Royal Caribbean leans into shorter cruises, more experiences to capture travel demand

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With consumers getting more selective on how and where they vacation, cruise lines are fighting for Americans' tourist budgets. Royal Caribbean thinks shortening trips and packing the days with activities and exclusive opportunities will keep customers hooked. "I think we are an experience-driven mindset," Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" this week. "Over half of our guests are actually millennials or younger, and when you survey those guests, about 42% of them say in the next 12 months their plans are to actually go on shorter vacation experiences." Onboard Royal's Utopia of the Seas, the world's second-largest ship with a maximum capacity of nearly 5,800 passengers, customers are welcomed to 13 pools, 21 dining options, two casinos, and much more. This is the second cruise ship Royal Caribbean is bringing to market in the span of six months. Liberty says the voracious appetite to cruise post-pandemic has not died down. "We're not seeing any pullback from the consumer, whether that's planning their vacation experiences further out ... [or] then on the ships, they go out and they continue to spend," Liberty said. "There is not an area on the ship that we've seen a change in their spending behavior." To scale its business and widen its appeal, Royal Caribbean is looking at how to better compete with other types of vacations customers opt for, like skiing, casinos or theme parks. "When we look at what our guests are doing when they're not with us, they're going to Orlando, they're going to Vegas, they're going to all-inclusive resorts," Liberty said. "What we're trying to do is make sure that our experience, whether on the ship or at our private islands, is something that is highly competitive with land-based vacation." Morningstar travel and leisure analyst Jamie Katz thinks Liberty's strategy to get the Disney theme park traveler on board is working. "The American traveler doesn't always have time to take a six- to eight-day cruise due to work schedules and kids' school calendars," Katz said. "A three-day cruise provides customers with more options."