sommer said.
“When you provide a product where you have happy customers on full ships that want to come back, that’s a tremendous recipe for financial recovery,” he explained.
Royal Caribbean CEO says economic ‘noise’ won’t impede cruise growth plans
Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty emphasized that the cruise industry is well positioned for continued long-term growth.
“Current economic ‘noise’ is not going to in any way prevent us from having our collective ambitions to grow this industry,” he asserted.
“There is great confidence in the cruise companies as we’re managing our businesses for the longer term,” Liberty said. “We’re ordering ships further and further out, and we are producing ships that are putting themselves in position to help us on our collective journey of getting to net-zero emissions by 2050.”
He and Weinstein also clarified that adding new ships to their fleets is not a competition to be bigger than one another.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line won't challenge Royal Caribbean's title
“With respect to our fleets and investments, we are not looking to be bigger to be bigger. We’re looking for the best guest experience and economics that are going to push us forward,” Weinstein said, as reported by Cruise Industry News. “It’s not an arms race for the sake of being bigger.”
Liberty also addressed a misconception that cruise lines are only focused on building megaships.
“In reality about half the orderbook are ships under 100,000 tons,” he pointed out.
He explained that many of the new cruise ships being developed across the industry provide different options for various market segments and types of travelers.
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