Source: CLIA (2024), 2023 Global Market Report.
Cruise shipping lines strive to maximize their asset utilization by continuously turning over their cruise ships. For instance, a ship typically finishes a weekly cruise early in the morning and begins a new one on the same evening. Within the 8- to 12-hour window between the end of the inbound cruise and the beginning of the outbound cruise, passengers must check out and disembark. Facilities are cleaned, waste is discarded, stores are replenished, the ship is refueled, basic maintenance is 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, accompanied by new protocols, was associated with shorter cruises. In the post-pandemic uncertainty, cruise lines opted to offer a range of programs, including those of up to 3 days, which increased from 11% of cruise programs in 2019 to 20% in 2021. On the one hand, it would facilitate passengers returning on board 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 cruise programs.
The average duration of cruises differs per cruise region. Cruisers sailing from Europe and Australasia take longer cruises. 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. Cruisers sailing from Asia and younger cruisers sailing from the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula take the shortest cruises.