AAA Predicts Record Number of Americans Planning to Cruise in 2027

For the fifth year in a row, the number of Americans planning cruise vacations is expected to hit a record high. AAA projects 22.4 million people in the U.S. will go on domestic or international ocean cruises next year, a 3.6% increase over 2026.

This year is also expected to end with higher than projected numbers.

“Cruising offers a unique type of vacation because you unpack once and visit multiple destinations with meals and entertainment included,” said Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel.

Cruise demand in the U.S. has been rising since 2023, when it surpassed pre-pandemic numbers.

In 2019, 14.2 million Americans went on ocean cruises. That number is projected to be 22.4 million in 2027, a 57% increase. Of those, over 90% rate their experience as good or very good, with 93% of travelers booking again.  

Shorter Cruises Remain Popular, Caribbean Dominates

Even though seven-night cruises are still the most popular, more Americans are booking shorter-length cruises. In 2025, 45% of U.S. passengers who traveled on ocean cruises booked itineraries of six nights or less, compared to 2019 when 39% did the same.

When it comes to where U.S. passengers are choosing to cruise, the Caribbean retains the number one spot with 71% of American passengers heading to the region. Seven percent are headed to Alaska in 2027 and 6% to the Mediterranean. Eighteen percent are headed to “the rest of the world.”

As to where Americans are cruising from, Florida homeports dominate with Miami, Port Canaveral, and Fort Lauderdale taking the top three spots at 11.2%, 10.4%, and 5.3%, respectively. Other popular embarkation/debarkation ports include Barcelona (4.4%), Galveston (4.3%), Southampton (3.5%), Civitavecchia (3.3%), and Seattle (2.2%).

AAA partnered with Tourism Economics to prepare the 2027 cruise forecast based on scheduled cruise itineraries covering virtually all major cruise vessels, the economic outlook, and travel sector trends. The forecast relies on cruise-related analytics from Cruise Intelligence Platform (Tourism Economics’ proprietary database for the cruise industry), economic forecasts prepared by Oxford Economics, and assumptions on the future path of the tourism industry.