The luxury segment of the cruise market is on an expansion course set to grow its passenger capacity by an estimated 60 percent over the next five years, from approximately 850,000 in 2022 to nearly 1.4 million by 2027.

Based on the newbuild orderbook, the luxury fleet will be expanding from 69 ships today to 89.

New brands entering the market is the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Club Collection this year and the MSC Group’s Explora Journeys with four ships starting in 2023.

Within the market are sub-segments ranging from smaller yacht-like vessels to the more traditional, classic ships, expedition vessels and the so-called ultra-luxury class.

What the majority of the market has in common is its dependence on Europe for summer deployment.

During the summer months, more than 47 percent of the luxury capacity is aboard ships sailing the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

The second largest deployment is in the Asia-Pacific region with nearly 12 percent of the capacity, while more than 6 percent is deployed in Alaska. Other major deployments are in descending order: South America, Antarctica, Australia and the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.

While expanding significantly, the luxury segment represents less than 2.5 percent of the overall cruise market capacity.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Spring 2022