Royal Caribbean Cruises revenue 1988-2023

Royal Caribbean Cruises' revenue increased sharply in 2023 compared to the previous year, exceeding the figures reported before the COVID-19 pandemic. After declining to roughly 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first year of the pandemic, the company's revenue amounted to just under 14 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, the highest figure recorded to date.

Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival Corporation

The rebound in revenue reported by the company was driven by a sharp increase in the number of passengers carried by Royal Caribbean Cruises worldwide, totaling over seven million in 2023. That year, one of Royal Caribbean’s main competitors, Carnival Corporation & plc, also experienced a significant annual increase in passenger volume. That said, while the global number of Carnival Corporation passengers surpassed 12 million in 2023, it remained slightly below pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, Carnival Corporation’s revenue recovered from the impact of the pandemic, reaching over 21 billion U.S. dollars.

How many cruise passengers travel worldwide?

While the number of ocean cruise passengers worldwide declined to under six million in 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it already grew sharply in the following year, and fully recovered in 2023, totaling over 30 million. Overall, both before and after the onset of the pandemic, the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda ranked as the leading global cruise destinations by passenger volume.