“Our brands are stronger than ever and our yields in the first quarter blew away previous records,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, speaking on the company’s first quarter earnings call.

The company operated at 102 percent occupancy in the first quarter at higher pricing than in 2019, he said, noting all the company’s brands were profitable.

Of note was strong demand for Caribbean itineraries contributing to higher load factors and better-than-expected pricing in both ticket and onboard, Liberty said.

“Our yields are now exceeding record highs, and we expect this trend to continue for the rest of the year and beyond,” he continued. “This is particularly significant because while we thought the first quarter would be a transition period, we always expected the rest of the year to be strong. The fact that demand for the coming nine months is so much stronger than our already robust expectations says a lot about the strength of the consumer and the strength of our brands.”

Bookings for the company outpaced 2019 levels “by a very wide margin” according to Liberty, continuing through the first quarter and into April at significantly higher pricing.

The booking window is completely back to normal, Liberty explained.

“While demand has been strong across all products and markets, we continue to see exceptional strength from the North American consumer,” he said. “This strength in combination with the incredible, Perfect Day at CocoCay has resulted in record yields for our Caribbean sailings.”

Liberty said the company’s customers are financially healthy and eager to take vacations, bolstered by strong labor markets, high waves and excess savings.