Investment Firm Raymond James surveyed travel agents to gauge cruise interest and European cruises look the weakest, which is bad news for Royal Caribbean.
In a note today, Raymond James said that Europe is likely to continue underperforming through the end of the year compared to other regions. Contributing to the weakness is the dollar's relative weakness to the euro as well as higher air fares, all of which has resulted in much less demand by consumers in the United States to take a cruise to Europe. Cruise passengers frequently have to take planes to connect with ships and to return home. European cruises tend to be more expensive than those in other areas.
In addition, recent political unrest was also cited by a few travel agents as another reason for less demand in cruising.
Raymond James is skeptical about cruise demand rebounding in the Mediterranean region until the end of the year. And consumers' economic anxiety is holding down cruise demand.
