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Q3 2026 Earnings: How Cruise Lines Are Positioning for 2027

Demand stayed strong in Q3, but the bigger story is 2027. This edition covers where capacity is shifting, four new ships headed for Florida, Icon of the Seas moving to Galveston, private destination growth, and RCG's $3 billion resort investment.

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U.S. Tariff Policy and Passenger Boarding Bridge Procurement

Passenger boarding bridge procurement is no longer just about equipment price. This edition covers HTS classification, country of origin, Section 232 and 301 exposure, real import delays, and what U.S. cruise-terminal owners can do now.

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The Business of Cruise Parking

Parking has gone from an afterthought to one of the largest revenue lines a homeport has. This edition covers what drives parking demand, the revenue it generates at Canaveral and Galveston, and how to plan and design the modern cruise garage.

Q2 2026 Earnings Summary: Resilient Demand, Resilient Growth Plans

Carnival and RCG held demand against an unresolved Middle East conflict while NCLH points mostly at itself. This edition covers deployment mix, the short Caribbean boom, private destination milestones, and each operator's capacity growth plans.

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Northern Europe Spotlight

Northern Europe is the world's fourth-largest cruise region and still growing. This edition covers who is driving that growth, the fleet cascade bringing larger ships into the region, a broadening season, and $535 million of port infrastructure investment.

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Q1 2026 Earnings Summary: Common Pressures, Diverging Positions

All three major operators cut full-year 2026 guidance — but for very different reasons. This edition examines how each absorbed Q1's common pressures and what the diverging results reveal about their structural positions heading into the cycle ahead.

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The Iran Conflict and Its Impact on the Cruise Industry

The Strait of Hormuz closure stranded six cruise ships and disrupted deployments across multiple regions. This edition covers operations, mid-term Gulf capacity decisions, and elevated marine fuel costs.

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Q4 2025 Earnings Review and Outlook: Record Highs and a Reset

FY 2025 was the strongest year in modern North American cruise history for the two largest operators. This edition examines record results, the Caribbean capacity test, balance sheets, fleet strategies, and destinations.

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Maritime Prosperity Zones (MPZs): Key Implications for Ports from the New Federal Maritime Action Plan

The federal Maritime Action Plan outlines a strategy to rebuild the U.S. Maritime Industrial Base—including up to 100 Maritime Prosperity Zones. Here is what port leaders should watch as implementation unfolds.

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Q3 2025 Earnings Review and Outlook: Debt Reduction a Priority Amid Sustained Cruise Industry Strength

With Q3 earnings now in, the cruise industry's momentum remains strong, reflected in solid bookings and continued growth in both capacity and revenue...

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IMO Net-Zero Framework Update: Implications of the Delayed Adoption

Member states deferred formal adoption of the IMO Net-Zero Framework by one year. This update covers the vote, what happens next at the IMO, and how cruise lines are responding.

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2025 Wrapping Up: What Is Setting Sail in 2026

By year-end, 14 new cruise ships will have joined the global fleet. This edition reviews the 2025 deliveries and looks ahead to the 2026 orderbook, the operator mix, and where the new capacity is being deployed.

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Q2 2025 Earnings Review and Outlook: A Sharpened Focus on Yield, Experience, and ROI

The Q2 earnings season offered a notable shift in tone compared to Q1, reflecting greater stability across the cruise sector...

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Shore Power: What Comes Next

As pressure mounts for cleaner cruise operations, shore power is emerging as a solution to cut greenhouse gas emissions...

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IMO's New Net-Zero Framework

In April 2025, the International Maritime Organization (IMO)—the United Nations agency responsible for regulating international shipping—made history...

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How Cruise is Faring in an Uncertain Macroeconomic Climate: Q1 2025 Earnings Review and Outlook

The quarterly earnings reports of the leading public cruise corporations—Carnival Corporation (CCL)...

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Smooth Sailing Ahead: A Review of Q4 2024 Earnings and 2025 Expectations

For the past several years, BA has been meticulously building annual cruise databases that offer an in-depth perspective on the cruise industry's composition and sailing patterns...

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Introducing BA's 2025 Comprehensive Cruise Itinerary Database

For the past several years, BA has been meticulously building annual cruise databases that offer an in-depth perspective on the cruise industry's composition and sailing patterns. This extensive effort has enabled us to identify new trends and shifts within the industry over time.

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Galveston: A Case Study in Successful Port Expansion

Galveston is the fourth-largest cruise homeport in the U.S. In 2019, the Port of Galveston embarked on an ambitious journey with the adoption of its 20-year Strategic Master Plan. This plan was designed to bring forward a self-sustaining, citizen-owned port to its fullest potential in terms of revenues, jobs, and community benefits.

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Q3 2024 Earnings Report Highlights

Based on the latest earnings reports of the leading public cruise corporations—Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) —the cruise industry is thriving, evidenced by strong financial performance, robust pricing, increased onboard spending, and incremental capacity additions...

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Seaports and Airports: Comparing the Efficiency & Growth of International Travel Hubs

When most people think of bustling international travel hubs, airports come to mind. However, cruise terminals in Florida and Texas quietly handle millions of passengers each year—on par with some of the busiest airports in the U.S. Both airports and cruise ports serve a similar purpose: moving people and cargo efficiently across borders and destinations...

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Repurposing & Expanding Existing Marine Terminals

Repurposing an existing marine terminal can be a cost-effective and efficient way to provide cruise facilities in new markets and accommodate growing demand. Our previous BA Perspectives have highlighted the anticipated continued growth of global cruise passengers...

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Q2 2024 Earnings Report Summary

In the second quarter of 2024, the leading public cruise corporations—Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) — have demonstrated impressive financial performance...

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BA Perspectives Spotlight: Alaska Cruise Region

Alaska is almost halfway through another record-setting season and in full recovery mode. This region is an iconic, bucket-list destination, leading various cruise operators to expand their presence with more vessels and deploy the largest ships ever to the region to meet growing demand from North American and other world consumer markets...

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Viking Cruises is joining the list of Publicly Traded Cruise Corporations.

Viking Cruises, founded by Torstein Hagen in 1997, is a premier cruise line renowned for its luxury river and ocean cruises. Initially focusing on river cruises in Europe, Viking expanded into the ocean luxury cruise market in 2015 with a fleet of expedition and luxury ships focused on destination-centric itineraries and cultural enrichment.

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How CII Could Impact Ports & Itineraries

The Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), introduced by the IMO in 2023, measures the environmental efficiency of ships by evaluating CO2 emissions per nautical mile traveled. This regulation aims to reduce the shipping industry's carbon footprint to combat climate change...

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Q1 2024 Earnings Report Summary

In the first quarter of 2024, the leading public cruise corporations—Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) — have set a promising tone for the remainder of 2024. Below, we examine the factors behind their success, including increased profit expectations fueled by a record wave season, ongoing expansion and investments in private destinations, and a significant uptick in "new to cruise" guests in the first quarter of 2024...

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BA 2024 Database Perspectives Spotlight: Caribbean Cruise Region

The Caribbean is gearing up for a record breaking 2024. Below, is a detailed look at what is driving this success, utilizing BA’s 2024 cruise itinerary database. BA examined the Caribbean’s itinerary breakdown, types of vessels responsible for maintaining and propelling the Caribbean’s large market share and which ports of call are poised to welcome the most visitors in 2024...

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Q4 2023 Earnings Report Summary

The leading public cruise corporations—Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian—concluded 2023 on a high note, as demonstrated by their Q4 earnings reports. This bulletin delves into key themes that have contributed to the outstanding performance of the three major publicly traded brands during 2023...

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Unveiling BA's 2024 Comprehensive Cruise Itinerary Insights

BA unveils its expansive 2024 cruise itinerary database, spanning 13,700 sailings across 47 brands and 320 ships globally. Our database offers an in-depth perspective on the cruise industry’s landscape for 2024, as each sailing includes insights into the vessel particulars, homeport, port of calls, cruise length, and so much more...

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With 2023 coming to a close, BA explores what is in store for 2024

With the cruise industry having successfully rebounded from the pandemic in 2023 – characterized by surpassing 2019 levels in several key metrics: expanded its capacity with more lower berths available, achieved higher occupancy rates and ticket prices, and welcomed a greater number of passengers in 2023...

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Q3 2023 Earnings Call Summary

With the final earnings report for Q3 2023 released by the last of the big three public Cruise Corporations yesterday, they all continued to show strong post-pandemic recovery and resilience. Most cruise operators not only met their targets, but surpassed the guidance and expectations set in the last quarter’s earnings reports...

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Shore Power Adoption in the Cruise Industry

In BA’s previous bulletins, we outlined the cruise industry’s push toward decarbonization, the exploration of alternative fuel options, and how ports will play a significant part in this transition. One key technology and noteworthy initiative is the adoption of Shore Side Electricity (SSE) or shore power...

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Q2 2023 Earnings Report Summary

The Q2 2023 earnings reports from leading cruise companies underscore the cruise industry's remarkable resilience and adaptability. These mid-year insights reveal a vigorous resurgence, with many operators achieving or even surpassing their 2019 net yields and occupancy rates...

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The Port’s Role in the Decarbonization of the Cruise (& Shipping) Industry

In our last bulletin, we talked about the cruise industry’s push toward decarbonization, and the exploration of various alternative fuel options such as LNG, methanol, and biofuels. The key takeaway was that decarbonization will be a collaborative effort across the entire maritime industry. It will take everyone to develop a sustainable and scalable supply chain that can support the widespread implementation of green fuels. Port’s will play a significant part of this transition. However, a port’s ability to support the introduction and scaling of alternative fuels is challenging for many reasons...

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Green Fuels in the Cruise Industry – A Sustainable Path Forward

The cruise industry is embarking on a sustainability voyage, seeking innovative solutions to reduce its environmental impact and embrace greener practices. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has committed to reducing the rate of carbon emissions across the industry fleet by 40% by 2030, aligning with the IMO's current GHG strategy, and a more ambitious pursuit of net carbon-neutral cruising by 2050...

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Q1 2023 Earnings Report – Key Themes and Takeaways

With the last of the big three public companies wrapping up their Q1 2023 earnings reports last week, it’s time for BA’s summary of the key takeaways and themes trending today, and what that means for the future of the industry. BA identified several themes that each operator is focused on today. The bulletin outlines these themes and provides a summary of how the industry is shaping up for the future...

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How did 2022 end up and what happens next in 2023

2022 was a monumental transition year where operators placed ships back in operation throughout the first half of the year. After almost three years of uncertainty, the restart was successful, but with mixed results by markets and brands. What happens next in 2023 with the cruise industry that now has its fleet back in operation? This bulletin explores where the industry is today, compares 2022 metrics with those in 2019, and provides guidance as to what 2023 will look like – its challenges and opportunities...

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Ports should get ready for an increase in shorter itineraries

The Caribbean cruise market is experiencing a significant increase in passenger numbers, but it is not only because more capacity is being placed in this market but because a dramatic shift has occurred in the length of the short Caribbean itinerary market. The trend towards shorter cruise patterns, such as 3/4 night and 5/5/4 night programs, is significantly shifting as a percentage of the total Caribbean traffic. ...

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Projects Section

BA Portfolio Highlight

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Port Galveston Cruise Terminal 10

Galveston Wharves Cruise Terminal is a two story, 160,000 square-foot terminal building designed to maximize cruise terminal operations while creating a welcoming environment for passengers and crew...

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Nassau Cruise Port Global

BA’s design for the waterfront features a completely transformed Port and Welcome Center, additional mega berths to accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world...

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Port Miami Terminal A

BA was commissioned by RCCL as the architect of record for the new flagship state-of-the-art high-tech Terminal A...

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Port Tampa Bay Channelside Strategic Master Plan

Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc. BA, in conjunction with the Renaissance Planning Group, is preparing a Master Plan of the Tampa Port Authority’s Waterfront Properties...

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Ocean Cay Marine Reserve

Ocean Cay was a 5-year design-build project that BA led as the prime consultant. The ultimate vision for Ocean Cay was to reinvent what a cruise destination island should be for its guests...

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PortMiami Terminal B

Terminal B accommodates cruise vessels of more than 5,000 passengers, and features new technology to support quicker and more efficient embarkation and disembarkation processes, as well as expedited security screening and luggage check-in...