Royal’s Onboard Revenue Spike Driven by Experiences

Onboard revenue for Royal Caribbean Cruises was up significantly in the company’s first quarter, going from $602 million in 2018 to $729 million in 2019.

“Guests spend for onboard activities has continued to shift towards areas that involve experiences over buying things and this quarter was no different,” said Jason T. Liberty, CFO, Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Passengers spent an average of $69.10 (gross) per day in the first quarter compared to $62.55 a year prior.

Liberty said shore excursions and various types of packages were key in driving the onboard revenue performance.

“We saw an over the index of spend on shore excursions and products like beverage packages, internet packages and again it is more focused on the experiential stuff versus seeing more spend occur within the retail shops,” he said.