Carnival's Weinstein on why new to cruise up 30% in Q1 YoY

In the first quarter, Carnival drew 30% more new to cruise customers than a year ago.

And besides those first-timers, brand repeaters are up 9% year over year. Ideally, Carnival hopes people will come back to cruise every three to four years.

Weinstein said that since the pandemic, the value gap has become even more apparent to vacationers facing steep prices ashore without getting a guest experience comparable to cruising. And even though cruise lines are raising prices, there's still a value versus land vacations.

'Consumers are not stupid'

'Consumers are not stupid. They are looking for value and they're looking for experiences that are worth paying for,' Weinstein said. 'And when you line that up, it is boding very well for the cruise industry.'

He believes cruise operators have room to close the pricing gap with land vacations while still providing value and standing out for memorable experiences.

Carnival, he said, will continue to lean into advertising and getting its message out more effectively. Getting the revenue management right so pricing is at the right point in the booking curve to get people to commit is important, too.

Searches and converstions up

Weinstein's encouraged by the results — not only bookings and per diem increases but search activity, website visits and conversions (when shoppers become buyers) are all 'moving in the right direction.'

Word of mouth

A further tailwind is that following several years of no sailings and then ramping back up, this is the first year of full occupancy across the fleet. And when all those people get off the ships, 'They go tell their friends and their family how amazing it is and help us convince newcomers to come aboard,' Weinstein said.

'We really are finally back at this point where we have all of those channels and all of those avenues at our back to support the future.'

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