Cruise capacity in the Mediterranean is expected to rise 32.1% year-on-year in 2026, shows Cruise Industry News’ 2025 Luxury Market Report as the retail chains report continued strong demand for the region.
There are 48 ships anticipated to visit the Mediterranean in 2025, and 2026 will see an additional nine ships. For Kiwis, House of Travel’s gm Cruise for Australasia Jeff Leckey says this means more opportunities and more destinations. “Cruising is always a great way of easily navigating your way around Europe and fitting in more destinations all on the one trip.” Lindy Christian, Our Cruise’s head of strategic development, says some Kiwis are now booking closer to departure date in an effort to secure a better deal, and she believes this increase in capacity is going to just exaggerate this behaviour in the next few years.
“Kiwis are very familiar with these types of conditions and will take advantage of them.” Speaking on the growing demand for the Mediterranean, Leckey says it’s certainly still one of the most popular destinations. House of Travel is seeing a huge amount of Kiwis taking longer cruises, with the most popular destinations at the moment the Greek Islands and the islands of Croatia, he adds. Christian says small ship cruising in the region is popular due to the itineraries and experiences they can offer and the more relaxed atmosphere on board. “Though there is the traveller looking for the total onboard experience, almost like being in a small town with everything close by,” she notes.
. . . UK Too?
It’s not just Mediterranean cruises proving popular though; another notable trend is Kiwis booking cruises to Europe from the UK, after visiting friends or family. “When they’re going over to the UK to visit friends or family, they’re popping on an ex-UK cruise as well, to like the Norwegian fjords or Northern Europe,” says Leckey.
