Travel experts report a surge in cruise bookings and a growing interest in active, immersive vacations. Companies are offering new experiences and flexible payment options to meet changing traveler preferences.

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Travel industry experts are observing a significant rise in demand for cruises, with major cruise lines reporting that a large portion of their 2025 itineraries are already booked. The current 'wave season' offers travelers promotional deals, particularly for Caribbean, Alaskan, and European cruises, which are best booked early due to limited seasonal availability.

Additionally, there is a notable shift toward active and immersive travel experiences, with 75% of travelers seeking more physically engaging vacations. Companies like EF Adventures are responding by offering guided tours that combine activity with cultural learning, along with flexible payment plans. More travelers are also opting for guided, all-inclusive trips over planning independently, especially solo travelers seeking community and safety. Experts recommend booking during shoulder seasons for better value and fewer crowds.

Travel trends highlight increased demand for cruises

See if he sees his shadow. He'll let us know if we have six more weeks of winter. We can't we're renaming the groundhog down Tucker Timothy Sonic anything Boomer Boomer, I like that Okay, guys, don't mind us. Listen. Are you itching for a vacation? Yes, see the question is Answered fully. Well today is national playing your vacation day. So if you haven't already done it We're gonna help you do that encouraging everyone to book your dream getaway as you're heading into a new year That's right. Travel expert. Janine Tornateur is joining us right now with what's trending and travel this morning and what you should be booking today Jenny, it's so good to see you. I get really excited anytime we talk about travel Absolutely, and the whole idea of this national plan for vacation day is to get people to plan out those PTO days So you lose them and don't you use them and don't lose them at the end of the year? So I want to start with what's one of the most in-demand travel sectors right now, and that's Cruising this is going to be a big year for cruising as well as last year In fact the CEO of Carnival Corporation, which is a parent company to several major cruise lines Including course Carnival Cruise Line said just last month that all of their cruise ships are nearly two-thirds books Already for 2025. So it's an important time to really get online and book those because this Sector is so in demand and now in the cruise industry is what we call wave season It refers to the wave of promotions that cruise lines put out there January through March So it's a really advantageous time of year to get online and book your cruise right now And you're seeing right here some photos of some of the big new experiences coming in the industry. That was a Celebration key which is Carnival Cruise Lines new destination in the Bahamas that opens in July where 20 of their ships will be stopping on Those Caribbean routes. You also saw some footage of Alaskan cruises now Alaskan and European cruises are important to book now as well They're just that short season May through September So for those big cruises are happening just in those short seasons You want to book them now and finally for cruises my tip for you is if you're not ready to book yet This early in the season look at shorter itineraries They tend to be have more availability throughout the year and be a better value if you are a last-minute booker Okay. All right a lot to take in there. We'll sit we'll get to it. Okay. So do you need to ask me this? We're thinking about traveling and of course like if we're traveling some people go travel to go to sleep Some people travel to go do different things But but more people are doing more active travel so they're deciding that they want to do I don't know go hiking or go skiing or whatever the case might be Are there some options there for better active travel? There certainly are in fact 75% of travelers say they are looking to be more active on their vacations in 2025 so with this increased demand in active travel We are seeing more companies and tour operators focusing on this audience long time tour company EF world journeys actually just launched EF adventures this past September now. This is a guided Tour operator that focuses specifically on planning trips that combine physical activity and cultural immersion People are looking to take these adventures, but they also want to learn about the destination while they are there They want to blend these activities and EF adventures says now is really the time you want to book those They have really great promotions through the end of January So advantageous time to book those those types of trip this trips this year. These are big bucket list trips So it's cool that companies like EF adventures They have no interest payment plans that you can plan out monthly throughout the year so you can plan that vacation now and then pay for it as you go through the year and I feel like this fades into Your final point as we've run out of time Janine more people are shifting away from DIY planning They don't want to do it themselves And so what are some options out there for those who just want to let someone else handle all the work? Yes, and the reason that more people are doing this is because they're planning those immersive educational experiences So tour companies like EF go ahead adventures. They're an experiential guided tour company plan it all for you They have on location expert guides This is really the way you want to go if you do this and they see a singer rising solo travelers taking their group tours as well because you have that built-in community and that safety and these Types of trips can really give you those true immersive experiences that we're seeing more people are looking for They say also look at the shoulder seasons March April October November for less crowds and more savings this year All right, Janine. Listen, you gave us some good tips. We feel more confident about booking this year. I'm ready to go where we headed I know Wherever we can go Janine. Thank you very much and hope you have a great rest of your day We're gonna send over to Jacqueline right now There's some information there for Janine and how you can keep in touch Jacqueline what you working on? Yeah guys Well, hopefully 2025 has been off to a good start

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