Cruise Ships Industry Profile

Companies in this industry operate deep sea, inland, and coastal/Great Lakes cruise ships. Major companies in the deep sea cruise segment, which accounts for about 95% of industry revenue, include Carnival, Disney, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean Cruises (all headquartered in the US); major operators based outside of the US include Color Line of Color Group (Norway), Genting Hong Kong (China), and Viking Lane (Finland).

Top deep sea cruise destinations include the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Europe, China, and Australia. The Caribbean is the most popular destinations in 2019, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). By 2027, about 51% of the world's cruise passengers is expected to be from North America. China is forecast to be the world's largest cruise market by 2030, with about 8 to 10 million customers per year, according to the Shanghai International Shipping Institute (SISI).

The US cruise ship industry includes about 500 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $25 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for cruises is driven by consumer disposable income and vacation preferences. Small operators have the competitive advantage of lower labor and equipment costs and more personalized service; large operators benefit from stronger bargaining power in vendor contracting, the ability to spread costs over a larger number of passengers, and greater financial resources for marketing, expansion, and investment. The US deep sea cruise segment is ...