The CEO of the world's largest cruise company has gotten creative in describing his company's financial victories.
Carnival Corp. CEO Josh Weinstein told investors in March the company "knocked the cover off the ball" with record revenue, booking volume and a 30% year-over-year increase in new cruisers in Q1. The company was "hitting on all cylinders" in Q2, breaking records for revenue, operating income and booking levels, he said three months later.
When the company's Q3 earnings call came along earlier this week, he resisted making a third metaphor but described the cruise giant as being in a "pretty enviable place" for having broken records again.
This time, Carnival Corp. reported record revenue and record customer deposits. The company was also in a better booked position for 2025 than it was a year ago for 2024, with nearly half of next year already booked. Even 2026 demand is proving strong, with Weinstein saying Carnival achieved record booking volume over the past three months for sailings that far out.
Record-breaking quarters and strong advance bookings have become the norm in the cruise industry as lines enjoy strong demand with thus far no end in sight. Bookings, prices and onboard spending have remained strong, while some analysts note that travel sectors like hotels and resorts have normalized since their pandemic-era highs.
What's behind Carnival's success?
While Weinstein credited the company's strong demand to its value over land-based vacations, he also pointed to its investment in marketing and the work of travel advisors as key factors at play.
Carnival Corp. began elevating its advertising spending in late 2022 to home in on new cruisers ahead of the 2023 Wave season. That marketing investment has been ongoing, with the company planning to inject another boost in advertising spending in Q4.
Marketing investment has driven demand that exceeds Carnival Corp.'s capacity growth, leading to booking further out and at higher prices, Weinstein said. Carnival Corp. is not alone, he said, and he credited the entire industry for generating demand and awareness to interest people in cruises.
At Carnival Corp. -- which includes Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and Holland America Line -- he said the brands are doing a better job with their commercial operations by generating new creative marketing, pinpointing the right potential customers and driving them to trade partners or the lines' websites.
Case in point, web visits year to date are up more than 40% over 2019. Traffic from internet searches where the company has paid to appear is up more than 60%, with natural search up more than 70%, he said.
When asked by an analyst on the Q3 earnings call when Carnival Corp. may downsize its ad spending, Weinstein pushed back and said advertising was a strategy to get people to consider cruising in both the long term and the short term. Advertising has led to a 17% year-over-year bump in new cruisers in Q3, and "that's not by accident," he said.
"The one thing that's never been a question is executing onboard and delivering a great experience. That's always been the case," he said. "It's just a matter of how we convince people to come with us who never have, and I think we're doing a good job on that."
Travel advisors have a lot to do with that, Weinstein added.
"All they do is amplify our voice in a tremendous way, and so that success we're seeing in building that demand profile is really hand-in-hand with their success, and we appreciate their efforts," he said.
Securities analysts also took note of Carnival Corp.'s better-than-typical start for 2025, with demand and pricing exhibiting strength outlasting other travel sectors.
Beyond marketing prowess, the conditions are ripe for the cruise industry right now, one analyst said.
"To sum it up, the consumer is still flush, they're spending on travel," said Ivan Feinseth, partner and chief investment officer at New York-based Tigress Financial Partners. "You get tremendous value for your money on a cruise, the diversity of the pricing and experience is huge. And it's going to continue."