Cruise CEOs looking for improved demand

MIAMI BEACH — Assessing the state of the global cruise industry at the Cruise Shipping Miami conference here, a panel of CEOs said demand needs to grow.

“Demand growth has been less than capacity growth worldwide,” Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp., told an audience of about 2,200.

The result has been anemic pricing power, although no one on the panel felt free to talk about prices in plain language.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Kevin Sheehan may have come closest in noting what a good value cruising is compared with other vacations.

The heads of the 4 largest corps discuss the resilience and future of the global cruise industry. #csm2014#awesome! pic.twitter.com/upTe2Ccf4e 

— Cruise Shipping (@CruiseShipping) March 11, 2014

“At the end of the day, we don’t want it to be quite so good a value,” Sheehan said.

Richard Fain, CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., told moderator Katty Kay, anchor for BBC World News America, that people from foreign countries are more similar than different in what they like about a cruise.

“Holidays and enjoyment turn out to be a little more universal than we thought,” he said.

Arnold, however, put the emphasis on the different “psychographics” that drive various groups to cruise and said matching the right cruiser to the right line and ship will bring the highest satisfaction.

“Every guest doesn’t belong on every line or every ship,” Donald said, adding that they must be carefully matched. “The travel partner is key to that.”

MSC Cruises CEO Pierfrancesco Vago said that despite Europe’s economic woes, cruise business grew 4% there last year compared with zero percent growth for continent’s tourism in general.

“Ships move. That’s the real advantage,” Vago said.

Before the panel discussion, CLIA President Christine Duffy said that 21.7 million people worldwide are projected to take a cruise this year.

She reviewed the low penetration rates for cruising even in the most developed markets, saying only 3.45% of the population in the U.S. and 3.41% in Australia have ever cruised.

Follow Tom Stieghorst on Twitter @tstravelweekly.