Will Strong Bookings Continue to Support Royal Caribbean's Growth?

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL is benefiting from steady demand across its vacation offerings. Strong interest in new ships, exclusive destinations and expanded experiences is helping the company maintain solid momentum. Consumers continue to prioritize travel and the company is seeing this trend reflected in booking patterns for the upcoming seasons. This steady performance brings attention to how strong bookings may shape the company’s growth ahead

In the third quarter of 2025, the company reported record booked load factors for both 2025 and 2026, supported by higher pricing and strong demand across new and existing ships. Bookings accelerated through the period and the company noted rate growth at the high end of historical ranges. The company also recorded a record share of onboard revenues booked before sailing, with most of those purchases made through digital channels. These trends suggest a more engaged guest base and support ongoing yield performance.

The company also highlighted strong traction for offerings such as Star of the Seas, Celebrity Xcel and the Royal Beach Club Paradise Island. Interest in Celebrity River was especially notable, with the opening deployment selling out almost immediately. These additions are designed to widen the company’s ecosystem and attract repeat and new guests, helping to sustain the booking momentum seen so far.

Going forward, booked load factors for 2026 remain at record levels and within historical ranges, indicating steady demand ahead. With strong pricing, supportive consumer sentiment and healthy engagement across its brands, continued booking strength appears well positioned to support Royal Caribbean’s growth path.

Industry Peers Continue to Build on Booking Strength

While Royal Caribbean’s booking strength stands out, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings NCLH and Carnival Corporation & plc CCL are also moving ahead with solid demand trends. Norwegian Cruise Line is focusing on premium experiences and tight capacity control to lift per-passenger revenues. The company is using its Prima-class ships and selective deployments to support pricing and onboard spend. Higher operating costs remain a factor, but better product quality and stronger guest engagement are helping Norwegian Cruise Line improve its performance.

Carnival Corporation is also showing firm momentum as bookings continue to run ahead of capacity growth. Pricing is holding at strong levels across key markets, supported by stable demand and higher onboard spending. Celebration Key is giving the company an extra boost, adding a new source of premium pricing and strengthening Caribbean demand. Carnival Corporation is also improving its cost base with better efficiency, while strong cash flow is helping it move closer to investment-grade metrics.

RCL’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of Royal Caribbean have gained 4.8% in the past six months against the industry’s decline of 0.5%.

Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, RCL trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02X, significantly below the industry’s average of 16.32X.

P/E (F12M)

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year uptick of 32.5% and 14.6%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have increased in the past 60 days.

RCL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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