Source: CLIA (2024), 2023 Global Market Report.
Cruise shipping lines try to maximize their asset utilization through a continuous turn of cruise ships. For instance, a ship usually finishes a weekly cruise early in the morning and begins a new one on the evening of the same day. In the 8 to 12 hours window between the end of the inbound cruise and the beginning of the inbound cruise, passengers must check out and disembark, facilities are cleaned, waste discarded, stores replenished, the ship refueled, basic maintenance performed, and outbound cruise passengers must check-in and embark. The design variables of itineraries within this time frame mainly concern the number and order of port calls, the synchronization with the (international) air transfers at the turn ports, vessel speed, and vessel size.
In 2019, the average duration of a cruise was 7.1 days. In 2021, the restart of cruises after the COVID-19 pandemic with new protocols was linked with shorter cruises, as in conditions of post-pandemic uncertainty, cruise lines opted to offer plenty of up to 3-day programs, which increased from 11% of cruise programs in 2019 to 20% in 2021. On the one hand, it would facilitate passengers returning onboard and re-familiarizing them with the idea of cruising following the 2020 hiatus. On the other hand, this strategy lowered the operational costs for cruise lines, aiming to rediscover the appetite for cruising around the globe while enabling them to adjust.
This trend of lowering cruise days did not last long. In 2023, the average duration of a cruise stood at 7.3 days, exceeding the 2021 average. The increasing number of cruise passengers, the willingness of younger generations to cruise, and the increased spending of cruise passengers provide the background conditions for a potential further increase in the average length of the cruise programs.
The average duration of cruises differs per cruise region. In Western Europe, Scandinavia/Iceland, and Australia/New Zealand/Pacific, the cruise duration lasts, on average, more than eight days. On the other hand, the average length of cruise programs in the Middle East is less than seven days; in Africa, this average is less than five days. In the post-pandemic period, three-day programs are particularly popular in Asia.