Vacationers Are Able to Cruise Once more—And They’re Reserving Up 2021

Brina S., a 41-year-old mother in Florida, has booked a family cruise with Royal Caribbean next year: she will leave at the end of May 2021 Barcelona with stops in Italy and France. With the Cruise industry on break due to the CoronavirusBrina and her family could easily move to the following year or get a refund due to a change in cancellation and rebooking policy. But they stick to their plans. “We’re pretty confident that we’ll be cruising until next spring,” she says. “I know [Royal Caribbean] takes the health of its customers and employees seriously. Given that it is 12 months away, we don’t feel the need to make any adjustments to our planned trip. “

She is not alone. Everywhere in the industry, cruise lines from large to small, at sea River cruisesee strong demand for the next year – and bookings for cruises in 2021 are moving fast. “We book everything from river cruises to expedition cruises – even our world cruise business is fully occupied again,” says Condé Nast Traveler Travel specialist Mary Jean Tully from Tully Luxury Travel, interest is coming from both new business and customers who have postponed trips this year.

The cruise industry may be on hold now, but there are several factors behind the strong bookings for next year. According to a recent Goldman Sachs webinar “State of the Travel and Leisure Industries” there was inevitably a large number of travelers who, after this year’s cancellations, simply decided to postpone their trip to next year. Cruise Lines also loosened their cancellation and rebooking policies across the board as the pandemic continued. As a result, consumers are much more comfortable making reservations knowing they can reschedule or cancel without fear of penalties.

And as the industry is working to get back up and running, there are offers. The prices are aggressive with lower deposit fees – appealing to a wave of travelers eager to hit the streets again but also aware of the impending recession. “In my opinion, the best strategy is to book for 2021 and beyond, as long as you are only booking refundable fares and planning to buy air on the cruise line,” he says Linda Allen Spear of Cruises by Linda, who is also a traveler specialist. “I think those who move forward now will get enviable business.”

While Tully says she saw her cruise business bookings strong across all markets, Speer says the strongest market for her bookings in 2021 was Europe. AmaWaterways, a boutique river cruise line, reports that bookings for 2021 are so strong – for both new and rebooked crossings – that dates for 2022 will open six months ahead of schedule to meet demand. Traveling in France, especially along the Rhone, are the hottest for the cruise line. River cruise ships tend to be smaller and carry fewer passengers, which could be part of the appeal. And summer trips to Europe never seem to lose their shine.