Good luck booking a cruise: your favorite cruise lines are running low on cabins

01.11.2023 - 09:13 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean / Patrick Scholes / Josh Weinstein / Mark Kempa

Good luck booking a future cruise — your favorite cruise lines say they're running out of cabins. And if you aren't proactive, you might miss your chance to book your dream vacation at sea.

Throughout 2023, demand for these vacations at sea has been surpassing 2019 levels. As a result, industry giants such as Carnival Corp — which oversees brands like Carnival, Princess, and Holland America — are now seeing an extended booking curve. It's great news for these companies. But for travelers, this means there will be less cabins to book as they're now getting snatched up further in advance.

So if you wait to book your cruise, you probably won't get a sweet deal on it: There will "definitely" be more cruises sailing sold out in 2024 than 2023, according to Patrick Scholes, an analyst at Truist Securities.

Both Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean Group — which helms Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silversea —are currently seeing historic booked positions at higher prices. "In fact, we already have less inventory remaining for sale at the same time last year," Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival, said in a call with investors in late September. In the third-quarter of 2023, both cruise giants were already seeing a 109% occupancy rate while reporting increasing demand for 2024.

"While we see no signs of demand slowing for our brands, at some point, booking volumes for 2024 will recede as we simply run out of inventory to sell," Weinstein said.

Like its competitor, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is "more fully booked" than ever before, Mark Kempa, the company's executive vice president and CFO, said in its second quarter 2023 earnings call with investors in August. "There's just not a lot left to sell."

At the time, the company's biggest brand — its eponymous Norwegian Cruise Line — was seeing record bookings month over month from the start of 2023 through its second quarter.

Of course, it won't be impossible to book a future cruise. If you're flexible with your travel dates, you should be fine. But if you're set on a specific itinerary and cabin, you're better off booking your vacation early.

More upscale accommodations like suites and outside cabins are selling out first. So if you wait, you could end up with a windowless interior stateroom or paying more than you expect, especially since Princess Cruises has announced it's getting rid of last-minute discounts.

And consider booking further in advance than what you think is necessary: Companies Carnival and Royal Caribbean are already seeing reservations for 2025 and 2026.