Leading Cruise Brands in the US: Q2 2024 Insights

In the competitive world of cruises and cruise services, prominent brands such as Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line continue to dominate the US market. This article delves into their performance trends from Q1 to Q2 2024, focusing on web and app engagement, as well as advertising strategies. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data allows us to provide a unique perspective on cross-platform user behavior.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line maintains a robust digital presence with its website, carnival.com, and the Carnival HUB app.

• Audience Trends: The website experienced fluctuating visits, peaking in March with over 72M visits. Monthly unique visits remained stable, hovering around 4M. The monthly deduplicated audience consistently exceeded 4.2M, with a notable balance between web and app users.

• App Engagement: The Carnival HUB app's monthly active users increased to over 300K by June, highlighting a growing preference for mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Carnival's monthly ad spend decreased significantly over the quarter, from nearly $3.9M in January to around $1.3M in June. OTT channels dominated, delivering substantial impressions throughout this period.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean's digital footprint includes its website, royalcaribbean.com, and the Royal Caribbean International app.

• Audience Trends: The website maintained a steady trend, with monthly visits between 23M and 27M. The monthly deduplicated audience remained around 3.3M, with a strong web-only user base.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users showed a slight decline, stabilizing at approximately 380K in June, indicating consistent mobile interest.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Royal Caribbean's monthly ad expenditure decreased from over $3.3M in January to about $1.5M in June, with significant impressions from Facebook and OTT channels.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line's digital engagement is centered around ncl.com and the Cruise Norwegian - NCL app.

• Audience Trends: The website saw a peak in visits in April with over 22M. The monthly deduplicated audience grew steadily, exceeding 2.4M by June, with a dominant web presence.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users remained relatively stable, with a slight uptick to 77K by June, reflecting consistent user engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Norwegian's monthly ad spend varied, reaching over $3.3M in June. Desktop display and YouTube channels were particularly effective in delivering impressions.

Conclusion

The leading cruise brands in the US have demonstrated varied strategies across digital platforms and advertising channels. Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line each showcase distinct trends in audience engagement and ad spend, leveraging both web and app platforms to reach their audiences effectively. Sensor Tower's unique cross-referencing capabilities provide these invaluable insights, highlighting the nuances of cross-platform user behavior in the cruise industry.

For more detailed insights, explore Sensor Tower's Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics offerings.