Nearly half of customers are set to spend more on a cruise holiday in 2024 compared with 2023, according to a new study.

A recent survey of 1,700 customers carried out by luxury cruise specialist Panache Cruises found 43% of cruisers intend to fork out more for their holiday-at-sea this year, with 86% of respondents set to spend at least the same amount on cruises as they did in 2023.

Nearly 12% of respondents said they are planning to travel solo, around 10% with a larger group of friends, 10% with family and the majority of respondents intend to sail with their partner.

More than half (55%) of customers said they were likely to book their cruise break in January, with the Mediterranean/Europe and Caribbean coming out as the most popular destinations. Australia, Asia, South America, Alaska and Polar cruising are also high on customers’ wish lists.

Nearly all (90%) respondents said they intend to take a cruise this year, and one in two said they are looking to take more than one cruise during 2024.

‘It’s clear customers want to cruise more in 2024’, says Panache boss

James Cole, founder and chief executive of Panache Cruises, said: “After a really strong year for cruise in 2023, it looks like 2024 is set to be even more buoyant. It is certainly clear from our survey that our customers want to cruise more and will not be compromising on what they spend, which gives us confidence looking ahead.

“Whilst there are sure to be political and economic challenges to deal with over the next 12 months, we remain cautiously optimistic about the year ahead. January has already got off to a very good start, and we are currently ahead of expectations in terms of sales, which is a positive place to be.”