CLIA Releases Figures on Wedding, Honeymoon Cruising

Terry Dale, president and CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association, said that CLIA-member lines are seeing an increase in honeymoon and wedding cruise business, and that they have accordingly expanded their offerings.

According to a survey of 460 CLIA-member travel agents, among couples taking wedding or honeymoon cruises, second marriage couples are more common than first. In fact, second-marriage couples make up 40 percent of the agents' wedding/honeymoon cruise business.

Other key findings of the survey include that 20 percent of agents said the biggest change in their honeymoon and wedding business came from more couples renewing vows aboard cruise ships, and that 8 percent saw an increase in same-sex couples choosing cruises as romantic vacation options.

In the same breath, 32 percent of agents said more couples are booking weddings on cruises with family and friends in attendance, 54 percent of agents said that most couples pay between $1,000 and $3,000 for the cruise portion of their vacation, and 35 percent said clients paid an average between $3,000 and $6,000 per couple.