How much money do cruise companies make per passenger? It may be more than you realize.
Following the complete shutdown of cruising due to the pandemic, cruise lines are back to sailing completely full on many routes with more ships than ever. As a result, they are seeing revenues set new marks that were unimaginable just a few years ago.
And because many cruise lines fall under the umbrella of large public companies with shares that trade on the stock exchanges, we can get some insight into just how much they make.
Every quarter the major cruise companies like Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. offer a glimpse into their business via public reporting. These reports let us know just how much money cruising makes.
Let’s just say the figures are substantial. In the course of a year, a cruise company brings in billions of dollars in revenue and carries millions of passengers. So how exactly do the figures break down? Take a look…
Carnival Corporation Revenue Per Passenger
Carnival Corporation is the company behind some of the largest and most well-known cruise lines on the planet. Names like Costa, Princess, Holland America — and of course, Carnival Cruise Line — are all brands operated by the company.
As of its most recent annual filing, Carnival Corporation had a passenger capacity across its 94 ships of roughly 270,000 cabins. Carnival Cruise Line boasts the largest portion of those cabins, with more than 89,000 rooms across 27 ships as of November 2024 — or about 33% of total capacity for the company.
In total, the company saw revenue of $26.2 billion in the trailing twelve months, or about $71.8 million per day. Carnival Corporation also carried 13.6 million passengers during the year. That comes out to revenue of $1,927.33 per passenger carried.
Carnival Corporation:
- TTM Revenue: $26.23 billion
- TTM Passengers Carried: 13.61 million
- TTM Revenue Per Passenger: $1,927.33
Royal Caribbean Group Revenue Per Passenger
When it comes to cruising, Royal Caribbean is one of the biggest in the industry. Parent company Royal Caribbean Group is the force behind Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea.
When it comes to those brands, Royal Caribbean International is by far the largest, with roughly 30 ships and about 111,000 berths. That’s larger than Carnival Cruise Line.
Overall, Royal Caribbean Group as a whole saw total revenue in the past 12 months of $17.4 billion, or about $47.8 million per day. The company carried 9.1 million passengers during that time. That comes out to revenue of $1,911.70 per passenger carried. This figure is in line with what’s seen for Carnival Corporation.
Royal Caribbean Group:
- TTM Revenue: $17.44 billion
- TTM Passengers Carried: 9.12 million
- TTM Revenue Per Passenger: $1,911.70
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Revenue Per Passenger
The final of the “big three” public cruise companies is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. While it is the smallest of the three major players, it’s no slouch. Brands include Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, and Oceania Cruises.
As of its most recent annual report, the company operated 32 ships, with roughly 66,500 berths. That makes it roughly a quarter the size of Carnival Corporation when it comes to capacity. However, the cruise company also focuses on higher pricing and more luxury, such as its premium Oceania and Regent cruise brands.
During the past year, Norwegian saw total revenue of $9.69 billion, or about $26.5 million per day. The company carried 2.9 million passengers during the past year. That comes out to $3,369 per passenger carried. This figure is roughly $1,400 more per passenger than what’s seen by Royal Caribbean Group and Carnival Corporation.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.:
- TTM Revenue: $9.69 billion
- TTM Passengers Carried: 2.88 million
- TTM Revenue Per Passenger: $3,369.22
Visualizing the Data
It can be easier to compare the different cruise companies with a chart instead of just figures. Below, we’ve compared the different metrics for each company. This helps to see exactly how large each cruise company is compared to its competitors.
It would be more helpful to see expenses compared to income so that we could see net profit/loss. Income doesn’t mean much without those.
How much do the cruise line make per person after expenses?
Currently profits have been negative due to Covid.