Big Cruise Ships Dominate Online Searches

Despite an increase in demand for small-ship cruising, big sips continue to garner the most online searches, according to an analysis of 2023 online activity across all Passport Online Inc.’s (PPO) digital channels by travel agencies and their consumer clients.

“In 2023, approximately 160,000 travel advisors used content provided by Passport Online,” said company president Jeanne Colombo.

PPO’s data is based on the company’s Detailed Offer Views (DOVs), which occurs after a search is entered and results delivered, and an advisor or consumer clicks through to the complete description of the product, itinerary, maps, photos, pricing, and other details.

The largest ocean-going ships – carrying 2,500 passengers or more – garnered 43.34% of DOVs, while 20.35% were for river cruises, and 19.83% were for smaller luxury and ultra-premium cruise lines.

“It is not surprising that the largest ships, including the mega-ships, remain popular among younger adults and families,” said Colombo. “They offer attractive price points along with a wide variety of schedules and itineraries, a number of entertainment options, and many new and interesting amenities.”

Demand for smaller ships is growing, however. “At the top tier in terms of pricing, the luxury and ultra-premium lines are nearly tied with river cruising in terms of searches and DOVs. Luxury cruise travel remains strong…”

Destinations
For cruises, European destinations led the way with 41% of all DOVs. U.S. destinations were the second most popular at 21% of cruise DOVs, with Alaska accounting for 70% of click-throughs and Hawaii about 15%. Surprisingly, Caribbean cruises came in third place with only 15% of DOVs.

Europe was also tops for land product searches, with 47% of DOVs for Europe and 28% for U.S. destinations. Third place narrowly went to Africa at 5.5%, followed closely by Australia and New Zealand at 5% of DOVs.

Specifically for land touring, the top European country searches were for: Ireland (15%), Italy (11%) England (8%), Scotland (7%), Portugal (6%) Croatia (5%) and France (4%).

Seasonality of searches
The majority of website consumer searches were in the winter months of January (17%), February (13%), and March (12%), with November coming in at 10%. Click-through rates were more evenly distributed throughout the 12 month period, with slightly more activity in November, January, August, September, and December.