Commissions
The publicly traded lines publish commission payments as part of their quarterly earnings reports. It’s not an exact indicator, as air issues are included in the lineage and the companies don’t break down North American versus European payments, but the listings do provide a sense of the general direction commissions are going in the cruise business. So Cruise Week publishes the most recent published commission payments of major cruise companies, providing analysis in the weekly editions about general commission trends.
The companies have different reporting dates, hence the differences in the quarterly periods being reported. Here are the most recent numbers available from the two largest cruise companies.
Carnival Corporation
Commissions, Transportation and Other
Three months ended August 31, 2011 (third quarter):$686 million
Three months ended August 31, 2010 (third quarter):$610 million
Percentage increase/decrease for third quarter between 2010 and 2011:+12.4%
Twelve months ended December 31, 2010:$2.272 billion
Twelve months ended December 31, 2009:$2.220 billion
Percentage increase/decrease for yearly total between 2009 and 2010:+2.34%
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
Commissions, Transportation and Other
Three months ended September 30, 2011 (third quarter):$406 million
Three months ended September 30, 2010 (third quarter):$350 million
Percentage increase/decrease for second quarter between 2010 and 2011:+15.9%
Twelve months ended December 31, 2010:$1.176 billion
Twelve months ended December 31, 2009:$1.029 billion
Percentage increase/decrease for yearly total between 2009 and 2010:+14.3%