Will RCL's Loyalty Program Drive Higher Guest Spend & Repeat Travel?
Loyalty members, who made up nearly 40% of bookings in 2024 and spent 25% more per trip, continue to show strong engagement, supporting the company's focus on deepening retention in 2025 and beyond. The company also noted a continued increase in cross-brand bookings among loyalty members, signaling that these guests are more likely to stay within the Royal Caribbean Group ecosystem. Loyalty members also show a higher preference for direct bookings, contributing to a more efficient distribution mix. This behavior is further supported by growing mobile app usage, where bookings have doubled so far in 2025. Loyalty members are more inclined to book through the app, helping RCL lower distribution costs while capturing more pre-cruise purchases and onboard spending.
Royal Caribbean is further strengthening its guest ecosystem through destination-driven enhancements. The upcoming Royal Beach Club in Nassau is designed to complement the highly successful Perfect Day at CocoCay, with curated experiences intended to increase guest satisfaction and maximize ancillary spend. As the company continues to build loyalty across touchpoints — from exclusive locations to digital booking flows — its ability to drive higher guest value and repeat travel appears well-supported by both demand trends and observed customer behavior.
Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) are also evolving their loyalty strategies to strengthen guest retention, encourage higher onboard and repeat spending.
Carnival is shifting its loyalty model to reward guests based on total spend rather than just cruise nights. The company recently announced a new program, 'Carnival Rewards,' which will integrate onboard purchases and co-branded card activity into its tier system. The goal is to enhance engagement across more touchpoints and create a more personalized loyalty experience. While Carnival expects a modest accounting impact in 2026, the program is designed to be earnings-accretive over the long term by strengthening guest retention and maximizing revenue per customer.
Norwegian Cruise is prioritizing operational refinement and experiential upgrades over a fundamental redesign of its loyalty structure. While it continues to enhance fleet and destination offerings, Norwegian Cruise is yet to introduce a spend-based loyalty framework. Norwegian Cruise's loyalty proposition remains rooted in cruise frequency, not total guest spend.
Shares of Royal Caribbean have gained 86.3% in the past three months compared with the industry's growth of 43%.
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From a valuation standpoint, Royal Caribbean trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 4.82X, significantly up from the industry's average of 2.5X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL's 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year uptick of 30.7% and 14.5%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2025 have increased in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
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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Carnival Corporation (CCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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