Leading US Cruise Brands in Q4 2024: A Sensor Tower Analysis

Introduction

In the dynamic world of cruises and cruise services, three brands have distinguished themselves through significant digital engagement: Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line. This article examines their performance from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024, focusing on website metrics, app usage data, and advertising spend, powered by Sensor Tower's comprehensive analytics platform.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line is renowned for its vibrant cruise experiences and maintains a robust digital presence through its website, carnival.com, and the Carnival HUB app.

• Audience Trends: From Q3 to Q4 2024, carnival.com experienced a notable fluctuation in visits, peaking in December with over 62M monthly visits. Monthly unique visits remained stable, hovering around 3.8M.

• App Engagement: The Carnival HUB app experienced a slight decline in monthly active users from July to October, bottoming at 212K, followed by a recovery to approximately 242K in December.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly ad spend surged in Q4, peaking in December at over $3.5M, focusing on OTT and Facebook channels, generating over 162M impressions.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean is celebrated for its innovative cruise offerings, highlighted by its website, royalcaribbean.com, and the Royal Caribbean International app.

• Audience Trends: The website saw a consistent increase in monthly unique visits, reaching 2.7M by December. Visits per unique visitor remained stable at around 11.

• App Engagement: The app maintained a steady monthly active user base, fluctuating slightly but ending the year with around 369K users.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Royal Caribbean's monthly ad spend escalated in Q4, culminating in December with a spend of approximately $4.2M. The primary channels included Facebook and OTT, leading to over 233M impressions.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line is known for its flexible cruising options and showcases its digital presence through ncl.com and the Cruise Norwegian - NCL app.

• Audience Trends: Visits to ncl.com remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease in monthly unique visits, maintaining around 1.6M in December.

• App Engagement: The Cruise Norwegian app saw a gradual decline in monthly active users throughout the period, ending the year with approximately 53K users.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Norwegian's monthly ad spend was dynamic, with a significant increase in December, reaching nearly $2.9M. Desktop display and OTT were key channels, delivering over 178M impressions.

Conclusion

Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line each demonstrate unique strategies and performances in the digital realm. Sensor Tower's unparalleled data insights provide a comprehensive look into these brands' cross-platform user behavior. For industry stakeholders, these insights are vital for strategic planning and competitive analysis. Discover more about Sensor Tower's offerings such as Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics to stay ahead in the competitive cruise industry.