The Most Popular Cruise Destinations This December

The Caribbean and Europe are home to the most coveted cruise destinations this December.

Online cruise marketplace CruiseCompete.com has released its monthly CruiseTrends report based on thousands of cruise quote requests and transactions. The December iteration reveals that destinations in the sun-kissed Caribbean and the culture-rich continent of Europe are in high demand heading into 2022.

The Caribbean is the most popular cruise region for both premium and luxury travelers while river cruise guests are most interested in Europe, which is also the second-most popular region among luxury cruise travelers.

When it comes to the most popular cruise ports visited, premium guests are most often seeking out Cozumel, CocoCay, Nassau, Costa Maya, Philipsburg, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan, Roatan Island, Juneau and St. Thomas, with Juneau (Alaska) being the lone exception to the Caribbean’s dominance.

The luxury and river segments show similar trends, however. Gustavia, Basseterre, Bridgetown, Philipsburg, Roseau, Monte Carlo, Ketchikan, San Juan, Bora Bora and Castries are the most sought-after cruise ports visited among luxury travelers while Cologne, Budapest, Vienna, Passau, Koblenz, Amsterdam, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Bamberg and Wurzburg are trending with river cruise passengers.

In the category of most popular countries visited, premium cruise passengers want the Bahamas and Mexico while luxury guests prefer the U.S. After that, the list includes Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, the Netherlands Antilles, the British Virgin Islands and France.

The U.S. is also the lone exception when it comes to river cruises. That December wish list starts with Germany, followed by the U.S. and then the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, France, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia.