by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:30 AM ET, Fri January 23, 2026
New data around the 2026 wave season shows that while the cruise industry is still experiencing popularity and demand, recent headlines surrounding Venezuela and Iran coupled with mid-week winter holidays might have slowed overall optimism by large travel agencies and major cruise lines.
The data was analyzed and compiled by Cleveland Research Company in its annual Wave Season report, which considers the last 45 days of bookings research.
Overall, the research claims that bookings remain positive, but not quite as “optimistic” as last year. While bookings recovered in the second and third week of January, higher supply in the Caribbean might end up with flatter revenue in the region during the first quarter.
Cruise bookings are meeting expectations for cruise lines and agencies, with booked revenue growth at 4 percent from last year.
Over 60 percent of cruise occupancy is already booked, a bit above last year. Fifty-seven percent of agents described booking trends as in-line with last year this wave season, with about 27 percent reporting higher booking trends than last year. Booking volume growth is at 1.5 percent this wave season, showing a slight uptick, but nothing significant.
Prices continue to rise for cruising: 3 percent for ocean cruising and 3.5 percent for river cruising this year.
Cruising remains a more stable part of the travel industry, with travelers experiencing less price sensitivity due to its all-inclusive value proposition, and more resilience against economic uncertainty and geopolitical conflicts.
That being said, river cruising remains outperforming ocean, with river cruise bookings higher than overall cruise bookings growth. Half of agencies see river cruising bookings are ahead of their expectations, and this cruise segment is often planned further out, 11 months in advance compared to eight months in advance for ocean cruising.
Older generations and retirees continue prioritizing travel ahead of other spending, and these generations remain more resilient when it comes to economic or geopolitical uncertainty.
Still, cruise lines overall are reporting record or historic booking numbers, with Norwegian Cruise Line reporting they are seeing “nothing short of incredible demand.”
In short, the 2026 wave season is largely positive, though some current events have slowed the excitement for booking new cruises, which might signal some struggles in the year ahead, should current events worsen.
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