FORT LAUDERDALE -- Navy blue t-shirts with the words "travel agents rock!" hung from some 1,200 chairs at the Broward County Convention Center at this year's CruiseWorld conference when Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein walked onto the stage.
The leader of the cruise company, which has repeatedly broken quarterly records this year for bookings, revenues and other measures of success, said its bookings "continue to soar."
"All signs are pointing to a phenomenal year-end and an extremely promising 2025 and beyond, none of which will be possible without you," he to the audience of advisors.
Weinstein, who became CEO last year, underscored the role vacations play in bringing families together in an era when cellphones dominate people's attention.
"Like many of you probably in this room, as a working parent I spend way too much time away from my family," he said. "I might be a little biased, but I don't think there's a better way to connect and put the phones down than when we're cruising."
What the cruise industry and travel advisors create are "storybook vacations" with stories that can last long after the cruise, he said. He painted a picture of a family reminiscing about a multigenerational trip, talking about the glaciers they saw in Alaska, the aerial acrobatics show in the atrium, or when they saw grandma "boogie" at the late-night deck party.
"Those little moments remind us that just being together is a gift," Weinstein said.
Advisors are key to introducing what he called the "magic of cruising" to more first-time cruisers and creating exceptional experiences for more repeat guests, all of which he said leads to word of mouth and growing the community of advocates spreading the word about cruising.
The value of a cruise vacation
Weinstein told advisors there is a value in cruising compared to land vacations, a comment he and other cruise line executives have underscored at CruiseWorld for years. And while cruise lines have not mentioned any softening in the market, Weinstein said "we know now, more than ever, vacationers are seeking one-of-a-kind experiences that are worth their hard-earned dollars. They want to buy fewer things and invest more in living."
Cruising is "still the best price-to-experience ratio in the entire vacation travel and leisure market," he said. He also cast shade on land-based vacations, pointing to what he said was a decline in service levels and an increase in prices for land-based experiences.
But he hinted that the value proposition is changing amid rising prices in the cruise industry.
"I'm happy to report that we are less of a value than we used to be," he said.