To open the year, the Club Med 2 operated in the Caribbean, sailing from the Dominican Republic down to French Guiana throughout the winter season. It was then set to sail in the Mediterranean this summer.
Among highlights is a 16-day cultural cruise around Italy, from Porto Venere to Venice, visiting 13 Italian ports of call during the summer.
2026 Highlights
Philippe Mercet, who heads up cruise planning and sales promotion, as well as Jean-Charles Thillays, Club Med’s cruise director, told Cruise Industry News that this past winter the company offered a 13-day cruise to French Guiana under a Carnival theme.
Through its partnership with local authorities, Club Med organized a lineup of guest experts onboard, including a Club Med Luxury, Family and Culture lecturer who spoke about the history and cultural significance of Carnival in the Antilles, a costume designer who led accessory-making workshops and an instructor specializing in Antillean dance.
Winter Caribbean homeports included Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre.
“In the winter, we have the privilege of accessing many ports of call that most cruise lines cannot offer, thanks to the size of the ship,” Mercet and Thillays said.
“Our two tenders allow us to disembark guests directly onto beaches. In addition, on every cruise, we privatize an island beach, depending on the area we are sailing in, to offer a true Caribbean beach club experience.”
Feedback
Planning itineraries, voyage lengths and destinations depends on feedback from guests and crew, as well as geopolitical developments and embargoes affecting specific destinations.
“We offer three- to five-day cruises on the French Riviera, which is the perfect format for new clients and very accessible with rotations in Nice,” Mercet and Thillays explained.
Choosing ports is determined by whether Club Med can remain at anchor close to the coast and use its marina.
Itinerary success is defined by simplified air access. An ideal itinerary will offer two to three excursions at each port, including anchorage calls and remain close to the coastline.
Itineraries are planned two years in advance, and according to the duo, 2027 cruises had already been finalized and would go on sale in March.
Booking Behaviors
Booking trends reveal an increasing demand for longer cruises, they said.
There is a growing appeal for new ports of call and shore excursions. Family cruises are increasingly popular and repeat guests are typically booking a year in advance as reservations open.
Other guests book between three and six months out.
The majority of Club Med’s clients are currently from France, Belgium and Switzerland, but the company is welcoming more clients from the North American market, with growing sales from Canada, supported by improved air connectivity to the French Caribbean.
Mercet and Thillays explained that securing space in ports is increasingly complex due to new restrictions in specific destinations, such as the Balearic Islands, and the growing number of cruise ships.
So, Club Med books much earlier and looks for less popular ports of call.
There is also growing interest from younger generations toward luxury cruising.
