NCLH reports ‘record booking...

The strong start to the year has been helped by a successful wave season

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has reported a “record booking position” for 2023.

The company – which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises – said its strong start to the year has been helped by a successful wave season, which saw it achieve its “highest-ever bookings month in January 2023”, beating its previous record set in November 2022.

NCLH said it has entered 2023 with a “record cumulative booked position” of 62% for the full year, which is in line with its previously outlined expectations and within its optimal 60-65% range.

Occupancy levels are expected to average 100% for the first quarter and are on track to reach “historical levels” for the second quarter, as the company predicts it will welcome three million guests on board in 2023.

Capacity will increase by 19% this year compared to 2019 due to delivery of three new ships: Oceania Cruises’ Vista, Norwegian Viva and Regent’s Seven Seas Grandeur, meaning total 2023 occupancy is expected to reach 103.5% of 2019 levels.

The line said strong ticket pricing and on board revenue generation resulted in “better than expected total revenue per passenger cruise day” which was approximately 23% higher in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to 2019.

However, despite recording total revenue of US$1.5 billion for the last quarter of 2022, the cruise giant made a loss of US$482.5 million.

Mark Kempa, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the company is making progress towards resuming its “historic track record of achieving consistently improving financial results year after year”.

“We are focused on identifying new and incremental opportunities to reinforce our solid foundation and become an even stronger and more nimble organisation while continuing to provide unparalleled vacation experiences for our valued guests,” he added.

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President and chief executive Frank Del Rio (pictured) said: “2022 was an eventful year as we successfully completed our nearly yearlong great cruise comeback, welcomed our newest ship Norwegian Prima to our world class fleet and achieved several key milestones on our post-pandemic financial recovery.

“We are now squarely focused on the future and are taking deliberate and strategic actions to best position the company for its next chapter.

“We continue to pursue all opportunities to capitalise on the healthy demand we are experiencing, especially during this important wave season.”

For more information, and to partner with NCL, visit www.connectingtravel.com/cruise-hub/ncl