Cruise Bookings on the Rise for 2021

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought the cruise industry to a virtual standstill, forcing cancellations into May and stranding more than a dozen ships at sea.

Nonetheless, analysts at investment banking company UBS have reported some encouraging findings.

“Booking volume in the last 30 days for 2021 is actually up 9 percent versus the same time last year,” UBS equity analysts wrote in a report on cruise lines Tuesday, according to Quartz. “That includes people applying their future cruise credits from sailings that were canceled this year, but still shows a surprising resilience in desire to book a cruise.”

The analysts also found that 2021 bookings for voyages to and in places like Asia and Alaska are higher than usual. What’s more, the Caribbean remains resilient. The Mediterranean Sea was the lone underperforming destination, the analysts found.

While the report is undoubtedly encouraging for an industry that wasn’t included in the U.S. government’s $2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, it’s unknown how much of the spike in booking volume can be attributed to guests rebooking canceled trips.

For now, many cruise lines have provided passengers the option to cancel up to 48 hours before their sail date and put their funds toward future cruises.