As hundreds of thousands of vacationers take to the skies, highways, and railroads this Thanksgiving season, a surging quantity additionally will board cruise ships, that are going all out to create a festive vacation ambiance for visitors.
For the 2024 season, AAA predicts that slightly below 80 million folks will journey no less than 50 miles from their houses throughout the Thanksgiving weekend, which counts as November 26 to December 2, 2024.
The quantity consists of all types of journey, by air, automobile, bus, practice, and cruise ship. General, AAA finds that 1.7 million extra folks will journey this Thanksgiving weekend versus in 2023.
Breaking down the figures, 71.4 million will drive, 5.8 million will fly, and a couple of.2 million will use another type of transport, together with cruise ships, buses, and trains.
Many cruisers who booked Thanksgiving holidays at sea will use a number of types of transport, since nearly all will fly or drive to their embarkation ports earlier than boarding their ships.
Diving deeper into the “different” transport choices, AAA discovered an total spike of near 9% in comparison with 2023, however cruising is seeing a a lot larger improve, with home and worldwide cruise bookings up 20% versus Thanksgiving 2023.
“Thanksgiving is the busiest vacation for journey, and this 12 months we’re anticipating to set new data throughout the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” mentioned Stacey Barber, vice chairman of AAA Journey.
“People reconnect with household and mates over Thanksgiving, and journey is a giant a part of that. AAA continues to see journey demand soar post-pandemic with our members in search of new adventures and memorable holidays,” added Barber.
A few of the greatest drive-to ports within the US are PortMiami, Port Canaveral, and the Port of Galveston, Texas. The truth is, Galveston is within the strategy of increasing its parking services.
In response to the port, greater than 30 million folks reside inside a 300-mile radius of the port, making it a prime drive-to cruise embarkation web site for main metro areas like Houston, Austin, and Dallas, Texas.
Little question most of the 5.8 million vacationers who will fly to their locations for the Thanksgiving vacation might be cruisers sure for embarkation ports, since vacation cruises are extraordinarily common.
Cruise strains provide particular onboard occasions reminiscent of events and vacation menus. Carnival Cruise Line in early November 2024, revealed particulars of its Thanksgiving feast being ready for visitors throughout the fleet.
Particular three-course meals will characteristic conventional Thanksgiving favorites, together with roast turkey with the entire trimmings, plus tasty treats like pumpkin soup. Visitors can even select a honey-glazed ham entree as a substitute for turkey, and a vegetarian dish, Cauliflower, and Gruyere Cheese Soufflé might be provided as nicely.
Cruisers Can E book Black Friday Offers for 2025-26
Even those that aren’t cruising throughout the 2024 Thanksgiving vacation can nonetheless get in on the motion for subsequent 12 months, since many of the main cruise strains have rolled out their Black Friday reserving promotions.
Many of those particular reductions and value-added perks are provided in 2025 and 2026, relying on the cruise line.
Learn Additionally: High 10 Busiest US Cruise Homeports
Virgin Voyages, as an illustration, is providing cruise fare reductions mixed with bar tab credit on all sailings with departures by means of 2026. Bookings have to be made by December 3, 2024. The bar tab credit are primarily based on the cruise size.
Upscale boutique line Oceania Cruises has a Black Friday provide that mixes a cabin improve with a alternative of three different perks — a drink package deal, an onboard credit score as much as $1,000, or free or diminished air fare.
Different cruise strains are tempting future visitors with discounted fares for the third and fourth visitor in a cabin, diminished deposits, and free cruise fare for kids, amongst different advantages. Learn the superb print, although, since some cruise strains will exclude vacation sailings from these reductions.
