Royal Caribbean Group's earnings call on Thursday was filled with insights into what the company is thinking on a variety of subjects.

While the hour-long call with Wall Street analysts is meant to provide clarity for investment purposes, it also doubles as a way to share guidance on the direction of the cruise industry.

For consumers, there's candid discussion of topics that will have an impact on what it's like to go on a cruise.

Here's an overview of the topics discussed that cruisers will want to know about.

Better demand than ever expected

Without a shadow of a doubt, business is really good across the Royal Caribbean Group brands.

"The first quarter was tremendous, sending us well on our path to a year that is significantly better than we expected just a few months back," is what Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty said at the onset of the call.

"What transpired over the past three months was even better than our already elevated expectations. Our brands are stronger than ever and demand for our vacation experiences continues to accelerate."

In the first quarter, over 2 million people took cruises on a Royal Caribbean Group brand ship, and that lead to a lot of people paying for cruises, along with add-ons extras.

Demand is so strong that the company is raising its earnings forecast by fifty percent compared to what it forecast in February.

At one point in the call, Mr. Liberty pointed out that April was double the usual business. He sees this as a sign demand for cruises is accelerating. They thought things were getting better in February, but it went much better in the months since.

Royal Caribbean Group Chief Financial Officer Naftali Holtz explained later in the call that having two million passengers was great, but higher cruise costs was a difference maker, "While a load factor recovery was a contributor, most of our yield growth was driven by rates that were up by 14% versus 2023."

Cruises in the Caribbean stood out given that 55% of their fleet was in this market, and the combination of new cruise ships and "much higher pricing on existing ships" drove up revenue.

80% of customers are from North America

The vast majority of people going on a Royal Caribbean cruise are from North America.

"North America continues to be extremely robust, where approximately 80% of this year's guests are sourced," is a key stat that Mr. Liberty mentioned in his opening remarks.

While next year may see a slight shift in that number with China cruises restarting, Mr. Liberty doesn't see a lot of change in that, "we're going to follow the demand patterns and that is how we have we've done it for a very, very long period of time."

New cruiser numbers are up

A fascinating stat shared during the call is how many new cruisers are coming to Royal Caribbean.

People that have never taken a cruise ever are up more than 16% year-over-year, while almost one in two guests are millennials or younger.

"Millennials and younger generations have gained 11 percentage points share compared to 2019," Mr. Liberty explained.

Sourcing new customers is always important, not just for a new booking, but for the repeat business.  He said new cruisers that try a Royal Caribbean Group cruise are seeing return rates over 30% higher compared to 2019.

New Bahamas beach club will be the envy of other cruise lines

Royal Caribbean has said it targets the new to cruise market over other cruise lines customers, but that doesn't mean there isn't a game of one-upmanship to be played.

Royal Caribbean broke ground on its new private beach club that will be exclusively for the use of Royal Caribbean customers, and it's located on the front door step of every major cruise line.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley pointed out, "The beautiful thing is the Royal Beach Club in Paradise Island is positioned pretty much at the entrance to Nassau."

"On a given day, there's 25 to 30,000 cruise guests coming in on multiple different cruise brands. And of course, when they sail into Nassau, the only thing they're going to see is the Royal Caribbean Royal Beach Club, which is going to be absolutely stunning. And they will be unbelievably jealous knowing that they can't go there."

Royal Beach Club, Paradise Island is a new land-based offering for the cruise line, and it will have an admission fee with a limited capacity.

Mr. Liberty confirmed that other Royal Caribbean Group brands will be able to go to the beach club too, but no other cruise line customers.

Almost everyone is using the mobile app

Interestingly enough, almost every passenger is using the cruise app now.

About 94% of cruise ship passengers are using the app onboard, and that's important because it makes for an easier cruise experience for the guest, while making it easier to spend more money at the same time.

"We are removing friction and unlocking travel planning by investing in a modern digital travel platform, making it easier than ever for guests to book their dream vacations while allowing us to expand wallet, share our digital experiences, delight guests," Mr. Liberty said.

He touted a number of new features added to the app in the app, such being able to book flights, better cruise booking choices, tracking loyalty benefits, and more.

Read more: 14 improvements Royal Caribbean developed just for Icon of the Seas

Middle East issues not affecting European cruise demand

While the geopolitical problems in the Middle East are troubling, it's not stopping people from taking a European cruise.

Europe accounts for around 15% of capacity for the full year, and close to 25% during the summer.

"Despite the fact that we had to modify some of our eastern Mediterranean sailings that were previously expected to call in Israel or sail through the Red sea, our European itineraries have been performing very well and we are currently booked nicely ahead of last year in both rate and volume," Mr. Holtz said during the earnings call.

As for the issues affecting ships traversing the Red Sea, the company has already re-routed a number of ships and has, "contingency plans for a few other sailings that may be impacted in the fall."

Ordering more ships?

One analyst asked Royal Caribbean Group about the prospect of ordering more cruise ships given that Carnival and Norwegian both placed big orders recently.

Mr. Liberty was quick to point out that new orders don't take into account options and slot reservations.  

Options are opt-in ship orders a cruise line can elect to take that is built into the original ship order contract. Think of it like a sports contract where the player signs for a few years, but has the choice to stay with the team instead of returning to free-agency.

Slot reservations are a way cruise lines pay to reserve space at a shipyard in the future. There's no order placed, but just in case they do place an order, there's capacity to build.

"I think we feel very good, not only about our current order book and about the potential of that order book to grow moderately, but also our access to build those ships over an extended period of time," Mr. Liberty said.

The year 2024 is off to a great start for Royal Caribbean Group's bottom line.

Royal Caribbean Group posted its first quarter financial results, which saw Net Income of $360 million, with total revenues of $3.7 billion.

"Wow, what a great start to the year!" is how Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty started his statement off in the press release for the earnings report.

"Demand for our leading brands and the incredible experiences they deliver continues to be very robust, resulting in outperformance in the first quarter, a further increase of full year earnings guidance, and 60% expected earnings growth year over year."

That demand he talks about is what drove the company's financials into a better financial position than the company had originally anticipated.

Strong demand and strength in onboard spend pushed first quarter earnings ahead.  In fact, there was better demand anticipated during the lucrative WAVE season. This is an industry term for the beginning of the year when the general public books the most cruises of the year.

Read more: Royal Caribbean is making more money than it expected. The good and the bad news for cruisers

High demand persisted across all of the top cruise markets, and on top of that, customers were spending more on cruise extras.  That combination lead to higher revenue, as well as Royal Caribbean Group updating its guidance for the rest of the year.

First quarter by the numbers

Here are the key stats from the Royal Caribbean Group's first quarter.

Cruise ships sailed at an average of 107% full during the quarter. That's up 5 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2023. 

Occupancy rates over 100% are a good stat, and it means there were more than two people in a lot of cabins.

Total revenues were $3.7 billion, Net Income was $360 million or $1.35 per share, Adjusted Net Income was $478 million or $1.77 per share, Adjusted EBITDA was $1.2 billion, and operating cash flow was $1.3 billion.

About half of the first quarter yield growth was driven by higher ticket pricing on the fleet of ships, with the remainder driven by a combination of guest spending on extras, ships sailing with more passengers onboard, and new cruise ship demand. 

As of March 31, 2024, the Group's customer deposit balance was at $6.0 billion. 

Record booked position

Once again, 2024 is another year seeing more people book cruises than ever before.

Royal Caribbean Group is seeing "very strong" demand and prices. Overall, this has been the strongest WAVE season in the company's history from both a demand and pricing standpoint. 

Prices for a cruise in 2024 are higher than they were at the beginning of the year in 2023.

Plus, passengers are spending more on add-ons and making purchases before the cruise at a rate higher than prior years.  The company said this is due to, "greater participation at higher prices." That essentially means more people are buying add-ons and they cost more than the used to.

Mr. Liberty called out the new Icon of the Seas as being a difference maker, "Our existing fleet along with our new ships continue to perform exceptionally well, highlighted by the market response to the launch of Icon of the Seas, which has exceeded all expectations."

"The momentum continues with Utopia of the Seas and Silver Ray, set to launch this summer. And, just this quarter alone, we announced an order for a seventh Oasis Class ship and the expansion of our Royal Beach Club portfolio in Cozumel; and we officially broke ground on Royal Beach Club Paradise Island.  These strategies will further propel our leadership in the cruise industry and push us to new heights in the vacation industry."

Despite all the challenges of the last few years, the cruise industry is red hot right now. So much so, it is advising its investors to expect a banner year.

Royal Caribbean Group expected 2024 to be a very good year, but it had to revise expectations because business is doing better than it predicted.

In just the few weeks since Royal Caribbean Group reported its 2024 earnings outlook, the company issued an update because of "robust demand."

This is more than good news if you own stock. It points to many trends cruise fans should expect in the coming year and beyond.

The best wave season ever

Royal Caribbean isn't just seeing high demand, it's experiencing the hottest start to the year in its history.

Wave season is the industry term for the time of year between January and March where cruise bookings are usually the highest of the year. The name refers to the fact it acts as a wave to carry business through the rest of the year, similar to how an ocean wave carries water far out to shore.

In a filing on Friday, the company said the first 5 weeks of the year have had the best wave booking weeks in the company's history.

In short, new reservations for the third and fourth quarters are better than the first two quarters by half.  More bookings in 2024 have been made for the year in quantity and pace. On top of that, more passengers are buying extras for their cruise at higher prices.

Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty explained, "Since our last earnings call, robust demand for our vacation experiences has significantly exceeded our initial expectations."

When a company files anything with Wall Street, it's important.  For them to adjust forecasts of how much money they expect to make, it shows a significant rise in their business, especially just a few weeks since the forecasts were given.

Don't expect cruise fare cuts

Royal Caribbean Group telling investors it will make even more money than it first advised should be a sign to anyone that going to book a cruise this year there's plenty of other people competing for those cabins.

If you found cruise prices high in 2023 and were hoping for a reversal in price trends, it seems more unlikely now.

Mr. Liberty told investors on February 1st, there are half as many staterooms left in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same time period in 2023.

When you combine sky-rocketing demand at higher prices, there's little impetus to drop cruise fares much.

Cruise fare pricing depends on many factors, not just booking trends. However, it's likely those tailwinds wont compel price cuts like the industry saw in 2020.

Updates and new ships are back

It's not all bad news for consumers, because Royal Caribbean doing better financially has an ancillary benefit.

With Royal Caribbean Group expecting more cash, it means they have more financial flexibility. More cash means money to pay off the massive debt all cruise line accrued during the shutdown of 2020. But it also means they can afford to do more too.

One of the first things Royal Caribbean Group did when things went bad in 2020 was to cut capital spending, which is what the company calls big projects. This includes new cruise ships, refurbishments, and private island development.

As Royal Caribbean Group's financials improved over the last two years, it has started to spend more.  It re-committed to a beach club in Nassau, and built and opened an adults-only expansion at CocoCay.

The best sign that Royal Caribbean Group is ready to spend big again is the fact it placed an order for a new Oasis Class cruise ship. Considering cruise ships cost easily a billion dollars, it's unlikely they would voluntarily take on new debt if they didn't think they could pay it all off.

Moreover, executives let slip they would amplify Allure of the Seas in 2025. Allure had upgrades planned for 2020, but it was cancelled (along with Explorer of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, and Adventure of the Seas). 

These are all signs that Royal Caribbean Group seems poised to start spending on the things that cruise ship passengers love: new fun and fancy things to do. While nothing is certain, the fact they've started spending on big ticket items that were fiscally impossible just a couple years ago, says a lot.

Book now before prices go higher

If your goal is to go on a cruise this year or in 2025 or 2026, you'll want to act quickly.

Given the trend of prices going up, booking a cruise early remains your best strategy, as opposed to waiting for last-minute deals.

Traditionally, sales on a last-minute cruise were a strategy cruise lines used to fill up ships to avoid having unsold cabins. 

Read more: I paid $99 per person for a Royal Caribbean cruise. Here's what this cruise is like

Just like the reality of price drops being less likely, I think last-minute sales are equally improbable.

Booking a cruise more than a year in advance has always been a tried-and-true booking strategy, especially for new ships when they first become available to book.

As it gets closer to the sail date, more people book cruises and that means less cabins left to book and that tends to drive up prices.

While a last-minute deal isn't impossible, given the current booking environment, I recommend booking a cruise early rather than betting on a good price in the final weeks before the cruise begins.

Having trouble finding your desired cabin on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship? You are not alone. The demand for cruises is stronger than ever, which means that cabins are filling up in advance. 

The five highest booking weeks in the company's history were in between the third quarter earnings call and the fourth quarter call in February 2024. 

"As a result, while our capacity is up 8.5% year over year, we have less inventory available to book in 2024 than we did a year ago for 2023 and half as many staterooms left in [the first quarter]," said Jason Liberty, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group during an earnings call on February 1.

Royal Caribbean Group is the parent company of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. Between the two, four new ships will have launched by the time August rolls around, including Celebrity Ascent which set sail in late 2023. 

Celebrity Ascent, Icon of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas, and Silver Ray will be able to accommodate over 18,000 passengers with every berth filled. 

"Bookings have consistently outpaced last year across all key products at much higher rates," said Liberty.  

Read more: Royal Caribbean talks record demand, Red Sea attacks, competing with land vacations, & more

Record-breaking wave season

Within the cruise industry, "wave season," which is often January through March, is when cruise lines tend to run their biggest sales and promotions of the year. 

According to Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group has had a record-breaking wave season, meaning that both rates and volume are booking significantly ahead of time compared to 2023.

Caribbean sailings, in particular, are booked further in advance. "The Caribbean represents just over 55% of our deployment this year, following a 13% increase in capacity year over year," said Naftali Holtz, Chief Financial Officer at Royal Caribbean Group. 

The growth is a result of Icon and Utopia of the Seas, Celebrity Cruises' increased summer deployment to the Caribbean, and the expansion of Perfect Day at CocoCay. 

The increase in demand is being seen throughout the cruise industry

Similar comments were made by John Weinstein, Carnival Corporation's President and CEO in September 2023 during a conference call. 

He claimed that Carnival Corporation was ahead by about ten percentage points compared to 2019 and that they, too, had less cabin inventory despite a 5% increase in capacity due to new ships entering service. 

Moreover, Holland America Line, a brand under Carnival Corporation, recently reported that their one-day booking record was broken on January 16. In a single 24-hour period, they received more new bookings than any day in the past 150 years of operation. 

Read more: 7 things I liked better about Royal Caribbean cruises than Carnival

Royal Caribbean has opened bookings for Caribbean sailings through April 2026

It's not uncommon for cruise lines to release new itineraries years in advance. 

However, with the recent price inflations seen on new ships like Icon and Utopia, the opening of these cruises gives more choice and flexibility, especially when it comes to the cost. 

A cruise onboard Icon of the Seas in April 2026 starts at $1,823 per person, whereas a sailing in April 2024 begins at $3,089 per person. 

Even with the high prices during Icon's inaugural season, cabins are still selling out months in advance. According to Royal's website, interior cabins on the April 13th sailing are already sold out. Similarly, there are only balconies and cabins within the Royal Suite Class available on the April 20th cruise out of Miami. 

Earlier this year, we asked our readers how far in advance they book their cruises. At the time, the majority said somewhere between 6-12 months in advance. 

Looking into the future, it would not be surprising to see a shift in answers, especially if cruisers have a specific cabin category in mind and/or want to secure a lower price. 

Renewed importance of booking early

Today’s news reinforces the importance of booking a cruise early, rather than waiting. With the record demand Royal Caribbean Group is seeing, inventory will be lower than usual and that means fewer cabin choices, higher prices, and less last-minute deals. 

As an example, my fiancée and I recently booked a cruise onboard Icon for June 2025. At the time of booking, which was in mid-January, we were able to secure an interior cabin for $5,125.60, including gratuities. 

Now, Royal Caribbean's website is advertising the sailing starting at $5,821.72 before tips! Within just a few weeks, the price of a sailing over one year away increased by close to $1,000. 

Another benefit to booking early is that you can reprice your cruise up to final payment. 

Let's say that I notice that the cost of my Icon cruise decreases. Right now, I feel as though I booked at the perfect time, as the price increased significantly. If it happens to decrease I'll still feel like I booked at the right time because I can take advantage of the lower price!

While Icon of the Seas was built with families in mind and features more rooms for larger groups, older ships weren't built with the same mindset. Whether you're seeking a cabin for five or two adjoining rooms, you'll have to book early to guarantee that you get your desired selections. 

Booking early also helps ensure that you get your preferred dining time. On Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships, you can either select a flexible or set time, with the latter having early and late options. 

Families with younger children may prefer to eat earlier, whereas groups of friends might want a little more flexibility around their shore excursions and evening activities. As any given sailing fills up, so do dining preferences. 

On a more practical note, booking a cruise early gives you more time to save up, as you'll only have to place a deposit. Whether you want to splurge on a more expensive cabin or have to account for airfare, by thinking into the future, you won't have to worry about financing your trip at the last minute. 

Last-minute cruises are often accompanied by higher flight prices, which usually negate any savings received by waiting to book. 

If you are on the hunt for the best cabin availability and lowest prices, you will want to book your cruise as far in advance as possible. 

While not impossible, the likelihood of you scoring a fantastic last-minute cruise isn't as strong as it was a few years ago. By waiting until the last minute, you aren't guaranteed anything, especially a spot onboard! 

Read more: Pros and Cons of booking a cruise early vs last-minute

During a conference call on February 1, Royal Caribbean Group stated that 2024 is poised to be the best year in the company's history from both a pricing and volume standpoint. 

In addition to record demand for their products from both new and loyal guests, they're continuing to receive positive sentiments from customers and claim that cruising remains an exceptional value. 

In fact, their bookings are twice as high as they were in 2019. This is due, in part, to a record-breaking wave season. Travel partners are also beating elevated expectations. 

"We continue to attract new customers into our vacation ecosystem and deliver the best vacation experiences, so our guests are highly satisfied and continue to rebook and return to our brands and products," said Jason Liberty, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. 

Demand for 2024 builds on 2023

Despite the company's capacity increase of 8.5% with the release of new ships like Icon of the Seas and Celebrity Ascent, there's less inventory available to book in 2024 than one year ago in 2023. Additionally, there are only half as many staterooms left in Q1. 

What does this mean? You're less likely to score a fantastic last-minute cruise deal than you were in the past. 

"We continue to see particularly healthy demand from North America, where about 80% of our guests will be sourced this year," Liberty said. 

Alaska, in particular, has been performing well. This region accounts for 6% of the full-year capacity and 15% of capacity during the summer season. They've made some exciting changes to the Alaska deployment, too, such as sending the first Edge Class vessel, Celebrity Edge, to the Last Frontier. 

Of course, we cannot forget to mention Perfect Day at CocoCay. Roughly two-thirds of Royal Caribbean International guests sailing to the Caribbean will visit their private island in The Bahamas. Icon and Utopia, as well as the island's expansion with Hideaway Beach, will allow 3 million passengers to visit CocoCay annually. 

When it comes to onboard revenue, the increase has been fueled by pre-cruise purchases. Around 70% of Royal Caribbean cruisers book at least one pre-cruise add-on before their sailing, with about 1/3 of these purchases coming through the mobile app. 

"We already have about 40% more pre-cruise revenue booked in 2024 as compared to 2023," remarked Liberty. 

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with these land-based destinations 

Royal Caribbean is trying to shift from offering traditional cruises to being a world-class multigenerational family option. 

Icon, specifically, has been a game changer. The company really focused on its target market to create a project that people are impressed with, as they feel as though they achieved that. 

With a ship like that sailing to Perfect Day with options like Hideaway Beach, they want to offer a multigenerational trip that rivals what you might find elsewhere. They've never seen such demand, pricing power, or reaction over a ship, proving that it's been extremely successful. 

"When you consider Orlando, Las Vegas, and all of these other land-based options, we really believe that with ships like Icon and Perfect Day [at CocoCay], Hideaway Beach, the coming of Royal Beach Club in 2025, [and] Utopia coming straight into the short product market to Perfect Day that we are really...[starting] to attract a lot of demand from those land-based options with a better quality product, more exciting product, and great price points," said Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean International CEO and President. 

Read more: 8 things I love about Icon of the Seas (and 3 I didn't)

Red Sea update

Back in October, Royal Caribbean made the decision to cancel their 2024 Israel cruise season due to the ongoing war. At the time, they estimated that the decision would negatively impact their earnings for the year by three cents a share.

During the conference call on February 1, however, they said that while booking for the impacted itineraries was softer for a few weeks, they rebounded relatively quickly. Plus, bookings are now significantly higher than the same time last year!

Read more: Royal Caribbean cancels 2024 Israel cruise season

Finally, a long-awaited update on Allure of the Seas' dry dock

The second Oasis Class vessel was scheduled to undergo a $165 dry dock in 2020; however, this was indefinitely postponed due to the pandemic. Now, her long-awaited refurbishment is right around the corner. 

"We're always modernizing," said Liberty, "...the actions we took of Oasis [and] some of the learnings on Icon [are] going to be in the modernization of Allure of the Seas." 

Right now, Allure lacks some features that were added to Oasis Class ships starting with Harmony and Symphony of the Seas, including Playmakers and the Ultimate Abyss dry slide. The company has yet to reveal what will be changed.

Royal Caribbean Group reported its fourth quarter 2023 earnings, along with a rosy outlook for the year to come.

The company took in $3.3 billion in total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2023, with a Net Income was $0.3 billion. For the year, Royal Caribbean Group had Net Income of $1.7 billion in 2023 following up on 2022 when Net Income was a $2.2 billion loss.

The earnings are better than expected thanks to a lot of last-minute bookings, strong demand overall, and higher cruise fare prices.

Just as importantly. the company is more excited for 2024 as it sees the potential for massive earnings.

A great 2023

Looking back at 2023, this was the bounce back year that Royal Caribbean needed.

About 7.6 million passengers sailed across Royal Caribbean Group's brands in 2023, compared to 5.5 million in 2022 and 6.5 million in 2019.

It was profitable enough to pay off approximately $4 billion of debt in 2023 while refinancing other debts to better position itself for the coming years.

On average, ships sailed at 105% capacity in the fourth quarter of 2023. Occupancy in the fourth quarter was higher than that of the same period in 2022.

A big year in 2024 is expected

So far, bookings in wave season are off to a "record start".  This references the start of the year when interest in new cruise ship bookings are at its highest.  They call it wave season because the momentum from the first few months of the year carries the company for the rest of the year as a wave would carry someone to shore.

Royal Caribbean had the five best booking weeks of the company's history since the third quarter earnings call, including the first three weeks of this year.

"As a result, the company is now in a record booked position in both rate and volume," the company said in a press release.

As has been the case for the past few years, a combination of increased demand and customers spending more on cruise ship add-ons is fueling this optimistic outlook.

"Consumer spending onboard and pre-cruise purchases continue to exceed prior years driven by greater participation at higher prices, indicating quality and healthy future demand."

Cruise fare prices and occupancy rates are both listed as higher in 2024 than in all prior years.

The company also pointed to exceptional positivity towards Icon of the Seas and Hideaway Beach expansion as two shining examples of the cruise market favoring this sort of demand.

Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty issued a statement describing his view of why 2024 will shape up as a big year, "Demand for our brands continues to outpace broader travel as a result of consumer spend further shifting toward experiences and the exceptional value proposition of our products."

"We have exciting new vacation experiences in 2024, including the game changing Icon of the Seas, and have entered the year in a record booked position at significantly higher prices, further positioning us for a strong 2024."

Royal Caribbean Group had a great third quarter for the year, posting a profit of $1.0 billion for the quarter, and a very rosy outlook for 2024.

Revenue for the quarter was at $4.2 billion, with net income at $1.0 billion.

The combination of a healthy profit and positive outlook seems to indicate good things to come.

Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty sees a great third quarter as a catapult towards an even better 2024, "Looking ahead, we see accelerating demand as we build the business for 2024."

He indicated bookings are higher than all prior years and at higher rates.

Third quarter by the numbers

Bookings remained strong throughout the third quarter, significantly exceeding 2019 levels.  

Closer-in demand for 2023 sailings exceeded expectations, contributing to higher load factors at higher prices and higher onboard revenue for the third quarter. 

Consumer spending onboard, as well as pre-cruise purchases, continue to significantly exceed 2019 levels driven by greater participation at higher prices. 

Royal Caribbean Group saw better demand than they expected in North American and European itineraries, thanks to last-minute demand that lead them to ships sailing full and at higher prices.

Royal Caribbean's ships were booked at 110% for the quarter. A ship can be booked higher than 100% when there are third or fourth passengers in a cabin.

Lower operating expenses, as well as favorable timing, contributed to better-than-expected costs.

During the third quarter the company repaid $775 million of debt.

As of September 30, 2023, the scheduled debt maturities for the remainder of 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 were $0.7 billion, $2.3 billion, $2.8 billion, and $2.8 billion, respectively.

Accelerating demand for 2024

Demand for cruises has only gotten higher, and 2024 looks to be a banner year.

The company reported bookings for next year significantly and consistently outpacing 2019 levels. They're seeing ships getting booked up sooner and at higher prices, with their customers booking earlier.

They also reported the news of Royal Caribbean's new cruise ships (Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas) and expansion of Perfect Day at CocoCay with a new adults-only beach, "has been excellent and further positions the company for strong yield and earnings growth in 2024."

"The performance of our business continues to accelerate, driven by strong demand and excellent operational execution," said Naftali Holtz, chief financial officer at Royal Caribbean Group.

Royal Caribbean Group reported its second quarter earnings on Thursday and reported stronger than expected earnings that forced the company to pump up its guidance for the year.

The company had total revenues of a record $3.5 billion, with net income at $458.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA was a record $1.2 billion and Operating Cash Flow was $1.4 billion.

Why the fantastic results? Demand was better all around.

The cruise giant is seeing higher prices for cruise fares for North America and European itineraries, along with a lot of its customers spending on extras, such as drink packages, wifi, shore excursions and more.

Consumer spending onboard, as well as pre-cruise purchases, continue to significantly exceed 2019 levels driven by greater participation at higher prices.

The better-than-expected results compelled the company to make a significant increase in the company's full year outlook for revenue and earnings.

Royal Caribbean Group CEEO Jason Liberty celebrated the results, "Our brands continue to fire on all cylinders, resulting in record yields and second quarter earnings significantly exceeding our expectations."

"Demand for cruising and our brands is exceptionally strong and we have seen another step change in booking volumes and pricing, leading us to now expect double-digit net yield growth for the full year. We also expect to achieve record Adjusted EBITDA per APCD and Return on Invested Capital this year and are well on our way toward achieving our Trifecta goals."

Breaking down the second quarter

Net Income for the second quarter of $458.8 million compared to a Net Loss of $(0.5) billion for the same period last year.

Higher Caribbean and European cruise fare pricing along with higher shipboard revenue drove the higher revenue. The average capacity for the second quarter was 105%.

Booking volumes in the second quarter remained significantly higher than the corresponding period in 2019 and at record pricing levels. 

"Demand for 2023 sailings has significantly exceeded expectations and bookings for 2024 sailings are up significantly versus all prior years at record prices. Demand from the North American consumer has remained incredibly strong throughout the year, and booking volumes from European consumers who are booking European cruises this summer have accelerated."

Cash situation

Between 2020 and 2022, Royal Caribbean Group took out a number of loans to keep the company going during the cruise industry shutdown.  Here's an update on paying them back.

As of June 30, 2023, the Group's customer deposit balance was at a record-high $5.7 billion.  

As of June 30, 2023, the Group's liquidity position was $3.7 billion, which includes cash and cash equivalents and undrawn revolving credit facility availability.

During the second quarter, the company generated $1.4 billion in operating cash flow and repaid $1.6 billion of debt

As of June 30, 2023, the scheduled debt maturities for the remainder of 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 were $1.0 billion, $2.0 billion, $3.3 billion, and $2.8 billion, respectively.

New cruise ships

Royal Caribbean Group has plans to spend $4.2 billion on capital expenditures, which usually are related to new ships or new construction projects.

The Silver Nova cruise ship was delivered to Silver Sea, and Icon of the Seas and Celebrity Ascent will be delivered later this year. All ship orders have committed financing in place.

Non-new ship related capital expenditures are expected to be $0.5 billion.

Royal Caribbean Group had such a strong first quarter results for 2023 that the company dramatically updated its expectations for the rest of the year. The cruise company's executives talked about what drove these kind of big numbers.

Royal Caribbean bumped its full-year adjusted earnings forecast by nearly 50%, which would result in best year ever.

As per usual, the top executives at Royal Caribbean Group spoke with Wall Street analysts to go over the results, and there's some interesting facts and statements for cruise fans.

Over the course of the hour-long call, Royal Caribbean Group talked about Utopia of the Seas, the opening of Hideaway Beach, how popular their product is right now, and what to expect with the China cruise market.

Here's what stood out to us in the earnings call.

North America is dominating the cruise market right now

If you want the 10 second summary of why Royal Caribbean had such a good quarter, it's that people from North America are booking cruises at a pace and price never before seen.

There was such high demand for Caribbean cruises in the quarter that it translated into more people sailing on each ship, while paying more for cruise ticket prices and spending more money onboard their ship.

It caught the company off guard, as Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty noted they had expected a slower first quarter, "we thought the first quarter would be a transition period, we always expected the rest of the year to be strong. The fact that demand for the coming nine months is so much stronger than our already robust expectations says a lot about the strength of the consumer and the strength of our brands."

"While demand has been strong across all products and markets, we continue to see exceptional strength from the North American consumer. This strength, in combination with the incredible perfect day at CocoCay has resulted in record yields for our Caribbean sailings.

How strong were these bookings? The company says bookings outpaced 2019 levels "by a very wide margin" throughout the entire first quarter and into April.

Moreover, Mr. Liberty said the booking window "is now completely back to normal", meaning any reluctancy to book a cruise following the pandemic has eroded.

Europe is doing well too

While Caribbean cruises are super popular, European cruises are doing well too.

Royal Caribbean Group CFO Naftali Holtz talked about the numbers, "European bookings are nicely outpacing 2019 levels, with peak summer sailings trending particularly well in recent weeks."

He mentioned Odyssey of the Seas' European season in particular is, "attracting quality demand and rates."

Bookings for Europe might have been something the company worried about, but it's proving to be a great bet. Mr. Liberty shared, "for Europe, I think we were a little bit concerned going into the year, but because of our of our global and nimble sourcing model, we really have seen a surge in European bookings and we feel very good on how Europe is going to play out this year, but not to the level that we saw in the in the Caribbean."

Is Royal Caribbean holding back cabin inventory?

At the very end of the call, Mr. Liberty seemed to say that the inventory of cabins when a new sailing is released is not necessarily all the cabins at once.

A question was asked about how booking and inventory will be handled in the future, and Mr. Liberty talked about their process.

"We used to kind of put everything out there and all the suites would be sold basically right off the bat. And then you would kind of work your way down to the inside cabins," he said in answering the question.

"While now, we we hold back inventory, and we release it based off of our what are much more sophisticated revenue management models that we have today."

He did not get into any kind of specifics, but it's an interesting comment for consumers if indeed every cabin is bookable at once or not.

Utopia of the Seas will sail the Caribbean

Royal Caribbean has not announced where Utopia of the Seas will be homeported or where she will sail to, but we did get one tidbit that could point to where Utopia will be based.

Utopia of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's sixth Oasis Class cruise ship, and will launch in 2024.

In talking about Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley spilled the beans on one fact we can expect about the new ship.

"We haven't announced the deployment, but Utopia will also be going to Perfect Day," he said during the call.

This means Utopia will almost certainly be homeported somewhere on the east coast of the United States.

Royal Caribbean's ships don't visit CocoCay typically when based in Galveston, so that likely removes that possibility.

Mr. Bayley also said Utopia will be "coming online in June."

Royal Beach Club will open around summer 2025

Speaking of things we didn't know before, Mr. Bayley said when the new Royal Beach Club will open.

The Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island will be the first Royal Beach Club, which offers a curated beach day for an extra cost.

We knew it would open in 2025, but now it appears to be closer to the start of summer.

"Our intention is to have the Royal Beach Club open in towards the end of the spring, summer of '25."

The beach club's capacity will be around 2,500 to 2,750 passengers per day.

More passengers booking pre-cruise than ever before

It's not your imagination: people are booking more shore excursions, internet, dining, and drink packages than ever before.

According to Mr. Liberty, about two thirds of guests are now booking pre-cruise add-ons before their cruise begins. Compare that to 48% in 2019.

You can expect more features and updates to both Royal Caribbean's website and app in the near future, "while we have made a significant leap in our commercial capabilities, we are still in the early innings of our journey and will continue to add features and capabilities to our app and commercial engines."

New cruisers

In the first quarter, the percentage of guests who were either new to brand or new to cruise surpassed 2019 levels by a wide margin.

Mr. Holtz said customers new to Royal Caribbean Group brands as well as customers first-time cruisers all together "significantly exceeded 2019 levels."

Moreover, he emphasized that it's important to keep those cruisers, "at the same time, we also focus on making sure that they stay there and increase repeat rates."

China reopening in 2024

The one cruise market that Royal Caribbean has not resumed service yet is China, but the company is looking at mid-2024 for that to occur.

China was a major market for Royal Caribbean International before the cruise industry shutdown. According to Mr. Bayley, Royal was the top brand in the Chinese cruise market by volume.

"We're now more encouraged by all of the signals that we've had for our reopening in China in '24", Mr. Bayley said.

"We've now started to rebuild our sales organization in China and we expect hopefully by late spring, early summer to be back operating out of China '24."

"Our expectation is that this market will return to how it was pre pandemic."

"The value of a Chinese customer is very high when you look at their their the net revenue from a from a Chinese consumer it's typically around the same level as an American and slightly higher."

Last-minute cruise bookings help swing Royal Caribbean Group's financial fortunes towards a better place in the first quarter.

Royal Caribbean Group released its first quarter 2023 results on Thursday, which included better results than the company forecasted despite a net loss for the quarter.

The company had a first quarter loss of $47.9 million.

These results were significantly better than the company's guidance primarily due to strong close-in bookings at higher prices, continued strength of onboard spend, and favorable timing of operating costs.

Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty said he was pleasantly surprised with the numbers, "We knew that demand for our business was strong and strengthening, but we have been pleasantly surprised with how swiftly demand further accelerated well above historical trends and at higher rates."

"Leisure travel continues to strengthen as consumer spend further shifts towards experiences. Demand for our brands is outpacing broader travel due to a strong rebound and an attractive value proposition," added Liberty. "We are increasing full year guidance, given the significant momentum in our business, and we are well on our way to achieve our Trifecta goals."

First quarter by the numbers

Total revenue for the first quarter was $2.9 billion, with a net loss of $47.9 million.

Overall capacity was at 102% for the quarter.  Capacity (load factors) can be over 100% when more than two people stay in a cabin (i.e. children).

Gross Cruise Costs per Available Passenger Cruise Days ("APCD") increased 8.2% as-reported and 8.8% in Constant-Currency, compared to the first quarter of 2019. 

Royal Caribbean Group had a better first quarter because of three reasons:

• Strong close-in demand for cruises (people booking more cruises close to sail date)
• Ships sailing with more people and at higher prices
• Lots of people booking things for their cruise onboard or online

Royal Caribbean Group reports it is generating significantly more bookings at meaningfully higher prices than in prior years, particularly from the North American consumer. 

In the first quarter, the company continued to benefit from multiple actions taken over the past several years to reshape its cost structure which is helping to offset persistent inflation.

"First quarter results reflect continued strong demand for cruising and our teams' focus on delivering the best vacation experiences that exceed guest expectations," said Naftali Holtz, chief financial officer, Royal Caribbean Group. "We also benefited from favorable timing of operating expenses, as well as our continued focus on improving margins consistent with our Trifecta goals."

As of March 31, 2023, the Group's customer deposit balance was at a record $5.3 billion.  

Big demand for cruises

The key detail in the first quarter results seems to be stronger than expected demand for cruises.

There was particularly strong close-in demand for Caribbean itineraries, which accounted for close to 80% of first quarter capacity of available cabins to book.

To put this in perspective, booking volumes in the first quarter were significantly higher than the corresponding period in 2019. 

Because of this demand, Royal Caribbean Group saw a record-breaking WAVE season, which drove up prices as well added more people onto cruise ships.

As a result, the company has adjusted its  full-year expectations for ticket and onboard revenue, as well as earnings. They're calling it a "significant increase" in the forecast.

In a statement filed today, the company expects to significantly exceed prior record Adjusted EBITDA, achieved in 2019. Adjusted EBITDA is a financial metric that includes the removal of various one-time, irregular, and non-recurring items from EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization)

Paying back loans

Between 2020 and 2022, Royal Caribbean Group took out a number of loans to keep the company going during the cruise industry shutdown.  Here's an update on paying them back.

During the first quarter, the company repaid $0.3 billion of debt maturities and generated $1.3 billion in operating cash flow. In the first quarter, the company issued $0.7 billion of 7.25% senior guaranteed notes due 2030 to refinance 2023 and 2024 debt maturities and extended $2.3 billion of its existing revolving credit facility commitment to April 2025. 

As of March 31, 2023, the scheduled debt maturities for the remainder of 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 were $1.8 billion, $2.3 billion, $3.7 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively.

New cruise ships

In 2023, Royal Caribbean Group will take delivery of three new cruise ships:

• Icon of the Seas
• Celebrity Ascent
• Silver Nova

All of these ships were ordered and financed pre-2020.

Royal Caribbean Group expects to spend about a half billion dollars on capital expenditures on non-new cruise ships.

Would they order more new ships? They only said that half a billion dollar figure does not "include potential ship sales or additions that the company may elect in the future."