Cruise leaders welcome competition as sector charts Covid recovery

Royal Caribbean Group chief executive Richard Fain said the arrival of competitors, such as Virgin Voyages, comparing the brand’s launch to Disney’s, helps to attract attention to cruising.

"New players benefit us as they attract attention," he said. "They’re adding more to demand than they are supply."

According to Fain, the "real competition" is in land-based holidays and other discretionary purchase like wide-screen TVs.

Arnold Donald, president and chief executive of Carnival Corporation, said: "We’re a tiny industry with 30 million cruisers [annually] pre-Covid, while there’s opportunity of over half a billion people a year who take vacations."

The cruise leaders also discussed the future of the industry post-pandemic, with Fain predicting ships in core markets to return to 100% occupancy by the end of the year.

"Every day, we’re getting further and further along the road of demonstrating how [effective our protocols are]", he said.