Page 7 - 2021 CIN Luxury Market Report
P. 7
Luxury Market
The Silver Spirit
was lengthened,
with most luxury
cruise lines
having raced to
add capacity
over prior years.
For guests who are paying upwards of $500 per What Is Luxury?
day each, the product is well worth it.
The definition of luxury is wide ranging, but in
The arms race of new ships has driven the mar- the cruise industry it comes down to small ships
ket, plus new and refreshed entrants. (under 1,000 guests), a near all-inclusive product,
and high prices.
Viking went from the rivers of Europe and Rus-
sia to the ocean-going cruise market in 2015 and While some lines continue to offer a traditional
hasn’t stopped, building ship after ship and bring- experience of dress codes, assigned dinner times
ing considerable marketing muscle to the table and and a formal onboard look and feel, many have
driving the market for everyone. The company’s embraced the country-club casual product.
next venture will be in the expedition market with
a new ship this coming winter. There is seemingly a luxury product for every-
one, with most brands targeting the North Ameri-
Meanwhile all the big cruise corporations, want- can market, but also Ponant, which sources heavily
ing to keep customers “in the family,” all have in France and elsewhere, and the likes of Hapag-
their piece of the pie. Lloyd Cruises, which has the lion’s share of the
German luxury market.
Carnival Corporation’s Seabourn brand offers
a five-star experience, while Royal Caribbean In addition, many big-ship lines (see separate
Group recently bought Silversea and has welcomed section of this report) have introduced and ex-
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises into its joint venture with panded their ship-within-a-ship luxury accom-
TUI Group. At Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, modations.
Regent is said to have the most luxurious ships
at sea, while Genting picked up Crystal Cruises Market Entrants
for $500 million in 2015. MSC Cruises is next,
with a dedicated small-ship luxury brand set to The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will be the
cruise in 2023. big news this summer, along with Mystic’s Atlas
Ocean Voyages.
Cruise Industry News: 2021 Luxury Market Report 11
