Cruise travel reached a new passenger high in 2024, with CLIA-member ocean-going lines carrying 34.64 million passengers worldwide. The industry also expanded its fleet, broadened expedition and luxury offerings, and generated substantial economic activity in 2023. These statistics show where cruise passengers sailed, who they were, how they booked, and how ports and destinations were affected.
Contents
- Global cruise passenger volume
- Where cruise passengers sailed
- Cruise traveler demographics
- Trip preferences and booking behavior
- Fleet capacity and cruise products
- Economic impact and port activity
Global cruise passenger volume
The worldwide cruise market recovered beyond its pre-pandemic passenger level in the CLIA database. CLIA-member ocean-going cruise lines carried 29.67 million passengers in 2019, before the pandemic disruption. The total reached 31.69 million in 2023 and 34.64 million in 2024. Passenger volume therefore grew 9.3% from 2023 to 2024.
These figures describe passengers carried by CLIA-member ocean-going cruise lines, rather than every possible cruise passenger measure. The source’s membership and database scope matter when comparing the totals with figures from another organization.
North America was the largest source region in 2024, supplying 20.53 million ocean-going cruise passengers. Europe supplied 8.44 million, while Asia and Oceania supplied 4.03 million. South America supplied 1.17 million passengers.
| Passenger source region, 2024 | Ocean-going cruise passengers |
|---|---|
| North America | 20.53 million |
| Europe | 8.44 million |
| Asia and Oceania | 4.03 million |
| South America | 1.17 million |
Together, these regional figures describe the geographic origin of passengers in the CLIA database. They should not be confused with destination totals, which measure where cruise passengers traveled.
Source: State of the Cruise Industry Report 2025.
Where cruise passengers sailed
The Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda remained the largest destination grouping in 2024, receiving 14.98 million cruise passengers. That was 17.1% higher than in 2023. The Mediterranean received 5.77 million passengers, up 5.8% from the prior year, while non-Mediterranean Europe received 3.04 million, up 2.0%.
Asia and China received 2.60 million cruise passengers in 2024, an increase of 1.5%. Alaska received 1.71 million, up 3.8%. Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific also received 1.33 million passengers, up 3.8%.
| Destination grouping | Passengers in 2024 | Change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda | 14.98 million | +17.1% |
| Mediterranean | 5.77 million | +5.8% |
| Non-Mediterranean Europe | 3.04 million | +2.0% |
| Asia and China | 2.60 million | +1.5% |
| Alaska | 1.71 million | +3.8% |
| Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific | 1.33 million | +3.8% |
Not every destination recorded growth. The North American West Coast, Mexico, California and Pacific Coast grouping received 1.33 million passengers, down 7.7% from 2023. South America and the Panama Canal received 1.05 million, down 2.8%. Africa and the Middle East received 517,900, down 3.9%.
Smaller and more specialized regions grew quickly from a lower base. Exploration regions—including Antarctica, the Arctic, the Galapagos, Greenland, Iceland and the North Cape—received 387,500 passengers in 2024, up 21.6% from 2023. The percentage increase is large, but the absolute passenger count remained much smaller than the Caribbean or Mediterranean totals.
Source: State of the Cruise Industry Report 2025.
Cruise traveler demographics
Cruise passengers span several age groups. The average age of a cruise traveler was 46.5 years in 2024. Travelers under age 40 represented 36% of passengers: 16% were under 20, and 20% were aged 20–39.
The older age bands also represented substantial portions of the passenger mix. Travelers aged 40–49 accounted for 14%, those aged 50–59 for 17%, those aged 60–69 for 18%, and those aged 70 and older for 15%. Approximately 67% of cruise travelers were Gen-X or younger in 2024.
The age figures use the categories reported in the CLIA research. They are percentages of passengers, not estimates of the average age within each band, and they describe 2024 rather than a long-term demographic trend.
Interest among people who have not cruised also appeared high in the December 2024 CLIA survey. In that survey, 68% of international travelers were considering taking their first cruise. This is a consideration measure, not a booking or completed-trip measure.
Source: State of the Cruise Industry Report 2025.
Trip preferences and booking behavior
Repeat intent was strong in the December 2024 CLIA research: 82% of people who had cruised said they would cruise again. New-to-cruise travelers accounted for 31% of people who had cruised in the prior two years. The combination suggests a market that includes both returning passengers and a meaningful share of recent first-timers, although the measures come from survey groups rather than a single passenger census.
Solo travel represented 12% of cruise travelers in 2024, up from 6% in 2023. Multigenerational travel was also visible: travelers sailing with three to five generations represented 28% of cruise travelers in the December 2024 CLIA research.
Cruising frequency varied among repeat travelers. Twenty-five percent of repeat cruise travelers sailed two or more times per year in the December 2024 research. Looking at specific frequencies, 14% of cruise travelers took two cruises per year, while 11% took three to five cruises per year.
Trip length was another area of intended change. The average cruise length was 7.1 days in the 2024 CLIA passenger database, while 49% of cruise travelers intended to take a longer cruise than the one they sailed the previous year. Intentions do not guarantee future bookings, but they indicate interest in extending time at sea.
Booking lead time was not uniformly long. Eleven percent of cruise travelers booked their sailing one year or more before departure in the December 2024 CLIA research. That figure identifies the share with a particularly early booking window; it does not describe the average time between booking and departure for all travelers.
Source: State of the Cruise Industry Report 2025.
Fleet capacity and cruise products
CLIA-member ocean cruise fleet capacity reached 651,000 lower berths in 2025, compared with 614,000 lower berths in 2024. The term lower berths refers to the stated passenger accommodation capacity measure used in the report. CLIA-member lines represented about 92% of global ocean-going lower berths in 2025.
The member fleet exceeded 300 ships in 2024, with 303 vessels. It was projected to reach 310 ships in 2025. Because the 2025 ship figure is a projection, it should be kept separate from the 2024 observed fleet count.
Product expansion was especially notable in expedition, exploration and luxury cruising. Global expedition and exploration ship capacity was projected to grow 150% from 2019 to 2029. About 40 ships were specifically built for expedition and exploration cruising in 2024, and the number of passengers sailing on expedition and exploration cruises increased 22% from 2023 to 2024.
The luxury fleet grew from 28 ships in 2010 to 97 ships in 2024. Luxury-segment lower berths totaled 35,791 in 2024 and were projected to reach 45,751 in 2028. The 2019–2029 capacity figure and the 2024–2028 lower-berth figure are forecasts over different periods, so they are not directly interchangeable.
Source: State of the Cruise Industry Report 2025.
Economic impact and port activity
Cruise tourism generated $168.6 billion in global economic impact in 2023. It supported 1.6 million jobs worldwide, generated $56.9 billion in wages, and contributed $85.6 billion to global GDP. These are global 2023 measures and use different economic concepts: total economic impact, employment, wages and GDP should not be treated as interchangeable totals.
The reported national and regional figures show the scale of cruise activity in major markets. The U.S. cruise industry generated $65.4 billion in total economic impact in 2023. European cruise tourism generated €55.3 billion, including the United Kingdom. Australian cruise tourism generated A$8.43 billion during the 2023–24 financial year. The currencies and reporting periods differ, so these amounts should not be added together or ranked as if they shared one currency and time basis.
Port passenger counts provide a more localized view. PortMiami recorded 8,233,056 cruise passengers in fiscal year 2024. Port Everglades recorded 4,127,715 total cruise passengers in fiscal year 2024, including 4,010,919 multi-day passengers and 116,796 daily passengers.
The Port of Barcelona recorded 3,655,981 cruise passengers in 2024, including 2.2 million visitors to the city. The passenger count and city-visitor count are different measures: the latter is a subset or associated visitor measure reported by the port, not an additional passenger total.
Sources: State of the Cruise Industry Report 2025, PortMiami Cruise, Port Everglades Cruise Statistics, and Port of Barcelona Memoria anual 2024.