How full are cruise ships?

[pdmlynek]

Is there a database on how many passengers are there on any cruise ship?  Either when we buy the tickets, or when we sail? 

 

Is there a way for us, cruising public, to find this important information?

 

Thank you!

Edited March 6, 2023 by pdmlynek
clarity

[CruiserBruce]

Actually,  that info is probably considered proprietary, and thus no websites would be able to assemble it.

[VMax1700]

I doubt that there is a database containing any reliable information, however news items such as this https://www.cruisehive.com/worlds-largest-cruise-ship-oversold-for-spring-break/95664 give an indication of the booking levels.  Don't forget when someone booked this cruise, the ship was half full, now its oversold, so the data points of booking time and sailing time can be poles apart.

[Markanddonna]

You might not even get accurate info once onboard. We got numbers ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 on a recent cruise in Feb. The ship felt VERY full, but part of the problem was because of the insufficient number of crew. The crew tried very hard and were  pleasant.

[jsn55]

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

I doubt that there is a database containing any reliable information, however news items such as this https://www.cruisehive.com/worlds-largest-cruise-ship-oversold-for-spring-break/95664 give an indication of the booking levels.  Don't forget when someone booked this cruise, the ship was half full, now its oversold, so the data points of booking time and sailing time can be poles apart.

Exactly!  Might be important information, but not accurate until a couple of days before departure.  

[Aquahound]

Forgive me for asking, but why is that information so important?

[mnocket]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

Forgive me for asking, but why is that information so important?

I can think of a couple of reasons....

 

Occupancy rates might be important to investors in cruise line stocks.

 

Occupancy rates might be important to someone who is interested in how well cruise lines are recovering from the pandemic.

 

Occupancy rates might be important to someone who is considering booking a cruise and wonders if they will enjoy the absence of crowds many experienced last year.

 

I really don't see it as an unusual question, but clearly some do.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

I can think of a couple of reasons....

 

Occupancy rates might be important to investors in cruise line stocks.

 

Occupancy rates might be important to someone who is interested in how well cruise lines are recovering from the pandemic.

 

Occupancy rates might be important to someone who is considering booking a cruise and wonders if they will enjoy the absence of crowds many experienced last year.

 

I really don't see it as an unusual question, but clearly some do.

And given short staffing, occupancy rate might be important.

[Essiesmom]

Easy way to tell.  A month to six weeks (or less) from cruises that interest you, try to book a cabin as a single.  If they come up not available, it’s pretty full and they don’t want to sell the remaining cabins to solos.  Believe me, I’ve tried.  EM

[Woody14]

Generally you should be assuming that it is nearly full or full.     The cruise companies do publish this information on their shareholder sites.

 

For example Royal Caribbean group (RCL, Celebrity, Silver seas) is reporting that 4th quarter of 2022 was 95% overall with Caribbean at 100% and holiday sailings at 110%.  they are forecasting  that 2023 first quarter will finish out with capacity at 100%.

It is important to note that cruise lines deem 100% on double occupancy (not total capacity) and so many sailings can sail at numbers above that as the ships capacity is higher as some rooms are able to handle more passengers. (3 or more per cabin) 

 

Carnival Corporation (carnival, princess, p&o, costa et all) was reporting for 2022 that they were overall capacity 19% below pre pandemic levels (which was around 110% overall) so that means they were running at 90% or more at the end of the year.    They are reporting that first quarter of 2023 would be just over 90% and by summer 2023 would be 100% or over.

 

 

 

[Joebucks]

7 hours ago, Aquahound said:

Forgive me for asking, but why is that information so important?

 

So customers can play detective and decide to come pre-angry. It also helps calculate how much in tips are collected and if the dispersal meets their accounting standards.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Joebucks

[CruiserBruce]

3 hours ago, Woody14 said:

Generally you should be assuming that it is nearly full or full.     The cruise companies do publish this information on their shareholder sites.

 

For example Royal Caribbean group (RCL, Celebrity, Silver seas) is reporting that 4th quarter of 2022 was 95% overall with Caribbean at 100% and holiday sailings at 110%.  they are forecasting  that 2023 first quarter will finish out with capacity at 100%.

It is important to note that cruise lines deem 100% on double occupancy (not total capacity) and so many sailings can sail at numbers above that as the ships capacity is higher as some rooms are able to handle more passengers. (3 or more per cabin) 

 

Carnival Corporation (carnival, princess, p&o, costa et all) was reporting for 2022 that they were overall capacity 19% below pre pandemic levels (which was around 110% overall) so that means they were running at 90% or more at the end of the year.    They are reporting that first quarter of 2023 would be just over 90% and by summer 2023 would be 100% or over.

 

 

 

Yes...but that is AFTER the fact. I don't think that the OP was asking about after the fact.

[fruitmachine]

7 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Yes...but that is AFTER the fact. I don't think that the OP was asking about after the fact.

@Joebuckspost opens with a PRE the fact statement, justifying that with a detailed analysis of cruise lines' statements.

 

If they are not in that 95%+ category. then they are likely heading for commercial failure.

[9tee2Sea]

I just completed an 18 day cruise with Ncl.  We were told our sailing was about 50% capacity.  We were also told the following sailing would be at 90% capacity.  Im going to guess a full ship depends on the time of year ( if school is out), length of cruise ( expect less capacity on longer cruises 15 day+), and how far to travel to get to the embarkation port.