Holland America Line 2024 Cruise Capacity Breakdown

Holland America Line 2024 Cruise Capacity Breakdown

HAL Westerdam in Glacia Bay Alaska photo credit Spacejunkie2 flickr images

According to the 2024 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, Holland America Line is offering a balanced deployment mix in 2024 across its 11-ship fleet.

Alaska continues to concentrate most of the company’s offerings, with a total of six ships sailing in the region this summer.

Offering seven-night cruises from Vancouver, the Koningsdam is Holland America’s largest vessel in Alaska this year.

Other ships sailing in the region include the Nieuw Amsterdam, the Eurodam, the Noordam, the Westerdam and the Zaandam.

Holland America Line is also building up its Caribbean offering in 2024, with roughly a 15 per cent increase in capacity compared to 2023.

Mostly sailing from Port Everglades, seven ships are set to offer week-long or longer cruises in the region this year.

The Caribbean deployment is highlighted by a 21-night cruise that sails roundtrip from the Port of Boston.

Scheduled for October, the unique itinerary sails onboard the Zuiderdam and features visits to destinations in the Southern and Eastern Caribbean, as well as the Bahamas and Bermuda.

After seeing a significant capacity increase in 2023,  Northern Europe completes the brand’s top three cruise capacity regions.

Other regions with significant cruise capacity from Holland America Line include the West Coast, the Mediterranean and Canada/New England.

With summer and fall programs onboard the Volendam and the Zuiderdam, the latter is seeing an 18 per cent capacity spike in 2024.

The Holland America fleet is also offering itineraries to South America, Australia, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, the Canaries, and the Asia/Pacific region, as well as a full world cruise and repositioning trans-Atlantic sailings.

Norwegian Set to Boost Caribbean Cruise Capacity

Norwegian Set to Boost Caribbean Cruise Capacity

“We pair our ships with destinations, sending some of our smaller ships to exotic destinations and some of our larger amenity-filled ships to our fun and sun destinations,” said Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, speaking on Monday at an investor event held in New York.

As a result, “Fun and Sun” (Caribbean, Bermuda and Hawaii) capacity will make up 54 per cent of the deployment for the Norwegian Cruise Line brand in 2026, up from 42 per cent this year.

“It gives our guests the opportunity, on the NCL brand, to return over and over and over again, maximizing their lifetime value and driving high fields.”

Sommer said he believed Norwegian’s ships with increased amenities were perfectly suited for millennial and Generation Z guests.

The company will send its biggest ships to its core destinations in the “Fun and Sun” regions.

As a result, by 2026, the company’s average cruise length will be down to eight days from nine in 2023 with more short and week-long Caribbean sailings as a growing part of the deployment mix.

Capacity days are expected to be in the 12 million range in these “Fun and Sun” destinations by 2026, up from 8 million in 2023, according to a company presentation.

In addition, the mix of the company’s top 10 embarkation points (homeports) will be greater, representing 80 per cent of 2026 capacity, compared to 65 per cent in 2023.

“Our increased Caribbean deployment has given us the ability to invest in our private island in Great Stirrup Cay,” Sommer said, noting the coming two-ship pier for the island set to open in 2025.

Other investments will follow in Great Stirrup Cay, including a VIP area, and the company expects to host approximately 700,000 guests on the island by 2026, up from 400,000 in 2023.

NCLH: Measured Cruise Capacity Growth at 28%

NCLH: Measured Cruise Capacity Growth at 28%

A key cornerstone of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ long-term strategy is measured capacity growth, said Harry Sommer, president and CEO, speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call.

He pointed to the company’s newbuild pipeline of five ships and its 2023 to 2028 capacity growth, which represents 28 more supply for the company’s trio of brands in Norwegian, Oceania and Regent.

That averages out to a compound annual growth rate of five percent, he advised.

“Historically, capacity growth has led to outsized revenue and EBITDA growth and we expect this capacity growth to be no different and deliver meaningful top and bottom line growth,” Sommer noted.

“We believe that these measured capacity additions will enable us to further enhance our long-term profitability and continue to significantly strengthen our balance sheet while providing guests new and innovative experiences,” he said.

“We continue to experience strong and resilient customer demand across all three of our brands. The strong momentum we saw in 2023 has continued into 2024 with an all-time high booked position and pricing buoyed by strong wave season demand. This has led to some of the best booking weeks in the company history, which began with successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.

“In general, we continue to see healthy demand across all markets, brands and products.”