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Carnival follows Royal Caribbean Group and more as record cruise earnings put global voyages in the spotlight. Today, Carnival and Royal Caribbean Group are drawing attention as cruise earnings reveal changing travel demand across major markets. Moreover, these record cruise earnings highlight how global voyages are shaping new holiday choices for travellers. Carnival follows Royal Caribbean Group and other leading cruise companies as financial results bring the cruise industry into sharper focus. Therefore, global voyages remain an important part of international travel planning. Travel And Tour World urges readers to explore the entire story, as Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group and more reveal what these record cruise earnings could mean for future cruise holidays.

Carnival 2026 Earnings Put Europe and Caribbean Cruise Strategies in the Global Travel Spotlight

The latest Carnival results provide a useful starting point for understanding how the major cruise companies are positioning ships, capacity, destinations and onboard spending for the next phase of international cruise travel.

The comparison below focuses on Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises. These companies are particularly relevant because Carnival itself identifies Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises as its principal competitors. Carnival’s 2023 filing said the four groups together represented about 80% of global cruise-industry capacity at that time.

One important distinction is necessary. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian publish audited financial statements through SEC filings. MSC Cruises is privately owned and does not publish a directly comparable five-year consolidated revenue series for its cruise business. Its publicly available sustainability and corporate materials instead provide guest, fleet and operational statistics.

Five-year financial and passenger comparison

The figures below cover 2021 through 2025. Revenue figures are consolidated company revenue and are shown in billions of U.S. dollars. Passenger figures represent passengers carried, not unique individuals, because one traveller can take multiple cruises during a year.

Carnival’s 2021 and 2022 revenues were $1.908 billion and $12.168 billion, respectively. Its 2023, 2024 and 2025 revenues reached $21.593 billion, $25.021 billion and $26.622 billion.

Royal Caribbean recorded $1.532 billion in 2021 revenue and $8.841 billion in 2022. Revenue then reached $13.9 billion in 2023, $16.484 billion in 2024 and $17.935 billion in 2025.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings reported $647.986 million in 2021 revenue, $4.844 billion in 2022 and $8.550 billion in 2023. Its 2024 and 2025 totals were $9.480 billion and $9.828 billion.

Passenger comparison

*MSC’s 2025 figure of 4.8 million refers to MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys together, rather than MSC Cruises alone, so it should not be directly compared with the other companies’ figures.

Carnival carried approximately 1.22 million passengers in 2021, 7.73 million in 2022 and 12.46 million in 2023. Its total reached 13.509 million in 2024 and 13.627 million in 2025.

Royal Caribbean carried 1.030 million passengers in 2021, 5.536 million in 2022, 7.646 million in 2023, 8.564 million in 2024 and 9.446 million in 2025.

Norwegian carried 232,448 passengers in 2021, followed by 1.663 million in 2022, 2.717 million in 2023, 2.927 million in 2024 and 2.998 million in 2025.

MSC Cruises reported 2,138,894 guests carried during 2022 and 4,081,393 guests during 2023. Its 2024 corporate material reported approximately 3.9 million guests for MSC Cruises, while the 2025 MSC Foundation report combined MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys at 4.8 million guests.

Carnival Corporation: Europe and Caribbean become equally important

Carnival’s latest strategy is particularly significant for travellers because Europe and the Caribbean are being positioned closer together within the company’s deployment plan.

For 2027, Carnival expects each region to account for 34% of passenger capacity. In 2026, the Caribbean represented 35%, while Europe represented 31%. Europe therefore becomes more prominent in the planned 2027 network without requiring a dramatic expansion of overall capacity.

Carnival’s 2025 annual report provides additional context. Caribbean itineraries represented 34% of passenger capacity in 2025, while Europe excluding the Mediterranean represented 16% and the Mediterranean represented 14%. Together, European itineraries accounted for 30% of capacity.

That distinction matters for travellers.

Europe is not simply one cruise market. Northern Europe, the Baltic, the Norwegian fjords, Iceland and the Mediterranean offer substantially different travel experiences.

The company has also reported improved fuel efficiency. Its 2025 annual report recorded fuel consumption of 32.1 metric tonnes per thousand available lower berth days, compared with 36.1 in 2022.

The latest third-quarter 2026 filing adds that Carnival’s fuel consumption rate was 26% lower than its 2019 level. It also reported 2027 booked occupancy and pricing at record levels.

For travellers, the practical takeaway is that Carnival’s network is becoming more geographically diversified. A holidaymaker comparing Caribbean beaches with European cultural itineraries may find more options within the same cruise group.

Royal Caribbean Group: large-scale capacity with a strong European component

Royal Caribbean Group presents another important comparison because its fleet includes Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises.

Its 2025 revenue reached $17.935 billion, compared with $16.484 billion in 2024 and $13.9 billion in 2023. Passenger numbers also reached 9.446 million in 2025, compared with 8.564 million in 2024 and 7.646 million in 2023.

The company’s 2025 filing shows how geographically diverse its business has become.

Revenue attributed to European itineraries reached $2.951 billion in 2025, compared with $2.697 billion in 2024 and $2.685 billion in 2023. North America, which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, remained the largest itinerary region at $11.542 billion in 2025.

This provides travellers with an important comparison point.

Royal Caribbean is not simply focused on one geographic cruise corridor. Its network combines Caribbean itineraries with Mediterranean and wider European operations, alongside Asia-Pacific and other regional voyages.

The company’s sustainability strategy also places considerable emphasis on operational efficiency. Royal Caribbean Group says it aims to reduce carbon intensity by 15% by 2027 from its 2024 baseline. It also reports that half of its fleet is shore-power ready, where compatible port infrastructure exists.

The company has also adjusted its 2027 deployment. Freedom of the Seas is scheduled to move into European operations from Southampton between May and October 2027, offering two- to nine-night European voyages.

For travellers, that creates another useful choice. A European cruise can function as a multi-country holiday, while Caribbean sailings offer concentrated island experiences.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings: longer stays and port-focused European travel

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings provides a different model through Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Its total revenue reached $9.828 billion in 2025, compared with $9.480 billion in 2024 and $8.550 billion in 2023. Passenger numbers reached approximately 2.998 million in 2025, compared with 2.927 million in 2024 and 2.717 million in 2023.

The five-year financial recovery is particularly pronounced because Norwegian generated only $647.986 million in revenue in 2021. Revenue reached $4.844 billion in 2022 before exceeding $8.5 billion in 2023.

Its geographical disclosures are also useful for travellers.

Norwegian’s 2023 revenue by destination included $2.754 billion from Europe. North America, which includes the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico and the United States, accounted for $5.003 billion.

Its spring and summer 2027 schedule includes more than 500 voyages across 20 ships. The company plans calls at more than 150 unique ports in 59 countries between April and October 2027.

Europe receives eight ships during that season. NCL says many European voyages will spend more than 90% of their time in port, with an average stay of almost 11 hours. The program also includes overnight calls and late departures from selected destinations.

For travellers, longer port stays can be particularly useful.

A passenger may have more time for museums, local restaurants, walking tours and independent sightseeing. This makes itinerary duration important when comparing two cruises visiting similar destinations.

NCL’s winter 2027/28 program also contains more than 370 voyages across 47 countries, with an average port time of 9.5 hours, 71 late departures and 70 overnight stays.

MSC Cruises: a major European player with expanding Caribbean choices

MSC Cruises requires separate treatment because its ownership structure means there is no directly equivalent public five-year revenue dataset comparable with Carnival, Royal Caribbean or NCL Holdings.

Its operational statistics nevertheless demonstrate substantial scale.

MSC Cruises carried approximately 2.14 million guests in 2022 and more than 4.08 million in 2023. Its 2024 corporate material reported 3.9 million guests, 22 ships in operation and 32,000 employees on board and ashore.

MSC’s 2024 sustainability reporting also recorded 4.6 million combined guests for MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys, with 341 itineraries across 90 countries.

The company is simultaneously expanding its Caribbean footprint.

For winter 2026–27, MSC World Europa is scheduled to operate seven- and 14-night Southern Caribbean itineraries from Martinique, Guadeloupe and Barbados. The voyages include destinations such as Saint Lucia, Grenada, St. Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

MSC is also introducing MSC World Atlantic to Port Canaveral in winter 2027. The ship is scheduled to operate Caribbean itineraries featuring Ocean Cay, Grand Turk and Puerto Plata.

The company’s sustainability strategy includes LNG-powered vessels, shore-power capability and efficiency improvements. MSC reported a 5% reduction in fleetwide carbon-emissions intensity since 2008 in its 2022 sustainability update.

For travellers, MSC therefore provides another example of a cruise operator combining European and Caribbean networks.

Five-year recovery comparison

The enormous percentage changes between 2021 and 2025 should not be interpreted as ordinary commercial growth.

The cruise industry was operating under severe pandemic restrictions in 2021. Fleet availability, border controls and health requirements differed substantially between markets.

These percentages illustrate recovery from an abnormal operating base, rather than a normal five-year business trajectory.

Royal Caribbean explicitly stated that 2021 and 2022 were affected by the suspension and gradual restoration of cruise operations. Its 2021 occupancy was only 49.3%, compared with 85.1% in 2022.

Carnival’s 2021 passenger count was approximately 1.2 million, while its 2022 figure reached 7.7 million. Carnival itself noted that the 2021 and 2022 figures were not representative of a normal full year of operations.

Norwegian reported 52.7% occupancy in 2021, compared with 72.8% in 2022 and 102.9% in 2023.

Passenger recovery comparison

*2025 MSC figure combines MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys.

The comparison becomes more meaningful from 2023 onward because fleet operations had largely returned to normal.

Between 2023 and 2025, Carnival’s passenger count increased from 12.46 million to 13.63 million. Royal Caribbean moved from 7.65 million to 9.45 million, while Norwegian increased from 2.72 million to approximately 3.00 million.

Revenue, passengers and operational scale at a glance

Royal Caribbean’s 2025 occupancy was 109.7%, while Norwegian reported 103.5%. These percentages can exceed 100% because cruise companies calculate occupancy using a two-passenger-per-cabin assumption, while some cabins accommodate three or more guests.

What these numbers mean for travellers

The financial figures become more useful when translated into travel decisions.

First, Europe is becoming increasingly important across the major cruise companies. Carnival’s planned 2027 deployment is the clearest example, with Europe matching the Caribbean at 34% of capacity.

Second, travellers should look beyond the cruise company’s headline revenue.

Revenue does not tell passengers which destinations they will visit, how long they will remain in port or how frequently a ship operates in a particular region.

Norwegian’s 2027 European program, for example, emphasises longer port exposure, overnight stays and late departures.

Third, the private-destination strategy is becoming increasingly important.

Carnival has Celebration Key. Royal Caribbean has Perfect Day at CocoCay. Norwegian has Great Stirrup Cay and Harvest Caye. MSC operates Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. These destinations can materially shape the character of Caribbean itineraries.

Fourth, fuel and energy efficiency are becoming relevant to the broader cruise experience.

Carnival reported substantially lower fuel consumption intensity than in 2019. Royal Caribbean has established a 2027 carbon-intensity target and is expanding shore-power readiness. MSC is investing in LNG vessels, shore power and operational efficiency.

A traveller’s comparison checklist for 2027 cruises

The bigger cruise picture for 2027

The latest figures show a cruise industry that has moved far beyond the limited operating environment of 2021.

Carnival generated $26.62 billion in 2025 revenue and carried 13.63 million passengers. Royal Caribbean reached $17.94 billion and 9.45 million passengers. Norwegian generated $9.83 billion and carried approximately 3 million passengers.

At the same time, MSC Cruises continues to operate at substantial international scale, with more than 100 countries and hundreds of destinations across its global portfolio.

For global travellers, the most significant development is geographic choice.

Europe is receiving greater attention from several major cruise companies, while the Caribbean remains central to winter and year-round holiday programs.

That creates a wider range of travel styles for 2027.

Travellers can choose European itineraries focused on historic cities, islands and Northern European landscapes. They can instead select Caribbean voyages built around beaches, private destinations and tropical excursions.

The financial data also shows why comparing cruise companies purely by revenue can be misleading. Each group has different brands, fleets, geographic exposure, accounting periods and operating structures.

For holidaymakers, the more useful comparison is the combination of ship, itinerary, destination, port time, inclusions, total cost and travel requirements.

Carnival’s latest results therefore form part of a much broader story. The major cruise companies are competing not only through ships and onboard facilities, but also through where those ships take travellers and how much time passengers receive at each destination.

For anyone planning a 2027 cruise, that geographical shift may ultimately be more useful than the headline financial numbers.

Conclusion

The latest record cruise earnings from Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group, and other major cruise companies reveal a changing global travel landscape. Meanwhile, global voyages continue to attract travellers seeking diverse destinations, longer itineraries, and new onboard experiences. As Carnival follows Royal Caribbean Group and more cruise brands report strong financial results, the industry is placing greater attention on future capacity and international destinations. Therefore, these cruise earnings offer valuable insight into where global cruise travel may be heading next. Travel And Tour World will continue tracking these developments as Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group, and more shape the future of global voyages for travellers worldwide.