Royal Caribbean has earmarked the expansion of weekend cruising in Australia, a theme that has been popular in the overseas market to drive an increase in onboard spending.
The line’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, this week released their third-quarter earnings which indicate that onboard spending is up, and cruise prices will increase in 2025.
The launch of the shorter-style cruises is not only in line with the launch of RCI’s latest ship, Utopia of the Seas, which has the tag line The World’s Biggest Weekend but also in a bid to attract new to cruise and the new to the brand market.
Closer to home, RCI revealed its biggest season of shorter cruises – 26 in total sailing from Brisbane and Sydney.
Kelly Henderson, a cruise consultant from I Love Cruising told Cruise Passenger that while fares tend to be more affordable, onboard spend per person per day is higher over a short cruise.
“The per day cost on a short cruise can be significantly higher than a seven-day cruise. Coupled with the lack of drink package options available on these short cruises, passengers are spending more onboard in the three days than some are in the seven-plus day itineraries.
“I can only imagine that the cruise lines are still trying to re-coup costs from Covid so filling the ships, every three to four days at a higher cost per passenger, per day is potentially a way of doing that.”
Dave Humphreys, Director of Sales at Royal Caribbean AUNZ said there has been a shift towards weekend cruising because of convenience, cost, and lifestyle.
“People are working hard through the week and want an easy, fun getaway – as a couple, family or in a group of friends. Our short escapes are the greatest hits of what we offer, packed into a weekend.
“Loyal cruisers are adding them as an extra trip to their year but there are huge numbers of people who are curious about cruising and wanting to have the ultimate weekend break.
Humphreys also said the weekend cruises are also the gateway for first-time cruisers to try longer journeys.
“A huge percentage of first-timers finish the weekend getaway and tell us they’re excited to cruise again, and for a longer journey.
“Both Sydney and Brisbane are big markets for weekend sailings. Brisbane is especially popular for those looking to explore the Queensland coast to the Whitsundays.”
Humphreys said that generally, guests on weekend cruises will spend their money on activities, dining, and the spa.
“We took a short break to dial up our weekend so naturally people want to experience all we have to offer but in a way that suits them.
“They’re dining at specialty restaurants like Wonderland or Chops Grille or booking spa treatments at the Vitality Spa. While others want to max out their weekend with incredible value on our onboard experiences like the FlowRider surf simulator and RipCord by iFly indoor skydiving.”
Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean’s CEO and President also discussed using AI to set prices for better profitability.
Royal Caribbean said it benefited from having introduced AI-based revenue management software. The tools more accurately track shifts in supply and demand, improving the group’s ability to set the best prices to match goals for profit margin and occupancy.
“Obviously, our yield management tools get smarter and better every day,” Liberty said.
“We look back and say we had some regret that in the past we’ve left revenue on the table. The tools would have said we should have slowed down a little bit our bookings. We were probably too conservative.”
“Half of our onboard revenue in the third quarter was purchased through our AI-driven pre-cruise channels,” Liberty said.
Persuading customers to spend more onboard before they actually get on the ship is a key strategy.
“More than 70% [of our customers typically] purchase onboard activities before they sail, and they spend more than double compared to those who only make purchases on board.”
