Data provided by Italian company Vamonos Vacanze show that single cruise travelers spend more than other travelers, 3,654 euros per capita. In fact, they spend 60% more than a family of three, being frequent spas-, casinos- and bar- visitors.
They prefer sea view cabins and are eager to travel with friends, but also alone. Singles are the new trend among cruise passengers in Italy in 2023.
Therefore, the number of couples and families is decreasing from 54% to 45% and from 39% to 33% respectively, while the number of single cruise passengers, who are cruising in Italy in 2023, is increasing (from 7% to 22%).
Experts are confident that 2023 will be a record year for the cruise sector in Italy, with a marked propensity for singles to flirt during a cruise (62%).
As of December 31st, 2023, there will have been 13,098,000 passengers handled in Italian ports, with as many as 168 ships in transit in Italian waters representing 52 shipping companies, marking cruise tourism by +39.1% compared to 2022 and a + 11% with respect to the last pre-pandemic season 2019.
Civitavecchia receives most of the cruise ships with 2.85 million passengers. Next is Genoa with 1.45 million passengers and Naples with 1.40 million passengers. Among the top Italian ports are also Savona, La Spezia, Palermo, Messina, Livorno, Venice and Trieste.
Concerning the traffic on a regional basis, Liguria is the first in the standings with 3.3 million cruise passengers. Lazio is also on the top with 2.9 million cruise passengers and Campania with 1.6 million, while Sicily is in fourth place with 1.5 million.
In terms of ageing, today cruising in Italy is rather for younger people: 46% of cruise passengers are between 18 and 45 years old and 18% are between 18 and 25 years old.
As for the leading brands that in 2023 will handle the largest number of passengers in Italian ports, with 4 million cruise passengers expected, MSC stands out among all. Then, the top cruise lines are as follows: Costa with 2.4 million travelers, Royal Caribbean with 1.2 million, Norwegian Cruise Line with 1.1 million and Celebrity Cruises with 0.8 million.
