The 2022 cruise market will feature a range of ships and products, but 70 percent of the market will be made up of mostly modern, large ships, according to the 2021 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

With an estimated annual capacity of approximately 22 million passengers, these ships will drive industry earnings not only by their size and economies of scale, but also operating efficiencies and compliance with environmental regulations.

Carnival, Costa, Disney, MSC, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean are the main brands in this market segment.

Twenty percent of the market will be made up by so-called premium ships represented by Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America and Princess among other brands. They also tend to be modern, large ships.

The budget category has shrunk to 3.7 percent of the global market, mostly in Europe, with only one North American ship left. These ships tend to be older, smaller and often in the last years of their service life.

Niche operators will represent 2.3 percent of the market, typically smaller operators, mostly in Europe,

such as Hurtigruten, combining Norwegian coastal cruises and expedition programs, and Ponant, combining luxury and expedition cruises.

The luxury segment will amount to 2.1 percent of global market, including Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea and Viking Ocean.

The expedition market, which also has a high profile, will account for only 0.7 percent of the total market.

What all the segments have in common is renewal and expansion; the orderbook includes state-of-the-art ships being built for all the market segments.