Leading Cruise Brands in the U.S. for Q4 2024: A Sensor Tower Analysis

Introduction

In Q4 2024, the cruise industry in the United States showcased significant digital engagement. Leading brands such as Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line demonstrated substantial online presence through their websites and mobile applications. This article delves into the performance and trends of these brands, leveraging data from Sensor Tower’s comprehensive cross-platform insights.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line's digital reach is anchored by its website, carnival.com, and the Carnival HUB app.

• Audience Trends: From Q3 to Q4 2024, carnival.com experienced a notable increase in visits, peaking at over 61M in December. Unique visits remained stable, hovering around 3.9M monthly, indicating a consistent user base. The monthly true audience exceeded 4M in December, with a balanced mix of web and app users.

• App Engagement: The Carnival HUB app maintained a steady monthly active user base, with active users slightly increasing to over 635K by December.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Carnival's monthly ad expenditure surged, particularly in December, reaching over $3.5M. OTT (Over-the-top) channels were predominant, delivering significant impressions, with December alone seeing over 85M impressions.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean's digital landscape includes the website royalcaribbean.com and the Royal Caribbean International app.

• Audience Trends: The website experienced a fluctuating pattern with visits peaking at 32M in November. Monthly true audience figures remained robust, surpassing 3.3M in December, with a significant portion of traffic coming from app users.

• App Engagement: The app saw a consistent rise in monthly active users, culminating in nearly 1.5M by the end of December.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Royal Caribbean's monthly ad spending reached over $4.1M in December, with OTT channels providing a large share of over 83M impressions.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line's digital presence is supported by ncl.com and the Cruise Norwegian - NCL app.

• Audience Trends: The website maintained steady traffic with visits peaking at 19.9M in August. Monthly true audience showed stability, with figures around 1.8M in December.

• App Engagement: The app saw a gradual decline in monthly active users, closing the year with approximately 349K users.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Norwegian Cruise Line's monthly ad spend increased significantly in December, reaching over $2.5M. Desktop video channels were particularly effective, contributing to a substantial number of impressions.

Conclusion

The digital strategies of Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line reflect a robust presence in the Cruises & Cruise Services category. Sensor Tower’s unique ability to cross-reference web, app, and advertising data provides an unparalleled view of these brands' performance, offering critical insights for understanding cross-platform user behavior. For further insights, explore our Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics offerings.